I tend to be a bit meh about game remasters – as much as I love The Last of Us Part 1, I do wish Naughty Dog would crack on with Part 3 instead of updating the original for every new PlayStation generation – but sometimes a remaster brings a brilliant game back to life and introduces it to a whole new audience. That's what Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion seems set to do. From the footage I've seen so far it's absolutely jaw-dropping. I've included the trailer below so you can see for yourself.
The original game was on PSP, but the remake is coming to everybody: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and Steam. And in addition to the usual graphical updates, the new version has some important changes too.
Why Crisis Core is more than just a remaster
Crisis Core was a prequel to Final Fantasy 7, and it came out in 2007 (2008 in the west). The new version, which will be released later this year, is the same game – but it doesn't just improve the resolution, There are new textures, new lighting, changes to the cutscenes and a completely redesigned user interface. According to Push Square the camera has been altered too in order to give you better control; the site calls it a "glow up" and I think that's a really great description.
It's definitely causing a lot of excitement among Final Fantasy fans: the original was much-loved, and it looks like there's been a lot of love in the remastering for 2022 – although some fans are concerned about how well it'll fit with the FF series' canon, as there are some inconsistencies with later games. No doubt Square Enix has thought of that too.
I haven't played this yet but from what I've seen so far this looks more like a Demon's Souls-style remake rather than a lazy cash grab; the fact that the game itself was pretty great to start with – 8.5 out of ten on IGN and the same on IMDb – means that simply making it available on new platforms should guarantee decent sales and make a lot of Final Fantasy fans very happy.
