Final Fantasy 7 Crisis Core Reunion 2026 Review

  

With the announcement of Final Fantasy VII: Revelation coming in Spring 2027, I decided it was finally time to sit down and play through all of the Final Fantasy VII remake games. It has been a long time coming, but I wanted to avoid the pain of finishing one of these games on a cliffhanger and having to wait three to four years for the next release to find out what happens.

I will admit, I played and finished the original Final Fantasy VII and Crisis Core on the PSP, so I had a rough idea of how the story would go. However, because these are remakes, the narrative might not completely follow the original path, and I was genuinely interested to see what had changed.

The original Crisis Core was my favorite Final Fantasy game for a long time, mainly because it was my first. I had no idea what the franchise was when I picked it up; I distinctly remember buying it just because I thought the cover art of Zack holding the enormous Buster Sword looked badass. I was immediately swept away on a wild journey of angels, monsters, betrayal, and friendship. I became instantly obsessed and beat the game multiple times.

Going into the remake, I knew exactly what to expect. While it didn't give me any massive surprises, I still had a great time—despite a few annoying factors. Let’s get into it.

The Story

 

FF7CCR (because the full title is a bit too long to write every time) takes place roughly seven years before the events of Final Fantasy VII. You play as Zack Fair, a 2nd-Class SOLDIER within the Shinra Electric Power Company (yes, this corporation has its own military). Zack's ultimate goal is to reach 1st-Class rank and, more importantly, to become a hero. Luckily, with his mentor—the esteemed 1st-Class SOLDIER Angeal—by his side, a promotion feels imminent. This is especially true when they are sent to help resolve an ongoing war between Shinra and the independent nation of Wutai.

However, all is not what it seems at Shinra. The sudden desertion of Genesis—a 1st-Class SOLDIER and close friend to both Angeal and Sephiroth—sends the company into a spiral. It quickly exposes the dark, sinister things Shinra is doing to both the world and its own military. Not only that, but we also get to witness Sephiroth's tragic origin story, seeing exactly what causes him to turn from a somewhat likable guy into the iconic, maniacal villain we meet in Final Fantasy VII.

"Throughout the game, you start caring more and more about the characters... which makes the journey that much more powerful and painful."

This story really is a heartbreaking one. It shows friends becoming rivals, trust leading to betrayal, and the harsh reality of coming to terms with loss. Zack is instantly likable from the start, and his growth doesn't happen overnight. You really feel like you are maturing alongside him on this journey, which makes the narrative carry a lot of weight. (I really hope those letters come back up in future games!)

Surprisingly, while the undertone of the game is incredibly dark, the story never felt overwhelmingly heavy. Perhaps that's because I already knew what was coming, but the game does an excellent job of lifting your spirits with a funny cameo or a heartfelt moment right when things start getting a bit too grim.

We also get to see the return of several legendary characters, including familiar faces like Tifa, Cloud, and Aerith (with Aerith and Cloud becoming heavily involved by the end). There are also some fantastic nods to the wider universe—Zack being the one to name the Seventh Heaven bar was a particularly nice touch.

Overall, the story is easily the best part of the game. It clocks in at a tight 18 hours (including some side content), which is the perfect runtime. It doesn't overstay its welcome, features incredible cutscenes (the fight between Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal remains one of my favorite cinematic moments in the whole franchise), and delivers an emotional punch. What more could you want?

 

The Gameplay

 

While the story shines, the gameplay is a bit more of a mixed bag.

It definitely has its strengths. The materia system and materia fusion are fantastic, allowing you to craft epic attacks surprisingly early in the game (honestly, Dark Firaga completely carried me through the entire playthrough). The ability to access the shop directly from the main menu at any point outside of combat is also a massive quality-of-life plus, especially since I constantly needed to restock on Ethers. I also really appreciated the optional Missions section. Being able to jump into mini-dungeons from any save point to grind for better gear and level up felt highly rewarding.

However, the actual leveling mechanic is one of the weirdest, most frustrating design choices in the game. The original PSP game introduced two major shifts for the series:

Real-Time Combat: Moving away from turn-based combat in favor of action-heavy hack-and-slash, which translates beautifully into Reunion.

The DMW (Digital Mind Wave) System: A slot machine-style mechanic in the top-left corner of the screen that randomly rolls to grant perks, special attacks, or summons during battle.

At first, the DMW sounds awesome—and in combat, it usually is. The problem is that the developers tied character progression directly to it. To level up, you have to roll a "777." Now, this isn't completely random; you still earn hidden EXP in the background, which triggers the 777 roll once you hit a certain threshold. But because it relies on a slot machine mechanic, luck is still a massive factor.

If you are unlucky, or if you end encounters too quickly before the DMW can spin, it can feel like a lifetime between level-ups. I actually hit a wall where I was suddenly getting stomped by enemies, forcing me to grind low-level encounters just to drag out the combat time. Once the game caught up, I gained five levels in rapid succession. It’s a bizarre system, and I don't know why they didn't completely rework it for the remake.

The DMW also randomly interrupts combat to play flashback cutscenes with characters Zack has met. While endearing at first, it gets incredibly repetitive and can completely throw off your rhythm in the middle of an intense boss fight. You can skip them, but it’s still annoying.

That said, I love how the DMW structurally ties into the game's final narrative moments, which is a brilliant touch. It can also absolutely save your life in a pinch by granting temporary unlimited MP or AP. It just needs a slight tweak to be perfect.

A few other minor gripes:

The Combat Voice: Please, let us turn off the automated voice that announces "Activating Combat Mode" and "Conflict Resolved" at the start and end of every single fight. A little piece of my soul faded away every time I heard it by the late game.

Difficulty Scaling: You can't change the difficulty dynamically, which might ruin the experience for casual players who just want to enjoy the story. I can't imagine my sister having a good time with this game due to some of the sudden spikes, which is a shame because she's a huge Final Fantasy fan.

Despite my criticisms, the combat still feels punchy, fresh, and satisfying when you're unleashing high-level magic. It's just a shame that, as a remake, these legacy flaws weren't ironed out.

Music & Voice Acting

 

Because the original game came out in 2007/2008, the soundtrack is absolutely packed with nostalgic mid-2000s alt-rock. It is so incredibly satisfying to head into a major boss fight and suddenly hear a heavy guitar riff rip out of nowhere, backed by driving drums and bass. It really gets your blood pumping and acts as a wonderful time capsule. Mix that in with some sweeping orchestral choir arrangements for the final battles, and you have an excellent soundtrack.

The voice acting is also highly solid across the board. They completely redid the voice work for Reunion, and every actor delivers a good-to-great performance.

Caleb Pierce as Zack is the standout here. He does a fantastic job portraying Zack’s emotional maturity, and you can hear the character growing up through his vocal delivery. I also want to highlight Shaun Conde as Genesis; he brought a unique, surprisingly soft tone to the character, reading lines from LOVELESS (the in-game play Genesis is obsessed with) with a perfect blend of passion and underlying menace. 

The performances are thoroughly enjoyable and completely devoid of those cringey line deliveries that sometimes plague RPGs.

 

 

Conclusion

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core: Reunion. While I do wonder how much of my praise is carried by pure nostalgia, there is genuinely a great game here that anyone can enjoy. The story is gripping, emotional, and perfectly paced for a Final Fantasy title.

If you are a fan of the series or just looking for an engaging single-player story to tackle over a weekend, absolutely give it a try. It might not be a Game of the Year contender, but it is a fun experience that beautifully fills in the narrative gaps of the original story (like how Cloud ultimately gets the Buster Sword). Plus, it’s incredibly affordable now—I managed to grab my copy for about 12€ at a local independent game store.

So why not listen to a few lines of Loveless and kick some monsters asses!