Crisis Core kicks ass

by Pramath Parijat

Fun factor: Fun

Worth to: Buy

A journey that all fans of RPG’s should take it upon themselves to undertake, and one that is not likely to be forgotten by anyone any time soon.

I don’t really like Final Fantasy VII all that much. It’s not that I don’t appreciate what the game did, or what it meant for the countless people who dabbled in RPG’s for the first time with the milestone title -- I do. It’s just that, somehow, I never played the game at the peak of its hype, never managed to buy it for my Playstation in spite of spotting it at a store so many times, in spite of so many recommending it to me wholeheartedly. I did eventually get around to playing it... but that was after nearly half a decade, an eternity in gaming that had by then rendered every aspect and facet of the game obsolete, so that I was literally grinding my teeth as I wondered what all the hype had been about.



It doesn’t help that all of Square Enix’s attempts to return to the world of Final Fantasy VII have been miserable failures. Games like Dirge of Cerberus and movies like Advent Children really do not help the game’s case to people like me who are really wondering what all the hullabaloo had been about, and in fact reek of sheer cynicism on the company’s part, an attempt to fill up their cash coffers by cashing in on the fans’ fond nostalgia by selling hastily put together products. Understandably, then, there has been a lot of apprehension surrounding Crisis Core, and many, like me, wary of Square Enix’s attempts to thrust yet another half baked product down our throats, are on the fence about this one. The situation, further compounded by the generally positive reviews that Crisis Core has got, demands the question: is this game really worth getting?

Take it from a staunch FFVII critic…

The answer is yes, yes it is. With Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Square Enix have crafted not only the best of the Final Fantasy VII spin offs, but also the best title on the PSP and one of the best Final Fantasy titles in recent memory. Crisis Core is a journey that all fans of RPG’s should take it upon themselves to undertake, and one that is not likely to be forgotten by anyone any time soon.

Admittedly, the initial indications are not very encouraging: the game is an action RPG, a drastic departure from the rigid turn-based design of the original... Forays into new genres have never bode well for the series, and there really is no reason to expect Crisis Core will be bucking that trend. It also does not help that Square Enix took the rather baffling decision of choosing a rather obscure character from the Final Fantasy VII mythos as the game’s main protagonist.



However, all anxieties are cast aside upon first booting up the game, as we are greeted by a montage of a beautiful Gaia, redone in glorious 3D and looking better than it ever has, in any of the various media it might have appeared in. The wonderful graphics, which present us with jaw dropping vistas accompanied by what is undoubtedly one of the best soundtracks to have been featured in a video game, soothe and ease out the fears that a veteran of Final Fantasy VII might otherwise have. For it appears that after repeated failed attempts, Square Enix might have finally managed to redo the greatness of the original title.

Mirrors the original

The first few hours of the story seem to indicate as much. Contrary to popular opinion, Zack turns out to be a pleasantly likeable character, suitably complex, and engaging enough that one develops an emotional bond with him, reminiscent of the bond that so many seem to share with Cloud, the protagonist of the original Final Fantasy VII. The narrative itself is wonderful, immediately tying into the original game’s plot, whilst also simultaneously developing an intriguing story in itself.

Chock full of references to the original game’s plot, the game’s plot’s strongest point perhaps lies in how it mirrors the plot of the original on a subconscious level, to the extent that it seems almost eerie, as if there were an almost supernatural connection between the two games. The plotline of this game is different enough from the original. And yet, somehow, it manages to seem all so familiar, and manages to, on some level, follow the same trajectory that the original game followed. It’s almost surreal, and it lends an unprecedented level of immersion and believability to the game’s world.



What also helps is the manner in which events in the game foreshadow the tumultuous events that will happen in Final Fantasy VII (which is a sequel to Crisis Core in the series’ internal chronology). Without giving much away, I will say that at several points in the story, the sense of convergence between the two games’ stories reaches such a zenith that at that point, they are one and the same, and it is at these poignant moments that the game chooses to subtly foreshadow the tragedies that await. It’s moments like these that manage to involve the player emotionally, and that is something that few other games on the market can lay a claim to doing.

Sadly, it has to eventually end

Fans of the original will also probably enjoy the way Crisis Core lends new dimensions to several of the well known characters’ personalities. Fan favorites such as Sephiroth return, with new shades and motivations, and new interactions that suitably set them up for the role they have to play in Final Fantasy VII.

The story, incredibly deep and immersive in its own right, is complemented further by how the game chooses to present it to the player. I’ve already touched upon the game’s incredible visuals and audio... yet none of these aspects come even close to the game’s camera, which is perhaps at its best in one of the game’s numerous stunning cutscenes. The camera angles always frame the characters and their interactions from the best perspective possible, and again, the immersion that this lends to the game is unparalleled across any medium. Truly, Gaia is one world that you will fall in love with, and one that you will be loath to part with.



However, parting with the world is an inevitability. Crisis Core is an RPG after all, and it has a fixed narrative that must come to an end at some point. In this case, the game’s story is disappointingly short, clocking in barely twenty hours. While I recognize and applaud the fact that this makes it longer than most games on the PSP, I still cannot overlook the fact that most RPG’s on the market today are at least twice that length. It also doesn’t help that I almost don’t want the game to end, because it provides me with an incredible experience that I do not think will ever be replicated.

So it’s short, yes. But for as long as it lasts, Crisis Core is incredibly fun to plow through. The rich story is augmented by the game’s rather remarkable combat system, and its interesting choices regarding how levelling up and special attacks, staples in other lesser RPG’s that always follow a rigid structure, are handled.

Clever but a tad too easy

The game’s combat is turn-based, but it is in fact structured rather cleverly so that it may take several hours for the player to understand that the combat is actually turn-based, but disguised quite thoroughly. It can be best described as a condensed form of the combat that appears in the Tales series. In battle you are confined to a limited area. Within this area, however, you may choose to move as you wish. To attack, all you do is face your quarry and press X. A level of strategy is further added by most moves being limited by Action Points or the like, so that you will have to plan out each move in advance, anticipating the enemy’s action, and pre-empting them accordingly.

However, the game’s quirkiest gameplay mechanic is undoubtedly its DMW. Short for Digital Mind Wave, the DMW is actually a series of six slots lined up, three of which display character faces and the other three of which display digits. The DMW handles levelling up and special attacks (or limit breaks) exclusively, so that both of these are actually random -- you can only level up if a certain condition is met, and the same goes for your limit breaks. There is a certain method to the madness though -- for instance, you’re likelier to line up a favourable set of faces if your character is in a good mood -- but essentially the system takes away much of the control away from you, and hands it to the game on a platter.



The inherent unpredictability of this system makes this game rather easy. Especially for the first three quarters of the game, players will find themselves simply breezing through, with none of the game’s various enemies posing any manner of challenge whatsoever. The difficulty picks up later on in the game, but by then, we are already so powerful that it doesn’t matter much anyway. This is also a factor that contributes to the game’s (relatively) short length.

Summary

Ultimately, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII is an incredible experience. Calling it a game will be a gross perversion of the facts as they are, and a distortion of the plain truth. Because this game is simply one of the most involving experiences across any medium, ever. It engages the player on an altogether new level, and it immerses him in a world that is as rich as it is vast. Ultimately, the only fault with this game is that it is too short, and that this is a complaint is a testament to the game’s incredible power. Fans of the original owe it to themselves to play Crisis Core, as do all RPG gamers, or almost anybody looking for an involving narrative. Because Crisis Core is a wonderful tribute to what many have called the greatest RPG ever created. After dabbling in the rich mythos of Gaia again with this game, I am tempted to reconsider my opinion regarding Final Fantasy VII. Maybe I’ll play through it again, just to see if I might have missed the point the first time through...