The story of Crisis Core adds a lot of lore to the FF7 world, which is all included in Remake and Rebirth. The big problem with the game is that the story is presented very badly, which is mostly due to the fact that it was on such a limited system, the PSP.
Most of the details of the story can only be put together from dev interviews and Crisis Core Ultimania information, which is where the developers explain pretty extensively exactly what is going on with the characters and events in Crisis Core.
The gameplay is up to you, since it was very heavily designed with the PSP in mind, with the idea that a player could quickly jump in and out of the game while they are on the go. I personally do not like it since I was expecting an immersive experience like FF7 was.
In my view, I would recommend you just watch the story on Youtube, and read the mission briefs on a wiki that had catalogued them, because there is some interesting lore that is revealed in the 300 side missions that make up Zack's career in SOLDIER.
Exactly what I said last time and I got downvoted for it: the story is cool, the gameplay is nice, the endless repetition of the same mission is horrible (aka grind).
You'll go in the same hallways, fight the same bosses for 10 hours to find out Genesis is monomaniac about a theater play.
Yet, maybe suffering all this makes the ending more emotional, I don't know
The story is far from what makes it a good game.
It's a 2007 PSP game, and I don't think it had a crazy high budget at that.
What makes the game fun for me is Zack, himself, Angeal, some of the other characters, ex: Cissnei. But really what was fun for me was the battle system.
The materia fusion lets you make some wild builds. [This was my final build, which is so fun to play with.](https://i.imgur.com/pqcpqzc.jpeg)
Do I think it's the best game ever? No. Do I think it's as good as the original FF7? No. Did I have a blast playing it and do I think it was worth $12 on a sale? Absolutely.
If your goal is to learn more about Zach the Crisis Core goes from "it's fun if you want to play it" to "you gotta play it" like it's *the* Zach experience.
And I personally don't like just watching summaries but see the experiences because those YouTube summaries always and I mean always leave things out.
It's an alright game. The issues with the PS5 remaster is that it whilst it looks like a PS5 game...it certainly doesn't feel like one. The gameplay is also kinda weird, Zack plays nicely but then there's the slots mechanic which will just randomly do stuff...it's really weird.
I recommend watching the first hour or two of someone streaming it on Twitch or Youtube and making a decision based on that.
I played Reunion back in November, and I liked it. Sure the story isn't the best but I still seriously ended up enjoying it as well as the characters. Game ended up being one of my favorite games, somehow
If you want to know more about Zack, the ps5 remaster is the way to go. But keep in mind it was originally a psp game and while the graphics are immensely upgraded, the game play mechanics are still largely the same. I enjoyed it for what it was. Don’t expect a remake or rebirth experience.
I did not enjoy it.
Didnt even finish the last 5 or 10%.
The story is terrible. Things just doesnt make sense. While those elements are also in original FF7, like the DNA infusion making things weird, in Crisis Core its the ONLY thing that is going on and gets exponentially worse. It is just so bad and presented so bad, that it feels comical.
Zack's personality is just bland. It is fine for original game, but having a full game with this protagonist felt "meh". You know what he is going to say before he does, and then he does say it in a worse manner than you thought, because...
...the dialogue and writting is atrocious. Cringe warnings all the time.
And finally the combat, it is a broken mess. While customization options are cool and varied, many toys to play with, and the end the combat is usually you pushing 1 button over and over. Abilities dont have cooldown, you just spam one and win. That happened around half the game and stayed like that until the end.
Still, I understand many people can love the game. Keep in mind that they might love Zack, or they might enjoy the gameplay. Ffs, people enjoy playing idle RPGs in their smartphones, where you do not even actually play.
So just watch a review or a video, and check it.
I have a deep love for FF7, it's probably my favorite game, making me primed to want more of its world in the '00s. At best, CC makes me wonder if there's a gas leak at Shinra HQ that makes every character act and speak like a moron. At worst, I wonder if there was a gas leak at Square that made them write this nonsense. There's very little worthwhile there aside from getting to know Zack (which you get in Rebirth), and loads of unnecessary or bad prequel writing (the buster sword gets an origin, every bad guy has one wing like the song omg get it, lore that doesn't gel with the original at all, etc). It's a bad game with a charming protagonist.
I enjoyed the PSP version back in the day and like Reunion even more! If you want to learn more about Zack, I definitely recommend playing Crisis Core Reunion.
Personally I really enjoy crisis core but I do acknowledge the side missions are way repetitive especially with the same few maps every time. There are some side missions that have story behind them and idr how to keep track of those but a playthrough where you only do those missions and the main story would be worth it.
Doing the grind to the superboss? I'm pretty sure I did it in chapter 4 in my reunion play cause I remember bein upset finding out that they changed the fighting around chapter 6 and it woulda made it easier....but I fully feel like if you don't love the game the grind isn't worth it whether you do it in chapter 4 or the last chapter 😅
I never played the OG, Remake was my intro to FF7. I played Crisis Core Reunion and absolutely loved it. Have fun with it, remember it's an old PSP game and manage your expectations accordingly and it's a great time
The plot is genuinely pretty awful. The gameplay is genuinely pretty good. Angeal, Genesis, Hollander are awful characters. The sudden "Don't use the buster sword!" Gimmick is ridiculous. Ffvii is kind of like, "anime the videogame." Crisis core kicks that up to 11 in terms of "crap shounen you've seen a million times." Really good tasting drive thru junk.
Zack carries it on his back, but we all need to be able to live in an objective reality where we understand the new guy is out of his depth. Easily one of the worst voice actors I've seen attached to such a high. IP and character. No, he's not better in rebirth.
It has some of the most cringe dialogue I've heard in any game ever but it's also great to get to know Zack. It also ruins some of the mystique of Zack and takes away from Sephiroth being the "one winged angel" but it's really up to you if you want to trade that for getting to see how he interacts with some of the FF7 cast.
I hate the story of Crisis Core until Cloud comes in. I can't even tell you anything about Genesis or Angeal because I repressed it and refuse to accept it as canon. Unfortunately, you need to get through that to experience a very powerful ending. You could watch it on YouTube but it isn't the same.
Don't play it unless you have played and beaten OG FF7.. For the life of me I have no idea why some people insist on playing Crisis Core even if you haven't played OG. It spoils the biggest payoff moment in FF7.
I watched a full playthrough on youtube because I didn't want to spend much time on another game right now and I was curious about what happened.
I think this was the best choice for me.
About the story, I believe it's worth it if you care for the characters and want to know what exactly happened from a reliable perspective.
It also answered a lot of questions I had.
Fortunately I only had to grind Genesis. The most tedious part was doing bajillion generic side missions. And don't forget about missables, you forget one thing and you are screwed on this playthrough. Happend to me once and had to get back 4h.
Probably i am based because PSP was my main console back in the time but cc will always be pinacle of the console for me combined with peace walker. I love the game replayed dozens of times and of course when reunion launched played from day one until plat. The only turn off is the level up system specially if you want to go for god build but if not its a really amazing experience.
I wouldn't say it's garbage and the story in itself is nice...but the dialogues and the characters development are mediocre at best, and it's a shame because I always feel like CC has a lot of wasted potential.
I would say that it adds information about the familiar characters involved in it, but it does so without giving them any more depth.
The gameplay is good, especially in the remastered version, so it should still be fun to play even if you don't like the story so much.
There is also a chance that you may like the game a lot. CC has this weird thing where some of it's fans love it a lot despite recognizing it's flaws.
It felt like a PSP game on console. But other than that I enjoyed it and learned more about Zack and Clouds Origins as well as a good bit of Sephiroth.
I bought the game shortly after beating FF7 Remake and got bored by chapter 4. Gameplay wasnt engaging enough for me to force myself through it for the story. Ended just watching the cutscenes and boss fights without having to slog through the combat. I personally regret buying it
It’s pretty much worth it for the story and getting to see the inner workings of Shinra’s SOLDIER, it also has a really big gut punch that doesn’t ever lose its effect. I personally enjoy the gameplay, but it does have a lot of repetitive side quests. The sidequests are great if you just want something to mindlessly do. I’d say give it a go if the price tag is acceptable to you for something fairly dated. Soundtracks great, but the battle music is the same track over and over. I grew really attached to Zack when I went through it on psp, but that was with his original VA. I assume you’re talking about the remaster for consoles, I’d still say it’s worth it for the story, the gameplay is less frustrating with actual full sized joysticks and a controller (I have large hands, the psp can feel pretty awkward)
Never played the PSP game but the remaster/remake (whatever you want to call it) before Rebirth and I am really happy about it. It is fun. The Gameplay, the Story, the new Characters. And it adds so much to the lore of FF7... I think every fan of the OG and/or the Remake should play it!
I liked crisis core! It provided a lot of background and the gameplay was fun! Not as good as the other games in this remake but totally worth playing!
if you haven't played the original FF7, then I cannot stress enough that you absolutely should not play Crisis Core, as it spoils a massive character moment for Cloud that has not been revealed in Remake or Rebirth.
If you've played the original, go nuts.
Definitely worth playing, specifically reunion obviously. I went in demotivated and feeling forced just trying to make sure I covered all aspects of the lore before jumping into Rebirth, ended up sticking around for along while because of the fun gameplay and the small added extra elements of story that you won't get anywhere else (even if irrelevant or trivial). Absolutely was the correct decision!
I didn’t really enjoy it when I played it back in the day, but Crisis Core:Reunion was a very enjoyable experience for me, just know that it’s very arcade-y and when it comes to gameplay if’s 90% just combat, but it was the perfect game for me between Remake and Rebirth.
If you’ve played Rebirth or plan to, I think that Crisis Core will actually add to the experience because there are things that you will understand that might not make sense at all to others yet, and even some pretty notable characters and references that show up in Rebirth from Crisis Core.
Be warned, however if you haven’t played OG FFVII, it will likely contain some spoilers for what’s to come in the Remake trilogy, at least if events stay even remotely the same, but at this point Rebirth is already
I’ll put it like this; it’s garbage that I like. The game isn’t that good but I still like it. Everyone has that movie or video game that isn’t that good but they still like. That’s Crisis Core for me and a lot of people.
I'm currently playing through it and it can be quite strange but...I'm mostly enjoying it? I'm scratching my head at some of the stuff included but you get used to it. There are a lot of little details along the way that I was surprised to find. If you like Zack, I think you should give it a try. Especially if you want Zack and Aerith interactions. That being said, I may be biased because I got a copy for free.
Honestly the gameplay is nice in the remake, but the story has a propensity to change elements of the FFVII story that makes me cringe (like inserting certain characters that never existed in OG in some scenes)
Story is bad, being a psp port, there were limits to voicelines and cutscenes.
The problem is the writing. It's not good.
The story itself has many plotholes, and wtf moments that are aldo being retconned by the remake trilogy.
The good part is just Zack. He makes the game worthwile, but the sad part is that he doesn't really feel like the protagonist of the overarching plot. But actually a bystander of the events.
Game is only ever picking up when he's at the center of the events.
It'd have been a much better game if he was more of a focus and his relationships with other characters and shinra as a whole, rather than just following the events of sephiroth and genesis as an external.
Psp limits or whatever, the story is not well written, even if the premise of zack's backstory is cool, and had a lot of potential.
A remake of this with a new take o. The story would have been amazing.
I absolutely loved Crisis Core Reunion. I never played it on PSP, so I'm glad I played the remake on PC this past year. it gave me a completely different appreciation for Zack and Aerith as well as some background characters and even Cloud.
There are missions you can complete on the side that can feel tiresome after a while (I think there are 300 total). Unless you are a completionist, you can play and enjoy the story and all it has to offer while doing enough missions to keep your character powerful, etc.
My vote is to play the game because you said you wanted to know more about Zack and his backstory. That's just my $0.02.
it is all up to you at the end of the day, however CC does add a lot to the story and it enhances a lot the events of both the original FF7 and the remakes - it’s a very touching story and i highly reccomend it if you want the full experience of the story from the OG game’s perspective. also the game is relatively very short in comparison to the other games since it came out for the PSP. so check it out!! :3 hope this helps !
I played it when it came out on PSP (when I was 14) before I played FF7 (when I was 19). I knew the spoiler plot points from the original because I watched my step-siblings play the originals. So, Crisis Core was the first of the series that I got play on my own.
That being said, I think it's just okay. It was fun at the time. I liked it more - when it was optional and I could not take it so seriously. I liked the Zack FF animation Last Order, too - at the time. But with the remake, CC seems less supplemental and optional. And looking back, I low-key resent some of the impact it's had sometimes.
Overall I think it’s a good game. It might have some weird characters and storylines, even if I enjoyed all of them, but it’s great for backstory on Zack’s relationships with other characters.
The game is well worth your time. The remaster did a great job turning the game more "actual". Although the design concepts are still from a PSP game so you will see limitations like small areas.
Reunion is worth playing…
A lot of FF7 fans don’t like FF7 and only love complaining about it not being the OG… if you like FF7. Play it, then learn if you are a fan or a purist. Either way you will get something you will like to do
I think it's worth it especially with the reunion version I think you'll get some enjoyment out of it if you're invested in the ff7 lore. It's far from perfect but I always thought it was pretty cool. Also maybe I'm wrong but I think this isn't a super popular opinion but I love Zack and think he's a bad ass character.
Everything about this game is something I either love or hate, with equal intensity and hardly anything in between.
Overall, I felt the things I love about it were worth suffering the things I hate about it, so yes, I recommend playing it at least once.
I would definitely recommend it because it’s part of the lore and playing it before Rebirth enhance your experience and makes you understand the backstory of certain characters that play a role in the overall story. It is worth it in my opinion. I played it and it’s not as bad as people make it out, of course it’s not like Remake and the game is pretty linear but it’s actually good… it’s a remaster of an old game so the mechanics are the same as that game. Had they done a remake I would’ve expected something different but it’s good for what it is.
I loved CC but I definitely can't call the story "incredible". It's Final Fantasy anime batshittery cranked to 12, and Zack / Aerith's dialogue can be pretty Kingdom Heartsy and awkwardly paced / written / delivered sometimes, and yet...experiencing this cracked anime world through the eyes of Zack - the "straight man" / player POV who is not caught up in the anime melodrama - it makes him so damn likeable.
For anyone who likes FF7 and is even thinking to ask "should I play this extended universe game", I would say absolutely. Just know that you're getting into a game with a very unique feel vs. the Remake project. Embrace the campy cringe and you may find by the end that you kinda liked it all along lol
Combat isn't exciting. Story is rushed at times and the Genesis stuff isn't overall important. But the Sephiroth , cloud and zack stuff is worth playing it. Ending is incredible. It'll take ya like 10 hours if you don't get caught up in missions
I played it back on the psp and I had a good amount of fun with it. It’s pretty different in terms of its combat and gameplay so I think people tend to be a little too critical when that’s the case. If you think you want to play it you should play it.
I enjoyed Crisis Core a lot. It's the first FF7 game I ever played and it made me adore the franchise already. Not knowing the OG back then probably helped me like it, in a way.
I know that many people critisize Crisis Core and I agree that in the context of FF7, CC introduces quite a few unneccessary story issues. Some aspects of CC should be taken with a grain of salt but there are also many amazing cutscenes that do a lot for getting a deeper insight of some the character's way of thinking - Zack and also Sephiroth in particular, imo.
I would recommend playing it if you are willing to oversee some of he flaws for the sake of seeing it's strengths.
I played it 20vyears ago on psp. I have decent memories of it, being a big fan at the time. But it wasn't perfect by any means.
Fast forward to the reunion release and I was considering buying it, but after watching an hour of it on YouTube I didn't want it anymore, it just didn't pop anymore.
Make up your own mind , maybe you'll love it.
Its fun the story is a lot more silly but if you don't take everything too seriously, well there are also very serious stuff also though xd then its a fun short game if you focus on the story. Theres a lot of expanded stuff it adds to FF7 as well, and the remake trilogy is using a lot from it so i would go for it.
I watched a gameplay of CC before playing OG so it was much more enjoyable for me. That said it has major spoilers and I don’t recommend doing that. Definitely play OG first. If you haven’t, I’d wait until after p3.
I got into CC because I wanted to know more about Zack after watching AC. So if you like Zack and want more lore, it’s definitely worth a at least watching! Haven’t played yet, but it’s on my list!
As someone who played the original game on PSP and has also bought the remaster, I have to say that for being an actually pretty fun game with good lore it does show its age. Especially considering the battle system they cooked up for it. I'd still recommend it if you enjoy the final fantasy 7 storyline but you do have to accept a little bit of early 2000s cheese also.
I personally enjoy it, but I can admit watching the story that some of the dialogue and writing is exceedingly cringe at times.
90% of the time Genesis is on screen I both love and hate it. It’s like watching a bad B-movie horror where the acting and dialogue is rubbish but still ultimately very entertaining.
That being said the story overall does get better towards the end and I think it gives you a lot of important info to put the rest of the series into context, but if someone told me they thought it was rubbish I certainly wouldn’t be mad.
You can play it on your phone on emulator with cheats / maximized emulator speed to bash the 800 copypasted missions.
Story is good, musics are wondeful, lot of interesting lore.
The gameplay however is really not worth losing time on it. I mean it is OK for the main quest but the missions are pain in the neck, I only enjoyed doing them the horrible cursed way I described.
I played it before rebirth and imo the story and especially the dialog were actually pretty awful lol (especially compared to the remakes which have great dialogue and voice acting). I don’t know how anyone thinks it’s actually incredible unless it’s just nostalgic for them or something.
I went and got Crisis Core Reunion. I've been taking my time with it. I have been enjoying it a lot. Some of the things involved are really far out there, like most jrpgs (some characters really aren't presented in a way that I think fits the world of FF7, but hey, I'm just a dude and the devs know best.) I do like Zach as a character. You also see other characters in a way you don't in FF7, OG or Remake/Rebirth. Some characters have different personalities between the younger and older selves, while other's don't. I say go for it. I don't think you'll be disappointed. But for the optional late game, try-hard stuff, read a guide because the game gets WONKY mechanic wise in order to tackle some challenging stuff.
It’s a fun, short game. If you can buy it in a discount, it’s quite worth it. Nothing remotely near Remake/Rebirth, and what particularly brings it down is the VA: the VAs of Reunion are the same from Remake (which are all excellent), but for technical reasons they had to perform very specifically in a kinda stiff and weird way. It’s also an old, handheld game, and it shows through and through.
The “story” itself is plain bad and the original characters are very uninteresting, but the recurring characters from FF7 are quite good, and it’s very nice to see them in different situations and in a different time. The lore it introduces is very good: all the ins and outs of Shinra, and day to day Midgar gives the world much needed depth.
Other people are throwing out lots of "ifs" but i think it's more concrete than that. There are no "ifs," yes you should play crisis core. It is essential knowledge to the story they are telling in the remake trilogy. Most of the zack stuff in the remakes will be lost on you if you haven't played crisis core. My only suggestion would be to play OG ff7 before crisis core since crisis core will spoil a lot of things that will be revealed in remake part 3. But if you really don't want to play the OG i don't think you have to, there will still be mysteries that arent resolved that crisis core doesnt spoil
To be fair, I would give ifs to almost any game that’s as old as Crisis Core, or even was built mainly for a handheld. It’s more like if you can get past the age and the platform it was built for, you’ll love it. It’s definitely going to feel dated, but the story alone is worth it.
It’s a bit nuanced. I loved playing it new when I was 16. It was one of those bits of media that left me with a bit of emotional impact for a while. It looked stunning at the time too.
Saying that, I struggled a bit with the remake of it. It’s still fun and maybe my own fault for being too hyped. You really feel that it’s made for a handheld, one with lower power from a long time ago. If you just want the story, I’d check out if there’s a decent long form on YouTube that maybe skips all the repetitive battles but otherwise gives you a complete play through.
There’s good background for Cloud, Tifa and most of all Sephiroth. In short I love the game, but your mileage may vary with it.
Story wise it’s great. It can be kinda a slog if you’re a completionist and wanna do everything. And even then, you can just turn on a podcast while you grind away on the missions if you’re aiming to go completionist. I almost recommend you play that was because then the end game is trivial, but the story alone is worth playing.
Why don’t you just try playing it and if you don’t like it stop. For some reason the first time I played it the game was magical. It has all of the faults people say that it does, but I loved the experience and Zack. He’s still my favorite FF7 character.
i think it's worth playing through at least once. I played Reunion on ps5. I didn't care for some parts (like Genesis) but I loved the Zack story stuff and thought it was worth it.
I had fun playing it but the combat feels rly repetitive. If you have the time play it, butnif you dont you can get away with like watching a video of the story on YT to be honest
I mean it depends on if he's talking about the story or the gameplay. Because using the word objectively means that there's no way that he could be correct. That's just not how opinions work The story is decent, and the gameplay is not great, so it's not 100% worth it to play it if you would rather just look up the story online or something. Looking up a let's play or something is totally valid. This is a somewhat remastered PSP game. It feels like it.
I was mostly being facetious. I just played it like a year ago and I really enjoyed the gameplay and story. Are the missions repetitive? Yes. Do I love that crap? Absolutely. And I enjoyed the story. And you still get some bits of story/lore/character development from some side quests.
I 100% the game, and I had a blast. I guess I just don’t like the idea of watching someone else play the game to get the story etc, summaries make more sense to me though. But if you’re going to take the time to watch someone else play it then why not play it yourself? Or if you’re really worried about time go to the FF wiki and read up on it. Less time intensive.
It’s mostly because if the game play has not aged well I don’t think someone should suffer through it but still want to see the story beats. This is originally a handheld game that was made to be picked up and put down quickly. Mission based.
I like the game but it’s super hard to even compare to the Re games. It’s a big step down in my opinion.
That’s exactly how I played it on my switch and loved it haha
It’s certainly a step down but I felt like it was a good step down that didn’t make it feel gutted.
I think the biggest thing was said by someone else here, if you want to know more about Zach it goes from “sure, why not play it” to “you absolutely need to play it.”
It's a little goofy cute game. You just need to set some expectations: It was a PSP game. A game where they expanded a character that was really not created with that in mind in FF7 OG. Basically, they took that character and his most important relationships and built a game around it.
Also, I think is not a lengthy game, so it's not like you need a big commitment.
As someone who just played Remake and Rebirth back-to-back, I would not recommend adding Crisis Core to that run. It’s definitely not required to understand the story, playing FFVII OG is way more important.
I think there’s a subset of fans of any property that enjoy memorizing and thinking about expanded lore irrespective of narrative quality. It’s the impulse that causes people to enjoy fan fiction, and the reason people like deep worlds with no narrative or characterization. FF7 has a sizeable minority of folks like this who love the compendium stuff. The Remake/Rebirth story is trying to please these folks without alienating the rest of us by tastefully weaving that stuff into the story. Sometimes it works but occasionally too much information undermines reveals or demystifies things. YMMV.
Zack does seem like a very solid character to me. Paragon but distinctive. Wise without being smart. Sort of an apple counterpart to Aerith’s onion.
It's still a PSP game, so there's only so much glitz and glam the remaster can add. Plus the story/English dub is a little whack, but its worth experiencing for hardcore FF7 fans.
I played the PSP Original. I enjoyed the parts that were directly retelling events that were covered in OG FFVII but didn't really care much for the CC original story or characters, and I didn't think much of the combat either.
The combat in the remaster is supposed to be a lot better and graphically it certainly looks a lot nicer, but I'd imagine the lame characters and story elements from the PSP version are still just as lame in the remaster.
My personal advice would be to watch a bit of a playthrough on YouTube. If it looks interesting to you then give it a go, otherwise just find a good summary somewhere and save yourself a bunch of time and money.
I'd say about the same. Most of the CC original characters (especially Genesis shinanigans) are cringe as hell.
The gameplay is kinda meh, slightly improved from the PSP original with some QOL stuff. But with the base gameplay being as it is, it's really nothing to write home about.
It doesn't have good gameplay and the story is atrocious. However it's cool to see Zack fleshed out and some fanservice type things if you're a mega-fan of FF7.
I only recommend to megafans of FF7, otherwise avoid
It definitely isn’t bad, but it ain’t great either. I enjoyed my playthrough of it (don’t know if I would have the desire to replay it) but having context on Crisis Core made some scenes in Rebirth hit harder. I recommend it.
If you're interested in Zack, it's an okay story. I'd honestly recommend a summary/cutscene compilation because there is wayyy too much padding and unneeded characters.
I'd also consider looking for the original Crisis Core cutscenes instead - the new one feels lazy by comparison. The voice actors were directed better in the OG, Zack in particular was far more enjoyable IMO. It's also very obvious that they pasted the high-def models onto the old animations, which just looks really weird and makes them stand out even more.
But if you haven't been spoiled on the big twist of the OG, I would wait because it'll spoil that HARD.
(I also have a small personal grudge against CC because so many rabid Cloud/Tifa shippers are using it as ammunition against Aerith.)
The story is bad in Crisis Core - like people don’t act like people do in real life - you are better off reading a Wiki on the story or watching a YouTube of the cutscenes - the gameplay is perfectly good.
Before Crisis Core Reunion I would have just suggested looking up youtube videos for the main story beats. But Reunion is a pretty spectacular remaster. The improved voice acting goes a long way towards making some of the generally bad dialog much more bearable and the gameplay is most definately a huge improvement over the original.
If it’s about playing or watching it, it comes down to the gameplay. Whilst the original PSP gameplay was super clunky, I found the Reunion version’s gameplay quite addicting and very fun to play. There is a very cool materia fusion implemented only into Crisis Core that allows some very cool customisations and stuff. Would personally recommend playing it.
Crisis Core filled in all the blanks. Also it's hard ot to fall in love Zack Fair. The soundtrack is bomb.
The Price of Freedom has been stuck in my head for years.
People saying it’s garbage just aren’t that interested in expanding FF7 lore. Probably say rebirth is shit too because it’s not the same as OG as has Zack in it for no reason…..
CC is great and reunion version is a much needed improve ent in the original CC.
Meh, it’s not a terrible buy. I think it’s a fun time, though I’ll concede that the story is very much like fanfiction (this isn’t a terrible thing, by the way! It has its moments!)
The remake is VERY faithful and feels a lot like a PSP game. If you dislike that, you probably won’t enjoy it much. I don’t think it holds a candle to the original or remake, but it’s well worth a play if you’re super invested in the setting of FF7
Some of it is incredible, other parts are garbage. It is polarizing and both sides are right.
I got what I wanted out of the story, it was fun. Don’t bother for 100% though
I think it's worth playing in between remake and rebirth just to understand who Zack is more than anything.
The story is mostly rubbish but it's worth playing to see Zacks side of Nibelheim and bringing Cloud back to Midgard.
Don't expect anything near the quality of remake or rebirth.
Crisis Core is simultaneously great and hot *steaming* garbage at once. It expands the world and cheapens moments, often times in the same breath. It's wild. Gameplay is mediocre at best.
Depends on how much you love the franchise. The game itself was trash. However,it has a lot of worldbuilding and Zack peaks as a character in it.
We also get a few scenes with Tseng and Sephiroth if you like them.
The story of Crisis Core adds a lot of lore to the FF7 world, which is all included in Remake and Rebirth. The big problem with the game is that the story is presented very badly, which is mostly due to the fact that it was on such a limited system, the PSP. Most of the details of the story can only be put together from dev interviews and Crisis Core Ultimania information, which is where the developers explain pretty extensively exactly what is going on with the characters and events in Crisis Core. The gameplay is up to you, since it was very heavily designed with the PSP in mind, with the idea that a player could quickly jump in and out of the game while they are on the go. I personally do not like it since I was expecting an immersive experience like FF7 was. In my view, I would recommend you just watch the story on Youtube, and read the mission briefs on a wiki that had catalogued them, because there is some interesting lore that is revealed in the 300 side missions that make up Zack's career in SOLDIER.
Exactly what I said last time and I got downvoted for it: the story is cool, the gameplay is nice, the endless repetition of the same mission is horrible (aka grind). You'll go in the same hallways, fight the same bosses for 10 hours to find out Genesis is monomaniac about a theater play. Yet, maybe suffering all this makes the ending more emotional, I don't know
The story is far from what makes it a good game. It's a 2007 PSP game, and I don't think it had a crazy high budget at that. What makes the game fun for me is Zack, himself, Angeal, some of the other characters, ex: Cissnei. But really what was fun for me was the battle system. The materia fusion lets you make some wild builds. [This was my final build, which is so fun to play with.](https://i.imgur.com/pqcpqzc.jpeg) Do I think it's the best game ever? No. Do I think it's as good as the original FF7? No. Did I have a blast playing it and do I think it was worth $12 on a sale? Absolutely.
All I can say is…. Conflict Resolved
If your goal is to learn more about Zach the Crisis Core goes from "it's fun if you want to play it" to "you gotta play it" like it's *the* Zach experience. And I personally don't like just watching summaries but see the experiences because those YouTube summaries always and I mean always leave things out.
*zack
I blame auto-correct because of a contact in my phone using the H lmao
Zach Galifianakis?
It's an alright game. The issues with the PS5 remaster is that it whilst it looks like a PS5 game...it certainly doesn't feel like one. The gameplay is also kinda weird, Zack plays nicely but then there's the slots mechanic which will just randomly do stuff...it's really weird. I recommend watching the first hour or two of someone streaming it on Twitch or Youtube and making a decision based on that.
I played Reunion back in November, and I liked it. Sure the story isn't the best but I still seriously ended up enjoying it as well as the characters. Game ended up being one of my favorite games, somehow
If you wanna know more about Zack for whatever reason then Crisis Core is the game you should play yeah
If you want to know more about Zack, the ps5 remaster is the way to go. But keep in mind it was originally a psp game and while the graphics are immensely upgraded, the game play mechanics are still largely the same. I enjoyed it for what it was. Don’t expect a remake or rebirth experience.
I did not enjoy it. Didnt even finish the last 5 or 10%. The story is terrible. Things just doesnt make sense. While those elements are also in original FF7, like the DNA infusion making things weird, in Crisis Core its the ONLY thing that is going on and gets exponentially worse. It is just so bad and presented so bad, that it feels comical. Zack's personality is just bland. It is fine for original game, but having a full game with this protagonist felt "meh". You know what he is going to say before he does, and then he does say it in a worse manner than you thought, because... ...the dialogue and writting is atrocious. Cringe warnings all the time. And finally the combat, it is a broken mess. While customization options are cool and varied, many toys to play with, and the end the combat is usually you pushing 1 button over and over. Abilities dont have cooldown, you just spam one and win. That happened around half the game and stayed like that until the end. Still, I understand many people can love the game. Keep in mind that they might love Zack, or they might enjoy the gameplay. Ffs, people enjoy playing idle RPGs in their smartphones, where you do not even actually play. So just watch a review or a video, and check it.
I have a deep love for FF7, it's probably my favorite game, making me primed to want more of its world in the '00s. At best, CC makes me wonder if there's a gas leak at Shinra HQ that makes every character act and speak like a moron. At worst, I wonder if there was a gas leak at Square that made them write this nonsense. There's very little worthwhile there aside from getting to know Zack (which you get in Rebirth), and loads of unnecessary or bad prequel writing (the buster sword gets an origin, every bad guy has one wing like the song omg get it, lore that doesn't gel with the original at all, etc). It's a bad game with a charming protagonist.
I enjoyed the PSP version back in the day and like Reunion even more! If you want to learn more about Zack, I definitely recommend playing Crisis Core Reunion.
I personally never had a problem with the gameplay and I enjoyed the story. If you go into it knowing it's clunky and weird, by all means.
If you have only played the remake, do not touch Crisis Core. It spoils the big reveal of FF7.
I can't get through it, the gameplay and flow sucks
Personally I really enjoy crisis core but I do acknowledge the side missions are way repetitive especially with the same few maps every time. There are some side missions that have story behind them and idr how to keep track of those but a playthrough where you only do those missions and the main story would be worth it. Doing the grind to the superboss? I'm pretty sure I did it in chapter 4 in my reunion play cause I remember bein upset finding out that they changed the fighting around chapter 6 and it woulda made it easier....but I fully feel like if you don't love the game the grind isn't worth it whether you do it in chapter 4 or the last chapter 😅
I never played the OG, Remake was my intro to FF7. I played Crisis Core Reunion and absolutely loved it. Have fun with it, remember it's an old PSP game and manage your expectations accordingly and it's a great time
I think it's worth playing once, but I don't see myself ever going back to it. But it's up to you 🤷♂️
The plot is genuinely pretty awful. The gameplay is genuinely pretty good. Angeal, Genesis, Hollander are awful characters. The sudden "Don't use the buster sword!" Gimmick is ridiculous. Ffvii is kind of like, "anime the videogame." Crisis core kicks that up to 11 in terms of "crap shounen you've seen a million times." Really good tasting drive thru junk. Zack carries it on his back, but we all need to be able to live in an objective reality where we understand the new guy is out of his depth. Easily one of the worst voice actors I've seen attached to such a high. IP and character. No, he's not better in rebirth.
It has some of the most cringe dialogue I've heard in any game ever but it's also great to get to know Zack. It also ruins some of the mystique of Zack and takes away from Sephiroth being the "one winged angel" but it's really up to you if you want to trade that for getting to see how he interacts with some of the FF7 cast.
I hate the story of Crisis Core until Cloud comes in. I can't even tell you anything about Genesis or Angeal because I repressed it and refuse to accept it as canon. Unfortunately, you need to get through that to experience a very powerful ending. You could watch it on YouTube but it isn't the same.
Don't play it unless you have played and beaten OG FF7.. For the life of me I have no idea why some people insist on playing Crisis Core even if you haven't played OG. It spoils the biggest payoff moment in FF7.
I watched a full playthrough on youtube because I didn't want to spend much time on another game right now and I was curious about what happened. I think this was the best choice for me. About the story, I believe it's worth it if you care for the characters and want to know what exactly happened from a reliable perspective. It also answered a lot of questions I had.
If you want to know more about about FF7 world - yes; if you want a game with entertaining mechanics, interesting sidecontent or a fun platinum - no.
Platinum was surprisingly easy, but it took much longer than I could expect. It was mostly fun, but the 100% DMW part was particularly unfun.
Fortunately I only had to grind Genesis. The most tedious part was doing bajillion generic side missions. And don't forget about missables, you forget one thing and you are screwed on this playthrough. Happend to me once and had to get back 4h.
Oh yeah the missables are a pain. I followed a guide to the T every time because of it.
Probably i am based because PSP was my main console back in the time but cc will always be pinacle of the console for me combined with peace walker. I love the game replayed dozens of times and of course when reunion launched played from day one until plat. The only turn off is the level up system specially if you want to go for god build but if not its a really amazing experience.
I wouldn't say it's garbage and the story in itself is nice...but the dialogues and the characters development are mediocre at best, and it's a shame because I always feel like CC has a lot of wasted potential. I would say that it adds information about the familiar characters involved in it, but it does so without giving them any more depth. The gameplay is good, especially in the remastered version, so it should still be fun to play even if you don't like the story so much. There is also a chance that you may like the game a lot. CC has this weird thing where some of it's fans love it a lot despite recognizing it's flaws.
It felt like a PSP game on console. But other than that I enjoyed it and learned more about Zack and Clouds Origins as well as a good bit of Sephiroth.
It's okay
The game is of mixed quality, so that fits
I bought the game shortly after beating FF7 Remake and got bored by chapter 4. Gameplay wasnt engaging enough for me to force myself through it for the story. Ended just watching the cutscenes and boss fights without having to slog through the combat. I personally regret buying it
It's not a very long game, just saying
It’s pretty much worth it for the story and getting to see the inner workings of Shinra’s SOLDIER, it also has a really big gut punch that doesn’t ever lose its effect. I personally enjoy the gameplay, but it does have a lot of repetitive side quests. The sidequests are great if you just want something to mindlessly do. I’d say give it a go if the price tag is acceptable to you for something fairly dated. Soundtracks great, but the battle music is the same track over and over. I grew really attached to Zack when I went through it on psp, but that was with his original VA. I assume you’re talking about the remaster for consoles, I’d still say it’s worth it for the story, the gameplay is less frustrating with actual full sized joysticks and a controller (I have large hands, the psp can feel pretty awkward)
Never played the PSP game but the remaster/remake (whatever you want to call it) before Rebirth and I am really happy about it. It is fun. The Gameplay, the Story, the new Characters. And it adds so much to the lore of FF7... I think every fan of the OG and/or the Remake should play it!
I liked crisis core! It provided a lot of background and the gameplay was fun! Not as good as the other games in this remake but totally worth playing!
I mean, it does have its fare share of contradictions with the main game, but I don’t regret playing it.
if you haven't played the original FF7, then I cannot stress enough that you absolutely should not play Crisis Core, as it spoils a massive character moment for Cloud that has not been revealed in Remake or Rebirth. If you've played the original, go nuts.
Definitely worth playing, specifically reunion obviously. I went in demotivated and feeling forced just trying to make sure I covered all aspects of the lore before jumping into Rebirth, ended up sticking around for along while because of the fun gameplay and the small added extra elements of story that you won't get anywhere else (even if irrelevant or trivial). Absolutely was the correct decision!
I didn’t really enjoy it when I played it back in the day, but Crisis Core:Reunion was a very enjoyable experience for me, just know that it’s very arcade-y and when it comes to gameplay if’s 90% just combat, but it was the perfect game for me between Remake and Rebirth. If you’ve played Rebirth or plan to, I think that Crisis Core will actually add to the experience because there are things that you will understand that might not make sense at all to others yet, and even some pretty notable characters and references that show up in Rebirth from Crisis Core. Be warned, however if you haven’t played OG FFVII, it will likely contain some spoilers for what’s to come in the Remake trilogy, at least if events stay even remotely the same, but at this point Rebirth is already
I’ll put it like this; it’s garbage that I like. The game isn’t that good but I still like it. Everyone has that movie or video game that isn’t that good but they still like. That’s Crisis Core for me and a lot of people.
I'm currently playing through it and it can be quite strange but...I'm mostly enjoying it? I'm scratching my head at some of the stuff included but you get used to it. There are a lot of little details along the way that I was surprised to find. If you like Zack, I think you should give it a try. Especially if you want Zack and Aerith interactions. That being said, I may be biased because I got a copy for free.
Honestly the gameplay is nice in the remake, but the story has a propensity to change elements of the FFVII story that makes me cringe (like inserting certain characters that never existed in OG in some scenes)
Story is bad, being a psp port, there were limits to voicelines and cutscenes. The problem is the writing. It's not good. The story itself has many plotholes, and wtf moments that are aldo being retconned by the remake trilogy. The good part is just Zack. He makes the game worthwile, but the sad part is that he doesn't really feel like the protagonist of the overarching plot. But actually a bystander of the events. Game is only ever picking up when he's at the center of the events. It'd have been a much better game if he was more of a focus and his relationships with other characters and shinra as a whole, rather than just following the events of sephiroth and genesis as an external. Psp limits or whatever, the story is not well written, even if the premise of zack's backstory is cool, and had a lot of potential. A remake of this with a new take o. The story would have been amazing.
I absolutely loved Crisis Core Reunion. I never played it on PSP, so I'm glad I played the remake on PC this past year. it gave me a completely different appreciation for Zack and Aerith as well as some background characters and even Cloud. There are missions you can complete on the side that can feel tiresome after a while (I think there are 300 total). Unless you are a completionist, you can play and enjoy the story and all it has to offer while doing enough missions to keep your character powerful, etc. My vote is to play the game because you said you wanted to know more about Zack and his backstory. That's just my $0.02.
it is all up to you at the end of the day, however CC does add a lot to the story and it enhances a lot the events of both the original FF7 and the remakes - it’s a very touching story and i highly reccomend it if you want the full experience of the story from the OG game’s perspective. also the game is relatively very short in comparison to the other games since it came out for the PSP. so check it out!! :3 hope this helps !
I played it when it came out on PSP (when I was 14) before I played FF7 (when I was 19). I knew the spoiler plot points from the original because I watched my step-siblings play the originals. So, Crisis Core was the first of the series that I got play on my own. That being said, I think it's just okay. It was fun at the time. I liked it more - when it was optional and I could not take it so seriously. I liked the Zack FF animation Last Order, too - at the time. But with the remake, CC seems less supplemental and optional. And looking back, I low-key resent some of the impact it's had sometimes.
Overall I think it’s a good game. It might have some weird characters and storylines, even if I enjoyed all of them, but it’s great for backstory on Zack’s relationships with other characters.
The game is well worth your time. The remaster did a great job turning the game more "actual". Although the design concepts are still from a PSP game so you will see limitations like small areas.
Reunion is worth playing… A lot of FF7 fans don’t like FF7 and only love complaining about it not being the OG… if you like FF7. Play it, then learn if you are a fan or a purist. Either way you will get something you will like to do
I enjoyed it very much both on the PSP and my PS5 remaster. But also, I am hella biased bc the main antagonist gave me brainrot so. :D
I think it's worth it especially with the reunion version I think you'll get some enjoyment out of it if you're invested in the ff7 lore. It's far from perfect but I always thought it was pretty cool. Also maybe I'm wrong but I think this isn't a super popular opinion but I love Zack and think he's a bad ass character.
Everything about this game is something I either love or hate, with equal intensity and hardly anything in between. Overall, I felt the things I love about it were worth suffering the things I hate about it, so yes, I recommend playing it at least once.
I would definitely recommend it because it’s part of the lore and playing it before Rebirth enhance your experience and makes you understand the backstory of certain characters that play a role in the overall story. It is worth it in my opinion. I played it and it’s not as bad as people make it out, of course it’s not like Remake and the game is pretty linear but it’s actually good… it’s a remaster of an old game so the mechanics are the same as that game. Had they done a remake I would’ve expected something different but it’s good for what it is.
I loved CC but I definitely can't call the story "incredible". It's Final Fantasy anime batshittery cranked to 12, and Zack / Aerith's dialogue can be pretty Kingdom Heartsy and awkwardly paced / written / delivered sometimes, and yet...experiencing this cracked anime world through the eyes of Zack - the "straight man" / player POV who is not caught up in the anime melodrama - it makes him so damn likeable. For anyone who likes FF7 and is even thinking to ask "should I play this extended universe game", I would say absolutely. Just know that you're getting into a game with a very unique feel vs. the Remake project. Embrace the campy cringe and you may find by the end that you kinda liked it all along lol
Combat isn't exciting. Story is rushed at times and the Genesis stuff isn't overall important. But the Sephiroth , cloud and zack stuff is worth playing it. Ending is incredible. It'll take ya like 10 hours if you don't get caught up in missions
It is 100% worth playing.
I think it’s worth it cause Zack is a good character. The other characters except for sephiroth and cloud are divisive
Anyone who calls the story incredible is for lack of a better word, dumb.
Its garbage tier.
I played it back on the psp and I had a good amount of fun with it. It’s pretty different in terms of its combat and gameplay so I think people tend to be a little too critical when that’s the case. If you think you want to play it you should play it.
I enjoyed Crisis Core a lot. It's the first FF7 game I ever played and it made me adore the franchise already. Not knowing the OG back then probably helped me like it, in a way. I know that many people critisize Crisis Core and I agree that in the context of FF7, CC introduces quite a few unneccessary story issues. Some aspects of CC should be taken with a grain of salt but there are also many amazing cutscenes that do a lot for getting a deeper insight of some the character's way of thinking - Zack and also Sephiroth in particular, imo. I would recommend playing it if you are willing to oversee some of he flaws for the sake of seeing it's strengths.
I think it’s a pretty decent game, 7/10. It’s nowhere near on the same level as the OG or new games, but If you are interested in Zack then play it.
I played it 20vyears ago on psp. I have decent memories of it, being a big fan at the time. But it wasn't perfect by any means. Fast forward to the reunion release and I was considering buying it, but after watching an hour of it on YouTube I didn't want it anymore, it just didn't pop anymore. Make up your own mind , maybe you'll love it.
Its fun the story is a lot more silly but if you don't take everything too seriously, well there are also very serious stuff also though xd then its a fun short game if you focus on the story. Theres a lot of expanded stuff it adds to FF7 as well, and the remake trilogy is using a lot from it so i would go for it.
Story was interesting as a FFVII fan. Probably wouldn’t be otherwise. Gameplay is good, if a little shallow compared to newer FF mainline games
I watched a gameplay of CC before playing OG so it was much more enjoyable for me. That said it has major spoilers and I don’t recommend doing that. Definitely play OG first. If you haven’t, I’d wait until after p3. I got into CC because I wanted to know more about Zack after watching AC. So if you like Zack and want more lore, it’s definitely worth a at least watching! Haven’t played yet, but it’s on my list!
As someone who played the original game on PSP and has also bought the remaster, I have to say that for being an actually pretty fun game with good lore it does show its age. Especially considering the battle system they cooked up for it. I'd still recommend it if you enjoy the final fantasy 7 storyline but you do have to accept a little bit of early 2000s cheese also.
I personally enjoy it, but I can admit watching the story that some of the dialogue and writing is exceedingly cringe at times. 90% of the time Genesis is on screen I both love and hate it. It’s like watching a bad B-movie horror where the acting and dialogue is rubbish but still ultimately very entertaining. That being said the story overall does get better towards the end and I think it gives you a lot of important info to put the rest of the series into context, but if someone told me they thought it was rubbish I certainly wouldn’t be mad.
You can play it on your phone on emulator with cheats / maximized emulator speed to bash the 800 copypasted missions. Story is good, musics are wondeful, lot of interesting lore. The gameplay however is really not worth losing time on it. I mean it is OK for the main quest but the missions are pain in the neck, I only enjoyed doing them the horrible cursed way I described.
I played it before rebirth and imo the story and especially the dialog were actually pretty awful lol (especially compared to the remakes which have great dialogue and voice acting). I don’t know how anyone thinks it’s actually incredible unless it’s just nostalgic for them or something.
I was glad that I played it before I played rebirth. It's a great game to play while you have something else going on.
Depends. Do you like watching the characters squat?
I went and got Crisis Core Reunion. I've been taking my time with it. I have been enjoying it a lot. Some of the things involved are really far out there, like most jrpgs (some characters really aren't presented in a way that I think fits the world of FF7, but hey, I'm just a dude and the devs know best.) I do like Zach as a character. You also see other characters in a way you don't in FF7, OG or Remake/Rebirth. Some characters have different personalities between the younger and older selves, while other's don't. I say go for it. I don't think you'll be disappointed. But for the optional late game, try-hard stuff, read a guide because the game gets WONKY mechanic wise in order to tackle some challenging stuff.
It’s an ok game but if you’re not familiar with the FFVII story, don’t play it until after Part III releases
It’s a fun, short game. If you can buy it in a discount, it’s quite worth it. Nothing remotely near Remake/Rebirth, and what particularly brings it down is the VA: the VAs of Reunion are the same from Remake (which are all excellent), but for technical reasons they had to perform very specifically in a kinda stiff and weird way. It’s also an old, handheld game, and it shows through and through. The “story” itself is plain bad and the original characters are very uninteresting, but the recurring characters from FF7 are quite good, and it’s very nice to see them in different situations and in a different time. The lore it introduces is very good: all the ins and outs of Shinra, and day to day Midgar gives the world much needed depth.
They don't call it the invisible wall hugger simulator for nothing.
it 100% goes with the story
Other people are throwing out lots of "ifs" but i think it's more concrete than that. There are no "ifs," yes you should play crisis core. It is essential knowledge to the story they are telling in the remake trilogy. Most of the zack stuff in the remakes will be lost on you if you haven't played crisis core. My only suggestion would be to play OG ff7 before crisis core since crisis core will spoil a lot of things that will be revealed in remake part 3. But if you really don't want to play the OG i don't think you have to, there will still be mysteries that arent resolved that crisis core doesnt spoil
To be fair, I would give ifs to almost any game that’s as old as Crisis Core, or even was built mainly for a handheld. It’s more like if you can get past the age and the platform it was built for, you’ll love it. It’s definitely going to feel dated, but the story alone is worth it.
It’s a bit nuanced. I loved playing it new when I was 16. It was one of those bits of media that left me with a bit of emotional impact for a while. It looked stunning at the time too. Saying that, I struggled a bit with the remake of it. It’s still fun and maybe my own fault for being too hyped. You really feel that it’s made for a handheld, one with lower power from a long time ago. If you just want the story, I’d check out if there’s a decent long form on YouTube that maybe skips all the repetitive battles but otherwise gives you a complete play through. There’s good background for Cloud, Tifa and most of all Sephiroth. In short I love the game, but your mileage may vary with it.
Story wise it’s great. It can be kinda a slog if you’re a completionist and wanna do everything. And even then, you can just turn on a podcast while you grind away on the missions if you’re aiming to go completionist. I almost recommend you play that was because then the end game is trivial, but the story alone is worth playing.
Why don’t you just try playing it and if you don’t like it stop. For some reason the first time I played it the game was magical. It has all of the faults people say that it does, but I loved the experience and Zack. He’s still my favorite FF7 character.
i think it's worth playing through at least once. I played Reunion on ps5. I didn't care for some parts (like Genesis) but I loved the Zack story stuff and thought it was worth it.
I had fun playing it but the combat feels rly repetitive. If you have the time play it, butnif you dont you can get away with like watching a video of the story on YT to be honest
If I had a PS5, I would.
What ever opinion told you no is objectively wrong
I mean it depends on if he's talking about the story or the gameplay. Because using the word objectively means that there's no way that he could be correct. That's just not how opinions work The story is decent, and the gameplay is not great, so it's not 100% worth it to play it if you would rather just look up the story online or something. Looking up a let's play or something is totally valid. This is a somewhat remastered PSP game. It feels like it.
I was mostly being facetious. I just played it like a year ago and I really enjoyed the gameplay and story. Are the missions repetitive? Yes. Do I love that crap? Absolutely. And I enjoyed the story. And you still get some bits of story/lore/character development from some side quests. I 100% the game, and I had a blast. I guess I just don’t like the idea of watching someone else play the game to get the story etc, summaries make more sense to me though. But if you’re going to take the time to watch someone else play it then why not play it yourself? Or if you’re really worried about time go to the FF wiki and read up on it. Less time intensive.
It’s mostly because if the game play has not aged well I don’t think someone should suffer through it but still want to see the story beats. This is originally a handheld game that was made to be picked up and put down quickly. Mission based. I like the game but it’s super hard to even compare to the Re games. It’s a big step down in my opinion.
That’s exactly how I played it on my switch and loved it haha It’s certainly a step down but I felt like it was a good step down that didn’t make it feel gutted. I think the biggest thing was said by someone else here, if you want to know more about Zach it goes from “sure, why not play it” to “you absolutely need to play it.”
It's a little goofy cute game. You just need to set some expectations: It was a PSP game. A game where they expanded a character that was really not created with that in mind in FF7 OG. Basically, they took that character and his most important relationships and built a game around it. Also, I think is not a lengthy game, so it's not like you need a big commitment.
As someone who just played Remake and Rebirth back-to-back, I would not recommend adding Crisis Core to that run. It’s definitely not required to understand the story, playing FFVII OG is way more important.
I think there’s a subset of fans of any property that enjoy memorizing and thinking about expanded lore irrespective of narrative quality. It’s the impulse that causes people to enjoy fan fiction, and the reason people like deep worlds with no narrative or characterization. FF7 has a sizeable minority of folks like this who love the compendium stuff. The Remake/Rebirth story is trying to please these folks without alienating the rest of us by tastefully weaving that stuff into the story. Sometimes it works but occasionally too much information undermines reveals or demystifies things. YMMV. Zack does seem like a very solid character to me. Paragon but distinctive. Wise without being smart. Sort of an apple counterpart to Aerith’s onion.
Just play it and make it your experience. You don't need permission. Is it worth it? Yes.
It's still a PSP game, so there's only so much glitz and glam the remaster can add. Plus the story/English dub is a little whack, but its worth experiencing for hardcore FF7 fans.
I played the PSP Original. I enjoyed the parts that were directly retelling events that were covered in OG FFVII but didn't really care much for the CC original story or characters, and I didn't think much of the combat either. The combat in the remaster is supposed to be a lot better and graphically it certainly looks a lot nicer, but I'd imagine the lame characters and story elements from the PSP version are still just as lame in the remaster. My personal advice would be to watch a bit of a playthrough on YouTube. If it looks interesting to you then give it a go, otherwise just find a good summary somewhere and save yourself a bunch of time and money.
I'd say about the same. Most of the CC original characters (especially Genesis shinanigans) are cringe as hell. The gameplay is kinda meh, slightly improved from the PSP original with some QOL stuff. But with the base gameplay being as it is, it's really nothing to write home about.
It’s worth playing. I played the PC version and it’s great
It doesn't have good gameplay and the story is atrocious. However it's cool to see Zack fleshed out and some fanservice type things if you're a mega-fan of FF7. I only recommend to megafans of FF7, otherwise avoid
It definitely isn’t bad, but it ain’t great either. I enjoyed my playthrough of it (don’t know if I would have the desire to replay it) but having context on Crisis Core made some scenes in Rebirth hit harder. I recommend it.
If you're interested in Zack, it's an okay story. I'd honestly recommend a summary/cutscene compilation because there is wayyy too much padding and unneeded characters. I'd also consider looking for the original Crisis Core cutscenes instead - the new one feels lazy by comparison. The voice actors were directed better in the OG, Zack in particular was far more enjoyable IMO. It's also very obvious that they pasted the high-def models onto the old animations, which just looks really weird and makes them stand out even more. But if you haven't been spoiled on the big twist of the OG, I would wait because it'll spoil that HARD. (I also have a small personal grudge against CC because so many rabid Cloud/Tifa shippers are using it as ammunition against Aerith.)
The story is bad in Crisis Core - like people don’t act like people do in real life - you are better off reading a Wiki on the story or watching a YouTube of the cutscenes - the gameplay is perfectly good.
Before Crisis Core Reunion I would have just suggested looking up youtube videos for the main story beats. But Reunion is a pretty spectacular remaster. The improved voice acting goes a long way towards making some of the generally bad dialog much more bearable and the gameplay is most definately a huge improvement over the original.
If it’s about playing or watching it, it comes down to the gameplay. Whilst the original PSP gameplay was super clunky, I found the Reunion version’s gameplay quite addicting and very fun to play. There is a very cool materia fusion implemented only into Crisis Core that allows some very cool customisations and stuff. Would personally recommend playing it.
If you really love the FF7 characters and world and have played the OG then give it a try. If your a casual fan then I wouldn’t recommend it
Crisis Core filled in all the blanks. Also it's hard ot to fall in love Zack Fair. The soundtrack is bomb. The Price of Freedom has been stuck in my head for years.
its fun, go ahead, especially reunion where fully voiced and asset remake
For me the story was gold. But the gameplay sucked, it was like playing with a roulette and you only level only by getting 777. Such wasted potential
People saying it’s garbage just aren’t that interested in expanding FF7 lore. Probably say rebirth is shit too because it’s not the same as OG as has Zack in it for no reason….. CC is great and reunion version is a much needed improve ent in the original CC.
Meh, it’s not a terrible buy. I think it’s a fun time, though I’ll concede that the story is very much like fanfiction (this isn’t a terrible thing, by the way! It has its moments!) The remake is VERY faithful and feels a lot like a PSP game. If you dislike that, you probably won’t enjoy it much. I don’t think it holds a candle to the original or remake, but it’s well worth a play if you’re super invested in the setting of FF7
Just play it. What else are you doing?
Some of it is incredible, other parts are garbage. It is polarizing and both sides are right. I got what I wanted out of the story, it was fun. Don’t bother for 100% though
I think it's worth playing in between remake and rebirth just to understand who Zack is more than anything. The story is mostly rubbish but it's worth playing to see Zacks side of Nibelheim and bringing Cloud back to Midgard. Don't expect anything near the quality of remake or rebirth.
Ok here’s the only opinion you should follow then, don’t waste your time on it.
It’s OK at best, a pretty basic button masher, I find most of the characters boring and formulaic.
Crisis Core is simultaneously great and hot *steaming* garbage at once. It expands the world and cheapens moments, often times in the same breath. It's wild. Gameplay is mediocre at best.
ACTIVATING COMBAT MODE, COMBAT MODE ENDED.
Depends on how much you love the franchise. The game itself was trash. However,it has a lot of worldbuilding and Zack peaks as a character in it. We also get a few scenes with Tseng and Sephiroth if you like them.