As a fan of the entire Compilation of Final Fantasy VII that was released between the original game and Final Fantasy VII Remake, I’m very familiar with Crisis Core. Released in 2007, the game fleshed out the story of Zack Fair, introducing a variety of other characters and lore elements as well. With Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth coming later this year, it only makes sense to review the remade version of Crisis Core as well, right?

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion is a remade version of Crisis Core that keeps the story the same, while updating everything else for modern sensibilities. You play as Zack Fair, who works his way up to being a SOLDIER 1^st Class while trying to investigate the disappearance (and presumed defection) of SOLDIER 1^st Class Genesis Rhapsodos.

Gameplay is a sort of hybrid between Final Fantasy VII Remake and Kingdom Hearts, with combat being a more action-oriented affair rather than a menu-based one. The Digital Mind Wave from Crisis Core returns, though it is reworked for balancing and to make it more user-friendly. It works as a sort of roulette system where different characters’ images appear on a revolving set of slot reels. Numbers also spin on this DMW system, and if you match character images you can unleash limit breaks, while numbers provide a variety of other useful effects.

Zack can equip up to six materia (four to start), which consist of spells, abilities, and passive add-ons. You can also equip Zack with two accessories at the start, and then more later. This allows you to set up attack and magic combos, with magic and abilities tied to shortcuts with the shoulder buttons. The combat is engaging, and the mix of DMW limit breaks and summons (also tied to the DMW) makes battles exciting and varied.

Unlike Final Fantasy VII Remake, Crisis Core Reunion is a more linear affair, at least to a point. Outside of story missions, you can undertake side missions to get various rewards and explore various parts of Midgar to interact with various characters. In order to progress, however, you have to undertake the story missions, which are linear missions that will take you through all sorts of areas.

While the game itself is more linear than what you might expect, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot to do. The side content provides plenty of story content and lots of fun content that will help you strengthen Zack with new summons, equipment, and materia. You can also get materials to use for various things like Materia creation, which is a side quest chain to go along with another major gameplay element, Materia Fusion.

As you master and collect a variety of materia, you can fuse them together to create new spells and powerful abilities. Want a thunder spell that can poison enemies? That’s totally possible. Want an attack ability that has a blizzard element? That’s totally doable. The Materia fusion system allows you to increase Zack’s capabilities as long as you have the materia you need.

It is this variety of being able to customize builds and setups that makes Crisis Core Reunion so engaging. It is a vast improvement over the original game, which had a somewhat clunky combat system. Add in the fact that all the dialogue in Reunion is voiced, and you’ve got even more to enjoy. Seriously, a lot of the dialogue is new, and there are a lot of fun scenes to enjoy.

Plus, seeing all the environments remade is nothing short of incredible. All the environments and models were painstakingly recreated, and it feels both nostalgic and brand new, just like Remake. If I’m honest, I think Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion is required viewing if you’re getting ready to play Rebirth later this year. We don’t exactly know what lies in store for Zack in Rebirth, but knowing his origin is important.

Overall, if you are a Final Fantasy VII fan, whether you love the original, the remake, or anything in between, Crisis Core Reunion is a must-play. The gameplay is fun, the environments are beautiful, and playing the game on Switch is a blast.

A Nintendo Switch review copy of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion was provided by Square Enix for this review.

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Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion

$49.99 USD

9.5

Score

9.5/10

Pros

• Engaging, Polished Combat
• Gorgeous Visuals and Level Design
• Varied Progression Systems
• Full Voice Acting
• Lots of Side Content

Cons

• Missions feel somewhat linear