Crisis Core: FF7 Reunion (Review and Christian thoughts)

 

 Crises Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion (Review)

"Embrace your dreams...and, whatever happens, protect your honor... as a SOLDIER!"

Final Fantasy Crisis Core Reunion is a remastered, rerelease of the original Crisis Core, released in 2007. Taking place before the events of FF7 as a prequel, the game follows a character, Zack Fair, and how his story impacts the main game, and his dream to become a hero. The game is split up into ten chapters, each following Zack's journey, which ends about three months before the events of FF7. 

    I just finished this game, and I thought I should write a review and also share some of my thoughts as a Christian since games like these often spark controversy as to whether Christians should engage with them or not. This game was something that my siblings and I would come into the living room for on some nights to watch my dad play. So while I technically didn't play it myself, I was there for the whole journey and experienced the whole thing. I'm also currently playing through it myself, so I may post some helpful insights on the game.

"Zack, embrace your dreams... if you want to be a hero, you need to have dreams... and honor."

The storyline is this game is... complex. There's so much to the plot, and it's got a lot going on... and I loved it. This made the game feel not just like a game, but like a movie! It had so much to it, I enjoyed all the twists and turns the plot took, along with some of the emotions it had.

"When the war of beasts brings about the world's end,
The goddess descends from the sky,
Wings of light and dark spread afar,
She guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting." 

-LOVELESS

The main bad guy in this story is Genesis. He was born for a Shinra project and infused with Jenova cells at birth, but he turned out to be a failed experiment. He eventually joined SOLDIER and later found out that his body was decaying due to being a failed experiment. So he rebelled against Shinra with an army of clones he made of himself in hopes of finding a cure, spending way too much time quoting the epic LOVELESS, 一which helps drive him towards his goal. His character was very interesting. It wasn't horrible, but not my favorite. But I enjoyed the plot and his part, so I think he's still an overall okay character. 

    One of the main characters is Angeal, Zack's mentor and close friend. Angeal is the original bearer of the famous Buster Sword, which his father made himself. Angeal grew up with Genesis, and they joined SOLDIER together. There, they befriended Sephiroth, creating this friend trio, which, knowing who Sephiroth is, I had not gone into the game expecting. It was cool to see. I enjoyed Angeal's character... most of the time. Through the plot, he goes through this whole conflicted state, and it makes him messy. In the end, though, he was good, but I just felt like the relationship Zack had with him could have been better or portrayed more.

"I have twenty-three tiny wishes, but you probably won't remember them all, so I put them all together into one... I'd like to spend more time with you."

Along Zack's journey, you meet Aerith. And I don't know a single person who doesn't like Aerith一that includes Zack, too. Upon meeting, they become close friends and even develop romantic feelings. The romance between them is simple and sweet. It adds something heartwarming to the plot, and it's a very clean romance, too. No intimate touching or kissing. Only a date and sweet moments. It was exciting to see Aerith in this game before the events of FF7. Her character is so light and sweet, and she's always found in the church praying or planting flowers.

    The story unfolds more as Zack keeps running into Genesis, and defeating him... again... and again. It's honestly pretty tiring and annoying how many times you have to fight him. You have to fight A LOT of boss fights. But during your journey to defeat Genesis and become a hero, you actually get to see how Zack meets Cloud.

"If only I were a SOLDIER..."

Cloud is the main character in the main game Final Fantasy VII, and you get to see him in this one, and how he met Zack. It's so cool being able to see Cloud in this game. He's younger and surprisingly, very happy. If you know FF7 at all, you know how serious and how much of a loner Cloud is. But in this game, he's a lot brighter and shares some laughs with Zack, and it was just so fun to see. The two of them meet during some missions, even leading to the one mission that sets everything up for the main events in FF7. The Nebilheim reactor.

Sephiroth finds out about Jenova and the events you see in flashbacks of FF7 Take place, and you get to see how Sephiroth turns into a maniac, and begin to destroy the world. As someone who's experienced the OG, it was so cool seeing the plot of FF7 in this game in another POV.

    *Sigh* Now, it's no spoiler what happens in the end. Zack dies, ending the game with a sweet but bitter ending, as Cloud takes on the Buster Sword and Zack's legacy. I think one of the main points of this game is getting to see the life of this character who’s dead before the events of FF7, so you don’t know much about him, and playing this game introduces him a lot more. And even knowing how it was gonna end, it still hit a little. 

"For the both of us... You're gonna... live. You'll be... my living legacy."

Okay, this game was really fun. Some Japanese Anime can be really dark and full of sin. But if you're like me, a Christian who's against all that but wants to play FF7, this game is totally safe... in my opinion, I say that because you have to take this with a grain of salt, because everyone's tolerance or standards are different. 

    I never played the original Crisis Core from 2007, but from what I've seen, the graphics are A LOT better in this. But I do think the original VA of Zack is better in the old one. But as far as storyline, they’re the same scene by scene? The only difference is the graphics, gameplay, and voice actors. And while these graphics not as good as the FF7 remake or rebirth, it was still enjoyable. The combat gameplay is very easy, and very fast-paced. With being able to swiftly dodge, use a materia to hit them far off, and slash them with your sword, you can do a lot with good momentum. I still enjoy everything at the end of the day, and while the game isn't perfect, it's definitely fun and challenging enough. The bosses can also be harder depending on your level, which you can increase by doing side missions. So the game might turn out easier or harder depending on how much grinding and level-ups you do. The game also isn't that long; we beat it in about twelve hours. It will take longer if you decide to do all the side missions. 

    The side missions in this game were pretty boring. And there are so many of them. There was no way we could get them all done. There were a couple of fun ones, though, like the summon missions or the ones where you get to see Yuffie from FF7, but here as a child.

    As far as demonic stuff, this game is safe. There is nothing like that in this game. It might take another perspective, but this is all fantasy, and I thought it was all cool and nothing was weird. There's also no cursing一aside from a few times they say damn or hell. As far as sexual content, there isn't any. Everything is pretty clean in this game! I think Zack is also a great character. He's very friendly and funny, and he's such a likable character. His voice actor plays him well —although sometimes it just sounds like he’s in an happy advertisement or smth XD—and all his interactions with other characters are enjoyable to watch.

     FF7 games or any like it should be for more mature audiences, but since I had younger brothers who watched my dad play and had us there, it helped them, and they got it all pretty well! The game was good for them, and now they're playing it themselves at nine and ten years old. 

    I would rate this game 8/10, and the age rating is typically around 13 and up. I hope this post has helped anyone or sparked you're curiosity to play. (It took a while to write.) The game has such a happy feel and is so much lighter than the other FF7 games or any other Anime games.  I loved this game, and the ending, even knowing it from the start, still got me a lil choked up. And I'm so glad Zack could finally live out his dream.

"Hey, would you say I became a hero?"

                                            

    

-Jaybird's Tweets.