Customer Reviews
I like it...a lot - By: K. Dunstan, 16 Aug 2008 
Well, as you can seein the other reviews, there are quite a few negative issues that some people have with this game. However, I love this game. I've nearly finished, & when I do, I'm going to play it again. To me, thats the mark of an excellent game.
This is not a turn based, strategic battle system affair like its parent game, but rather an action based game. I love the hacky-slashy combat - which to me seems perfect for an impulsive "leap before you look" type like Zack. The battle is complicated by the DMW (Digital Mind Wave), a slot wheel that spins to dole out bonuses. This is presumably meant to represent Zack's SOLDIER enhancements, as it releases limit breaks, levels him up, & deals out random smaller bonuses. Personally, I like it. The system evolves throughout the game with more characters added & even extra reels. By the time that mini cutscenes about the characters are added I was impressed that square had managed to keep the whole thing fresh.
The real star of the game is the characterization, with all the characters exactly as you would wish them to be. The story is superb - mad as ever, thanks square! - although some of the cutscenes that repeat 1997 history have lost a little of their sheer horrified amazement. I would highly recommend this game to anyone who enjoyed FFVII purely for the chance to meet Zack Fair, who is probably the best characterin the FF series for a long time. The story will tug your heartstrings all the way through :)
It's also great to see a game so well adapted to the PSP. It fits sony's system perfectly, with lots of bitesize missions to do on the bus/train. I personally prefer doing lots of different missions to level up Zack & get new items than the traditional FF method of leveling...finding the monster that gives the most exp & killing it over & over & over....
In this way, leveling is taken care of for you while you search out new materia & equipment.
All this without even mentioning all the mini-games, side missions & materia fusion system. The music & graphics are also outstanding. Quite simply, I think this is a stunning game.
Random Levelling - what's all that about?? - By: Kborom, 09 Aug 2008 
Good game this, story line & cut scenes are superb & feature many of the stars of the FF series, probably the best storyline you are likely to get!!
The game itself can be seen as an action game with inventory & magic control together with an almost completely random element which is the DMV which controls levelling (of Zak & also materia equipped), some special attacks & also special temporary statuses (for instance MP-free materia usage). This is almost random as a curse status stops the DMV & fusing certain materia will increase the probability of certain DMV instances - but generally it is random.
This didn't work for me, as winning boss battles could depend upon the DMV coming up trumps so I regularly had to refight bosses until the DMV came good & then the boss battles were easy. As I prefer to beat bosses first time or at least be able to work out how to beat them from one go this was not ideal, you can get wiped outin seconds so end up running round avoiding the monsters until the DMV wheel stops.
The other element to this game which you could completely miss/ignore is fusing materia to give status improvements but this again needs alot of though & practice (unless you use google ;)) to get right. I enjoyed this as about 75% through the game I realised that this was a very powerful & quite enjoyable element which made the mission trawling easier.
Overall a very enjoyable & polished game, with some depth if you want it, but the random levelling didn't work for me. FF fans will love this, Cloud as a new recruit makes an appearance, & alot of the signature FF elements are here.
A Contrasting Opinion - By: Craig J. Fairweather, 31 Jul 2008 If I may offer a different view for potential buyers interestedin this game, I'll try to be quick.
As a large & long time fan of FFVII (my first FF experience) I was sorely dissapointed to find that the weakest aspect to this game was the story. Three factors contibute to this fault: horrendous dialogue; over the top cheesy US voice acting; & character motives that have no real understanding behind them. It creates a frustrating & at times offensive experience, particularly for those that enjoyed & cherish characters realisedin FFVII.
Surprisingly the main draw for me, & the reason I score this game so highly, is the gameplayin here. I wont specify the mechanics but suffice to say it is a great offering & will quench your needs whether you want a long sitting or a quick fix on the bus to work- you will get hooked.
The star of the show (for EU gamers only) is the hard mode, which really turns the story mode & the side missions (all 300 of them) into a real challenge right from the start. I relished this challenge right till the end as it really kept the combat interesting throughout my 30+ hours with Crisis Core.
The music, while well produced, is at times relentlessly repititous & considering most of it is heavy metal/ techno hybrid buzz it really can get dull after time or even right off the bat depending on your personal tastes. Battle sound effects are top notch, however environmental noises are virtually non-existent.
To conclude, Crisis Core's shallow story will no doubt appease younger fans & satisfy those who found Advent Children to be the best thing sinse sliced Sephiroth. However, disregarding the excellent gameplay- which I believe warrents a purchase for action/ RPG fans- those who regard the franchise dearly should perhaps approach this game with caution, as there will no doubt be fans who wish that the game that started it all had remained as a single classic.
Comments are valued,
Cheers.
Zack Rulez! - By: Luke B. Taylor, 27 Jul 2008 This game is absolutely fantastic. It gives many hours of great gaming & fun. The story line is fantastic, the graphics are sound, the gameplay is superb & it has absolutely everything a great rpg & final fantasy game should have. This is a must buy for any rpg or FF fan. If you've seen Final Fantasy Advent children this is the prequal & happens 2 years before the film.
Swing and a miss - By: Sir Squidshaker, 27 Jul 2008 
// ---- Out of Mana.co.uk ---- \\
Crisis Core acts as a prequel to Final Fantasy VII & focuses rather disjointedly on the events before Cloud joins AVALANCHE & the original game which shook the late 90s begins. If you've not yet given it a go but consider yourself a moderate fan of FFVII, then you'll probably have a few questions. Does FFVII:CC weave a narrative worthy of merging into the oncoming plot traffic of its predecessor? Does it whisk you back a decadein time & fill you with warm, nostalgic memories of a time spent staggering between glorious pre-rendered works of art & whirling random encounter transitions? Are some of the darker elements of the plot handled with a degree of mystery & subtlety? The short answer to all of these questions is a faintly dejected `not really'.
Advent Children hardly set the stage for reassurance. Whilst the visuals & action were bang on form; the pacing was sloppy, the introduction to the final encounter was about as epic as a cucumber sandwich & for some reason Square lovingly topped the whole experience off with the kind of whimsical 'feel good' ending usually confined to daytime movies about mischievous runaway moppets.
The trend of outstanding CG effects remains strong & character models & overall animationin the glorious array of FMV sequences rival anything showcasedin the aforementioned movie spin-off. The musical score as we've come to expect from anything made by Square fluctuates between varying levels of greatness. The voice acting however... well, let's just say three out of four isn't bad.
It's not that there's much particularly wrong with the English dubbing besides the odd awkwardly delivered line tripping over the clumsy dialogue like it's an obese cat sleepingin a doorway, the issue is that there's not much right with it either. To make matters even more distressing, we've been outright denied the opportunity to switch to Japanese audio with subtitles.
The combat system is very much your straightforward hack & slash picnic, Press X to hit target with sword until said target collapsesin a heap, & Press Square to perform a roll-stroke-dodge combination which can be used to cavort out of danger (or often into it, should you get a bit carried away). You can also scroll through a selection of spells & skills which you've either found on your escapades or created using Materia Fusion. It all seems perfectly acceptable until the fetid abomination which is Crisis Core's limit break system rears its ugly head, anyway.
The DMW (that's `Dull Meter Watching' for thosein the know) System does away with all that overrated nonsense everyone keeps banging on about, baloney like fast paced combat, strategy, customisation & fun & instead replaces them with a much more desirable spinning wheel.
If the battle designers of Crisis Core are to be believed then not only is the brutal crucifixion of strategyin games long overdue, but also slot machines are apparently a vastly superior form of entertainment far beyond our human comprehension. The best approach is to just go along with it. Struggle against the flow of the DMW & you'll have gnawed the corners off your PSP sooner than you can say "modulating phase", though it's difficult not getting a little deflated/annoyed/homicidal when it happens on the very last badly injured enemy.
Nonsensical happenings crop up now & then leaving you scratching your head or twisting itin a lupine manner trying to work out what on earth just happened. On one occasion, Zack had to save a village due to be bombed, from being bombed twenty seconds sooner by what I can only assume was a secret invisible rocket-launcher locatedin another dimension. To save the day, our dashing hero strikes the rockets with his sword, forcing them to rather smoothly splitin two as if they were forged from Danish pastry. The entire scene makes absolutely no sense & worst of all forces you to partakein hideous `QuickTime' events a la shenmue. These silly attempts to crowbarin needless gameplay elements with no thought for context breaks flow & calls into question just whatin Gaia possessed the designers to implement such sloppy game elementsin the first place.
Overall, Crisis Core is saved by its gorgeous visuals & stunning FMV sequences but underneath all that you can't escape the sinking feeling that you're plodding through a shallow & often befuddling stab at an action RPG.
The Good
- Impressive FMV sequences
- Masses of quick side-missions which can easily be picked up when on the go
The Bad
- The tiresome DMW System ends up slowing down gameplay the point of agony
- Clunky dialogue & voice acting
- Fragmented story Frisbees immersion straight out of the window
- Side-missions suffer from `Quantity over Quality'
- Many scenes are lackingin the dark atmosphere which made the original stand out from the RPG crowd of the 90s
- Some real odd moments of nonsensical happenings
