So I just finished Crisis Core the other day and all in all I give the game 3.5 out of 5 stars. It had great graphics, great storyline, decent game play which is where it really fell short.

The game can be beat in a matter of 20-25 hours maybe less if you really rush and with a lvl of about 35. The missions are just basically a bunch of side quests that if played can make the game last upwards of 70 hours (they are overly redundant). The real-time fighting system was put together fairly well but the new materia/equipment system was a bit of a let down. Rather than equiping materia to your weapon and gear you just hold onto it.

Leveling the materia up makes no difference to it’s effect/power. Your weapon, well it never changes except for when you end up inheriting Angeal’s sword. Meaning the weapon you use does not impact your damage or skills it is just for show.

You can fuse materia but there really is no point to it, as stated the game is overly simplified and can be beat on a minimal 35 levels and the missions really only have about 10% of them worth doing for important items like accessory extenders so you can hold more at one time. But none are required to complete the game. Purchasing materia is pointless you will find most of it along the way if you choose to do the missions.

The monsters rather than being progressive were more like a rollercoaster some bosses were way harder than they should have been and others were way too easy for the level they were at. You are capped at 9999 damage while monsters can deal over 10,000 to you at higher levels (making it illogical to limit your HP at 9999). The leveling of your materia, your character, and usage of summons are completely random. You may level up 10 times in a battle or you may not level up for hours depending on your luck.

So after all that ranting I would say that it was a decent game, good waste of time and definately a must play for anybody who was a fan of Final Fantasy 7 for the PS1. And even some who are just into hack and slash games this has that feel to it but with more storyline squeezed in.