Final Fantasy was once a series that had a devoted fanbase, but it was limited to a niche market of gamers. This changed in 1997 when Final Fantasy VII was released on PlayStation, the follow up to 1994's Final Fantasy III on SNES. Final Fantasy suddenly became a household name thanks to Cloud and Sephiroth and to this day it is considered by many to be one of the best Final Fantasy games. Its popularity resulted in a number of spin offs, remake and even a movie. Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII was a prequel released for PlayStation Portatable in 2007 which was a nice addition to the story, but until now that was only platform in which to experience the tale of Zack Fair. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion is an enhanced remaster that brings an updated version to a new platforms for a new generation of players.

Zack Fair is an important figure in Final Fantasy VII even if his presence is only shown through flashbacks. He did clearly have a major influence on Cloud Strife, and after his history with SOLDIER and Cloud is discussed, his exploits sounds like he's a prime candidate for his own game. Crisis Core takes place seven years before Final Fantasy VII. A few familiar faces are present, but the main focus is protagonist Zack and other members of SOLDIER, such as Angeal, Genesis and some guy named Sephiroth. Most people playing are aware of what ultimately happens to Zack relative to his involvement with Cloud, but this is one of those cases where the journey is still worthwhile even if the destiny isn't a mystery.

To appeal to modern audiences, the visuals needed a facelift from the low-resolution PSP screen if Crisis Core was expected to look nice on a 75" 4K TV. This is a given with any remaster, but a few others changes were made to help the gameplay feel more contemporary. Many of these changes were done in ways to make Crisis Core seem more in sync with Final Fantasy VII Remake. The graphics have been given an HD makeover with many assets and key character models being completely remade. The UI has been revamped to be more user friendly and in the style of Final Fantasy VII Remake. The camera has been improved so that the player has control over its positioning, something that wasn't as feasible on the single thumbstick PSP. As the case with the visuals, the sound has also gotten improvements. The score has been redone with original composers Ishimoto Takeharu. There's full English and Japanese voice acting, but it might not sound how fans remember it. The voice acting has been redone and recast for Crisis Core Reunion. It is now the same cast for Final Fantasy VII Remake, at least for characters that appear in both games. The reception to this change will vary on the individual. On one hand it's nice to have consistent character voices across the two modern games, but those who are feeling nostalgia for the original Crisis Core may be less thrilled with the new cast.

Reworking game mechanics is a trickier order of business. Most fifteen-year-old PSP games are going to benefit from improvements in the game mechanics department, but changing too much would be detrimental to maintaining the essence of the original. Abilities and magic attacks from equipped Materia can be assigned to shortcut a menu allowing quick access to them amidst the chaos of heated battles. These different attacks can all be chained together seamlessly into devastating combos. Zack isn't the only one who can unleash devastating attacks as some powerful enemies have abilities that can quickly change the tide of battle. A new mechanic has been added that gives Zack a brief window when an enemy telegraphs that they are going to unleash one of these attacks where he can attack it and put a stop to it. Loading screens between zones are less frequent that they were in the original version and are shorter when they do occur. The Hard difficulty setting is available from the start, so veterans of Crisis Core can jump right into the increased difficulty mode if they are seeking a greater challenge.

Zack is free to roam around in the location where the current chapter takes place. Zack can equip a few different items to boost his stats and Materia to give him certain actions in battle. There are Action Materia and Magic Materia, both of which have their own allotment of points for usage. The player is mostly free to choose whether or not they want to concentrate on progressing the main story or spending more time taking on side missions, most of which can be unlocked by talking to NPCs or completing other side missions. Side missions are generally short and are a way to grind experience levels or get extra items. Side missions are accessed through save points and can usually be completed in just a couple minutes. Main missions are accessed by going to a location and talking to a prominent NPC, and they're generally polite enough to give the player a chance to continue exploring before committing to the main mission. The main story is relatively short, but there are plenty of side missions to pad things out.

Having Zack as the lone wolf on the battlefield is contrary to most Final Fantasy games, but his SOLDIER enhancements make him a formidable force, especially since he can occasionally call in help on his state of the art 2007 flip phone. The player controls Zack as he runs around the battlefield, hacking at his enemies and supplementing these attacks with whatever Materia he chose to equip. The combat mechanics are designed in a way where these fights are generally short, fast paced and generally fun. Zack is nimble enough to dodge incoming gunfire and enemy spells while he's able to chain together all his various types of attacks. While all this is going on there's a constant slot machine running in the upper left hand corner. This is the Digital Mind Wave, which when the pictures line up can lead to a random assortment of events. This can be unlocking the ability to execute a powerful Limit Break attack, call in an air strike or activate a Summon Materia to name a few possible events. This DMV was present in the original release and remains unchanged and is one of the more divisive elements of Crisis Core. It's completely random and inconsistent, eliminating any strategic implementation of summons and other powerful attacks. Sometimes when Zack needs a hand the DMV fails him while other times it can turn what should be a challenging fight into a joke.

Crisis Core is a prequel to Final Fantasy VII but the two games don't need to be played in sequential order. Like many prequels made a significant amount of time after the fact, an argument could be made that it's better to play Final Fantasy VII first. Throughout Crisis Core Zack will encounter younger versions of familiar characters in some earlier locations with several allusions to the 1997 game. With all the changes made in Final Fantasy VII Remakes, along with the fact it hasn't completed the full story yet, the original PlayStation game is a better reference material to appreciate the significant characters of Zack's past. Ultimately they're all standalone stories that can be enjoyed in any order. People who have completed Final Fantasy VII will have a deeper appreciation for certain events in Crisis Core, but if this is someone's introduction to the world of Final Fantasy VII (if any such people still exist), things are self contained enough where it's still a worthwhile and memorable game.

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion revitalizes the game in a way that seems like this is how it was always meant to be. The controls on the PSP version were as good as the developers were able to do with a single thumbstick and other limitations of the PSP, but it was never the ideal setup. Having the combat control similarly to Final Fantasy VII Remake makes stringing together combos of different types of attacks a breeze. Each of the ten chapters is relatively short which makes the main story feel well paced and not bloated. The side missions are a different story. There are a ton of them, and based on the original handheld format, they were all designed to be completed in just a couple minutes for quick grinding on the go. They're still present and not a bad way to grind, but trying to play through several in one sitting can get tedious, so it's a good thing that excessive grinding isn't necessary to complete the story. Without completely remaking the game from the ground up there will still be reminders of Crisis Core's origin, but overall this a greatly improved version of the PSP classic.

Aside from some of the original cutscenes, the graphics have received a major overhaul. Crisis Core was visually impressive on the PSP and the improvements make it look right on modern hardware. The summoning sequences in particular look fantastic. Still, even with the vast improvements there are plenty of instances in the graphics that remind us this is a fifteen-year-old game using an extensive makeover to look much younger. This is especially true when the original cutscenes are shown against the improved visuals. The improvements are clear, but the contrast between the two is jarring. Framerate and resolution vary across platform: 120 fps on PC, 60 fps on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Framerate is capped at 30 fps on Switch and older PlayStation and Xbox consoles. Resolution will also vary across platforms, with PC having the potential to be the best and Switch being lowest. The soundtrack was a highlight of the original game and that fact remains unchanged in the update. The repeated themes and overall melancholy tone set the mood for how dark things can get in this world.

Closing Comments:

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion walks a tightrope between a remake and remaster. Most elements of the PSP version remain unchanged, including the story, DMV system and mission progression. The voice acting was done with a new cast, many visuals have been completely rebuilt and the combat mechanics have been redone where it plays like a modern action RPG, which may be the single biggest improvement over the PSP original. The story remains the same so Zack's tale is still the emotional gut punch it was fifteen years ago. This remaster improves on what needed to be updated such as graphics and gameplay mechanics, but realizes the story and pacing were fine how they were. Crisis Core is still a fifteen-year-old game originally designed for a handheld platform and as such the improvements to this version can't erase all reminders of its origins. Even with game elements that show their age, however, this is the best way to experience Crisis Core.