The site playthrough of Dirge of Cerberus is underway, so I thought it fitting to take a break from the festering shitpile wonderful gaming experience to bring the Lusipurr.com readers a look back into the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII Square-Enix has decided to turn Final Fantasy VII into a multimedia story compilation, and today I will explore some of the key entries into the series within a series. Specifically, this piece will look at three entries: Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, and Crisis Core. A JP-ONRY Mobile Phone game, Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII- was released in 2004, but since it was not released in any form outside of Japan, I know next-to-nothing about it except that it is a prequel set six years before the original release. Instead, this article will primarily explore those three entries which were released outside of their native Japan.
If nothing else, Advent Children looks fantastic.
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, a CGI anime movie, was released in late 2005 in Japan and early 2006 worldwide, and is set about two years after the original game. Advent Children follow Cloud and company as they seek to uncover the mystery behind “Geostigma”, a mysterious disease that has begun spreading after the fall of Midgar at the end of Final Fantasy VII. As this is occurring, three mysterious silver-haired men seem to be planning another JENOVA reunion. Advent Children has received largely positive reviews from the fanbase, though there are many who feel the movie’s plot an unnecessary addition to the series. Advent Children was re-released in 2009 on the extended Advent Children Complete Blu-Ray, which added almost a half-hour of new footage and tweaked the film’s story and fight scenes. Whatever one’s opinion of the film, it is clear that Advent Children was a successful movie, and it is easy to see why Squeenix was not gettin’ off of that train they were on.
Vincent Valentine shoots down planes with a handgun and does not give a damn.
As Lusipurr.com readers are no doubt aware by now, another sequel, Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, was released for the PlayStation 2. Set one year after the events of Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus follows optional Final Fantasy VII teammate Vincent Valentine and his fight against the organization, “Deepground”. Dirge of Cerberus largely received middling-to-poor reviews due to its massive departure from the gameplay elements of the series and the fact that the game itself simply was not well-constructed. Unlike other Final Fantasy titles, Dirge of Cerberus is a third person shooter, drawing more in its gameplay from Devil May Cry than from Final Fantasy VII. However, I should have to say very little about DoC; every Lusipurr.com reader should be midway through their own playthrough of the game, after all! Dirge of Cerberus is extremely cheap due to a lack of demand, so every Lusipurr.com reader should pick up a copy immediately! But with that out of the way, let us now move on and discuss another piece of the compilation.
Crisis Core's leveling seems random at first, but there is actually an experience point system working behind the scenes that determines whether or not Zack can gain more levels.
The long-awaited Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- made its way to Japanese PSPs in summer of 2007, with the worldwide releases hitting in mid-2008. Crisis Core is set in the years leading up to the original Final Fantasy VII and finally tells the story of Zack Fair, a man who received almost no screentime in the original game while being an instrumental part of the plot. Crisis Core also brings as part of its plot a more detailed look at Sephiroth’s descent into madness and at Cloud’s time as a soldier. Gameplay-wise, Crisis Core is an Action-RPG that uses a slot-reel system to dole out its Limit Breaks and its level-ups. As a general rule, Crisis Core was well-received, with critics and normal fans alike speaking very highly of Zack’s likability and the game’s storytelling as a whole. This was a game many people felt needed to be made, and Final Fantasy VII fans now finally have their long-desired backstory.
There are other compilation entries, but the three explored in this article are really the only important ones. Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, and Crisis Core, for better or worse, expand upon the original Final Fantasy VII story to the point where FFVII is now its own series within the larger series. With Advent Children Complete finished, one might think the compilation over, but Tetsuya Nomura apparently still has ideas, and it seems unlikely that Square-Enix would let Final Fantasy VII die without milking it for all that they can. It may seem like I have a cynical view of Square-Enix and Nomura…but remember, readers, Kingdom Hearts. In any case, we have reached the end of this week’s piece, so until next week, this is Daniel “Deimosion” Flink, signing off.
