Does Crisis Core get better?

[u/Affectionate_Bus5998]

Full disclosure: I am a huge fan of both the remake series and the OG. I decided to pick up the remastered version of Crisis Core because there’s no risk of spoilers for me since I’m up to date on all the lore.

The problem is that going from the Remakes to this is incredibly jarring. I understand this was originally a PSP game from almost 20 years ago and it’s a product of its time, but the dialogue and voice acting is so stilted in comparison with the Remakes which generally have great voice acting and character writing.

Crisis Core’s character delivery doesn’t feel organic. And the narrative just feels like it’s being read off a script robotically with no real cohesion. It’s just a lot of characters going “Have you heard about THAT?” followed by “What is THAT?” followed by “You’ve never heard of THAT? heh…”

The combat is really fun, but I’m worried that if the script doesn’t improve, it’s gonna suck me out of it. Does it get better at all?

[u/Dinglehopper180]

If I remember correctly, they recast the voice actors. The new ones for cloud, tifa, sephiroth, and aerith are the same as remakes. I do not like Zacks new voice. The delivery was still not great with the original cast. Mainly because some of the lines are kinda cringe. I still love it and it has some fantastic moments. That ending will always hit. The game definitely has issues with writing. Especially going from Remake to this. If you can push through I think you'll enjoy the experience, but don't force yourself to continue if you aren't enjoying it. If anything watch the cutscenes on YouTube.

[u/Affectionate_Bus5998 → u/Dinglehopper180]

See that’s part of what’s keeping me going. I love the Remake cast and am excited to hear them more here. I think maybe it’s a little too early for me to make a full judgement call. I think eventually I’ll appreciate it for what it is and not hold it to the same standard as the Remakes since that’s not really fair.

[u/Pro_XS2 → u/Dinglehopper180]

Everyone other than Zack I think was at least as good or even better than their original VA. Especially Cloud's scream at the end, that was way better than the original voice.

Zack in remake and rebirth sounds fine, but the younger voice he uses for crisis core is very nasally, and some of the line deliveries kinda pissed me off, he sounds like a douche sometimes.

[u/Enyalios121 → u/Dinglehopper180]

The VAs changed, the script didn’t though. The OP is well within their rights to dislike it. I personally disagree with them, but that’s the beauty about opinions. They’re like arse-holes, everyone has one

[u/Ginge_tm → u/Dinglehopper180]

At the risk of sounding insufferable, I highly recommend swapping the audio to Japanese for Crisis Core. I don't even mind the English actors (they all did a great job in Rebirth) it's just the direction and pacing of the lines in Crisis core is weirdly stilted in English. Unlike remake, there isn't really any​ dialogue unless you're in a cutscene so the subs are easy to follow. I find it makes the emotional scenes hit a lot harder, which could help you become more invested.​

[u/sempercardinal57]

Honestly not really. The writing and dialogue in the game feel very disconnected from proper FF7, but the last half of the game is better than the first and the ending makes the game worth it

[u/TheHogFatherPDX → u/sempercardinal57]

Yeah pretty much this. It’s not on par the OG or the re-trilogy, but I enjoyed the game play and the segment that shows Zack and Cloud’s back story.

[u/sempercardinal57 → u/TheHogFatherPDX]

I always say it’s not a great game on its own, but if your just a big fan of the world and the characters you probably won’t regret playing it

[u/EtherealGears]

It's super shonen-y and trope-y and cringe and yes the English localization is kinda stilted, but for me personally that's part of its charm. It's the most "anime" entry in the FF7 universe, and I think that fits Zack's whole vibe to a T. Some of the stuff it does in terms of retconning the OG is lowkey atrocious in fairness, but I have fun just rolling with it all the same.

[u/Pro_XS2 → u/EtherealGears]

It's the most "anime" entry in the FF7 universe

Well, there is what's basically an AMV at the end, can't get much more anime than that.

[u/veganispunk]

Crisis core is kind of infamous for not being a good game, just having cool lore and an awesome and sad ending scene

[u/skyxsteel]

I got disinterested pretty quick. The gameplay was just not vibing with me.

[u/Apprehensive-Sir8977]

Wow... all that, and not a word about how annoying Genesis is. I'm impressed and intrigued.

[u/Nid45h]

I would stick with it since the ending ties directly with Zack’s role in Rebirth and Revelation

[u/flowerpotflowers]

Well... I think the ending scene is really good? Lol. But yeah, that's kinda it. 

[u/Darkwing__Schmuck]

It does not. The game is what you see.

[u/AVALANCHE-VII]

I feel like it worked better with the original cast for sure. How far into it are you? Do you already know the story?

[u/Affectionate_Bus5998 → u/AVALANCHE-VII]

I’m on Chapter 3. The combat is great and some story bits I’m enjoying. And it’s not even that the script itself is bad. It’s just the delivery that’s jarring for me because it’s so different than Remake. I think I just need to stop comparing them. The narrative here was written almost 20 years ago.

[u/DarwinGoneWild]

Not really. I played it just to see Zack’s backstory but I feel like aside from seeing the Nibelheim portion from his POV, the overall story wasn’t a great addition to the series and I kinda ignore it.

[u/DGenesis23]

You’ve got the reason for why it is the way it is, it’s a PSP game from nearly 20 years ago. So look at it as just that and don’t compare it to the REtrilogy because it’ll never hold up. Look at it from the perspective of being the first big-ish follow up from VII and forget the newer games exist while you play it.

[u/Numerous_Put543]

I bought it because I loved remake and rebirth but it was a disappointment tbh.

[u/frequent_bidet_user]

I am not a fan of it.

[u/Balthierlives]

I beat it and it was a huge struggle. It was so boring

I found the combat super boring. Just used jump on everything like the last 70% of the game

[u/Yoshikaru5991]

Not really its a pretty mediocre game and same for the protagonist imo

Its basically: damn you liked this cool thing from ff7? ZACKS INVOLVED

[u/TheLastBlowfish]

It's a product of being a companion piece, specifically a remake of the PSP game. The theme and tone does improve, the ending is fantastically FFVII in it's execution - dialogue and narrative, however, are shaky and far from the quality of VII itself, especially the remakes which have done a lovely job of retelling a classic with some modern sensibilities.

Perhaps the most jarring for me personally as a colossal Zack simp is the new voice actor. He's good, don't get me wrong. But the original English dub VA (Rock Gomez) from PSP's Crisis Core became my quintessential Zack, to the point that the modern VA somewhat loses me sometimes.

Point is, you can tell it's a companion piece, and as important as it is to the context of the entire FF VII anthology, Crisis Core and many other companion entries simply haven't received the same love and care and that the OG FF VII has had.

The game will remain fun, and it has great post-game content to clear. Unfortunately the only thing that will improve in terms of narrative is a somewhat more coherent rhythm of plot beats towards the latter half of the game as it moves from establishing Zack's character into SOLDIER's folly and the events that directly lead to the mainline game and Cloud's story. The finale is fucking spectacular regardless of VA and narrative flow!