Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
European Boxart
Developer(s)	Square Enix
Publisher(s)	Square Enix
Designer(s)	Hajime Tabata
Artist(s)	Tetsuya Nomura
Writer(s)	Kazushige Nojima
Composer(s)	Takeharu Ishimoto
Series	Final Fantasy, compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Platform(s)	PlayStation Portable
Genre(s)	Action role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single-player

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (クライシス コア -ファイナルファンタジーVII, -Kuraishisu Koa -Fainaru Fantajī Sebun-) is an action role-playing game developed by Square Enix for the PlayStation Portable. The game is a prequel to Final Fantasy VII and is also the fourth installment in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. Production was overseen by Yoshinori Kitase, the director of the original Final Fantasy VII, with Hajime Tabata as the game's director and Tetsuya Nomura as the game's character designer.

The game mainly focuses around Zack Fair, a 2nd Class SOLDIER, and the events leading up to his destined demise. He meets many of the Final Fantasy VII characters, including Cloud Strife and Aerith Gainsborough, with whom he develops strong bonds. The game's storyline takes the player from the war with the Wutai to the events at Nibelheim, and right up to the time just before the Final Fantasy VII beginning. Some of the missing events or plot holes from Nibelheim and afterwards are explained in the animated feature, Last Order: Final Fantasy VII.

Plot

SOLDIER is a group of skilled combat operatives within the Shinra Electric Power Company. The elite within the group — those strong enough to be deemed SOLDIER 1st Class — are respected and idolized by the citizenry. Zack is a young SOLDIER 2nd Class who aspires to become a 1st. He spends his days carrying out assignments under the guidance of his 1st Class mentor, Angeal Hewley.

During an operation in Wutai, a large number of SOLDIER members, led by 1st Class operative Genesis, went missing. The severity of the situation prompts Shinra executives to deploy even more SOLDIER operatives in hopes of bringing an end to the war with Wutai, and conducting an investigation into the mass desertion. The ones assigned to the mission are Zack, Angeal, and 1st Class Sephiroth. Zack is assigned to help destroy Wutai units in the fortress. After the fortress is infiltrated, Zack and Angeal begin to escort Director Lazard but are ambushed by monsters. Angeal tells Zack to continue while he deals with the threat. After Zack escorts Lazard to Shinra guards, Zack goes back to investigate. He is also ambushed by monsters, but he defeats them. They are discovered to be Genesis copies. Zack soon learns that Angeal is missing.

After returning from the mission, Zack is deployed, along with the Turk leader Tseng, to investigate Banora Village, the hometown of Angeal and Genesis. While there, Zack and Tseng break into a factory and find Genesis and Angeal. Later, Zack finds Angeal's mother dead in the house along with Angeal standing at one side. Outside the house, he meets Genesis who presents his single black wing, leaving Zack stunned. The village is then destroyed.

Returning to Midgar, Zack is assigned to go with Sephiroth to the Mako power plant to investigate it. While at the plant, Sephiroth reveals that he, Angeal and Genesis used to sneak to the training room. During a specific fight, Angeal intervened and stopped Sephiroth and Genesis from battling. As he did so, Genesis was struck in the shoulder. Genesis began to degrade from this wound as it did not heal. They explore deeper into the facility and discover that the facility was also used to create Angeal copies using the Mako Energy. Hollander appears and Zack is ordered to pursue him, but Angeal arrives and stops Zack. Angeal reveals the single white wing on his back and believes he is a monster and that he chooses to do what a monster does. Angeal then strikes at the floor and Zack falls through, landing in a church. He meets Aerith Gainsborough, who then gives him a tour of the slums.

Zack is promoted to SOLDIER 1st Class and is tasked with chasing Genesis and the now renegade Angeal, but, whilst flying to Modeoheim via Turk helicopter, it crashes. When he regains consciousness, he wakes the two Shinra guards and Tseng. Upon walking up the nearby hill, he starts talking to a Shinra guard who then reveals himself as Cloud Strife. After wandering through the hills, Zack and Cloud arrive at a mako-excavation facility, which Zack must then infiltrate. Once inside, Zack confronts Genesis, who is now degrading more considerably. After a brief fight, Genesis appears to have committed suicide. Once back outside, Zack notices a new path, which leads to the now-isolated town of Modeoheim. In a bathhouse, he encounters Angeal and Hollander. Hollander reveals that Angeal and Genesis were a part of Project G, or Project Gillian, the name of Angeal's mother. Hollander explains that he is Angeal's biological father, then flees. Angeal transforms into a monster but is defeated by Zack. Zack inherits his Buster Sword.

While Zack is on vacation in Costa del Sol, the town is attacked by Genesis copies. Hollander escapes with the help of the copies. After spending more time with Aerith, Zack, Sephiroth and Cloud are assigned to Nibelheim, Cloud's hometown. When Sephiroth learns that he was implanted with Jenova cells in the fetal stage and how his mother was detained, he sets the town ablaze. Zack then fights him, but is defeated. While Sephiroth is looking at Jenova, Cloud stabs him in the back. He then attempts to finish him off, but is thrown to the ground. Sephiroth stabs him through the chest, but Cloud picks up the sword and throws Sephiroth into the Lifestream. Cloud then lies with Zack, both of them injured. They are carried away by the Shinra.

During the four years of Zack and Cloud's disappearance, extensive experiments have been carried out on them, resulting in Cloud suffering from Mako poisoning. However, Zack is not affected by the experiment. They escape Shinra Manor, and are now Shinra fugitives. When reaching a dead end at the beach, Cissnei appears and attempts to hit him with her throwing star, but fails. Back with Cloud, Zack is approached by Cissnei again, but this time as a friend. She gives him keys to a motorbike. Before going back to Midgar, Zack resolves to stop Genesis, who is still alive. Zack arrives in Gongaga and he meets Cissnei, and she tells him that he only has minutes before the Turks and the army arrive to catch Zack. As he runs away, he catches a glimpse of a white wing and believes it to be Angeal. At the peak of Gongaga, Genesis is shown to degrade further while Hollander now has a smaller version of Genesis' black wing. Genesis plans to use Cloud's hair as it has the Sephiroth gene necessary to halt the degradation, while Zack kills Hollander. Genesis plans to go to Banora to use the Lifestream to stop the degradation as it is his interpretation of "the gift of the goddess." Lazard guards Cloud while Zack goes to fight and defeat Genesis.

When Zack returns, he brings the defeated Genesis out of the cave and he is set down next to Lazard, who dies, and Cloud. Zack leaves and returns with dumbapples, which he gives to Cloud and Genesis as well as one for himself. Lazard begins to dissipate into the Lifestream, and a letter from Aerith is left where an Angeal clone body disappeared. The letter says that it has been four years since Zack disappeared and that this is 89th and final letter she will send out. He leaves Genesis in Banora and takes Cloud along to return to Midgar, to see Aerith again. A lone Genesis copy is later seen taken away by two SOLDIERs. The Turks attempt to find Zack before the Shinra army and save his life, but fail, and Zack and Cloud are confronted by the Shinra army. With thousands of guns pointed at him, Zack decides to preserve his honor and fight the troops. He is defeated, and the army leaves. As Zack lies dying, he tells Cloud, who has now partially recovered, that he is his living legacy and tells him "my honor, my dreams, they are yours now." Cloud, dragging the Buster Sword behind him, stumbles off towards Midgar while Zack is pulled into the Lifestream by Angeal; Zack wonders if he has become a hero after all.

In a post-credits scene, Aerith takes a flower basket with her above Midgar's plate into Sector 8, and Cloud - now believing himself to be a SOLDIER 1st Class - rides a train into the city. An intertitle states "To be continued in Final Fantasy VII".

Characters

The central character in Crisis Core is Zack Fair, the SOLDIER member known from Cloud's past in the original game. Professor Hojo and Jenova are also present. Many characters known from Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII appear, and other returning characters include Weiss, Nero, Genesis, and although not physically seen, a reference is made to Vincent Valentine, when Zack opens a coffin in the basement of Shinra Manor.

There are many returning characters from the Final Fantasy VII series so far, including the main character from Final Fantasy VII, Cloud Strife. The main villain, Sephiroth returns, this time during his time in SOLDIER, and the majority of the other playable characters from the original game are seen, along with members of the Turks also seen in the original, Tseng, Reno and Rude. Cissinei from Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII returns in Crisis Core.

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Left to right, Genesis, Angeal, Zack, Sephiroth, Tseng, and Cloud.

Angeal Hewley (アンジール・ヒューレー, Anjīru Hyūrē): A SOLDIER 1st Class who acts as a mentor to Zack to whom he seems to have become something of a patron. He is a respected 1st Class and has a great sense of responsibility and wisdom and is a companion to Sephiroth and Genesis, the latter of whom he grew up with in the rural village of Banora. Angeal is the original owner of the Buster Sword, which was purchased for him by his late father using all the family's savings. It was then used by Zack and later by Cloud. Angeal tends not to use the weapon, however, claiming that "use brings about wear, tear and rust". When Zack encounters him in the Midgar plate interior, it is revealed that, as a result of genetic manipulation through Project G, Angeal bears two white wings on his right shoulder. Angeal's surname is derived from the Greek word hyle which is translated as materia in Latin. Angeal is voiced by Kazuhiko Inoue in the Japanese version and Josh Gilman in the English version.

Genesis Rhapsodos (ジェネシス・ラプソードス, Jeneshisu Rapusōdosu): A 1st class member of SOLDIER and close friend of Angeal and Sephiroth. He is the result of Project G that Dr. Gast, Dr. Crescent, and Dr. Hojo organized. Like Angeal, he has a wing, but his is black and protrudes from the left shoulder. He is a mysterious figure who is known to favor the play LOVELESS which he apparently found in his parents' study, and often recites lines from the play. He makes an appearance first in Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII's secret ending, but his name is unknown to the player at that point, only being referred to as "G". His last name is a reference to the Greek word "ραψωδός" which means "rhapsodist". He is voiced by Gackt in the Japanese version, Robin Atkin Downes in the English version of Dirge of Cerberus and Oliver Quinn in the English version of Crisis Core.

Lazard Deusericus (ラザード, Razādo Juzerikishu): The director of Shinra's SOLDIER department which, during the events of Crisis Core, is an independent department of the company (in Final Fantasy VII there is no SOLDIER Director on the Shinra board, and Lazard's portfolio has apparently been subsumed by Heidegger). Lazard has received promotions at an exceptional speed to attain his present status within the organization. The reason for this is hinted at subtly throughout Lazard's various SOLDIER missives that Zack receives during the course of the game. Later on, he is altered into an Angeal Clone, and dies after the Shinra army attack him and the incapacitated Cloud. As confirmed in the FFVII Ultimania Guide, Lazard is in fact the illegitimate son of President Shinra and is the older half-brother of Vice President Rufus Shinra. He is voiced by Stefan Marks in the English release of Crisis Core.

Professor Hollander (ホランダー, Horandā): A former Shinra scientist who holds a grudge against Hojo, due to the power struggle for leader of Shinra's Department of Scientific Research that cost Hollander his status and reputation. He is the father of Angeal and the creator of Project G, originally Project Gillian as he uses his wife as a carrier and extracts it from her into Genesis. He sides with Genesis originally, serving to halt his degradation, until Genesis had no more use for his services, but Genesis let him live since he later injected himself with G cells. He has a small black wing and his body begins to deteriorate quickly. He is voiced by Shinya Ohwada in the original Japanese version and by Sterling Young in the English dub.

Other characters include Kunsel (カンセル, Kanseru) (voiced by Crispin Freeman in the U.S Release), a member of SOLDIER and a very good friend of Zack who helps him from time to time in the game. He serves to teach Zack (and the player) the mechanics of the game and provides tutorials. Luxiere (ルクシーレ, Rukushīre) is a Second class SOLDIER who is a fan of Zack and emails Zack regularly. Through one of his emails, he informs Zack that he has been selected for promotion to 1st class.

Gameplay

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Digital Mind Wave.

Crisis Core utilizes both action- and menu-based elements. The battle system is known as the Digital Mind Wave, and revolves around a series of reels at the upper left corner of the screen which spin continuously as long as there are Soldier Points (SP) left to consume. Each reel rotates independently and upon lining up three reels of the same character and value, a power-up is awarded to Zack.

Zack in battle.

Enemies can be attacked physically and magically. Materia makes a return, fully customizable and in multiple varieties, including green (spells) and yellow (extra commands such as Steal or Sense). In addition, materia can be fused together to enhance the materia's abilities or to make an entirely new materia. The materia the player has equipped determine the magic and special commands on the battle menu. Defensive and evasive maneuvers can also be used.

Following the completion of the game, the player will obtain a New Game Plus option. The North American and European releases of Crisis Core have an added difficulty mode to the game which causes the enemies to gain doubled stats, including a 10x HP gain.

Development and release

The game was announced at E3 2004 before the release of the PlayStation Portable. Its first trailer consisted of clips from Last Order. In an interview for Famitsu, Tetsuya Nomura had stated that a playable demo of the game would be ready by the end of 2006. However, there was no mention of whether the demo would be openly available to PSP owners. A playable demo was available at Jump Festa '06.

On September 13, 2007 Square Enix released a special edition bundle for Crisis Core, which included a copy of the game that had a special box cover art of Zack standing in front of Shinra Headquarters holding the Buster Sword in front of him. A special silver colored PlayStation Portable Slim and Lite with Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversary insignia on the back, on one side, designed by Tetsuya Nomura, and the meteor from Final Fantasy VII on the other side was included along with a Buster Sword strap. As with many limited edition Final Fantasy VII releases by Square Enix, the bundle was limited to 77,777 units.

On December 17th, 2007 it was announced that Crisis Core would be coming to the United States on March 25, 2008. If pre-ordered from certain retailers such as Gamestop, the buyer may receive a Shinra UMD case, depending on how long supplies last at each retailer and if pre-ordered from Best Buy, the buyer may receive Crisis Core with a metallic foil cover. Two versions of the game were released in Europe: a limited edition version only available online, and then only when pre-ordered. This limited edition version includes special slipcase packaging and a book of promotional CG artwork entitled The Art of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. In Australia and Europe, a bundle with the game and limited edition Crisis Core engraved silver PlayStation Portable was released on June 20th.

Audio

Main article: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Original Soundtrack

The game's soundtrack was released on October 10, 2007, covering 55 songs across two discs. The music was composed by Takeharu Ishimoto, with a few tracks by Kazuhiko Toyama. The soundtrack also includes remixes of various music from Final Fantasy VII composed by Nobuo Uematsu and "Last Order: Final Fantasy VII", which was also composed by Ishimoto. The game's theme song, "Why", is performed by Ayaka.

Reception

Crisis Core sold 350,000 copies in Japan on its release date, including the 77,777 Limited Edition PSP/Crisis Core bundles. Square Enix recently announced that Crisis Core was its best-selling game across all regions from April through September with 710,000 copies sold in Japan.

Crisis Core has received generally positive reviews. With individual scores of 9/9/8/9, the game received an overall rating of 35/40 points from Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu. GameSpot gave the game a score of 9/10, praising its plot, as well as its overall presentation. Due to this, the game was credited as an "Editor's Choice". IGN gave it 8.5/10, citing its great overall presentation and story. It also received a place amongst the "Editor's Choice" gallery of recommended games for the PSP platform. On Metacritic, it has an average score of 83/100. X-Play gave it a 2/5 with complaints about the unskippable cutscenes, dialogue, gameplay, and plot. On April Fools' Day, in response to criticism over their original review, they "decided to give the game a second look and give it a re-review, this time with a clear unbiased perspective", and giving it a 6/5.

In March 2008, Crisis Core sold 301,600 copies upon its first month of release in the United States, behind the sales of God of War: Chains of Olympus, which sold 340,500 copies, making Crisis Core the second best-selling game for the PSP during the month of March and the sixth best-selling game overall. As of November 19, 2007, the game has sold 710,000 copies in Japan.

External links

• Offical Japanese website
• Official North American website
• Official European website