User Reviews

Final Fantasy I PSP Review.

If you are looking for a game that will boost your ego because you can and you will (!) defeat every monster, fiend, and boss without encountering any real difficulty then this one is definitely for you!

Or you could probably be a novice gamer with high hopes for a game with a great name and backed by millions of fans around the world ready to give their testimonials about how wonderfully epic the series is then this one is definitely for you, too!

Final Fantasy for the PSP has all the fundamentals required for countless hours of mindless game play – mind you it’s the 20th anniversary edition – that is just perfect for long field trips or on the way to some relative’s house that you don’t even know you have. The world of Coneria with its sub par battle strategies and isolated towns make me hate this game a lot. But hey it wouldn’t be Final Fantasy if not for those elements, right? It’s just that everything has been around for quite some years now that it has gotten to the point that it is actually boring. Do I have to repeat myself for you to get my point?

The Final Fantasy franchise is considered one of gaming industry’s must – play items in the market. It is epic by its own means: the characters bring it to life and the storyline will make you crave for the next release. With the FF1, SquareEnix managed to save the reputation of the game by the crisp audio remixes – whether you are in a battle or plainly and simply walking around town hoping to stumble upon some gold – and the visual appeal of the game is hard to deny; I give my word that it looks really great on the Playstation Portable’s crystalline screen. I just had to give kudos to Enix for at least maintaining the quality that we are used to from the Final Fantasy series.

Nevertheless, no one will be satisfied long enough to last through the entire game – unless they have no other game in their console – in one sitting. You must first satisfy the brain before you please anything else in the gamer.

Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII follows the story of Zack Fair (Incase you don’t know him, he is Cloud’s friend, one who has only gotten a few exposures from the previous versions of Final Fantasy). This version, unlike the original game, focuses on the life of Zack and his dealings with three key characters in the game: Angeal, Genesis, and Sephiroth.

This game may have the same characters as Final Fantasy VII, but what makes it a breath of fresh air is that it is more subtle and follows that storyline of Zack in an intimate manner. Crisis Core begins with Zack and Angeal out on a mission to tame the forces in Wutai and investigate on the unlikely disappearance Genesis.

Battles happen in real time at Crisis core; which are often activated in certain points in the map. You will fight where you stand as your enemies fade into view. A crude arena around Zack is created by invisible boundaries during the fight. Once the enemy has been defeated, Zack continues on his way with little to no disturbance in transition times.

You can control Zack around in a battle using either the d – pad or the analog stick. X selects the action across a small menu at the bottom of the screen (the triggers L and R are used to move this). The square button is for Zack to roll while triangle is for block. Pressing the circle button resets the cursor back to the default attack action.

Materia is used to enhance Zack’s abilities and skills. It enables certain commands to be made available in the game. Although Zack will definitely benefit from this, it limits his actions and requires a bit of strategic planning on the part of the player.

The Digital Mind Wave is the center of the battle mechanics of Crisis Core. It controls certain events in the game such as Limit Breaks, summons, leveling – up, and material level up. It is a three – reeled slot system which is constantly spinning, and certain match – ups of numbers and portraits are required for an event to occur.

Lastly for Crisis Core, the graphics rendered have an impressive impact on the 16:9 PSP screen. Character models as well as their facial expressions are highly detailed and are polished to perfection, making anyone from Square Enix proud of their finely crafted masterpiece.