Earlier in 2022, Square Enix unveiled the second installment of the highly anticipated Final Fantasy VII Remake titled Rebirth. This announcement was big news in itself, but Square Enix added to the excitement by announcing another project in which longtime Final Fantasy VII fans would be very interested. That project was none other than Crisis Core: Reunion, a remaster of the 2007 game that was originally exclusive to PlayStation Portable. Now, players around the world could finally experience Crisis Core without relying on the PSP. The remastered game builds upon the original while also seeking influence from the recent Final Fantasy VII Remake. Let’s dive in!
Crisis Core Reunion was released on December 13, 2022, for Xbox One, Series X, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch and PC. Tetsuya Nomura was the game’s creative director and character designer, while Takeharu Ishimoto arranged the score. The story itself is untouched from the original. Once again, the player assumes the role of Shinra soldier Zack Fair, who is forced to confront his employer’s dark secrets as he searches for missing Shinra soldier Genesis. Along the way, he will also discover the true meaning of dreams and honor.
Players coming to this game from Final Fantasy VII Remake might be under the impression that Crisis Core Reunion follows a different storyline than the original game. The game’s tagline, “More than a remaster,” likely contributes to this assumption. But have no fear: The plot of Crisis Core Reunion is exactly the same as original release. What differs from the original are the visuals. The game was recreated from the ground up in the Unreal Engine. The new visuals and voice acting were designed to make Reunion consistent in design with Remake.
As a result of the redesign, the in-game assets are a visual treat compared to the original PSP version. The designers completely redid the in-game models and the full-motion videos for the summons. On the other hand, the original story cinematics went largely untouched and were merely upscaled. In my opinion, these upscaled cinematics clash with the new models.
Another notable difference in the redesign are the main environs, which are definitely more detailed than those in the original release. If you take a closer look at the backgrounds, however, you can see the cracks in this new coat of paint. As a result of some of these design shortcomings, this game doesn’t live up to the same visual standards as Remake. With that being said, the visuals aren’t distracting for the most part, and they are truly a nice new coat of paint for Crisis Core.
While Reunion is a true remaster of the original game for the most part, it did make a variety of gameplay adjustments, several of which are quality of life changes for the sake of improving combat pacing. For example, while still essential to Zack’s development, the Digital Mind Wave (DMW) no longer halts the flow of battle. Players can also skip limit break animations. Zack’s combat style is largely the same, but controls were altered so players aren’t cycling through commands constantly. The game still focuses on Zack equipping materia to enable special commands such as magic or special attacks, and the gameplay is still entirely an action role playing game at its core. Zack’s movements were reworked to make his fighting style faster, and he has less wind up when performing an action.
In addition to the visual and mechanical facelift this remaster provides, we also have an entirely re-arranged score courtesy of Ishimoto. The PSP sound chip did it’s best in 2007, but the new arrangements are a delight for the ears on both current and next-generation platforms.
With its various graphical, mechanical, and quality of life improvements, Crisis Core Reunion built on what the original Crisis Core set out to be. I feel no need to revisit the original game as this release improves the package in just about every way. The “More than a remaster” tagline is accurate; Reunion pays homage to the original while updating it to make it far more enjoyable. If you passed up on the original Crisis Core due to not having a PSP or for other reasons, you owe it to yourself as a Final Fantasy fan to check it out. I have partnered with Amazon to bring you a specialized purchase link for Crisis Core: Reunion! These links help support my reviews at no additional cost to you. Reunion carries my earnest recommendation as both an enjoyable Final Fantasy title and as an engaging action RPG in general. I can’t recommend it enough!
