Finished the game a few days ago... A decent game but overall I was rather disappointed by it.

The gameplay feels like a dumbed down version of the KH1 system (including the obnoxious camera ) with brain dead AI and broken abilities and materia. "Challenge" is judged by RPG terms, not by action game terms. The enemy doesn't get smarter they just do more damage... Still, it gets the job done and at least its not completely boring.

The missions are fun but lack variety (kill things, find area boss, end mission. Wash, rinse and repeat) but the main story offers many different gameplay elements The DMV is what I feel really saves the gameplay as it adds a little bit of depth to an otherwise shallow fighting system. I'm also irked by the fact that it doesn't take much to beat the game. At lv. 35 you can finish the final boss who is an utter joke...

Graphics are amazingly pretty though I feel CC is too clean in design while the original was more gritty and dark. I'm saddened by CC dropping the orignals "steam punk/ Blade Runner style cyber punk" style for a modern sometimes bordering on FFVIII levle design. The voice work is top notch. Music is good but I found the only really strong tracks to be the remixes from VII (I want the credit music which is a medely of all the VII remixes ), there are a few good original tracks but not many. I also agree with Dreddz that the jpop at the end was pretty bad...

The story... is like the music. At times its really powerful and amazing... at other times its boring and generic. Oddly enough, the good parts are the parts where Zack deals with other returning characters and elements from the original game. The scenes involving Tseng, Aerith, Cloud, and Sephiroth are quite well done and creates a wonderful sense of "what is to come". The original characters for CC on the other hand are pretty terrible with the exception of Angeal and a few of the minor characters. Lazard, Hollander, and Genesis are quite generic and feel like bad copies of other characters (Hojo and Sephiroth come to mind...) Hell the game never even really explains certain elements about some of the characters (Luckily the Ultimania for CC does but I would have preferred it in game like it was should have been...).

Genesis is basically a carbon copy of Sephiroth (SPOILER)(right down to his motive and origins) except instead of doing anything about it, he just whines around about how Sephiroth is better than him and makes pointless quotes from LOVELESS. He is by far the most irritating villain in the series in my opinion. I'm lumping him right next to Shuyin of FFX-2. He shall forever be called "Emo-Sephiroth" by me

Angeal is a pretty good character, its a shame he is so heavily tied into "Emo-Sephiroth" and the main and utterly pointless story. His relationship with Zack was well done but once again there are a few story issues (once again the Ultimania clears it up and once again I felt it should have been explained better in the actual game. :rolleyes2). He's one of the few "new elements" besides Cissinei(sp?) that was actually well implemented.

There are some minor plot changes to the main game but the only one that really bothered me was (SPOILER)Genesis being at Nibelheim. It served no purpose and was the moment that made me really start to dislike the game. There are also a few pacing issues as the main story feels like its either quickly rushing you to the next major plot point or slowing you down needlessly with pointless fetch quests. I love how the game starts you in the middle of the (SPOILER)Wutai war and then next thing you know, its over with no in-game resolution.Your just told non-chalanting that its done with.

At best CC is a mediocre game in a pretty package. At worst, its a terrible perversion of a good story. Overall, I prefer Last Order to Crisis Core. CC just reminds me once again why I don't recognize the Compilation's existence. :mog: