Square Enix has been surprisingly busy releasing role-playing games (RPGs) this year. The Japanese publisher – known for its legendary Final Fantasy series – released Valkyrie Elysium in September and plans to release Star Ocean: The Divine Force later this month.
Square Enix has even more RPGs this winter, though, with Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Reunion (PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S) and Forspoken (PC, PS5) hitting the shelves December 12 and January 24 respectively. We got playtime with both games at New York Comic-Con, giving us a sense of what these highly anticipated games have to offer from a visual, performance and gameplay perspective.
Crisis Core Reunion is a reborn PSP classic
Crisis Core –Final Fantasy VII– Reunion (also referred to as Crisis Core Reunion throughout the rest of this article), is a high-definition remaster of the PSP prequel to Final Fantasy VII. You play as Zach Fair, a young warrior who works his way up the ranks of the prestigious spec ops troop SOLDIER. The world of Final Fantasy VII is a fantastic, pseudo-futuristic dystopia ruled by the Shinra Electric Power Company. This global conglomerate has its hand in many businesses, including energy production, weapons technology, and military involvement (not to mention the more nefarious evil science the corporate heads do behind closed doors). Zach becomes embroiled in the nightmarish horrors that Shinra unwittingly unleashes, setting the stage for the events that take place in Final Fantasy VII.
As an HD remaster, Crisis Core Reunion graphics will be updated. This includes updated 3D models and backgrounds. The soundtrack has been re-arranged by the original composer, Takeharu Ishimoto, and the game is now fully narrated in both English and Japanese (the PSP version only had limited voice actors).
Crisis Core for the PSP was definitely more action-oriented than the turn-based affair of the original FFVII. Crisis Core Reunion takes it one step further, introducing a remarkable combat rebalancing that brings it closer to the action seen in Final Fantasy VII: Remake. Zach now has the right combos to match Cloud Strife’s speed and cadence in Remake, rather than oddly boring single-strike attacks. You can supplement your melee combos with special abilities and spells through Materia equipping you, which you find while exploring. These unlock new abilities, including area-of-effect attacks and fireballs that follow the enemy.
Crisis Core’s biggest quirk, the Digital Mind Wave (DMW), is still present in Crisis Core Reunion and still carries a lot of weight during combat. Do you like pachinko? Does earning super attacks and bonus buffs through a completely random slot machine system sound like fun? Like it or not, it’s here, and it’s just as shocking as it used to be.
Essentially, the game has spinning slot reels in the top left corner of the screen at all times. This happens automatically during combat, and while you can influence it somewhat based on your performance, the system is largely random.
When tied to a specific number value, you’ll gain bonus enhancements, including Physical Immunity, Magical Immunity, Zero MP/AP Skill Cost, Enhanced Critical Attacks, or even Outright Invincibility. When linked to a character portrait, a Limit Break super attack based on the character depicted becomes available. For example, Sephiroth gives you Octoslash, while Aerith gives you Healing Wind. Summon spells are also linked to the DMW and work the same way. The only notable change made to DMW in Crisis Core Reunion is that you now have the option to skip the long animations.
Unfortunately, Materia Fusion wasn’t available in the demo I played, nor were the optional combat missions you take on save points. These systems have not changed significantly from their PSP counterparts. Likewise, the story has not been changed to reflect the changes made in Final Fantasy VII: Remake. We’ll have to wait and see what’s in store for December. Get ready to cry in HD this winter.
Forspoken is a mixed magic bag
Forspoken is an open world RPG developed with Square Enix’s Luminous Engine (the same engine that powered Final Fantasy XV). In it, hapless New Yorker Frey Holland is dragged into an Isekai adventure when she falls into the mysterious fantasy world of Athia. Armed with a magical smart bracelet, Frey must save the ravaged world from a caustic plague called the Break, which mutates and destroys everything it touches. Once benevolent matriarch rulers now rule like mad sorcerers, further escalating the spiral of decay in the world.
What immediately stands out about Forspoken is Frey’s excellent mobility. As an open-world game, Forspoken expects you to run through the vast zones, take down enemy haunts, take side missions and dig up treasure. Frey moves through beautifully animated magical parkour, allowing you to run, jump, slide and teleport with an ease and grace that quickly becomes second nature.
Frey’s combat equipment is also surprisingly extensive, with magical arrows, stone arrows, water barriers, explosive geysers, fiery spears and more, Frey can destroy hordes of enemies and elite warriors with her impressive skills. It’s not often you find yourself playing a wizard-like character who has so many viable and powerful abilities at any given time, which makes Frey’s unique playstyle particularly appealing.
Spells have a quick tap attack, as well as a longer charged version that you perform by holding the trigger for a second. Pressing both triggers at the same time casts a devastating super spell, though this attack has a notable cooldown. You can switch between pre-assigned spell kits by tapping the D-pad left or right, giving you more options to switch on the fly. Additionally, holding L1 or R1 opens a radial menu with even more spells.
That said, Forspoken is remarkably clunky. Her movements are smooth and impressive, but controlling her in-game feels imprecise and not nearly as satisfying as it seems.
Worse, the camera doesn’t track the action well. To fix this, Forspoken offers a warning arrow when attacks come in from outside the screen, but this is a cheap patch that doesn’t solve the much bigger problem. Neither Frey’s soft lock-on or hard-lock-on ability affects the camera enough to be functional. If an enemy zips off the screen, the camera stops following him. If you move past an enemy during an attack, there’s a good chance the camera won’t track him either. All too often I found myself fighting blind. Coupled with the clunky controls, the combat experience quickly changes from fascinating to frustrating.
The open world environment is promising, but it is also quite scarce. There are enemies to fight against, materials to collect for upgrades and spell upgrades to collect, as well as challenges to undertake missions. These are satisfying enough, but traveling between points of interest is a bit generic, saved only by Frey’s awesome movement kit.
Hopefully Square Enix sharpens up the camera for the January launch. A dull world can be forgiven if the underlying combat remains fun. However, a blunt camera can easily ruin the overall experience.
Great RPGs for Winter
Crisis Core Reunion and Forspoken are promising titles launching this winter. Of course, Crisis Core Reunion uses its acclaimed PSP predecessor as its framework, so fans of the original are sure to enjoy the impressive graphics overhaul. The tighter and more expansive combo system is also an easy sell for newcomers, as well as FFVII: Remake fans.
Forspoken, on the other hand, is Square Enix’s dark horse. It has a surprisingly rich and polished magical combat system, combined with impressive parkour and vast areas to navigate. It just needs some work to fix the camera and imprecise movement. Be sure to check out PCMag for reviews of these upcoming games.
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