"The game’s developer, Square Enix, set the fan base ablaze in September 2004 by announcing Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, a prequel to the landmark role-playing game that promised to shed light on the backstory of the game’s beloved characters and answer some unanswered questions. Three and a half years later, audible squeals can be heard from every circle of the nerd community—Crisis Core is out, and it’s an RPG-fan’s dream.
As a quick refresher for those who don’t remember the first game, FFVII has gamers play the role of Cloud Strife, a mysterious young man with a tumultuous past who happens to get himself intertwined in an eco-terrorist organization, plotting to save the world from evil corporate domination. Eventually the story evolves into so much more than that, but to this day, the most enigmatic parts of the plot remain Cloud’s relationship with his mentor Zack, who was killed before the game started. Crisis Core is the answer to that enigma, as Zack is now the playable character, and the gamer plays through the events leading up to the iconic assault on Shin-ra Mako Reactor No. 1 that begins Final Fantasy VII.