Do You Need To Play FF7 Crisis Core: Reunion To Fully Enjoy FF7 Rebirth? 

That is awesome man! I feel like we must have had a similar trajectory and timeline with FF7. I played the OG Final Fantasy many years ago but had never played Crisis Core on PSP. Then I played FF7 Remake and loved it. Crisis Core is a great game in it's own right but at the same time it compliments the FF7 universe and story so well. I hope people don't sleep on Crisis Core and I really stand behind Yoshinori Kitase's quote that "If Crisis Core Reunion is played in between Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth, it would really enhance everyone's experience of this entire remake project." Are you planning to play Rebirth on Day 1?

Crisis Core on PSP was actually my first FF7 game, then Remake and I’m almost done with OG in prep for Rebirth. FF7 is literally like JRPG Star Wars 😂

Wow, that's cool that you started with Crisis Core on PSP! How are you liking OG FF7? Right, it feels like it has a lot of Star Wars connections in a good way!

I love it! My first ever FF as a kid was IX, so it was nostalgic for me. Considering it came out in 97, SE really outdid themselves with FF7. Incredible piece of art. Can't wait for Rebirth! @@thundersteve85gaming

It's truly breathtaking to see how SE has brought the 1997 created world of FF7 to life with the Remake and I believe Rebirth is going to take that feeling to a whole new level! IX is classic and it keeps getting brought up as the next game to receive the remake treatment. 🤞

Thank you, I appreciate the kind words!

Thank you Rebecca, I appreciate your comment! I didn't play it on PSP but I knew there were some major quality of life improvements with how similar it played to FF7 Remake. I'm right there with you, I was determined to find every treasure chest in each mission because you never know if your going to miss out on something crazy good! Agreed, this story is important for people to get to know Zack and the role he played leading up to FF7!

Hi Cloudxz92, thank you for leaving a comment! 1) I 100% agree and I think that playing through Crisis Core is mandatory in order to fully understand the gravity of the entire FF7 story. 2) Absolutely, I really enjoyed my team spent with Crisis Core. I would agree, Zack is a very loveable character and easy to root for. I honestly hope he plays a sizable role in Rebirth and maybe even the final chapter. + Agree with you there, I'm guessing if I would have just focused on the story that it might have been over too quick but I wanted to 100% the game and really take everything in because I love the FF7 Story that much. Glad you enjoyed the game just as much as I did!

Playing CC before part 2 and 3 will ruin many important plot points from the story, it's like watching the Star Wars prequel before the OG trilogy, you're ruining the story for yourself.

@@domx7zero157 In the OG FF7 I would say yeah. Because Zack was only a Plot Device for two Flashbacks. But in Rebirth he will have a huge Role for Cloud, Aerith and probaly some more Peoble. But Hamaguchi said in a Interview anyways that Crisis Core is not canon anymore. So well let's see what they do?

If you play this you will completely ruin Clouds plot, and probably get ruined on Aerith's plot too. Zack was meant to be a WTF moment, not a known quantity. He was a mystery figure that Cloud has to piece back together with Tifa. Basically the 2 biggest story climaxes in the game, and what made it such a classic story.

Very nice! I can't wait for Rebirth! I have other games I need to play and review but I'm debating running through NewGameMode+ on FF7 Remake. I just checked my trophy log because that's the only way I can seem to remember when I last played a game and I beat it 2 1/2 years ago. I never do NewGameMode+ but I feel like a refresher might be good.

First time?

Good call on watching a playthrough Andy! Right, I feel like Crisis Core has so much to offer in the story department that can only add to our experience with the Remake Trilogy! Zack really is a great Protagonist, so happy SquareEnix decided to remake Crisis Core!

@@thundersteve85gaming I agree. It was definitely worthy of a remake. Im so curious as to how they are going to construct any alternate Zack narratives into the cannon FF7 story especially with the whole alternate timeline ending. Who knows?!

I agree, the biggest curiosity I have is how they are going to weave Zack into the FF7 story. Were only a month away though from finding out!

🤝👏 Very well said! I agree and mentioned this in my review too, specifically the comments from Yoshinori Kitase. I think playing Crisis Core can only add to one's overall experience with the FF7 Remake Trilogy Story.

100%, I couldn't have said it any better! I am thankful that nothing about this series is Final!

That was my conclusion as well!

Absolutely! What kind of gaming setup are you going for? I’d say my monitors are fairly modest but that’s because I don’t game on my monitors, I game on a 65’ Sony 4K TV in my game room, or I game on my 85’ Sony 4K TV or on my Ben Q Gaming Projector. I have two Dell Monitors that I use on my PC. One is a 1440P Dell Gaming Monitor and the other is a curved Dell gaming monitor. The curved monitor is nice to have for when I’m livestreaming. Just let me know some more details and I’m happy to help, share models numbers if you need them, etc. 🤝

Thank you Jesse! I actually got the FF7 shirt at a place called 8-Bit Aleworks. It's a brewery in Avondale, Arizona and the Owners are a married couple that are huge FF7 fans. A few years ago they had this huge FF7 themed party to celebrate their 7 year anniversary. They brewed a special FF7 Beer, they had custom pint glasses, tumblers, t-shirts, they had the Minibosses bands playing music from FF7. It was quite the party! I'll leave you a link to the website in case you want to reach out to see if they have any t-shirts left. The owners are huge Gamers and super nice so I'm sure they will help you out if they can! www.8-bitaleworks.com/about-us/

That’s awesome! I’ll check it out, thanks! Keep up the great work! I’ll be subscribing to your channel for sure!

Thank you Jesse, I appreciate your Sub and vote of confidence! Will do!

LOL valid question because I know how tough it is to let a brand new game just sit there waiting to be played. I do personally think if you've beaten Crisis Core Reunion it will enrich your overall experience with Rebirth. I'm 20 hours into Rebirth right now and I'm really taking my time with it as I'm only on Chapter 2 but I'm making sure that I 100% each area... So I haven't seen a ton of the story yet in Rebirth but from what I have seen, I was really happy that I not only decided to play Crisis Core Reunion first but that I went with my gut and recommended other people to play it first...

Awesome! Please let me know what you think of it once you've played it! I can't wait for Rebirth, I have it preordered at Best Buy because it comes with 2 steelbooks. So if you haven't preordered yet and want a steelbook, check out Best Buy. One of the rare times I would recommend Best Buy 🤣 but you can't beat the free steelbook!

You shouldn't, it ruins the plot that occurs after remake part 1, it's basically like watching the OG Star Wars trilogy already knowing who Darth Vader is and Luke and Leia's relationship. There's a reason you should watch them in release order. Same with FF7, Crisis Core explores plot points you will learn later in the remake. Knowing them in advance will ruin those moments. It's the "I am your father" of FF7. Don't do it.

I think there's two groups of thought when it comes to playing Crisis Core that revolves around when you should play it and that answer can change based on if you've played the original Final Fantasy 7 or not. I feel like that's where opinions really divide on the subject matter.

YES remake makes more sense having played FF crisis core

100% Zacatkinson!

Thank you!! That is awesome and I'm glad you chose to play Crisis Core before FF7 Remake and Rebirth! IMO, since you enjoyed Crisis Core you are going to enjoy FF7 Remake even more. I actually need to revisit FF7 Remake to play the DLC before Rebirth comes out and I'm actually really looking forward to returning to that game. Let me know what you think of FF7 Remake once you've sunk a good chunk of time into it!

@@thundersteve85gaming haha I actually played Remake's base game last year, enjoyed it but didn't love it. But early this year I completed og 7 and went back to some cutscenes or Remake and everything made a LOT more sense and of course played CC right after. I'm gonna play the intermission DLC with Yuffie soon so I'll be ready for Rebirth!

Oh nice, so you are like totally prepared for Rebirth then! I definitely enjoyed Remake but I do feel like Rebirth is going to be a lot better especially with the more open world route they decided to go with with!

Nice man, I played the OG when I was 12 and have fond memories of it. I have heard this about Crisis Core and I've tried to remember why I didn't play it on my PSP back in the day and I'm almost certain I had the same sentiment towards. I am always weary of cash grabs and I agree that SquareEnix has been known for that. Thank you for taking the time to check it out! Are you planning on picking up Rebirth at launch?

@@thundersteve85gaming Absolutely, Deluxe pre-order here I come!

NICE!!! That's the way to do it! Gotta take advantage of these preorder bonuses before they all become digital preorder bonuses!

Hi Matt, you gave a really good breakdown of your history with FF7 which will help us to give you the best advice we can. You are correct in that the Remake Trilogy has and will intentionally change content from the original. I personally have not beaten the original FF7 since 1997 so when I played Remake, there was only so much I remembered from the original, always like watching a movie again for the first time but not quite you know? I think that since you recall that famous, tragic scene that Crisis Core won't hit you with any big spoilers but would provide you with more backstory and context into the overarching FF7 story and it essentially tells Zack's entire story which I thought was extremely good. I would personally recommend Crisis Core before Rebirth and think you'd really benefit from knowing Zack's story.

@@thundersteve85gaming thank you! I really appreciate this response. I’ve been leaning towards playing CC Reunion, so I think I’m gonna do it. The fact that I know the main plot twists from the OG game makes me feel especially justified. Square Enix has created such an interesting predicament for new players haha. Thanks again for your input

You are most welcome Sir! I think you should and I think you will enjoy it, especially by choosing to play it right before Reunion comes out this week! You'll have to let me know what you think of it!

Right, I definitely hear you on that and feel like it's a legitimate question as to whether or not it should be played prior to Rebirth. Even more than my video, the comments has a lot of good and strong opinions and it's clear that it's not an easy question to answer.

Hi! I agree, I don’t think you need to play it to enjoy the story but I’d surmise that one would enjoy the story even more if they played Crisis Core. Between Zack’s story, experiencing Shinra as an actual employee, seeing more of Sepheroths backstory, it was just really cool and more than I had expected. I think we won’t fully know how important the story is until Rebirth and Part 3. Either way, my body is ready for Rebirth. Are you planning to play it right when it comes out?

@@thundersteve85gaming I don't think I will play it right away at this point and this era of gaming. It would be nice to experience the world in the update graphic as the story has already concluded and advance child also did a good job as well :)

I must say I am very interested to see how they change the story because it sounds like it's going to change quite a bit from the original FF7. 🤔 There's a lot of great games to play nowadays and only so much time.

But the reveal of Zack's story in the OG (or remake part 2 or 3) is one of the most important moments in the story. Why would you want to learn that in advance? It's like watching Empire Strikes Back already knowing how it ends. Exploring Zack should be done after.@@thundersteve85gaming

I hear you on that and I agree, it won't take anything away from your experience of the original or Remake. I wanted to get it out sooner and was hoping I'd get it out early enough for people to still play Crisis Core before Rebirth. I just looked up Crisis Core on 'Howlongtobeat.com' and it's saying you can get through the story in 14 hours in case you do have time to play it before Rebirth. I'm going to shoot to playthrough FF7 Remake as well in NewGame+ before Rebirth for a refresher and to play through the Yuffie DLC. Good call, playing Crisis Core after Rebirth will help fill in the FF7 Remake gap. Let me know what you think of it once you play it if you remember!

they missing out a lot crisis core is banger i would even pick zack as better protagonist than edgy cloud.

Hey Nemi, first I wanted to thank you for Subscribing, welcome you to the community and thank you for leaving a great comment! I don’t understand why Streamers wouldn’t want to go back and play the original game? I feel like a people don’t know that the story is being altered in the Remake Trilogy you know? Since it is being altered, I would have to believe that experiencing the original FF7 story and the Remakes story would only enhance one’s overall experience in the same way it would if everyone played Crisis Core. I think for people that have never seen any of the Star Wars movies the same thing could be said for Rogue One/A New Hope and Crisis Core/FF7 when it comes to spoilers because Rogue One sets the stage for A New Hope in the same way that Crisis Core sets the stage for FF7. I think your FF7 journey is a perfect example of what my review suggests as the best possible way to experience the FF7 Remake Trilogy and you make some great points as to why. Cloud’s flashbacks and Sephiroth’s intentions make sense now and take on a deeper meaning. I enjoyed many aspects of Crisis Core but I think Crisis Core’s biggest strength is how its story lends itself to help us better understand the overarching FF7 story. Right, that’s the other part of this too in that we don’t know how the story is going to change in Rebirth and the final game in the trilogy but just playing through and completing Crisis Core, you know the plotline is going to change but we don’t exactly know how it’s going to change. I agree with you 100% that there is a reason SquareEnix brought back Crisis Core and introduced us to Zack and gave us Sephiroth’s backstory. Let me ask you, I was thinking about picking up and watching Advent Children. I didn’t watch it back in the day but I enjoy the FF7 story so much that I wonder if I should pick it up? I know you mentioned it’s not a must but would you recommend me to watch Advent Children?

Agree with you that Crisis Core is a banger and shouldn't be missed and I think there could be a valid debate as to who is the better Protagonist!

@@phoenixdown1947 Crisis Core is a banger for sure! To me Zack is not a better protagonist than Cloud, just a different protagonist. I like both Cloud and Zack a lot. I also like Aerith and Tifa a lot and don't care much for the shipping wars some people seem to have. Barret, Red III, Yuffie, Vincent and Cid are all cool characters too. The friendship and banter between all the characters is what makes the game so magical to me. I wish they could have remade and updated the dialogue in CCR to match Remake a little more, focus more on character building, that would have made it even better. I understand that would have taken a lot more time and money so maybe not worth it. I still love CCR like it is.

I agree, I think arguments could be made for Cloud or Zack but for me, I enjoy both of them equally. Love the rest of the characters. Aerith and Tifa's music themes are so good too. The banter between the characters feels genuine and I think that's a big part of what makes it so special.

Agreed, I think playing Crisis Core will only enrich ones overall experience with FF7 OG and the Remake Trilogy!

@@thundersteve85gaming Yeah after they finish playing 7 remake, they’ll be shocked by the story 😅

I agree, can't wait to see where the story takes us in Rebirth!

this is exactly what I´m doing. Just beat the OG FF7 for the first time yesterday on switch, it was a blast!

And ruin the plot of remake part 2 and 3... why would you do this?@@ayyachris

Great comment and information. I can't wait for Rebirth. It does certainly look like it's going to continue on in that direction!

I have put in over 200 hours on Rebirth and what a masterpiece it is. After playing it, my opinion has only strengthened. I think Crisis Core should absolutely be played prior to playing Rebirth.

I guess were going to have to see how Square changes the story with Rebirth and Part 3. I just keep going back to Executive Producer Yoshinori Kitase saying that Crisis Core is a bridge to be play between Final Fantasy VII Remake and Rebirth. 🤔

I completely understand where you're coming from @@thundersteve85gaming. I guess we'll be much smarter in a few weeks :)

eh i dont even think the spoil is even that big of a deal.. idk why some of u ppl think it is

Really good points, especially when you mentioned playing Reunion first because you it might be hard to go back to controlling just 1 character. I haven't seen anyone bring up that point yet and I think it's a good one. I agree, I think Zach's place in the new FF7 story is going to change quite a bit so it would make sense to play Reunion first.

@@thundersteve85gaming thank you, I completed Reunion and the game was awesome, I don’t get why people are trying to justify skipping the game when overall it was a very fun experience, and didn’t take anywhere near as long to complete as remake.

I don’t really understand why some people are skipping it either. I think Crisis Core is a really nice companion piece to the overarching story and was an extremely enjoyable adventure. Can’t believe we’re only 10 days away from Rebirth now!

@@thundersteve85gaming I’m so hype, sadly I’ll have to wait a few months for the pc port.

Well I hope it comes to PC ASAP and I hope people don't post too many spoilers on the internet. I will be reviewing the game after I've beaten it and I promise my review will be story-spoiler free but you know we can't say the same for the rest of the internet!

Hi AlexanderArts, I think you bring up some good points. Sometimes it's best for a character to be left mysterious. I felt like after playing through Crisis Core, the Mystic surrounding Sephiroth's character is still completely intact and I will say that was a genuine concern of mine going into the game. Main reason it was a concern is because that character is so special in the FF7 Universe. Only time will tell with Rebirth's story, I feel like it's going to go in a direction we don't know. Nonetheless, thank you for the comment as there really is something to be said for when you should play Crisis Core dependent upon your play history with the game.

Right and that is an issue especially for people who never played the original Final Fantasy 7. I think if you played the original then it's a must play but if you haven't played the original, it's up for debate as to not 'if' but 'when' you should actually play it.

I'm with you on that!

LOL I could see that.

I think that is probably the safest way to go about it to avoid the big plot twists.

Did play OG but was too young to remember all details

I hear that man, I beat OG once back in 1997 so ain't no way I can remember details from 27 years ago!

@@thundersteve85gaming I did replay OG on the 3X mode and no encounter I think I put in like 2 hours or 3 max and it gave me perspective for FF7 remake which is all Midgar anyway. I did not realize how spicy the game narrative is... at all! I was too young to understand the adult content and nuances. I got to the point in FF7 OG you're in "open world" but I don't think I'm going to continue OG. Once I finish FF7 remake, I was going to play Crisis Core but that may be too much and I'll jump to rebirth, and at some point, I may play Crisis Core

Well it sounds like you've put a lot of thought into how you are going to tackle the remakes! I agree with you, as a middle aged man I both understand and connect with the story in ways I couldn't as a young teenager. That's something I really love about returning to movies or videogames at an older age because it can take on an entirely different meaning. I'm playing Rebirth right now as a type out this message and all I will say is that I am simply blown away...

I hear that. I don't think you NEED to play it but I do think it will enrich your overall experience with the FF7 Remake Trilogy story. So, I think it all depends on how you want to experience it. I think if you want the definitive experience, you've gotta play Crisis Core Reunion but that doesn't mean you'll have a poor experience with the Trilogy Remake if you don't play it.

It won't enrich it, it will spoil some of the best moments you're supposed to learn in part 2 or 3. Would Empire Strikes Back be as good if you already knew who Darth Vader was?@@thundersteve85gaming

Ultimately I think it depends on how you want to experience it, if you've played the original FF7, there's a lot that goes into deciding when the right time is to play this game without knowing how the story is going to change in Rebirth and Part 3. Much of making this decision requires some speculation on our part. Square might change some major story elements, we just don't know yet. But I don't understand why Kitase would say that the best way to experience CCR is between FF7 Remake and Rebirth. All I can think is that he of course knows how the story is going to play out and that's why he recommends playing it before Rebirth. 🤔

I agree that some of the stuff with Genesis and Angeal feels uninspired but the other parts of the story I really enjoyed.

When I want a summary I use the chapters, that's why I include them on all my videos. That way you skip around and watch the topics that are most important to you and it also allows people to skip over sections that could be considered spoiler territory. Yes, I wrote a review for Crisis Core and then I used it as a baseline for my script. 👍

Did you watch the FF7 Rebirth State of Play and Final Trailer? Zack was in it a few times. It's going to be interesting to see how it all plays out. 🤔

I hadn't played Crisis Core on PSP so even though they didn't add any new modes or story elements, the whole game was new for me. I enjoyed hearing Zacks story, witnessing his interactions with Cloud and getting an inside look at Shinra and learning how Sephiroth became who the man that he turned into. I do think Zack will play a larger role in Rebirth. What do you think?

@@thundersteve85gaming i love Crisis Core OG and Reunion don't get me wrong. My whole thing was the Developers were a little lazy in going for almost a full remake but instead remastered the hell out of the old game, they had an opportunity to go into a "what if" ending or bonus ending that would bridge into the overall REMAKEVERSE story. The VA's did a phenomenal job except for Zack's VA, not being a Rick Gomez fan but TBH they could've gotten someone better for Zack. Zack's my fav character over Cloud so I'm in favor of Zack coming back and having a much bigger role within the FF7 REMAKEVERSE. There's no point to throw the "Reunion" in the title, they just wasted the possible title for the 3rd FF7 game.

Very good points Sir. There really is no point in calling it 'Reunion' if Zack wasn't going to be coming back to play a larger role in the Remakeverse. I see what your saying in regards to the game almost being a full remake and I do wonder why they didn't just give it the Remake treatment unless it had to do with an internal timeline constraint? I would have liked a 'what if' ending and I know plenty of others fans that wanted the same thing. Agreed, the VA's were all good. Zack can come across a little too 'cheery' for me at times but it grew on me towards the end of the game. I also presume they didn't update any of the writing in the game which I think leaned into him sounding so cheery.

🤣 I definitely hugged the walls whenever I felt like I was satisfied with my character level and stats. I did all the missions and when you have 300 missions, it's bound to get repetitive so I hear you on that. I wanted to make sure I got all the rewards and the main reward for 100% mission completion. I definitely prefer more open world RPG settings but could appreciate the games direction.

Hi Mac, that makes total sense. Some of the side missions, particularly the one you are talking about was annoying and it does show its age but at the same time I was impressed that they were able to take a PSP title and transform it as well as they did! I think my least favorite FF has to be Mystic Quest on SNES if we even want to count it as a legit FF game...

I'm sorry you didn't like the background but thank you for leaving a comment and giving me that feedback. If you watch any of my other reviews and just want to know the bottom line which I can totally understand, I have chapters on my videos so you can skip ahead to the 'Final Thoughts' chapter. 👍

The Devolepers specificly Remasterd it befor Rebirth becaus its canon to Remake. They recomend you pkay it befor Rebirth becaus Zack plays a bigger role in the Remake. So yes itIS Importe to knew about Crisis Core. It doesnt Ruin stuff eather it Shows the Begining of the Crisis in FF7 in full detail.CRISIS CORE The CORE of the CRISIS

Unfortunately they spoiled Zack period in the Remake. His entire existence is not even known and any discussion of him is a opening a can of worms about some of the biggest spoilers of the original game. Though at this point, they may also figure like Sephiroth, it’s been like twenty years and most people know who he is and some key spoilers somehow, or it’s vague enough that newcomers still don’t know. At the same time, I can see people going ‘who the hell is Zack’, googling it, and unintentionally spoiling a ton of shit for themselves because SE can’t resist.

Hi Dom, I appreciate your opinion and clear passion for the series. I think the first reply to your comment from @indiegames4359 summarizes much of what I would have said. As mentioned in my Review, Director Yoshinori Kitase was quoted as saying "If Crisis Core Reunion is played in between Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth, it would really enhance everyone's experience of this entire remake project." Crisis Core is cannon, I don't think it ruined or spoiled anything, I think it added to the overall experience. Did you enjoy the game?

100% agree and couldn't have said it better!

You're the one misleading people. Rebirth isn't FF7 OG. Zack is alive for fuck sake.

Great comment, thank you! I'm glad you decided to play and beat Crisis Core! I'm with you, I almost wish I had played it sooner but I'm glad everything is fresh in my mind before Rebirth! Agreed! That's sort of my stance in that we don't know what will take place in Rebirth and I have a feeling CCR is going to provide greater context for fans!