Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (クライシス コア -ファイナルファンタジーVII-, Kuraishisu Koa -Fainaru Fantajī Sebun-?) is an action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation Portable. The game is a prequel to Final Fantasy VII and is also the fourth entry to the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII series, which also includes the games Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII and Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, as well as the CGI movie Final Fantasy VII Advent Children and the anime, Last Order: Final Fantasy VII. Production was overseen by Yoshinori Kitase, the director of the original Final Fantasy VII, with Hajime Tabata as the game's director and Tetsuya Nomura as the game's character designer.
The game mainly focuses around Zack Fair, a 1st Class SOLDIER, and Cloud Strife while he is a lowly Shinra Guard. Another character also present in the game is Aerith Gainsborough as she features in the trailer of the game. This game appears to take place around the events of Nibelheim outlined in Last Order: Final Fantasy VII.


Gameplay


Crisis Core has action- and menu-based elements. The new battle system is known as Digital Mind Wave, or "DMW", and revolves around a series of reels at the upper left corner of the screen which spin continuously as long as there is SP left to consume. Each rotate independently and upon lining up the three reels of the same character and value, a power-up or a "Power Surge!" will be rewarded to Zack.
The player will have full control over Zack when moving around, and can rotate the camera with the left and right triggers. Every now and then, a random encounter battle will occur. The battle takes place on the same screen as regular movement, with no transition or loading.
Battles consist of multiple enemies on screen at once. To attack enemies, the command bar must be set to attack. Spells like Fire, Blizzard, Cure, and their higher level counterparts are also located on the command bar and used in the same fashion as previous titles in the series, although they deplete magic points with each use. Materia is also present in the game, fully customizable and with a variety of materia commands such as "Steal" and magics.[3] The game automatically targets the closest enemy, and changes the target automatically as you move around. A quick roll maneuver and triangle to block incoming attacks can also be performed


Story
At that time, the SOLDIER Mass Disappearance Incident occurred when, during combat operations in Wutai, Genesis, a first class member of SOLDIER, went missing without a trace along with many other SOLDIERs. The Shinra Company's top management assessed the situation and decided to send out SOLDIER in order to bring an end to the war and clarify the scandal, and so, Angeal and Zack, as well as Sephiroth, whose name would come to be known throughout the world as a hero, were dispatched to Wutai.
During the duration of the game, events similar to Last Order: Final Fantasy VII take place, as well as Zack meeting Aerith, becoming best friends with Cloud, Zack discovering the truth about both Angeal and Genesis' origins, The truth behind the mysterious "Project 'G'", Sephiroth's hatred of the Shinra company beginning, and many other events. There are also scenes in Crisis Core of Zack that Cloud had as flashbacks in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and Final Fantasy VII.
At the end of the game, Cloud and Zack reach the Wastelands near Midgar, after escaping Shinra. However, Zack is shot by the pursuing Shinra soldiers while Cloud is left unharmed because of his vegetative state. Aerith is seen waiting at her church, praying for Zack.
After some time Cloud snaps out of his rigid state and heads towards Zack. When Cloud reaches Zack, Zack (while giving Cloud his Buster Sword) tells Cloud to take all his pride and dreams for him and continue living, and then finally dies. Cloud cries out in anguish. After his brief mourning, Cloud says his thanks to Zack and tells him to rest. Zack talks aside that he is finally a hero, while the scene goes to Cloud who is carrying the Buster Sword and making his way towards Midgar.
After the credits roll, the introduction to Final Fantasy VII plays. Aerith is seen exiting a building into the streets of Midgar, while Cloud (who is not too far from her) rides on top of a train stating, "I am Cloud. SOLDIER. First Class." marking the beginning of the original game, Final Fantasy VII. The game ends with the words, "To be continued in Final Fantasy VII..."