The story is great for the most part. The beautiful graphics and catchy soundtrack really draw you into the experience.
Cons: A great story can't make up for a highly lackluster battle system. A lot of the extras, mainly the mission system feels tacked on. You have to barrel through the "saturday morning cartoon" part of the story to get to the good stuff.
I should probably start off by saying I'm not a FFVII fanboy. While I enjoyed playing through FFVII, I would put it in 4th or 5th place in the Final Fantasy series. That being said, Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core is a solid PSP entry that should be appreciated by anyone who loves a good story, and a colorful cast of characters.
For anyone who is completely oblivious about Crisis Core, it's a precursor to the events that happen in FFVII. You take on the role of Zack, an up-and-comer in the SOLDIER ranks. The SOLDIER group is an elite group of units that work for the Shinra Corporation. All seems to be going well for Zack, but of course that doesn't last, and you put in charge of ousting some traitors within the Shinra ranks.
The story that takes place during Crisis Core is a 'tale of two games'. For about the first 10 hours, the story is pretty corny. When Zack's story begins, he is kind pretentious, and it takes along time for him to mature and become likable. Like I stated earlier, the beginning of the game feels much like something you'd see on a saturday morning cartoon. After around that 10 hour mark, the story picks up and becomes very engaging. Zack matures and becomes someone you can get behind. Towards the end, Crisis Core steps up to the level of some of the greatest video game stories ever told.
The game does a great job of introducing the characters from FFVII, without trying to force the appearances. 'Sephiroth', most fanboy's fav isn't overused and meshes really well into the overall scope of the story. It's interesting to how the story of Cloud and Sephiroth begins. The other two new main characters are Genesis and Angeal. Most of the story involves the relationship of Zack to these two characters, his mentors. All of the characters play off each other very well, and the game has a fairly strong script backing it.
While the story, and characters will keep you entertained, the battle system is a different story. The way that battles run their course, about 80-90% could be fought while doing other things. Most of you encounters will involve you spamming the X button, with your primary weapon. There are a few cool boss fights, that will make you use your noodle for timing attack. But these encounters are few and far between, and don't make up for the other hum-drum fights.
On top of the boring battles, there are a few mini-game sequences scattered throughout. Some of them can be quite fun, while others involve you running around trying to find items. More times than not, these sequences just feel like filler for extending the length of the game. Along side of these mini-games, is the mission system you can tackle. The missions will require to find a certain enemy on a mini-map. Once you defeat the enemy, you'll receive a special item. The missions can become very repetitive. The only true variants between missions is their difficulty, and setting.
It also should be noted, that I found the game to be quite easy. With the ability to dodge most attack, once you get the timing of enemies down they're a breeze. If you decide to delve into the mission mode, you can pad your levels, making the later stages of the game extremely easy.
When Final Fantasy VII released in 1997, it pushed the Playstation to limits not seen before. To this day I consider it one of the greatest technological advances in gaming. The 3D landscapes, and polygon figures added a feel not seen in games before it. Crisis Core performs this same feat, only with the PSP. Every aspects of CC's graphics are pleasing to the eye. The background textures are the most crisp you will find. The character models are brilliantly put together, and have a surprising amount of detaill; Genesis was the most impressive from this aspect. The cut scene sequences are just as impressive on the PSP, as the ones used for the Playstation console. The summon animations were probably my favorite parts to watch in the game.
The soundtrack used in Crisis Core really adds to the overall experience, and draws you into the more dramatic parts of the game. Some of the classics heard from the original FFVII make a return. I was just as equally impressed with the soundtrack of Crisis Core as the original FFVII. The voice acting is spot-on, with only a few annoying parts that I can remember.
Like great RPGs before it, Crisis Core has story that is very easy to get into. If you can make it through the beginning, you'll be rewarded with one of the greatest stories in video game history. Along with getting through the beginning, be prepared to be put to asleep by the combat. If you're a FFVII fanboy, then more than likely you have the game already. If you liked the original story, and want to expand upon it, then you can't go wrong with Crisis Core.