Crisis Core offers a game experience that feels complete on it's own, yet adds strength to FF's most beloved installment
This is true of games that spin off of movie franchises, as well. Usually, they feel like regurgitated food, missing the original taste of what was great, and giving you nothing more than what existed...but ultimately, harder to digest, and honestly, mostly awful to even consider consuming.
There was one exception I can think of. Bioware's Knights Of the Old Republic was brilliance in a can, that managed to stand on it's own two feet as an amazing game with great story and gameplay, and at the same time, strengthening a franchise sorely in need of some missing magic.
With Crisis Core, now there are two.
This game weaves a fantastic line of telling it's own story, but unlike KOTOR, does so while leading up almost DIRECTLY to the beginning of FF7, and largely succeeds at the task, making it's own story memorable, while giving some context to characters briefly touched on in the first game. And, his name, is Zack.
Unlike most of the male main characters in FF games, that take more than half a game to start liking, Zack is a likable guy from the start. He's obnoxious in a lovable way, mostly because he has a sense of loyalty and honor that are unbending. He also has a buffoon like charm that is truely endearing. In a franchise that seems to churn out cardboard cutouts of "the angsty, misunderstood hero" or "the happy go lucky, annoyingly charming" female sidekick, Zack DEFINITELY stands out as his own character.
His relationship with a young Cloud, and a younger Aerith, are truly endearing.
As I said, Crisis Core tells it's own story, and with that, introduces mixes recognizable faces with it's own set of characters, and they're largely fantastic all around. Of the new characters, Angeal, Zack's mentor, and Cissnei, a female member of the Turks who endears herself to Zack, definitely stand out as the strongest of the new, while old characters like Sepharoth, Tseng, and Professor Hojo all have their roles deepened strongly within Crisis Core.
The gameplay, for me at least, was a refreshing change from the normal turn based affair. It plays like a simple fighting game, with an attack/block/dodge mechanic interwoven with a "slot machine" like element that can randomly issue a free heal, a high power damage spell, or a level up. Some people didn't care for it, but I really enjoyed it, and would like to see Square start moving their main franchise more in this particular direction, as it didn't hurt the story, and made the game portion feel more engaging and active.
As the main story progresses, Zack can engage in 'missions' along the way, to gain new materia, or to simply level up or get more comfortable with your combat skills. Some are easy, some are fairly challenging, but after a while, they begin to take on a feel of exploring planets in Mass Effect, where the maps and mechanics start to feel repetitive after a while.
That aside, the game is very, VERY good, the gameplay is a step in the right direction, and it tells a story that's better and more coherent than the last 2 installments of the main FF series. It also looks DAMN good...easily the best looking game on the PSP to date...the only shame of it being you can't play it on a PS3, and really enjoy the improved graphics for all they're worth.
Fans of FF7 will, undoubtedly, love this game. I sure did. And, non fans will find that it steers away from what is most annoying about FF games in general (i.e. whining angsty teens), and gives a game experience that feels compelling and complete on it's own, while adding a layer of depth and intrigue to what came before it.
Why square can make a spin off this good, which historically usually fail, while churning out bad installments of the main franchise, which historically have been great, is completely beyond me. I wish they would take this exact team to make their next FF installment, cause it'd probably be their most relevant in a decade.
Give it a spin...it's worth your time to play, no matter who you are.