TGS 06: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Trailer Impressions

TOKYO--During the 2006 Tokyo Game Show, Square Enix showed off a new promo of its Final Fantasy VII spin-off for the PlayStation Portable, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. While the trailer was relatively short, it revealed some new details about the game's characters and on how the game might play.

Crisis Core will be a prequel to Final Fantasy VII, and in terms of the timeline, it takes place before Dirge of Cerberus for the PlayStation 2, as well as Before Crisis for mobile phones. As we reported back at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in May, the game tells the story of Zack, a young recruit working for SOLDIER, the elite private military of the Shinra Corporation. Zack is eager to prove himself and achieve first rank in the organization, and his missions lead him to various troubles and adventures.

The TGS trailer showed Zack going on a number of Shinra missions together with an older, experienced solider named Angeal, who's more or less of a mentor to him. Angeal carries around a huge sword just like the one that's become the symbol of the series' main character, Cloud, and it seems plausible that this is the very same sword--not just a copy. One of the scenes also showed that Angeal has a wing on one side of his back, very similarly to the series villain Sephiroth. This is the first time that Angeal is appearing in the FFVII franchise, but he'll unquestionably be revealed as a key figure behind the scenes of the series' elaborate plot.

Crisis Core seems like it should fill in the gaps in the FFVII series' storyline and also reveal some of the mysteries that remained unexplained. The end of the TGS trailer showed a glimpse of the red-cloaked man from Dirge of Cerberus who was only known as "G" from the game. His costume was basically the same as Sephiroth's (aside from the color of the cloak), hinting that he's also a Shinra soldier.

Aside from new characters, the trailer showed some of the familiar faces in the FFVII series, including Aeris, Tseng, and a relatively normal Sephiroth before he learned about the secret to his birth. We also got to see some footage of the game in action, and so far it seems like a third-person-view action role-playing game in which the player controls Zack and slashes enemies with his sword in high-speed combat. The top of the screen featured a three-barrel slot machine bar, though we didn't get to see how it affected gameplay.

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII is slated for release in Japan during 2007. We'll bring you more information as soon as possible.