In 2007, Ultimate Fantasy VII: Disaster Core was a spin-off recreation; One a part of a money seize geared toward Ultimate Fantasy 7 obsessives that have been on the lookout for one thing to play on the PlayStation Moveable. It was a prequel-flavored slice of Midgar and the world of FF7 with real-time battles, baffling reels and sufficient goodwill and story lore to make all of it nearly work.
The story facilities round a comparatively minor (however common!) character from the unique recreation, Zack. With out spoiling the whys and whens (and 2020’s FF7R is shaking up the canon of Ultimate Fantasy 7 anyhow), Zack has important connections to Cloud, the large unhealthy Sephiroth and different characters. Sadly, he dies earlier than the unique recreation begins and solely seems in flashbacks.
As Sq. Enix tees up half 2 of its big-budget Remake venture, Disaster Core Reunion provides newer gamers the possibility to fill within the storyline blanks on Zack. He’s featured in post-credit scenes in Remake, suggesting he may be a extra important character going ahead.
Sq. Enix has upgraded the character fashions, backgrounds, textures and the UI to convey some extent of graphical parity between Disaster Core and the current Remake. There’s additionally voice appearing throughout your entire storyline of the sport. Nonetheless, the character animations haven’t benefited from the identical stage of consideration – it appears to be like like Ultimate Fantasy X’s HD remaster. That’s not so unhealthy, however it’s just a little disappointing from a PS5 recreation in 2022. Disaster Core Reunion has a number of character fashions that look virtually adequate to look in Remake, even when they transfer like characters in a PS2 recreation. (Sephiroth specifically, who seems briefly within the demo, appears extra lovingly remastered than even Zack.)
It’s not all unhealthy information. Now on a house console, you might have two analog controllers to manage digital camera and motion concurrently: the PSP simply had one analog nub. It makes the battles far simpler to parse and concentrate on. And the battles have been nonetheless satisfying, if just a little easy, throughout my demo.
Sq. Enix
Don’t anticipate the responsive battles and spectacle of Remake, both. Disaster Core’s slot-machine battle mechanism known as “Digital Thoughts Wave (DMW) – no concept – continues to be right here. Throughout battles, it would cycle robotically by way of numbers and footage of characters you meet by way of the sport. If a few of the numbers match, you may choose up well being, means factors, improved probabilities of a important hit and extra. If the reel footage match up, you may launch a robust Restrict Break assault that may do a whole lot of harm, buff your character and another good issues. If the numbers line up as “777”, Zack will achieve a stage — and that is nonetheless bizarre.
The battle system, just like the visuals, is from a less complicated time. You’ll struggle with a mixture of sword swings, spells, and methods, topped up with Restrict Breaks. You possibly can block and dodge, which was essential within the two boss battles I confronted. But it surely all felt just a little too primary.
I hold evaluating Disaster Core with Remake, with its fluid animation, slow-mo menus and.. Thousands and thousands of {dollars} of growth capital. That’s just a little unfair, however Disaster Core Reunion is right here for FF7 followers wanting dive deeper into the sport’s lore — 2007 was a really very long time in the past.
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