YES! Finally after a long time of waiting a game is released to answer many questions regarding the happenings in Final Fantasy VII.  Why was Could living in the shadows of another man?  Why does Aerith act the way she does around Could? What is the true story behind Zack and Sephiroth? All these questions and many more are answered in Crisis Core the prequel to FFVII.

Being a HUGE fan of FFVII as it was the first RPG I played besides Mario RPG, I was looking forward to this game with great anticipation.  Though I didn’t get my hopes up because the battle system was something I wasn’t sure of being that I didn’t really like the live action turn base style of FFXII.  However, my expectations of this game have been out matched to such a degree it’s off the charts.

First I would just like to explain that I’ve only played for about an hour and a half last night.  Not really a long enough time to get a feel for the game, but I can tell you what a great first impression the game has made on me.  Anyone who has played FFVII can remember the beautiful sound track to the game.  Much of that music has been kept and it’s just so wonderful to hear it all again.

Graphically this game is jaw dropping.  CGI movie clips are just like from the Advent Child movie.  The voice acting is also well done and well queued.  Even the graphics for the over all game play is just light years ahead of what the original game was.  Putting the whole package together makes for a truly amazing experience.  But now you might ask, what about that battle system? What about other aspects of what FFVII had like the Meteria?  Well let me answer that.

As I stated I didn’t get my hopes up about this.  Quite frankly I was only getting the game for the storyline and nostalgic reasons.  To my delighted surprise though the battle system is MUCH better then what I was expecting.  Meteria is not allotted to the slots on the weapons as it use to be rather you just get a set number that you can equip to start with.  It still lvls up but not so much from use like it use to.

DMW this is a new system added into Crisis Core.  It’s like a slot machine but you have no control over it.  It runs all the time in battle unless your SP reaches 0.  I’m not going to explain in detail about it since this is only a first impression.  I’ll just tell you that the DMW is very important and is how not only your Meteria levels up but how YOU level up as well; along with how limit breaks work and such.   
 
Battling is live action but just like in most FF games besides XII you can’t see your enemies before hand.  They just randomly appear in front of you and then you go into combat mood.  There is no cut scene into battle either, it just commences with a short voice clip and you start to attack.  There is a button set as defense another for evading both of which consume AP.  Your target circle is automatic in which ever way you are facing.  It’s VERY fast pace.  You use the L and R to toggle through your Meteria, items and Attack.

For my first time with this game I can say that I am very happy with what I’ve seen so far.  Now that my initial thoughts on the battle system have been put to rest I will sit back and enjoy as the back story unfolds.  Oh and I did get the guide with it just to have it.  It was wonderfully illustrated.

Now last but not least.  This game has New Game + WOOT! I love this since for my first play through I don't plan on making 100% completion but I'll go for that on my second or maybe third play through because there are items you can equip that make the game even more challenging.

I almost cried at the ending. D: Why'd