A great Final Fantasy Game. Fans of FF and the world of FFVII must play this!!!
Story - The main story line gives vital detail to the overall story line of the FFVII story. The story really opens up the life of Zack Fair and his friends/foes. If you don't complete any side-missions, the story is good, but if you try and complete everything, you'll understand everything a lot better, and also see some subtle hints and cameos here and there. If you've never played FFVII (I didn't at first) you may miss some of the cameos and important plot lines, but you can still enjoy it. After playing FFVII, and then replaying Crisis Core, I understood everything a lot better.
Characters - Zack Fair is the main character, so the story mainly revolves around him, although his associates also play a big part. You'll see a lot of familiar faces (even more if you play the sub-missions), and some new ones, and they'll all grow on you. If you're like most people, the ending of the game will KILL you! If you appreciate the FFVII story, it will definitely clear things up.
Gameplay - You will be running/walking to get from place to place (except when doing side missions, which are chosen from the menu), which can get tedious at times, but doesn't ruin the game. You will talk to start missions, learn more about the FFVII universe, or just to hear some funny things or cameos. The fighting is a real time/turn based combination, although you'll be mashing buttons 60% of the time. Overall, nothing new here.
Graphics - The cutscenes show some of the best graphics on the PSP (Final Fantasy never lets down). As for graphics during gameplay, these are still above par, although they are no where near the cutscenes.
Music - One of the best original soundtracks I've ever heard (Final Fantasy and Zelda, oh yeah) in a PSP game. The main theme is very catchy and is always present in some form. Songs from FFVII can also be heard, although they may be "cosmetically" changed.
Overall, this was the game that got me into Final Fantasy (along with Final Fantasy X). It's a great game, and if you have a PSP, like the box says, it's definitely worthy of a "Greatest Hits" title.