Hands on with the western version of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII

With Patapon and God of War: Chains of Olympus providing an astounding 2008 start for PSP, the momentum will assuredly carry through with Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. Already an enormous hit in Japan, we've finally managed to get our hands on an English translation.

Crisis Core begins at date earlier than its titular inspiration, Final Fantasy VII. You take the role of SOLDIER initiate Zack Fair, who series followers will remember as joining Sephiroth in his mission to Nibelheim in the landmark PlayStation original. The game intends to set the stage for the events of FFVII and its various off-shoots by tracking Zack's adventures as a secret agent in the service of Shin-Ra Corporation. Familiarity with FFVII isn't necessary though, since Crisis Core embarks on a totally new storyline with never before seen characters and locales.

As a member of the elite SOLDIER group, Zack accepts missions that resolve conflicts related to Shin-Ra's global interests. Much like the corrupt energy company Enron, the conglomerate's dealings with magic have given it enormous power and, with it, innumerable enemies. Zack's first mission is to track down a fellow SOLDIER operative who has gone missing-in-action in the southeastern domain of Wutai. Joined by two superior officers, Zack and company sail south to investigate the agent's whereabouts.

Once the mission had been accepted from a save point at SOLDIER headquarters, we were transported to the outskirts of Wutai. The short walk to the capitol military complex saw encounters against Wutai soldiers. Battles occur randomly, although enemies pop up on the exploration screen and you commence a battle without being taken to a separate screen. So while you're still subjected to random battles, at least you don't have to wait for a new scene to load.

The battle system is an interesting mix of action and chance. Zack can attack enemies in real-time, as well as use items, abilities, and magic without wait. A succinct list of combat abilities can be cycled through via the L and R shoulder buttons, while hitting X enables you to execute whatever action is highlighted. You're always free to issue basic attacks, whereas magic requires MP and evasive manoeuvres pulled off with a press of the Square button eat up AP. Holding down Triangle at any time guards against enemy strikes.

Magic, as well as some abilities, are derived from miniature spheres of magical power called materia. Equipping materia enables you to use the associated skills in battle. Crisis Core inherits this system from FFVII, albeit in limited form – you're able to enhance materia through use and even fuse two together to form a new hybrid. We weren't able to really get a good feel for the system given our one-level play through, but it appears to possess enough depth to keep things interesting.

Chance comes into play through the Digital Mind Wave (DMW) reel. At seemingly random points during battle, the action pauses as a virtual slot machine takes over the screen and each character you've met thus far in the game represents an icon on the DMW reel. Depending on the combination of characters the reel stops on, Zack gains an attack bonus, status effect, or even access to a special attack. Quite honestly, it's a confusing system and we're hoping that the instruction manual shipping with the final game provides a clear explanation of how the DMW functions. Right now, we're not keen on it.

Still, our bitterness over the random nature of the DMW was largely washed away by the game's remarkable presentation. Nearly matching the spectacular visuals of God of War: Chains of Olympus, Crisis Core looks stunning. Complementing the fluid real-time battles are gorgeous pre-rendered cinematics – a hallmark of any Square Enix role-playing game. Of course, all of the beautiful graphics come at the cost of loading times of which there were plenty during our preview.

Crisis Core is set for launch in the US on March 25th. With the UK release still down as spring, expect a full review following its US debut later this month.