Crisis Core is what any VII fan has been waiting for, excluding a remake.
Graphically, this game pleases the eye, with in game graphics being, I think, on par if not better than X. The special cutscenes use the same engine that made Advent Children, so you know they're gorgeous. One of the best parts of it's graphic power is...Facial expressions!! It has some of the best I've seen in a long time, and the fact that they look realistic, you can believe that they're happy/sad/brooding, etc.
Controls : Easy as pie. Granted they take a little bit of getting used to, but when you do, it's a cakewalk. Using essentially the same combat system as Kingdom Hearts, this Action/RPG feels perfect for the PSP.
Now, the confusing part is the Digital Mind Wave, or DMW. It's a slot machine that randomly awards stuff, and even controls whether or not you level up. Now, I don't think it's a huge ordeal to deal with it, but some people might.
Story : Tragic. Much like SW:RoTS (Star Wars : Revenge of the Sith), you know what's going to happen in the end, so the game builds up a good story with a easily likeable character to make it that much more sad in the end. As fans of VII know, Zack clearly doesn't make it into VII alive, so knowing this kind of sucks. As does the fact that his death is tragically unecessary. Or the fact that Aerith never gets to spend quality time with him, or...You get the idea. It's sad. But it's also great. Fleshing out the details of how once nice guy Sephiroth became one of gaming's biggest villains is a nice touch, as is a back story to a huge sword of unbelievabel popularity (Tell me you don't know the Buster Sword, and I'll tell you you've been under a rock for 10 years). To me, the story is...Just good.
Everything else : Nothing to complain about. I've had no beef with anything at all in this game. In fact, with 300 side missions, Bahamut, some old friends, new friends and enemies, and a squat master with spikey black hair, this game is easily one of the best I've played in a long time. This game doesn't need the subtitle of Final Fantasy VII to sell at all, it stands on it's own as a great game. A little short, but great.