In the mid to late 1990′s a company then known as Squaresoft released the seventh game in a roleplaying game series. The game was called Final Fantasy 7. FF7, as it came to be known, was a phenomenon. Up until then, all the Final Fantasy games were top-down scrollers, populated by 8 or 16-bit characters, and each game had a more immersive plot than the last. FF7 came on the scene and exceeded all expectations. With rendered 3D environments, FMV movie sequences, a cast of unforgettable characters, and arguably the most engaging story in the entire Final Fantasy series, FF7 was, and arguably still is, one of the very best games ever produced by Squaresoft.
Even today, the arguments continue. Sephiroth is still lauded as the greatest villain of all time, with all other Final Fantasy villains being compared to him. At times, villains from other games are compared to him. PSM once wrote an article which pitted several villains against each other in a mock battle. Sephiroth was victorious. Questions still remain on whether or not you can ressurrect Aeris without a GameShark, although the jury is still out to this day on that one, it appears that the answer is indeed no. Defeating Ruby Weapon is still considered an achievement that any RPG player must do. FF7 will always live on, is what we always used to say.
We were right.
In the past few years, the FF7 story has been continued and expanded. There was an anime film called Last Order, which told the story of what truly happened at Nibelheim, and Zack and Cloud’s escape towards Midgar. Then there was the CG movie Advent Children which continued the story, introduced new characters, and reunited the old cast of characters. The movie was groundbreaking for it’s use of computer animation, and gave some closure to the issue of whether or not Aeris can be brought back, although some will refuse to believe it. Then there came the Playstation 2 game Dirge of Cerberus which followed Vincent Valentine’s adventures, presumably taking place after Advent Children. It was met with mediocre reviews, although much of the old cast does make appearances, and the player does get an opportunity to view Vincent’s true skill with a firearm.
Most recently, a game for the Playstation Portable was released, retelling once again the incident at Nibelheim. Crisis Core follows the career of Zack, from his time as a SOLDIER 2nd Class operative during the Wutai war, to how he became 1st Class, all the way through the incident at Nibelheim and provides a much more detailed view of Zack and Cloud’s escape. It also depicts the relationships he formed with Aeris, the Turks, Cloud, some new characters, and even Sephiroth. Zack is depicted, much like in Last Order, as a headstrong youth, but with serious fighting skills to back it up. He is a young man with dreams and holds onto them, even during the worst of times. And as it turns out, the mission to Nibelheim was not the first mission that Cloud was on, assigned to Zack’s group, and so in that way, Zack and Cloud had a pre-existing relationship which further gives Zack’s rescue of Cloud more merit. This game also gives a glimpse at what happened during the Wutai war, and SOLDIER’s role in the war. It also shows how the media responded to the end of it, by way of glorifying Sephiroth, even though it turns out that he was not in the main unit where Zack was, but in a secondary unit. Also depicted in this game is the relationships Sephiroth himself formed with the newly introduced characters, who he considered friends. It gives a rare, but official, look at Sephiroth before his knowledge of Jenova drove him insane. Sephiroth was a SOLDIER first, but he was not without compassion for his friends. One of the cut scenes showed Sephiroth and the new characters engaged in a training session, and Sephiroth ended up injuring one of his friends when the battle went a little too far. The injury required a blood transfusion, and Sephiroth was the first to step forward. Unfortunately, for reasons later revealed in the game, he was not allowed to be the donor.
As an FF7 fan from the original game, I can say with all honesty that Crisis Core is a truly worthy experience. It is a welcome addition to everything that made FF7 a great story, a great game, and above all, an unforgettable experience.
Recent Comments