A "Final Fantasy" game can be summed up with the following words: long and touching storyline, memorable characters, huge number of secrets, great looking movies and very high replayability. Keeping this in mind, you might be thinking how could a Final Fantasy for the PSP keep these things, and, like all Final Fantasy games before it, bring something new to the table. Well, can it? Punk?!

Just like Final Fantasy VII caused a large increase in the number of Playstation 1 sales, I`m sure there are a lot of fans that would buy the PSP just to play this. Final Fantasy VII still remains the most loved Final Fantasy episode thus far so a prequel to this (yes, I mean Crisis Core) is definitely going to be a huge success and not having a PSP won`t be a problem for long. PC users have always been at a disadvantage so the fact that no PC version of the game was announced shouldn`t come as a great shock.

Anyway, after accepting the fact that you`re either going to have to buy a PSP to play this, or weep in your bed after it, let`s get on with the game. I think it`s safe to say that no other game in the series came close to the wonderful universe that was created in Final Fantasy VII and no other characters were as memorable as Cloud, Tifa, Aeris and Barret.

With two movies (Advent Children and Last Order) and two other games, namely Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII and Dirge of Cerberus Lost Episode: Final Fantasy VII, the story was almost gap free, but one more still remained: the Nibelheim incident and Cloud`s "mentor" Zack. Zack is the main character of Crisis Core and you might remember him from flashbacks in Final Fantasy VII or from The Last Order. While not given much importance before, I`m glad to see an entire episode was dedicated to him, since Zack is probably one of the best defined Final Fantasy main characters, and his story as he grows from a naïve 2-nd class Soldier, to a full fledged 1-st, will move anyone.

Don`t worry, I`m not going to spoil anything for you, because the story is definitely worth experiencing on your own, I`m just going to say that the game has one of the most dramatic and touching movies I have ever seen and the PSP truly surprised me with the sheer quality and clarity of the movies. I must say that Square-Enix has raised the bar once again with the quality of their movies, and the PSP, while small, certainly has the power to display everything smoothly. This is definitely one of those games that will cause other train passengers to watch over your shoulder while you summon Bahamut.

Memorable characters will make an appearance here, naturally, and it was really great being able to see the playground in the slums again, using this new engine. You`ll get to meet Cloud, as he`s a no-name 2-nd class Soldier who admires Zack, you`ll meet Tifa who`s just learning to fight and is inquiring about blond members of Soldier and you`ll see how Aeris got her ribbon :). You`ll also meet new characters, that have never appeared in a Final Fantasy game before, such as Angeal and Genesis, as you play through their sad tale. Of course, I`m not even mentioning Sephiroth…

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Every Final Fantasy game brought a new combat system and the "spell" system was also different in all versions. Crisis Core retains the spell ranks from other versions (such as Cure->Cura->Curaga) and you have materia that levels up as the game progresses. Each materia can have a maximum level and certain properties that can be enhanced using the Materia Fusion that allows you to fuse materia to obtain a better one. The number of combinations is quite high and it`s nice to see that you`re not combining them blindly, as the game always shows you the result before you combine.

Since you won`t be controlling more than one character, unlike previous versions of Final Fantasy, Zack is able to equip quite a large number of materias and special skill items. With careful combinations you will be able to "tune" your materia to fit your playstyle (such as Curaga with +200%hp) and so on. While the Materia Fusion system takes some time to get used to, the combat system is, at first glance, much easier to handle.

In the beginning, Zack will only have his trusty sword and you`ll only get to smash the X button and watch as he slices enemies to pieces. Dodge and block will hardly be required in the first parts of the game, but as the story evolves and Zack gets more and more equipment and material, everything will change.

The square button will cause Zack to roll and avoid attacks, while the triangle will block attacks causing them to inflict only half damage. These will become much more important than the attack button, as one hit can often cause death. The L and R buttons of your PSP will change your actions from normal attacks, to casting spells and using items. Everything is fast paced and the combat involves the gamer much more than any previous Final Fantasy version. I was pleased to see that I can avoid spells and even interrupt opponents from casting them in the first place.

Of course, the complexity and length of the boss fights, that Final Fantasy was famous for, still remains. Also remember that attacking an opponent from behind will always cause a critical hit that translates in double damage. So, boss fights will become a matter of avoiding attacks (those that you can) until you can move behind him and score some critical hits. Even so, fights can take more than 10 minutes and instant death attacks remain something to be feared (until you find a Status Defend materia and equip it along with a Death Strike).

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The other most important change that Crisis Core brings is the Digital Mind Wave, or the DMW for short. Somewhat tricky and confusing at first and only slightly annoying at the end, the DMW requires a special chapter of its own.

In the left side corner of the screen you`ll see the DMW, as it spins madly, without any clear purpose. In time, you`ll understand what everything means, and you`ll be able to unlock more and more characters and summons. The DMW resembles a slot machine with three reels that spin until the left and right side match. When they do, the DMW will pop on your screen and you get to watch as the final (middle) reel spins, and if it matches, you get to see a special attack performed by Zack. There are also numbers on each reel and when they match, one of two things can happen: if you get the lucky 777 then Zack levels up (and this isn`t random, as some believed, it`s based on XP like all other game) or your materia can level up. If you have two similar numbers then the materia in that slot will level up, if you get all three numbers, then your materia will level up twice. This is the only way of raising the level of your materia as well as yours, and, annoying as it can be, the DMW is necessary.

As you meet a major character, he`ll be unlocked in the DMW and you`ll be able to perform his special attack. For example, when you meet Cloud you get a message that he`s been unlocked in the DMW and the next time you get three mini Clouds, you`ll get to see the Meteor Strike attack. Every major character has a special attack, with Aeris having a healing wave and Cissnei causing critical strikes. The DMW is annoying especially since it always seems to pop up at the worst times, but it can also cause raise your max HP and MP, turn you invincible, and other life saving effects.

Loved by some, hated by others, the DMW will also be your way of summoning, as defeating a summon will usually unlock it in the DMW and each one has an excellent movie. The random factor of the DMW can bother hard core Final Fantasy gamers, while others will feel that it takes the challenge out of the game, but there`s always the Cursed Ring (available at your first visit to Shinra HQ) that stops the DMW from spinning. Remember, this also takes away the leveling up part of the game :).

The summon movies are also the only ones that you`re allowed to skip, so if you die after a long movie, you have to sit through it again, but save points are quite common and death is rare. Story wise, the game only takes about 15 hours to complete, but then we have the missions... These are missions from Shinra, or other characters, that will usually have to be unlocked, that are an excellent source of materia and items for Zack. You`ll be able to start a mission at any save point, and death in it will only make you reappear at that save point, fully healed, so you can try for as long as you want. Finishing all of them will unlock the final and most difficult boss of the game, but that`s a difficult task, as their number is quite high and some are quite difficult.

Dialogues are voice acted in all the movies, but not when using the engine of the game, not that this is a bad thing. The voices are excellent, and I especially liked listening to Genesis recite from "Loveless". Other than that, the music and sounds are from other versions of Final Fantasy and this certainly brought back memories.

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Conclusion:

With memorable characters, a deep and entertaining storyline as well as an excellent and dynamic combat system, I`m glad to say that Crisis Core truly deserves its place in the Final Fantasy saga and the game pushes the PSP to its limits. Everything looks crisp and sharp, the music, voices and sounds are equally pleasing and the final sequences of the game will be as memorable as Aeris`s death from Final Fantasy VII. The game is definitely worth it if you have a PSP, and I`d say even if you don`t. Since the PSP market seems to receive more and more games of high quality, this is an excellent investment. Crisis Core should certainly be one of the first games to try out on your PSP though :)

Gameplay: 93

So many possibilities... Like all other Final Fantasy games, the Equip section of the menu will occupy half of your time as the number of materia you can find is huge, and the combinations are limitless. The missions available are also numerous enough to keep you occupied for a very long time, and are an excellent addition to the storyline. Also, the fact that you can start a new game while keeping your character and items from your previous run, is an excellent idea, as well as the fact that two difficulty levels are available.

Graphics: 95

I only wish the PSP had a 32 inch screen (though that takes away the "Portable" part of its name) to see everything better. The movies are top notch and detailed as can be and the game looks excellent, even on the small screen.

Sound: 92

Voice acted movies are nice only when the voices bring the characters to life. I was glad to see that the English version of the game sounds excellent, as I was quite worried about this. Too bad about the "Initiating Combat" and "Combat Resolved" sounds that started annoying me after a while, but apart from this everything is great.

Multiplayer: N/A

Hardware: 99

Even though the game looks great and the movies are stunning, the PSP keeps up and there is no trace of frame rate loss or lock ups. Everything is smooth and the loading times are low enough to go by unnoticed.