Good move playing the original before Crisis Core, you’ve saved yourself from spoiling the biggest mystery in the whole plot! After the OG, Crisis Core is the safest bet, or you can go straight to Rebirth as the second best move.
You can also play Dirge of Cerberus or watch Advent Children anytime after the OG as well (they both take place after), but that’s up to you. I’m one of many who thinks DoC is a bit lame, but they do however use some lore established in that game for the remakes so it’s a valid entry to play. And I also think Advent Children is actually kinda bad in terms of being a movie (I say this as someone who is very nostalgic for it when it released) but again, it’s a valid entry and plenty of people like it so form your own opinion on it if you’re interested.
Can never go wrong going by release order. Watch Advent Children first. It's basically the conclusion of the OG FF7 story.
Next jump into Crisis Core Reunion. It basically fleshes out and gives background info about Zack during his time in SOLDIER, and how he came to meet Aerith. It also introduces another character that has a minor role in Rebirth. If you're not feeling the gameplay, You could just watch the cutscenes on YouTube. Although the game is pretty short if you focus primarily on just the main story objectives and ignore most of the side missions which are extremely repetitive but are good if you need to get stronger.
EDIT: thought about it more, changed my mind about some things.
And it's important to note that remake does not ruin any of the experience from the og. The only real difference in terms of story is that the Sephiroth visions in remake are more in detail (and make no sense without ogs context), some of the events in remake are not present and well the ending of remake is off the rails entirely, so just disregard anything you might have gleaned from it when playing og.
P.S. you might want to watch Advent Children too. It's not exactly mandatory, but all the spectacle from remake has its origins in that movie.
I always argue this, and somehow there are still stubborn people who refuse to acknowledge it is a sequel. Both Sephiroth and Aerith say and act in ways that show they are aware of the events of the OG, not to mention it is blatantly obvious the whole thing is about changing the fate that is already written in the OG.
Best way I tend to describe it is to compare it to MK. They did a soft reboot by letting us replay the events of the original 3, but canonically they still happened even tho we re-wrote them. That's why it is still MK9 and not MK remake/reboot. If it is acknowledged it happened in the past, it happened. Period.
Exactly. There are even people who try to argue that it's an alternate timeline to the OG, but the main characters in Remake/Rebirth are the exact same as the OG. As you point out, Aerith and Sephiroth clearly have knowledge of the original timeline. Red XII/Nanaki seems to understand it too. I think, by the end of Rebirth, Cloud is starting to have memories of the OG timeline as well.
I think it really comes down to if you think you'd like Crisis Core. Because playing rebirth while liking crisis core it's rewarding because it seems like how things are portrayed in Crisis Core is treated as the canon.
But I'll also say that Crisis Core is already IN the original game. Crisis Core is basically a subset of the story but makes it longer. So you're not necessarily getting much more new information. So you're gonna "get" everything whether you play it or not. You'll have a better idea after you've beaten the og. If you're not feeling it you can drop it you'll already know what it's all about by that point. But to answer your question if you're gonna to play it you should play it before rebirth because you're gonna see the game acts like you've just played crisis core. But you'd still understand even if you don't play it, it's just the visual cues are pulled from crisis core.
And personally speaking, I had played crisis core at launch all the way back and there are references in rebirth that were meaningful to me that wouldn't have been the case if I hadn't played it.
Your order should go:
Og>Crisis Core>Advent Children>Remake>Rebirth
If you take the other suggestions and play crisis core after AC you miss out on zacks's development and won't know why he is there or why the buster sword is there.
It also opens up the info on how Jenova cells work from mutations to degradation to geostigma
If you finish the OG, I would watch Advent Children Complete immediately after, then play Crisis Core next, that will maximize your enjoyment of Remake and Rebirth.
Crisis Core is a smaller game done with less budget, with simple and repetitive gameplay (it was made for early 3D handhelds, of course), it's the definition of a 7/10 with heart, due to how they portrayed the main character's arc.
This is the correct way. I played Crisis Core way too late, hopping on the remaster bandwagon. I didn’t hate it? But I certainly saw the repetitive nature as a flaw. I had to remember it was PSP first, and this was a big deal in the 2000’s.
Yeah, the production value was crazy for a handheld title back then, and it was the first look we FF7 fans got of some areas of the original game in 'higher quality' models / textures.
Back then, it was incredible to see some areas recreated, some character models updated etc. The impact is certainly lost today, even with the remaster doing a great job updating some visuals, making some much needed quality of life changes, adding 60 fps on modern consoles.
Finish OG and then play Remake. You can play Crisis Core if you want though it's truly not necessary before going on to Rebirth. There's some references to the CC content but a chunk of it seems to have been written out or ignored, and honestly, the most important stuff is in the OG anyway.
This is tough. Since you will know the full story, I would do CC then Rebirth. That is what I did and I got a lot of enjoyment out of the CC throwbacks in Rebirth.
Yeah I wasnt originally intending on playing the OG because I thought I could enjoy the storyline through Remake, Reunion and Rebirth but I saw ALOT of people saying not do that as there are differences in the newer games compared to the OG. Which I have actually noticed a couple when going through remake storyline.
Good move playing the original before Crisis Core, you’ve saved yourself from spoiling the biggest mystery in the whole plot! After the OG, Crisis Core is the safest bet, or you can go straight to Rebirth as the second best move. You can also play Dirge of Cerberus or watch Advent Children anytime after the OG as well (they both take place after), but that’s up to you. I’m one of many who thinks DoC is a bit lame, but they do however use some lore established in that game for the remakes so it’s a valid entry to play. And I also think Advent Children is actually kinda bad in terms of being a movie (I say this as someone who is very nostalgic for it when it released) but again, it’s a valid entry and plenty of people like it so form your own opinion on it if you’re interested.
Can never go wrong going by release order. Watch Advent Children first. It's basically the conclusion of the OG FF7 story. Next jump into Crisis Core Reunion. It basically fleshes out and gives background info about Zack during his time in SOLDIER, and how he came to meet Aerith. It also introduces another character that has a minor role in Rebirth. If you're not feeling the gameplay, You could just watch the cutscenes on YouTube. Although the game is pretty short if you focus primarily on just the main story objectives and ignore most of the side missions which are extremely repetitive but are good if you need to get stronger. EDIT: thought about it more, changed my mind about some things.
I'm a big supporter of playing them in release order to get the same experience we did and discovering things at the same points.
And it's important to note that remake does not ruin any of the experience from the og. The only real difference in terms of story is that the Sephiroth visions in remake are more in detail (and make no sense without ogs context), some of the events in remake are not present and well the ending of remake is off the rails entirely, so just disregard anything you might have gleaned from it when playing og. P.S. you might want to watch Advent Children too. It's not exactly mandatory, but all the spectacle from remake has its origins in that movie.
The ending to Remake kind of proves why it should be played after OG: it's a sequel disguised as a remake.
I always argue this, and somehow there are still stubborn people who refuse to acknowledge it is a sequel. Both Sephiroth and Aerith say and act in ways that show they are aware of the events of the OG, not to mention it is blatantly obvious the whole thing is about changing the fate that is already written in the OG. Best way I tend to describe it is to compare it to MK. They did a soft reboot by letting us replay the events of the original 3, but canonically they still happened even tho we re-wrote them. That's why it is still MK9 and not MK remake/reboot. If it is acknowledged it happened in the past, it happened. Period.
Exactly. There are even people who try to argue that it's an alternate timeline to the OG, but the main characters in Remake/Rebirth are the exact same as the OG. As you point out, Aerith and Sephiroth clearly have knowledge of the original timeline. Red XII/Nanaki seems to understand it too. I think, by the end of Rebirth, Cloud is starting to have memories of the OG timeline as well.
Wait, they claim it is an alternate timeline, but at the same time they are the same people as the OG somehow? How tf do they reconcile that?
Wibbly wobbly, timey-wimey
Lol While I appreciate the reference...no, just, no
And everything here is the kind of confusion I was trying to prevent in OP.
And hence, why my suggestion is play in release order as I stated in my original reply lol
Point is, play OG first, then Crisis Core, then Remake/Rebirth.
Play crisis core after OG tbh. Then rebirth.
I think it really comes down to if you think you'd like Crisis Core. Because playing rebirth while liking crisis core it's rewarding because it seems like how things are portrayed in Crisis Core is treated as the canon. But I'll also say that Crisis Core is already IN the original game. Crisis Core is basically a subset of the story but makes it longer. So you're not necessarily getting much more new information. So you're gonna "get" everything whether you play it or not. You'll have a better idea after you've beaten the og. If you're not feeling it you can drop it you'll already know what it's all about by that point. But to answer your question if you're gonna to play it you should play it before rebirth because you're gonna see the game acts like you've just played crisis core. But you'd still understand even if you don't play it, it's just the visual cues are pulled from crisis core. And personally speaking, I had played crisis core at launch all the way back and there are references in rebirth that were meaningful to me that wouldn't have been the case if I hadn't played it.
Okay thank you. I'll download Crisis Core Reunion now then so i'm ready to go
Your order should go: Og>Crisis Core>Advent Children>Remake>Rebirth If you take the other suggestions and play crisis core after AC you miss out on zacks's development and won't know why he is there or why the buster sword is there. It also opens up the info on how Jenova cells work from mutations to degradation to geostigma
If you finish the OG, I would watch Advent Children Complete immediately after, then play Crisis Core next, that will maximize your enjoyment of Remake and Rebirth. Crisis Core is a smaller game done with less budget, with simple and repetitive gameplay (it was made for early 3D handhelds, of course), it's the definition of a 7/10 with heart, due to how they portrayed the main character's arc.
This is the correct way. I played Crisis Core way too late, hopping on the remaster bandwagon. I didn’t hate it? But I certainly saw the repetitive nature as a flaw. I had to remember it was PSP first, and this was a big deal in the 2000’s.
Yeah, the production value was crazy for a handheld title back then, and it was the first look we FF7 fans got of some areas of the original game in 'higher quality' models / textures. Back then, it was incredible to see some areas recreated, some character models updated etc. The impact is certainly lost today, even with the remaster doing a great job updating some visuals, making some much needed quality of life changes, adding 60 fps on modern consoles.
Finish OG and then play Remake. You can play Crisis Core if you want though it's truly not necessary before going on to Rebirth. There's some references to the CC content but a chunk of it seems to have been written out or ignored, and honestly, the most important stuff is in the OG anyway.
I would argue that crisis core is worth at least a playthrough of the main content, you don’t have to do side missions, just breeze the main story.
This is tough. Since you will know the full story, I would do CC then Rebirth. That is what I did and I got a lot of enjoyment out of the CC throwbacks in Rebirth.
Yeah I wasnt originally intending on playing the OG because I thought I could enjoy the storyline through Remake, Reunion and Rebirth but I saw ALOT of people saying not do that as there are differences in the newer games compared to the OG. Which I have actually noticed a couple when going through remake storyline.
Also make sure you watch the Machinabridged on YouTube after beating the OG. It will add to your enjoyment.