At the Tokyo Game Show 2022, I can spend 20 Minutes with Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII Reunion was a welcome return to the late-20 classic. The TGS demo takes place early in the game, halfway through the Fort Tamblin mission. You fight some guards, meet a suspiciously familiar young ninja girl, fight Kong Chi Tai and Kong Chi Wu, fight some mysterious soldiers, and finally fight Ifrit.
Visually, it looks great – even on Switch. There are plenty of times in cutscenes where you might be tricked into thinking you’re seeing something from Final Fantasy VII Remake instead of almost 20 year old PSP game. That being said, there are still some artifacts that even the most carefully crafted re-skin can’t hide. When speaking, the characters’ lips often don’t match the dialogue, and when they turn around, they spin like a tank instead of moving like a real person.
However, the addition of Crisis Core is not just visual. The demo is fully voiced – from the low-level random soldier’s lines to Yuffie’s cute attack on Zack (and his equally cute reaction). There are also some notable gameplay. Since both the Switch and PS5 controllers have far more buttons than the PSP, games are easier to control than before — and adding a second joystick to control the camera is definitely a game-changer.
But otherwise, it is the same as the Crisis Core published in Same – the general flow and rhythm from the slot machine summoning system to the battle. So if you didn’t like the original, I don’t think this new coat of paint – no matter how pretty it is – will win your heart. However, if you are a fan of the original or have never playedCrisis Core before, then this demo convinced meCrisis Core Final Fantasy VII Reunion is the definitive way to experience a story.
Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII Reunion will be released in December20, 2022 for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.
2022 Richard is an anime and video game journalist with over a decade of life and work experience in Japan. For more of his work, check out his Twitter and blog.
