What do you call it when your reunion has a reunion? A reunion redux? A double-reunion? I suppose it’s just another reunion. Square Enix has been going through its library of Nintendo Switch releases and rereleasing them on Nintendo Switch 2 with, in most cases, modest improvements. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion is the latest to get the treatment, ensuring Switch 2 owners will be as fully caught up on the Final Fantasy VII saga as possible before next year’s release of Final Fantasy VII Revelation. I mean, they could already do that thanks to backwards compatibility, but now they can do it in a prettier way. Well, let’s see what we’ve got here.
Important facts first. Like many of Square Enix’s other Switch 2 versions of existing games, Crisis Core stands alone from the original Switch release. There is no discount for owners of the existing release, nor is there an upgrade path. Save games do not transfer between versions. None of this is good, but I suspect it’s something we should be getting used to, as it seems to be the game plan going forward. I wish we could at least get save data transfer, even if it were just one-way. As it is, if you already own Crisis Core on Switch and are interested in this release, you need to pay the full purchase price again and start the game over from scratch. That’s the deal, my dear.
So what do you get for that? The Nintendo Switch 2 version of Crisis Core doesn’t add any new content or features outside of a little graphical toggle that can only be changed from the title menu. Whichever option you choose, you’re going to get a noticeably better visual experience than the Switch version offered. It’s really just a matter of choosing what you want the game to throw its weight behind between graphics and performance. Those are even the names of the options! Graphics mode targets 30 frames per second and gives you a lot more effects and details, while Performance mode targets 60 frames per second without as many graphical bells and whistles. Both settings see the game running at a native 1440p, which is a big improvement from the dynamic 720p found in the original Switch release.
That’s it, though. Apart from that, you’re getting the exact same experience in the Switch 2 Crisis Core that you did in the Switch release. Frankly speaking, I found the original Switch version of Crisis Core to play very nicely on the Switch 2 even in handheld mode, so long as Boost Mode was activated. The native Switch 2 version clearly looks and runs better, but the last-gen experience wasn’t so terrible that I’d tell someone to rush out and buy the game again for those improvements. That said, this is clearly the better version of the two if you haven’t picked up Crisis Core yet. There’s no reason to go for the original Switch version at this point.
So with that big topic addressed, how about the game itself? Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion is a remake of a pretty nifty PlayStation Portable game, and it’s a rather considerable one at that. Not only has it had a huge overhaul to its presentation, but its mechanics have also been significantly changed. Whether you like the original style of combat or the new Reunion mechanics is a matter of taste, but I enjoy both well enough. That PlayStation Portable context is important, though. This game was originally meant for portable play and is set up to be consumed in digestible bits. You’ve got your big story scenes, and those are cool. There are some environments to roam around in, and those run the gamut. Ultimately, you’re going to end up in a mission of some kind, and that’s where its origins are most apparent.
Story missions take place in fairly well-crafted areas that you may or may not notice are made of “rooms” connected by “hallways”. Each of the “rooms” will hit you with a random encounter where you’ll have to defeat a group of enemies in action-based combat that should feel familiar in its broad strokes to Square Enix fans. It can get a little repetitive with how frequently fights occur, but the combat system has the necessary juice where it counts. The boss battles in particular can be a lot of fun since they run long enough for the combat system to fully unfurl. There are reels in the corner of the screen that are constantly spinning as you battle, and when they roll up various combinations, you’ll get different kinds of effects or gain access to some cool special attacks. You can also equip various types of materia to give Zack extra abilities. Throw in some dodging and blocking, and you’ve got a decent toolset for fun battles, even if it gets stretched quite thin over time.
Much of the game is wrapped up in its side missions, which are by and large bite-sized affairs where you make your way through considerably less well-crafted areas than in the story missions. Typically you’ll fight some battles, find a few chests, and have some kind of final encounter to cap it off. There isn’t a great deal of variety to be found in these missions, and there are tons of them. Indulge as you see fit, but you’ll want to do a fair measure of them to get some useful rewards to help with the mandatory missions. Some of the story bits connected to them are funny, too. And hey, the whole game is about Zack trying to achieve his goal of being a hero. You have to help everyone out! That’s what heroes do, I’m told.
For most players, the narrative is likely what will keep them in Crisis Core for the long haul. Back when Reunion first released, it seemed as though the story covered in this game might have some greater importance to the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy. That was before Rebirth came, and now I’m not so sure that’s the case. I think the story still has merit even without that going for it, though. For what a major role the existence of Zack Fair plays in the story of Final Fantasy VII, that game doesn’t spend much time fleshing him out. Not every untold tale needs telling, but it’s nice to see what kind of guy Zack is and how things like his relationship with Aerith played out. There is a lot of nonsense going on here, especially with the main plot, but Zack is such a strong character that he carries all of it with grace. It’s wild how hard its conclusion hits even when you fully know how this all must end.
Crisis Core is a game whose flaws are easily noticed yet powers through with pure heart, and it’s quite fitting that the game starring Zack Fair should be like that. It’s not critical or essential to the story of either take on Final Fantasy VII unless there’s a surprise swing in the upcoming Revelation, and its made-for-portable design makes a huge world feel surprisingly small. Nevertheless, of all the Final Fantasy VII spin-offs, it’s the one I would most recommend fans of the main game play. It’s not as grand as it was when it played out on PlayStation Portable screens back in 2007, but it’s compelling all the same.
Obviously, if you own a Nintendo Switch 2 and don’t already own either version of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion, you’ll want this release over the original Nintendo Switch version. There are no disadvantages to it. Those who already picked this game up on the original Switch face a considerably different situation. There are graphical improvements here, but nothing worth paying full price a second time over. I really like Crisis Core as a game, but I think most people in the Nintendo ecosystem who had any interest in it probably already picked up the last-gen version. This native Switch 2 release is something that’s worth considering for newcomers, but extremely hard to justify for those who have already attended this Reunion.
Version Tested: Nintendo Switch 2
Review Copy Provided by Square Enix
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