Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (PSP)

A blinding explosion of fan service
4/8/2008 12:00 AM | 2 Comments | Page 2 of 2

Fans won't give two shakes. As a member of SOLDIER, Zack gets to rub elbows with Sephiroth. Since Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII has very little to drive the action forward, the gloomy albino anti-hero regularly hits Zack up on his mobile phone to tell him where to go next. Who cares that there's no real reason for Zack move from plot point to plot point? When you're playing Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, you're on Sephiroth's speed dial! For that hardcore fan, that's like IMing with Beyoncé or doing shots with George Clooney -- and let's not forget Zack's dalliances with tragic videogame it-girl Aerith. Here's a chance to get entwined in one of gaming's first emotional gut-punches. In a very real way, the entire game is one big chance to rub elbows with a celebrity. In this case, the star is the original game, Final Fantasy VII. It doesn't matter if you're a fan of the cyberpunk setting, the superb soundtrack or the beloved characters -- when you play Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, you're soaking in it. The nostalgia is hard to resist. Even as a self-avowed skeptic of the original game, I still felt a chill when the game's classic battle music kicked in, though my affection for the song stems more from a banging remix of the track by DJ Green Lantern than from a genuine affection for Final Fantasy VII. Like it or not, Final Fantasy VII is a gaming touchstone. It may not have been a perfect game, but its hits with the impact of a comet. Millions of fans can be wrong, but why begrudge them their fun? Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII will blow the devoted out of their socks. For the rest of us, it's just another reminder that somewhere along the line we missed the airship.

This review was based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.