Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion - DF Tech Review - PS5/Xbox Series X/S and Switch Tested! 

Crisis Core on the PSP is one of the most graphically premium games on the system next to GoW: Ghost Of Sparta, Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker, and Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep. No matter how many times I beat the games I just refused to uninstall them from my Memory Stick. Just I could return to the games after a while and ogle at their console quality-like graphics (at least at the time), impressively squeezed onto a portable system that is essentially an underpowered PS2 handheld.

For a PSP game, those facial animations are still better than a lot of modern day games. I don't know why developers neglect this so much. I mean, even Jak & Daxter had beautiful animation face and body animation on the PS2! And then, of course, Naughty Dog went on to have some of the best work in the industry.

Impressive how good they managed to make it look on Switch. I'm guessing the extended transition from last generation to current generation have allowed a lot of developers to increase their skill in scalability for games. Getting some of these games to run on the VHS Xbox is probably near as difficult. Never had a PSP, so I'm glad I will eventually get a chance to play this game. I'll pick it up a little later on.

Now THIS is what I call a remaster. Seriously impressive work, both on a technical, but also artistic level. This can only be achieved by genuine fans of the original, which is why it's so rare to see a remaster of this quality. It's not really a remake, even though it has new content, I would still consider it a remaster because aforementioned new content is literally just voiced versions of previously written dialogue. Crisis Core Reunion is exactly how I remember Crisis Core being from back in the day. 12/10

The price of freedom is steep indeed.

Crisis Core, along with Dissidia 012 [Duodecim] Final Fantasy, and KH: Birth By Sleep, was one of my favorite PSP games of all time! I've remembered replaying the original game more than 15 times and put about 300 hours into the game. I'm glad the game was remastered for all current consoles. It's also great for introducing new players into the Final Fantasy VII series and for those who missed out on the original PSP version.

You know that "this is how I always remember it looking!" meme? Yeah, I'm finally having that with this. Reunion is how I always remember the original PSP version looking (obviously not at 60fps but still). Seeing the original and Reunion back-to-back like this, maaaaan.

I love this game so freaking much, corny voice acting and all. Actually surprised they got it to play on switch fairly well. Currently playing it on PS5 and replayed the original via emulation on Steam Deck earlier this year. One of my fave entries despite not being mainline. I'm so glad you guys covered it.

This game was the main reason I wanted a PSP back in the day.

I bought a PSP just to play this game back in the day. I adore this game. I'm really enjoying the new faster paced combat. The previous version wouldn't have worked on any console other than the PSP, so I'm glad to see the change. Very pleased with this version

Awesome video Oliver, thanks for going to the effort of doing all the side-by-side comparisons with the PSP game. I’ve wanted to revisit this one for years, looking forward to replaying on Series X.

Crisis core on the PSP looks better than the newer Pokemon games

While not even in the same league as FF7 Remake graphically, I still love Crisis Core. It has a great story and made me realize Zack is an amazing character.

The original game still holds up (visually) amazing well imo.

The original PSP game held up surprisingly well. And look at Switch - the little console that could! So impressed at how much this little device has punched above its weight. I hope its eventual successor does the same.

Weirdly enough, FF7 Crisis Core on the PSP was my very first Final Fantasy game! I had not played many, and the PSP was my darling device. I knew of Final Fantasy 7 because of its infamy, so Crisis Core felt like the next best thing to me. I am so incredibly happy to see it get a really well-done remaster by Square.

I've been looking forward to this. Having a Switch version sounds interesting, given that the game looks so similar to FF7's remake.

I play this game on my OLED LG C1 and looks incredible. They did an impressive job with this one.

I'm very impressed on how closely familiar they kept the look and feel of this game when compared to FF7 Remake(it's like I'm returning to Midgar after a few months lol) I felt right at home...I don't like the new voice over for Zack it's not amazing but its also not that bad.Overall I'm very happy with the outcome and grateful that this game exist in the form of a remake/remaster.The pachinko style slot machine is great and fits in well with the overall gameplay combat(never know w'atcha gonna get lol).Otherwise I hope Square releases a chapter DLC with some more side missions 300 isn't enough for SOLDIER 1st Class Zack !!...If you want that 4K@60fps buttery smooth fast responsive gameplay,PS5 & XSX is the way to go guys...and lastly who can forget Nobuo Uematsu's masterpiece touch on every FF soundtrack. I give this game a perfect 10/10....CONFLICT RESOLVED !!

Played through it on Switch, first time going all the way through CC. Loved it.

The switch port is really nice, It looks and feels great on my non oled switch.

the original only had a single slash normal attack? this makes me appreciate reunion even more. this really leans more into being a remake than just a simple remaster.

Thanks for the video! I've been playing the game on Xbox Series X and it's been wonderful so far after 10+ hours. Addicting system in my opinion, especially after the Materia Fusion opens up.

Would love to see a DF Retro on the original Crisis Core for PSP Hardware.

totally disagree about the visuals not aging well. The artstyle is phenomenal.

I've just about wrapped this up on the SteamDeck. This game is perfect for the SteamDeck with quick in and out missions, instant sleep,and it runs perfectly with minimal tweaks. It's a gem.

The combat is better, but there is no art aesthetic anymore. They used color far more for tone and a bit more visually there was Nomura's style. I've noticed the more push for fidelity, the more games start to look the same and will when most use Unreal Engine. I guess that's what mods are for and also to switch from that terrible voice acting they went with this time around.

This is how i wish they will handle Vagrant Story's remaster. 60 fps, higher resolution textures and assets, and a slightly remade combat system. Keep the battle pause, but the make it so the combo system is done in seamless animations rather than go back to neutral position every after combo hit... JUST LIKE WHAT THEY DID IN CCFF7R!

I think the PSP version is being kinda sold short here. It's an amazing-looking game for the time and the character models still look fantastic today. There's no reason they couldn't have done a remastering like they did for the old Kingdom Hearts games. They have the same timeless, charming visual style. What they ended up doing is still cool technically, but it loses a lot by not keeping the original style, and it doesn't look nearly as good as FF7R to make up for it.

Bought the Switch version last weekend. Surprised how good it looked and played. If I walked in and randomly saw someone playing it, I wouldn't think it was a Switch game. It actually has me wanting a FF7 Remake port now.

This game looks impressive on Switch! I'm currently playing The Witcher 3 and Crisis Core on my Switch and I'm very satisfied. Side note: on the sWitcher 3 (ver. 3.7) it helps a lot if you turn off AA, motion blur and depth of field and set sharpening to max, it changes the game for the better. The Nintendo Switch is still a great little system!

When will the „best graphics of 2022“ video drop? Cant wait😅

My favorite PSP game remastered, i was really "hyped" when they announced it out of the blue. And i'm really pleased with the result.

A remarkable update on an older game. Really brought it up to modern times, and made it a game I just can't stop playing!

That was a pleasantly fantastic review, Oliver. Very concise. Thank you.

I just finished this game and playing this on an ultrawide was awesome. Definitely a good remaster of the original and some improvements.

Oh I think the og game aged very well. I played it before playing Remake and I was still stunned.

Wow, they did a nice job on the Switch, that looks surprisingly good.👍

the prerendered scenes could not have been AI upscaled. the buster sword model is completely different. the PSP game uses the compilation design while reunion uses the original/remake design

What Digital Foundry don't seem to have understood is that the reason why a lot of Japanese action games have "frame pacing issues" is because they leave input processing until as late as possible in the processing pipeline in order to reduce input lag. This is why a game like Bloodborne feels so responsive despite running at 30fps, and poor frame-pacing is the trade-off.

I missed the original release on PSP so I bought it on PS5. I've been having a blast with it so far.

I chose the switch version over ps5 for this one , staying true to the handheld nature of the game and it's actually a fantastic port imo.

Those shadows on switch look amazing, surprisingly so. The tack sharp shadows on the big consoles look really "fake" compared to that, despite being much more demanding to render.

does anyone know if the frame pacing issues were patched on the switch? If not, I'll buy this on PC.

I can't believe I read REDDIT impressions that the graphics sucked and they wish they used the REMAKE engine. I just started the game and was expecting to be disappointed but holy shit the game looks insane! And it runs at 60fps on a PS5. These crazy FF7 fanboys are nuts. The game was a PSP game and the game absolutely looks like it belongs on a PS5. I'm never trusting those idiots again.

I'm really amazed how much more advanced the graphics are yet looks completely faithful to the source. That's really hard to do.

I'm installing the game on PS4 right now. Love this game

Im so hyped for getting this on switch, i used to worship this game back on the psp era.

As a lover of the original on PSP, I am quite content with this remaster. There is just enough tweaks to make it feel up to date along with keeping my nostalgia intact. I'm not a fan of Zack's new voice actor, but i understood why they did it. I think they did a really good job.

I was waiting for this! ❤️

I absolutely loved this game on the PSP. Happy to see it made for the big screen.

Give me back Rick Gomez and this game becomes the definition of a perfect remastered game.

Can't wait to start playing during the holiday! Many positive reviews!

I never played the original but I picked this game up recently and couldn't put it down. It's an excellent remaster and the combat is super fun. I've finished the game and plan to continue a new game plus on hard mode. Highly recommend.

This game was pretty much overlooked back in the day. Glad it got a second wind.

Finished this game a few days ago. So, so good. Absolutely loved it back on the PSP and even more on PS5.

Switch version is fantastic. Playing on OLED in tabletop mode in the office... muah!

Fantastic job! Loved the comparison shots. Must have been a very long and draining process but the result is amazing.

The fact that the PSP version still looks so good, and even better in some scenes imo, is a testament to the PSP's legacy of quality.

It does look great but i think they should have leaned more into the remake. Add a few more walkable areas, make the ones that are available a bit bigger, enhance the mission-system (those are just glorified "kill this miniboss" scenarios - at least when describing the mission as searching for documents make it so that we at least SEE SOME DOCUMENTS) and such simple things. Also - really, a HUD with target-marker in a game where you in general just have a single path?

How are the PS4/Xbox One versions? =)

This is a great video, but it feels like the script is largely a repetition of the same point: "original game doesn't hold up well, so the remaster is a welcome change"

I'm really shocked that the Switch version turned out as well as it did, Square have always delivered well on that console but this seemed well above the hardware paygrade, really great job.

Once again another great video from Oliver. Keen for the pc mod with the original voice acting

Can't believe how good this looks on the Switch. Honestly...this *may* just be their best port yet. I've been playing it on my Steam Deck (due to 60fps), but if that device didn't come out this year also, I feel like I'd probably just buy the game for my switch! This game is seriously a portable GOAT, so I'm glad to see it still possible to play, well, portably! :')

All this video does is remind me how good Crisis Core actually still looks on PSP. I remember being blown away by it at the time and actually still am to this day, keeping in mind the hardware it ran on. Of course, blown up on a modern day TV it has its rough edges but that's not the point. It was never meant to be played that way. I'll even go one step further and say I prefer the older style compared to Reunion. There is something about that semi-realistic and semi-cartoony look to the characters during the PS2/P FF games that really clicks with me, something that later titles lack. Too realistic visuals don't evoke "fantasy" to me.

Glad to see this looking so solid on Switch, I definitely will be picking this up!

Those Switch shadows for Crisis Core was actually incredibly pleasing. Kind of makes me wish we had such an option on other consoles and PC. Combine both types of shadows properly and the games visuals could have been even more enhanced.

No offense, but I really don't think the original looks bad at all. Ofcourse it doesn't look as good but it's a PSP FGS. You don't have to tear down the original to make the new one look better, it looks perfectly lovely with good lighting ( not flat ) for its time. They both look nice in their own way. Art direction is king afterall. Ps I've never played the original or owned a PSP so no bias.

i thought this would be just a straight port. it doesn't look super next gen or anything, but it's a nice surprise to see such a degree of graphics overhaul

But why not 60 fps on PS4 and Xbox One? This game doesn’t look too sophisticated to me.

It was so impressive how good ff crisis core looked on the small screen of the psp given the what, 200hz cpu ? Lmao. In retrospect that system was incredibly weak. Still had such banger games. Goes to show how creativity trumps hardware almost all the time. Though I wont say no to having the game visually improved years later. It deserves it.

Can't wait to experience it on my Xbox Series X, been a long time since I played it on PSP.

The 30fps cap issue is SO prevalent on switch, I wonder if it isn't part of the Base SDK . . . what a shame.

The game on series X with my 65 inch LG G2 is amazing blown away by the quality !!!

The Switch port does look pretty well made, for once! Quite impressive!

I'm glad I didn't play this 15 years ago, I couldn't afford a PSP then but it looks like it worked out for the best!

2:56 That Yuffie looks terrifying... Like a photorealistic adult face put on a cartoon child's body

One of the PSPs many gems. Loved it as a kid, loving it as an old man. I bought the Switch version and I'm thoroughly enjoying it so far.

Nice video, cant wait to play this game on my Xbox Series S!

I think this is mostly a Switch first game rather than console title.

how exZACKly do the visuals FAIR?

Quite a lost opportunity on comparing the Nintendo Switch port with the PC version running on the Steam Deck.

Contrast in the old game makes it look better overall for me

It's right up there with Crash and Spyro as excelent repaintings of an old game.

ACTIVATING COMBAT MODE!

I loved how the video became a Crisis Core Reunion for Switch vs the ports 😂❤

Good to see the Switch version being largely up to snuff! Now the decision is: 120hz 1440p on laptop, or 30hz 720p on Switch... The latter definitely is more convenient and comfortable, but it's quite the technical gap.

This is probably the best example of a remaster. Most remasters just do PC max settings (I think Dishonored is an example of this with a definitive PV version with all the DLC also releasing) or if the console version was near to high/max then something above that with an asset update to the PC version as well (I can't think of an example but I know they exist, mostly in the PS4/XOne gen). But this game takes it a step further, makes sense because the game is so old and on the PSP but I've seen PSP or similar quality games only get a asset resolution bump so this is great to see. It's definitely a remaster (a great one at that) because it still uses a version of the backend but with a massive improved front end, I applaud the developers.

The fact that the Switch can run this game as well as it does is nothing short of impressive.

One question : can you turn off the voice "activating combat mode"?

The pacing of this game is perfect for portable/handheld play where you can pick up and put down the game during the day. I wish a more powerful switch came out just to be able to play this at 1080p 60fps, sadly this doesn’t seem likely and I’ll probably play it on PC. Any idea how this runs on the Steam Deck?

the game of my teenage days... I don't know If I'm ready to revisit it, although now I know It's be in great conditions ! THanks for the work !

I honestly like the art style of the PSP, at least for the character models.

Honestly, the semi-blob shadows of the switch version I’ve their own unique charm to them

Again, a remake has to include gameplay changes. FF7 is a good example as is ActRaiser: Renaissance or that Bionic Commando remake(not the reboot).

This was a dream to play on my Series X and LG C1! Wondering if there's an underlying agenda by Square Enix to gauge the financial performance of this release on Xbox before considering a future FF7 Remake release? Seems a bit confusing to release the prequel to a main line series on a console where the main line series doesn't exist...

For this game I would love to see performance analysis on Steam Deck, since its a mobile game at its Core

Never finished the game back in the day on PSP, and it was also before I had finished FFVII, so I’m excited to go back to this.

I wish they would do this for several PSP exclusives. I would love to play Daxter, MGS PO, Valkyria Chronicles II, Resistance Retribution and bunch of other games trapped on the handheld.