Crisis Core: FFVII confirmed for Europe, Australia

In Japan, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII was responsible for a huge surge in PlayStation Portable hardware sales when it was released in September. That sales increase came even though the game was released the week before the new PSP Slim was due to launch.

In the US, the release date has been set for March 25, and now Europeans and Australians have also been promised the game for sometime this "spring."

Exclusively for the PSP, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII is set seven years before the start of Final Fantasy VII for the original PlayStation. The Shinra company is on the verge of having a monopoly on mako energy and is rapidly growing a huge private army.

The game focuses on a young soldier in the Shinra army called Zack, who hopes to achieve the first-class rank. The Final Fantasy VII characters will also put in an appearance, and their backstories will be explored.

Square Enix also promises that the PAL version of the game will feature "additional gameplay challenges not included in the original Japanese version." Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII will come to all PAL territories in spring 2008.