Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII Comments by Simon Parkin

This one might actually persuade me to get a PSP...

And an actual FF7 remake would persuade many to get a PS3, myself included.

As for "how does a character like Zack follow in the footsteps of one of gaming's greatest heros"...err, doesn't Cloud basically take Zack's entire personality and heritage anyway, therefore making them essentially the same character (please bare in mind it's been pretty much a decade since I last played 7)

Cloud took Zacks history because he was too ashamed that he never made it as one of the elite Shinra soldiers ala Sephiroth/Zack.

Cloud was still Cloud though.

In one of FFVII's many flashbacks, didn't Cloud fight alongside Zack as a masked shinra soldier? So does that mean in this game you will be playing with Cloud in a supporting character role?

to anyone that hasn't already seen it i recommend "last order" and anime accompaniment, which features Zack and Cloud. It's by far the best of the FF7 offerings i've seen/ played and is hopefully indicative of this.

Looks fantastic, might well be the tipping point for many to get a PSP.

I'm fairly certain that the (Japanese) trailer does show Cloud in a cut-scene, so perhaps the battle at the Nibelheim reactor will be replayed. It'd be great to play out the Cloud-Sephiroth duel that took place on the pipes (coming out of the Jenova stasis room), especially with action controls. Might even get to have an episode in the Nibelheim mansion in those recovery tanks.

This game, along with MGS:PO is the reason I bought a PSP! It looks so brilliant, which the inevetible year-long wait, after the Japanese release, a very tought pill to swallow :(

Technically the game looks brilliant, from a gameplay perspective it sounds like it could be good also, it definitely sounds miles better than DoC.

Sounds excellent but I'm not sure I would ever really play it if it's on the PSP. I can't help wishing it was a PS2 game...

I do wish they would finally just do the PS3 remake of FF7.

I'm starting to worry about this one. Looks like a corridor-based button-masher. And random battles? In an Action RPG?

/shriek

Can I just thank you Arbiter...I've always been confused about the whole Cloud/Zack/Sephiroth story and even after many conversations with friends who all seem to think they know what happened, despite all having different opinions, you managed to answer a 10yr confusion in a handful of paragraphs. Thanks!

Random battles?!?! I think I'll pass now, which means I've only got MGS: PO to look forward to on my PSP :(

Time was when a FF7-related article could be sure of getting two hundred comments or more... Back when all this was fields, and people knew how to treat each other right. Sigh.

/sits in a darkened window smoking his pipe, watching the youngsters passing by

@ ARBITER

thank u for reminding me of my many many hours playing FF7 while ' revising ' for my gcses. I loved that game, wish my playstation still worked...

*glazes over and thinks of the good times*

All I've ever wanted was an actual sequel game to FF7. And what am I getting? EVERYTHING BUT.

I don't want a remake, I don't want spinoffs, I don't want prequels, I don't want a goddamn movie, I don't want a sequel to FFX which sucked. I want a real sequel to FF7.

Goddammit. :(

Our time has come and gone Nikanoru :( the old turn-based formula has been trampled under the prehensile, stylus-wielding feet of the Casual Gamer.

/continues to look morosely out the window
/swaps his pipe for a bong

I played the opening few minutes of FFVII again last night and it's just amazing, even after years and a few times of already playing through. It would be fantastic on PS, with voice acting and all that!

FFVII is the best of the series.. i have always wanted a game to be like that since and nothing.....NOTHING has ever come close... im still waiting

"Its unclear in the western versions of the game thanks to the frankly shitty translation, but Sephiroth never leaves the Northern Crater for the duration of the story - what we encounter as Sephiroth is usually the body of Jenova mimicing his form (this is why the various face-offs with Sephiroth always culminate in a Jenova fight) under control of his will."

! I had no idea, but that makes a lot of sense. Thanks very much, Arbiter.

I had heard the FFVII translation was pretty poor, but I didn't know it was that bad.

Can't wait! Can't wait!

*screams like a cheerleader*

Well done to Arbiter for clearing up the story. I only really understood it after playing through the game for a third time a few months ago, at which point snippets of information I had gathered online all slotted into the story and made sense. Makes you wonder what the remake (if it happens) could do with the advancements in recent Final Fantasy games' translations.

Re: a few comments on Final Fantasy games since, I have actually really enjoyed all of the proper numbered series (not including 11, which I never played). Currently plodding through 12 levelling everyone up so I can fight Yiazmat. That being said, I am disappointed that the quirky cartoonish big-headed style and the turn-based battle system seem to have been permanently done away with. I reckon a Final Fantasy game that would go back to the style which 9 gave would go down quite well.

I'd also plump for something stylistically similar to FF9. The new Crystal Chronicles might do.

I'd also plump for something stylistically similar to FF9. The new Crystal Chronicles might do.

You are in luck! FFCC on Wii looks amazing!

Re: a few comments on Final Fantasy games since, I have actually really enjoyed all of the proper numbered series (not including 11, which I never played). Currently plodding through 12 levelling everyone up so I can fight Yiazmat. That being said, I am disappointed that the quirky cartoonish big-headed style and the turn-based battle system seem to have been permanently done away with. I reckon a Final Fantasy game that would go back to the style which 9 gave would go down quite well.

Yeh, it seems like they've gone "realistic" with it these days, but that makes every character look like a 12 yr old Japanese kid...it's bizarre (especially in the case of the women who have the face of a 12 yr old and a 36DD. It's too CGI-Anime for my liking.

I bet we have to wait till next spring for this to arrive in europe. (or US)

what i would love is a psp remake of ffx, best ff ever, would love to play it on the bus to work. this is the next best thing.

Well, FF7 was OK, but I reckon FF 12 was the best FF since FF3 ( I spent ages playing that baby on my USA-Snes)


One thing I will say is FF7 is seriously due for a remake or sequel ( maybe FF14 ?) , however, at this rate, with FF13 now scheduled for the latter part of 2009 or mid 2010 because of other big Square-Enix releases, I would Imagine FF14 is at least a decade away.
Anyway, now I've upset everyone with the opening line of this post I'll just say this.....my work here is done, I've done all the damage I can....time to move onto another post....

Ah, nostalgia...

FF VII was a revellation. Never in my life had I played anything with as much scope, attention to detail and such sheer epic proprtions. I absolutely loved it and played it for months. There were a few niggles about the widly varying qwuality of the CG cutscenes but that was more than compensated for by the Chocobo breeding mini game alone.

FFVIII was basically gash. The same basic gaming system with all the charm and variety removed. I felt like I was playing Final Fantasy - Beverly Hills 90210 edition. (look it up younglings)

FFIX had the super-deformed look and was a brilliant game. Still, it was not quite in the same league as VII in my opinion. The lead characters looked like cartoon versions of Cloud and Tifa though, which was perhaps a sort of homage.

FF X - Whoa! What the hell? Have I died and somehow been proved wrong about the afterlife? Utterly brilliant in every respect. They had another go at the realistic characters and second time around got it fantastically right. Right up there and maybe (after a quick image search for "Rikku") slightly ahead.

FF X2 - Rubbish. Despite having the resources and gaming world of FF X and three of the best-looking game characters ever devised, it played like a desparately transparent attempt attract the pink pound with it's "Barbie's magical closet" game design. Fantastic opening movie though.

FF XI - Not played. No HDD for European PS2s and my PC at the time was terrible. Plus it's only an average an MMO by all accounts.

FF XII - Not played. Because. Sony. Removed. The. BC from the 40gb. AND! I don't want to dust off my PS2 now that I've got the shiny new whispering cordless wobbler. Perahps now is the time. The appeal of Dynasty Warriors 6 won't diminish because I took a break...

Sorry, must be boring the tits off you. Stopping now. Point? FF VII - PSP thingy is something I'll definitely get and probalby love even if it's pants, because of good old nostalgia. See?