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The emotional prequel to Final Fantasy 7, remade | Crisis Core - FINAL FANTASY VII– REUNION - Review

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Almost every classic title nowadays is getting the remastered or remake treatment, and PSP’s 2007 title CRISIS CORE –FINAL FANTASY VII is no exception. With the release of Crisis Core - FINAL FANTASY VII– REUNION, we get a sort of a hybrid between a remaster and a remake, now available for PC, Xbox, Playstation, and the Nintendo Switch.

Crisis Core - FINAL FANTASY VII– REUNION, or REUNION for short, brings in overhauled graphics and a more action-oriented gameplay. Bringing the 2007 classic much more in-line with the recent Final Fantasy VII Remake.

While Final Fantasy VII Remake did shake up quite a few things by changing some of the storyline elements, REUNION keeps its plot the exact same as the original. Narrative wise, REUNION is just a remaster and focuses more on the visual and mechanical side of changes and improvements. The original voice actors have been replaced as well by the actors from the FF:VII Remake, bringing consistency to the voice acting of these recent classic remake / remasters.

For newcomers, it's the prequel to Final Fantasy VII and it is set seven years before the start of Final Fantasy VII up until its beginning. REUNION tells the story of Zack, a young soldier of the megacorporation Shinra Electric Company, caught in the middle of a war between Shinra and the western nation of Wutai. CRISIS CORE –FINAL FANTASY VII provides an intriguing backstory and an emotional story worthy to be experienced in its own right. Bringing in some rich history to the lore, fleshing out the main and supported characters, and providing motivation to both Sephiroth and Cloud as they appear in Final Fantasy VII.

The graphics look great as ever, making the in-game visuals almost in the same ballpark as, if not better than the original pre-rendered CG cutscenes for the PSP. All of which was largely kept intact — just updated with higher resolution. Aside from upgraded in-game visuals, Most of the in-game cutscenes are faithfully remade in this updated version. Retaining most of the same camera angles and animations. Sure, some of the animations did not age great, both that and the poor lip syncing looked a little stiff, but they’re a passable experience largely overshadowed by the otherwise technically impressive graphics and kinetic gameplay.

The combat is more action packed now, with more control over the camera thanks to the now standard dual analog stick controls. Due to a modernized gameplay and controller layout upgrades, the combat is now more kinetic; with faster attacks, more frequent need of dodges, and more flashy looking abilities. While gameplay elements like slot machine-like buff randomizer 'DMW System' are back and remain the same.

The twenty-hour campaign, plus the mission and level layout that are clearly designed to be played on the go with the PSP have remained unchanged in REUNION, for better or for worse. Personally, I didn’t not find this an issue and actually like the bite sized nature of the mission design.

Crisis Core - FINAL FANTASY VII– REUNION is a great example of remake/remaster done right. It rides on the strong momentum of the recent Final Fantasy VII Remake and pushes it further. It modernizes the original PSP classic in just the right amount, makes it accessible to series newcomers while still offering a worthy revisiting for old timers and long time fans of the series.

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