I managed to... "procure" a copy of crisis core (japanese version) from a local store. I just wanted to tell you guys what I think.
Anyways... it's pretty friggin awesome. Definitely the best FF spinoff that Square has made. Keep in mind that I'm basing this off the gameplay as I can't understand the story so this only makes things better.
For those that don't know, the game tells the story of Zack; one of the more important characters from FF7 who only got a minor role (he was Cloud's war buddy, test tube buddy, and "inherited all your memories" buddy). The story revolves around his experiences in Soldier, the rise of Shinra, the missions in Nifleheim or whatever that town was called, and of course the mental decline of the legendary SOLDIER Sephiroth. T
There's a lot of fanservice (in terms of characters, not nudity). There's even a one winged angel who looks a helluva lot like Vincent before meeting Hojo and it's weird because you see him pull out his wing during a cinema. I think Hojo is in the game as well (there's someone who sort of looks like him), Shinra Sr, and Cloud's appearance is pretty integral to the story too. A really young Yuffie makes an appearance and there's even a character that I'm beginning to think is the human version of Jenova.
There's a lot of changes added to the story. I can't understand them, but they'll make english fans go nuts. There's a huge connection between Zack and a young Aerith as well as the Turks (turns out Aerith, Zack, and Tseng are all buddies or something). The game has a main story arc, but if you don't want to follow it you can do some hundreds of side missions that are offered to you by SOLDIER. These side missions offer equipment and materia that aren't present in the main story arc and some of them have storylines of their own that aren't important but help flesh out Final Fantasy 7s world.
The battle system is pretty cool. It's basically like Star Ocean in that you can freely run around a circular map and you can attack or use skill combos freely. Materia returns which you can equip to cast spells but there's some new additions. Materia levels up like in the previous game but newer materia is combined to increase spell power (so two fires gives you Fira and two firas give you Firaga and so forth). You can also add neat effects such as combining Yellow + Green materia which gives you a deathblow attack that heals you.
In addition, there's this little slot machine thing in the corner that acts as your limit break. Depending on several factors (probably damage taken or something) the slot machine will stop on random icons and you can activate your limit break. If you get a specific row, you'll do a special powerful attack. In one of the breaks I did, I called on Tseng who rides in on a helicopter and shoots at the enemies. Red materia makes a return, but only adds to the limit breaks you can do. There are still familiar summons like Ifrit and Shiva as well as some new ones I haven't seen before.
The graphics are gorgeous. Definitely dreamcast quality and the FMVs are well animated and directed yet there aren't so many of them that they interupt the gameplay during hectic times. The cinematic approach from FF7 is here although I miss the original game's quirkiness (come on... cloud takes a bath with a group of gay guys!). The music, done by the same guy who did Vagrant Story and FFX, is excellent as well.
Overall, this is a good game to keep your eyes open for. It seems to modify a lot from the FF7 story like adding new characters. There's some old faces like Vincent and Hojo and new guys (like this dude in a red Jacket who seems to be the main enemy) but the original story is never contradicted.
Screenshots
yeah.
Anyways... it's pretty friggin awesome. Definitely the best FF spinoff that Square has made. Keep in mind that I'm basing this off the gameplay as I can't understand the story so this only makes things better.
For those that don't know, the game tells the story of Zack; one of the more important characters from FF7 who only got a minor role (he was Cloud's war buddy, test tube buddy, and "inherited all your memories" buddy). The story revolves around his experiences in Soldier, the rise of Shinra, the missions in Nifleheim or whatever that town was called, and of course the mental decline of the legendary SOLDIER Sephiroth. T
There's a lot of fanservice (in terms of characters, not nudity). There's even a one winged angel who looks a helluva lot like Vincent before meeting Hojo and it's weird because you see him pull out his wing during a cinema. I think Hojo is in the game as well (there's someone who sort of looks like him), Shinra Sr, and Cloud's appearance is pretty integral to the story too. A really young Yuffie makes an appearance and there's even a character that I'm beginning to think is the human version of Jenova.
There's a lot of changes added to the story. I can't understand them, but they'll make english fans go nuts. There's a huge connection between Zack and a young Aerith as well as the Turks (turns out Aerith, Zack, and Tseng are all buddies or something). The game has a main story arc, but if you don't want to follow it you can do some hundreds of side missions that are offered to you by SOLDIER. These side missions offer equipment and materia that aren't present in the main story arc and some of them have storylines of their own that aren't important but help flesh out Final Fantasy 7s world.
The battle system is pretty cool. It's basically like Star Ocean in that you can freely run around a circular map and you can attack or use skill combos freely. Materia returns which you can equip to cast spells but there's some new additions. Materia levels up like in the previous game but newer materia is combined to increase spell power (so two fires gives you Fira and two firas give you Firaga and so forth). You can also add neat effects such as combining Yellow + Green materia which gives you a deathblow attack that heals you.
In addition, there's this little slot machine thing in the corner that acts as your limit break. Depending on several factors (probably damage taken or something) the slot machine will stop on random icons and you can activate your limit break. If you get a specific row, you'll do a special powerful attack. In one of the breaks I did, I called on Tseng who rides in on a helicopter and shoots at the enemies. Red materia makes a return, but only adds to the limit breaks you can do. There are still familiar summons like Ifrit and Shiva as well as some new ones I haven't seen before.
The graphics are gorgeous. Definitely dreamcast quality and the FMVs are well animated and directed yet there aren't so many of them that they interupt the gameplay during hectic times. The cinematic approach from FF7 is here although I miss the original game's quirkiness (come on... cloud takes a bath with a group of gay guys!). The music, done by the same guy who did Vagrant Story and FFX, is excellent as well.
Overall, this is a good game to keep your eyes open for. It seems to modify a lot from the FF7 story like adding new characters. There's some old faces like Vincent and Hojo and new guys (like this dude in a red Jacket who seems to be the main enemy) but the original story is never contradicted.
Screenshots
yeah.
