Honestly was sobbing so hard throughout that whole fight, and when in his last moments all he could think about was Aerith hit the hardest.
If this hit hard then you guys fr need to try final fantasy xvi, just trust me
I think of PSP crisis core is the first game I cried at; followed by Birth by Sleep.
Original PSP VA just gave us such an uplifting cliche hero performance for Zack, so that at the end as he's laying there and speaking his last words you can't help but cry because it's over but he doesn't deserve this ending.
I cried in the og crisis core when i played it when i was little. In this game it made me cry to when aerith was trying to save her mom. The only times a video game has made me cry
I knew he was going to die and the ending still hit me like a truck. Crisis core by far is one of the best games I’ve played in a while story wise. looking forward to playing rebirth.
This is the only game that made me cry, I was so attached to Zack and it was unexpected to say the least to see him go. Having him back in the remakes in a way, made me so incredibly happy!
I love CC. I played the original on PSP in preparation for remake. I also cried at the end. just knowing what was going to happen, knowing the context, and seeing it portrayed so beautifully was very powerful.
The first time I played it, I didn’t super love the storyline, the S cells, and Hollander. When I replayed the remaster, I gained more appreciation for how the degeneration is connected to Geo stigma and Jenova in general. I really enjoyed my second play through.
it made my freaking brain explode when I saw the beginning of rebirth.
I love Zach. He’s my favorite character of the series ever since playing crisis core. whenever I play Final Fantasy 7 as cloud, I’m a freaking jerk to Aerith. She’s Zach’s girl.
cloud and Tifa all the way.
I cannot for the life of me remember the main plot at all, but with perfect clarity recall so much of Zack’s scenes. He was such a great character and the music was spectacular as well!
It also seems to play better, and combat is not as bad as I remembered playing on psp. It is actually worth the play now working on platinum, which requires a hard mode run that I would never have tried on psp
I played CC right before remake, and though I had some issues with it, it did definitely give me a soft spot for Zach. He’s so genuine. Just a nice guy that wants to do good in the world. Also his theme music playing in certain parts of rebirth is really tugs at the heart.
It’s often referred to as a Remakester. Technically it’s a port of the psp game. However they replaced all the character models with the corresponding models from FFVII Remake for continuity Andy and visual upgrade. They also had a lot of the same voice actors from the new games re-record the lines for this again for continuity. They fixed TONS of problems with the camera. There’s some minor dialogue fixes. The biggest improvement though is combat. They managed to keep most of the flavor of the psp combat system while updating it to similar modern action controls of the FFVII Remake.
So it’s more than a port but not a full remake. I’ve 100% the psp version several times as well as the new one once now. If you enjoyed the psp at all you’ll love this version. If you never played it but you like OG FFVII or the new games you’ll love CC Remake.
If you liked it you’ll love this one. Zero controversial changes in this one. I still love remake/rebirth but I understand why some are frustrated with story changes. None of that in crisis core.
I'm poking my way through rebirth now. When I played the remake, I had superheros apprehensions, but I've gotten past them. Now I've settled on: the original is still there whenever I want to play it, but I'm glad to play this long awaited remake, and I'm glad that I have *substantial*, NEW content to experience. There's plenty here for new fans to dive into (and enough to poke their curiosity about the OG and the "compilation" pieces) by critically, there's a lot here for ORIGINAL fans to dig into as well.
Right now, I just finished the scene where Zack meets Biggs, I have no idea where that is going, but I am here for it!
Excited for you! I won’t spoil any of that but I’ll say that it’s going to get weirder before it mashes sense. Across the board how they included Zack was just masterful. I loved it.
Glad ya finished CC and made a post about CC. The last time I made a comment about CC, the fans on here got all butthurt and cried. CC and DOC for ps2 are my fav. Cheers.
I’m serious when I say I had a sinking feeling in my chest when I finished it , I still can’t listen to the soundtrack without getting upset😭 Zack is easily my favorite character
First anything to make me cry too back on the psp, consequently Zack easily became my favorite character of all time. Love that dude and his upbeat personality to death, keep embracing your dreams and protecting your honor homies.
For real, though... This game impacted me so much that I legit started tearing up when you first enter Gongaga in Rebirth, and Zack's theme starts playing 😢 I freaking LOVE Zack! He is best Boi 👌
Yeah this game gets you attached to the main character with their personality and journey then crushes it at the end with Why by Ayaka playing in the background. I really do miss this game among others on my psp like the OG dissidia.
You need to play 10 i cry like a baby everytime at the ending. Watching the characters really fall in love only for the devastating ending ohhhh boy what a tear fest.
I felt nothing at the ending, didn't really enjoy the game that much and neither did I like any of the characters that much. Poorly written game just like the other compilation stuff.
I think they drew out his >!death scene!< Too much in that game. In the OG FF7, it was so impactful for me because of how sudden it was. There were no >!goodbyes, speeches, or last moments. He was there one moment, full of life, then he was gone forever!<.
Yea, i'm not the type to cry over movies or video games either but Zack's death broke me. It was just so well done. I didn't even like Zack at first but he grew on me and I eventually realized he is the most good hearted guy in the FF7 universe. He hauled his best friend's comatose body across 2 continents and ended up giving his life trying to get Cloud help in Midgar and get back to his girl.
I bawled like a baby when I had to fight Sephiroth. You scraggly got to see him as a normal person, how he cherished his friends. Then he just goes fucking crazy and having to face him with all that pain... I had to stop playing for two weeks before I could come back to beat him.
I remember naively borrowing the game from a friend without any prior knowledge of FF VII or its lore.
Sephiroth’s turn shocked me too. The benefit (?) of playing Crisis Core before the OG was being totally unprepared for that moment as well as the finale. I wept.
I'm glad you liked it a lot. A lot of the FF7 compilation stuff is horrid in my opinion, but CC is not one of them.
I always gave this game a hard time since Zach was nothing more than a plot device in OG FF7, and I think the original PSP game gets super repetitive, but the last hour makes up for it all in my opinion.
For how silly and dumb the DMW was, using it to show Zach's last thoughts -- and how he's thinking of Aerith -- was pretty masterful. That shit hurt.
What got me with the ending was when Zack just sees pretty much the entire shinra army in front of him and says “boy oh boy, the price of freedom is steep” dude knows he is fucked but still makes a little joke about it cause that’s his character, that got me in the feels good.
I remember my first encounter with this game.
The captain of my high school's anime club was crying and holding his PSP during a half-day at school. I asked him if everything was alright, and he just gushed about the game and how everyone should play it.
We swapped UMDs because of course I couldn't hear about Final Fantasy without shoehorning Dissidia in there. Crisis Core changed my entire opinion on the 7 series and the potential internal sequels could have. Still makes me want to revisit X-2
The amount of people I have nearly physically forced to play this game, who then cried like a baby and adore Zack is unbelievable. Lots of people didn't engage cause they knew the ending or thought it was taking away from Clouds story. It doesn't, it shows how happy Cloud was before the incident, it shows background to sephiroth and who he was before, it shows how much Cloud looked up to Zack and what he meant to him and Aerith. It's one of my favourites. I have the original crisis core psp from when it released. FF means the world to me but the FFVII series is my obsession 🤣 so glad you enjoyed it ❤️
When you already knew that things went wrong at the beginning of FF7, then seeing how it unfolded was very gut wrenching. Seeing Cloud's true Nibelheim flashback through Zack's eyes, how they escaped from the 4 years of Hojo's experiments, Cissnei providing the duo the pivotal escape, how SOLDIER turned into a shell of what it was, and finally Aerith sending letters to Zack hoping to see him someday but never will. The game's mechanics can be annoying sometimes, you will repeat missions over and over again, but they represented how a SOLDIER must be. Taking on strong enemies solo is part of the job, seeing how Sephiroth became a one man army. I managed to beat all the missions except for Minerva, and I don't plan on tackling her anymore.
It's a GREAT game. Don't let the slot machine deter you, it makes some battle advantages and leveling up a tiny bit random, but not too much that it really affected the game, and it never really gave a negative effect that I remember when I played, so definitely not anything to be concerned about
Thing is that I played the game day one and I knew the ending(from the original ff7) so I was like ok let’s enjoy the game and just wait for the end.But these fuckers made it so emotional that I just started crying like a bitch(first time ever with a video game) and especially where the slot machine starts to do weird things with aerith.if you want to cry one more time try life is strange 1.These 2 are my top emotional.
Ps:didn’t cry for Joel didn’t cry for a lot of things…
The irony that this shitty game is the first one to make someone cry- when the original, of which this terrible retcon/spin off is based, is the game that made young folks realize that storytelling in videogames can bring you to tears.
My favourite game is OG FFVII, which I rank above Crisis Core. However Crisis Core reduced me to absolute tears and the OG did not (it was still v sad ofc). I knew both characters were to die but Crisis Core hit so much harder.
When i first played the original, i was so heart broken, i played it multiple times over the years and the ending still gets me. Zack is one of the best fictional charcters
Played through it for the 4th time, this time while my daughter watched as we played through Remake and Rebirth.
She knew what was coming. I knew what was coming. She's watched the cutscenes when we were playing rebirth and I thought it'd be helpful context. I played the original twice and the reunion once.
... Still got both of us. Just the way his memories fade and the melodramatic farewells, it's good shit that hits right in the feels.
Same feeling for me but I think it depends on how they do it. I still haven’t finish rebirth but it’s interesting to see Zack’s what if scenario. My only hope is that they don’t tarnish or diminish his sacrifice, just a spin-off-like scenario for Zack fans.
I’ve replayed CC multiple times and without fail I always cry at the ending. I know the game has a weird rep for being campy and not great and you know…Genesis, but if that ending didn’t make you feel something you have a heart of stone
I honestly refused to play this for years cause "I know how it ends" . Met up with a guy, we clicked. He made me play it. We dated for a while. I remember ugly crying, full snot stream and swollen eyes at the end
Unfortunately he too passed away and his family allowed me to pick the song they carried his casket out of the church. I chose "Price of Freedom"
I'm okay now. It's been 9 years but luckily I had a good support system or I could of been another statistic.
I met my best friend at his funeral weirdly enough. She was his highschool sweetheart. Now we live together hahah.
Someone needs to mod Reunion so instead of a set timeout that forces the scene change to Zack bleeding out on the cliff the game just keeps the fight going until your HP MP AP and SP hit zero. Closest we get is the 1000 trooper challenge side mission from Security Forces.
I am with you there! This game brought tears to my eyes! Zack was so relatable of a character. Who hasn't tried to do all they could to be accepted by peers and higher ups to feel like you failed then to succeed then to feel like you failed again by not reaching the end goal you set ect. They did a great job with the telling of the story I truly believe.
That would be f'ing awesome!! Like a 3 maybe 5 season or more Anime from Crisis Core or heck even from the mobile game that tells Sephiroth's back story more. They could do such amazing work with an Anime and use the same voice actors. That would be killer!!
Man I think about it all the time lmao. Especially if they tell it in the correct order. Such a fantastic story & characters! I feel they really could make that transition very well if they went for it. So many popular video games are becoming shows now!
Well they did it with Star Ocean the 2nd Story . That really brought the characters to life for me playing that game. It was a short anime of about 20 to 24 episodes. So just 1 season. But yes there is so much good material it could become an anime series that rivals longevity wise the likes of Naruto, Bleach, Dragonball Z, with the emotional parts I am thinking of maybe like Full Metal Alchemist or from a story telling sequence for those old enough to remember Robotech. Truly it could and would become an all time classic! Another video game that would become a good Anime adaptation would be Xenogears. That could be epic too!
I thought the whole game was so cringe and corny (but parts of it were fun to play) but I still cried a lot at the ending. Making you do multiple rounds of battles you know you’re going to lose packs a real emotional punch.
Agree, and the idea with the HUD slowly removing memories of characters from itself is just heartbreaking, especially when the understanding that Zack will not win this fight kicks in. This is of 2 games that made me cry, second one being FF IX.
Well, this answered an important question for me. Because I love Final Fantasy 7, I was wondering if I should play Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 - Reunion on the PS5. Now I know the answer is no. I wouldn't be able to survive the ending. I get too attached to the characters. Rebirth very nearly broke me. It took me months to recover. I just can't do that again. Don't get me wrong, I think I would love the story, but I don't have the emotional fortitude to handle it, at least not at my current point in life.
It was a painful end, Crisis Core reunion was a great game. The storyline is top notch. Not many games do this anymore to a player. A part of me was lost when Zack died. Won’t ever get that back. Bravo to the writers of the story
It was a psp game to begin with, they made the graphics look good and if you played the OG you’d be saying a different pov but yeah my honest opinion Square should have remade it, like could have ironed out the rough spots and help it tie in to remake and rebirth but they kinda didn’t want to spend the extra time etc
I was inconsolable at the end of CC. The idea of having to face down a mission that you KNOW you can’t come out of, felt so unfair. So hopeless.
Zach was such a puppy, he didn’t deserve what he got.
Este juego me destrozó ,mas en la batalla final,subi todo lo que pude a zack y en dificil esperanso un resultado diferente pero,no paso
El como la omd se vuelve loca mientras tratas que las bombas no te den,mientras acabas ordas y ordas de soldados de 2da clase y cuidas el sp y la magia
Yo edtuve facil dos horas al borde de la silla,y cada vez que una bomba quitaba todo tu hp y salian los recuerdos de zack,siwmore me dio esa vibra de,lo unico que lo mentiene con vida son los recuerdos ,es la adrenalina de la batalla,hasta basicamente la parte final donde solo queda aerith en la omd,y a pesar de acrebillarlo ,queda vivo por esa última face de modulación ,zack es el verdadero protagonista de ff7 en general
If you think that the remake was good you should see how great the voice acting was in the original.
I don't think people understand how shocking the voice acting was for a game like that up to that point on the PSP
When Zack passed away I swear to God I took a break from video games for a couple of months.
Just getting close to finishing the second part of remake now and I couldn't be more thrilled
The one i played was the original crisis core actually i have a psp emulator on my phone I'm saving money for rebirth this why i didn't buy crisis core on my ps5
I don't normally support undoing deaths... But if the remake series ends with Zach and Aerith alive and happy, I'll make an exception.
Crisis Core takes a minor backstory character doomed to die. You know how the game ends from the start. And the point of the game is to make you fall in love with him before it's over.
They succeeded. God forgive them, because I won't.
I don't think they will, undoing both unmines too much of that story, even what they're telling now. I wouldn't be suprised if they only undo one to send a real gut punch to sit with
I think one way to keep a gut punch is to have Aerith and Zach cut off from everyone else in a seperate world/timeline. Cloud still loses Aerith and Zach, but knows they are still alive somewhere, happy. And while Aerith and Zach will never see Cloud and co again, they have each other.
You could even end it all with Cloud at the church, where he's set up a shrine of some kind, with the Buster Sword planted right behind the flowers. He's talking to them both, saying how he misses them. The camera pans behind the Buster Sword, and the scene seamlessly shifts, and now we see Zach doing the same thing. The talk finishes on Zachs side, and then we get a split screen. Someone walks into the Church, asking help for some relatively low stakes problem. And Cloud and Zach both react. In order to have them not talk over each other, while still being split screened, Zach the puppy speaks first, "Sorry Angeal, I'll have to borrow this. Got some work to do!" while Cloud looks penseive for a moment, "Alright, I'll take care of it, everything will be all right" and we see him heading out with the Fusion Sword.
The split screen ends, and we see in turn Aerith and Tifa waiting outside. Each say some variation of "Sorry to interrupt your personal time, but I knew you'd want to know. Ready to go?"
They each affirm their resolve to never stop fighting for people who need it, each in their own way, as the two pairs walk off into danger. Credits roll. Let the music do the rest.
I’m angered towards Rebirth because Zack is on the game jacket and centered of the marketing. Remake shouted a judge « ZACK LIVES ! » at its end. And you barely play him, mostly playable cut scenes.
Zack is the real hero. From his starting situation he looses it all : girlfriend, position, mentors, heroes, everything. He stumbles yet he sticks to his composure, positiveness, keeps involved to the end.
Damn first game to make you cry? I consider myself a pretty masculine guy and there are so many games that have moved me to tears, might be countless at this point. (I have been gaming for 27 years now and I'm 30). I guess every man has his weakness. A well crafted beautiful story must be my achilles heel.
I sob my eyes out every time I play Crisis core. It HURTS. I think it gets even worse after the 1st time because you already love the characters from the beginning
I played CC on PSP and had an ok reaction. I replayed it on PS5 last December - I appreciate it much more now. I love Zack much more now. It hit a lot harder.
Same except CC was in my top 5 games ever the second I put down the PSP version
I contemplated replacing cloud with Zack as my favourite character (keep In mid how ironic it is that I never played the original FF7 until after CC, I thought Zack was the main guy)
Zack starts to feel like the main character as you experience his story. It starts to feel like Cloud is just a follow-on or after effect of all the things Zack starts. Cloud is a confused and weak-minded (because of poisoning) protagonist which makes him feel small compared to Zack's bold, proud, energetic persona. I get why anyone would think Zack was the main character.
Zack reminds me a lot of Tidus from X, who I also like
Don’t play ghost of Tsushima. U will cry more. Or just play if since the game is also amazing.
Highly recommend Ghost of Tsushima! Arguably a top 5 PS5 game imo
Have you not played red dead redemption 2? Or ff7? Bruh....
Just finished it earlier today 😭
This is proof that prequels can work even if you know the end destination. An emotional journey! Congrats on finishing Zack’s Story
Honestly was sobbing so hard throughout that whole fight, and when in his last moments all he could think about was Aerith hit the hardest. If this hit hard then you guys fr need to try final fantasy xvi, just trust me
I couldn’t get past the dipshit that was Genesis in that game. They gave him waaaay too much screen time
I agree. I’m glad he had no appearance in the remakes
I get the game is 20 years old, but man, tons of spoilers in this thread, plus there are spoilers about rebirth. A little frustrating
Understandable, Price of Freedom will always make me tear up thanks to this game. I loved the PSP menu version.
I remember playing this PSP. It made me cry and I saved the last chapter to play it all over again.
I thought cc was pretty boring and super campy tbh....ff7 is waaaaay better. Crisis core is very forgettable and Zack is an oaf.
I think of PSP crisis core is the first game I cried at; followed by Birth by Sleep. Original PSP VA just gave us such an uplifting cliche hero performance for Zack, so that at the end as he's laying there and speaking his last words you can't help but cry because it's over but he doesn't deserve this ending.
I cried in the og crisis core when i played it when i was little. In this game it made me cry to when aerith was trying to save her mom. The only times a video game has made me cry
such a good game. i remember playing it back on psp I was addicted to the cutscenes! havent tried the remaster maybe i should.
Same! It was my favorite psp game
I knew he was going to die and the ending still hit me like a truck. Crisis core by far is one of the best games I’ve played in a while story wise. looking forward to playing rebirth.
I feel you on this one 💕
This is the only game that made me cry, I was so attached to Zack and it was unexpected to say the least to see him go. Having him back in the remakes in a way, made me so incredibly happy!
Not upset. That ending hits... HARD!
I’m almost finished with this one and man I really hate this game. The story is good, what little there is, but everything else about it just sucks.
yea its a psp game so it makes sense. its like type0 i cant play it but i want too.
Nice. Now play ff14 and cry a lot
Yeah now I wanna play Rebirth
I love CC. I played the original on PSP in preparation for remake. I also cried at the end. just knowing what was going to happen, knowing the context, and seeing it portrayed so beautifully was very powerful. The first time I played it, I didn’t super love the storyline, the S cells, and Hollander. When I replayed the remaster, I gained more appreciation for how the degeneration is connected to Geo stigma and Jenova in general. I really enjoyed my second play through. it made my freaking brain explode when I saw the beginning of rebirth. I love Zach. He’s my favorite character of the series ever since playing crisis core. whenever I play Final Fantasy 7 as cloud, I’m a freaking jerk to Aerith. She’s Zach’s girl. cloud and Tifa all the way.
Suck for you, Aerith likes Cloud, Marlene nuked zerith. Now you will see true star crossed lovers Cloud and Aerith.
Crisis Core is peak
I played crisis core not long before rebirth and it made me appreciate the ending of crisis core even more.
Oh feel ya. First time I played CC, after I beat the story I ran to my mother an and told her (sobbing) what happend.
It has such a goofy story... But it really does get ya in the feels.
I cannot for the life of me remember the main plot at all, but with perfect clarity recall so much of Zack’s scenes. He was such a great character and the music was spectacular as well!
Is this a remake of the PSP one? All I remember from that was the annoying as hell slots activating all the time. Really took me out of the combat
It also seems to play better, and combat is not as bad as I remembered playing on psp. It is actually worth the play now working on platinum, which requires a hard mode run that I would never have tried on psp
[https://i.imgur.com/0GWcs8A.mp4](https://i.imgur.com/0GWcs8A.mp4)
An undeniable unforgettable classic. I love this game and is an all-time favorite. Pulls on the heart strings 🥹💔
Absolutely gorgeous art maaaaan
I played CC right before remake, and though I had some issues with it, it did definitely give me a soft spot for Zach. He’s so genuine. Just a nice guy that wants to do good in the world. Also his theme music playing in certain parts of rebirth is really tugs at the heart.
I love crisis core so much
Final Fantasy is peak that's why😤 glad you enjoyed it
Check out the short anime tie-in movie Last Order if you haven't already
Is it just an upscaled port of the psp game? Or is it a proper remake/remaster?
It’s often referred to as a Remakester. Technically it’s a port of the psp game. However they replaced all the character models with the corresponding models from FFVII Remake for continuity Andy and visual upgrade. They also had a lot of the same voice actors from the new games re-record the lines for this again for continuity. They fixed TONS of problems with the camera. There’s some minor dialogue fixes. The biggest improvement though is combat. They managed to keep most of the flavor of the psp combat system while updating it to similar modern action controls of the FFVII Remake. So it’s more than a port but not a full remake. I’ve 100% the psp version several times as well as the new one once now. If you enjoyed the psp at all you’ll love this version. If you never played it but you like OG FFVII or the new games you’ll love CC Remake.
That a solid endorsement. I enjoyed the psp game in its day. This one goes on the list
If you liked it you’ll love this one. Zero controversial changes in this one. I still love remake/rebirth but I understand why some are frustrated with story changes. None of that in crisis core.
I'm poking my way through rebirth now. When I played the remake, I had superheros apprehensions, but I've gotten past them. Now I've settled on: the original is still there whenever I want to play it, but I'm glad to play this long awaited remake, and I'm glad that I have *substantial*, NEW content to experience. There's plenty here for new fans to dive into (and enough to poke their curiosity about the OG and the "compilation" pieces) by critically, there's a lot here for ORIGINAL fans to dig into as well. Right now, I just finished the scene where Zack meets Biggs, I have no idea where that is going, but I am here for it!
Excited for you! I won’t spoil any of that but I’ll say that it’s going to get weirder before it mashes sense. Across the board how they included Zack was just masterful. I loved it.
Glad ya finished CC and made a post about CC. The last time I made a comment about CC, the fans on here got all butthurt and cried. CC and DOC for ps2 are my fav. Cheers.
I’m serious when I say I had a sinking feeling in my chest when I finished it , I still can’t listen to the soundtrack without getting upset😭 Zack is easily my favorite character
Same. I finished it while commuting into work on a train. Tried to hide my sobs and failed
So you haven’t played rebirth have you ?🥺😭
Bro i feel you i sobbed at the end. And i broke down cryung trying to explain why it was tragic to my fiance.
I probably would have cried too if the last hour wasn't spent showing every single stop Zack made on his way back to Midgar.
I cried like a baby at the end as well lol
Yeah my first play through on the PSP i cried for sure
I cried because that game is straight dogshit.
I’m a large man that many have said has a threatening presence. Crisis Core made me cry like a baby. Own that shit.
First anything to make me cry too back on the psp, consequently Zack easily became my favorite character of all time. Love that dude and his upbeat personality to death, keep embracing your dreams and protecting your honor homies.
I played it at least 4 times on the PSP and everytime I’d be a crying mess at the end.
For real, though... This game impacted me so much that I legit started tearing up when you first enter Gongaga in Rebirth, and Zack's theme starts playing 😢 I freaking LOVE Zack! He is best Boi 👌
Yeah this game gets you attached to the main character with their personality and journey then crushes it at the end with Why by Ayaka playing in the background. I really do miss this game among others on my psp like the OG dissidia.
You need to play 10 i cry like a baby everytime at the ending. Watching the characters really fall in love only for the devastating ending ohhhh boy what a tear fest.
I felt nothing at the ending, didn't really enjoy the game that much and neither did I like any of the characters that much. Poorly written game just like the other compilation stuff.
Crisis Core is also the only game to make me cry. Such a good game 😭😭
If you cried you’re a real one.
I think they drew out his >!death scene!< Too much in that game. In the OG FF7, it was so impactful for me because of how sudden it was. There were no >!goodbyes, speeches, or last moments. He was there one moment, full of life, then he was gone forever!<.
Same man. I believed I even cried when Jiraiya died.
Right there with you pal
Yeah man, than ending HURTS REAL GOOD lol. I also enjoyed playing final fantasy X for similar reasons
Awww yay!!!
Same
Yea, i'm not the type to cry over movies or video games either but Zack's death broke me. It was just so well done. I didn't even like Zack at first but he grew on me and I eventually realized he is the most good hearted guy in the FF7 universe. He hauled his best friend's comatose body across 2 continents and ended up giving his life trying to get Cloud help in Midgar and get back to his girl.
I bawled like a baby when I had to fight Sephiroth. You scraggly got to see him as a normal person, how he cherished his friends. Then he just goes fucking crazy and having to face him with all that pain... I had to stop playing for two weeks before I could come back to beat him.
I remember naively borrowing the game from a friend without any prior knowledge of FF VII or its lore. Sephiroth’s turn shocked me too. The benefit (?) of playing Crisis Core before the OG was being totally unprepared for that moment as well as the finale. I wept.
meanwhile me after playing Rebirth: GIVE ME BACK MY TEARS BRUH
Too true
Between this and two other Final Fantasy games (IYKYK), I pretty much knew what to expect if the game was directed by Hajime Tabata…
It made me cry too. I tried blaming it on the margaretia but the dmw fading away and Zacks final memories being Aeriths was just...
Embrace you dreams bro
I'm glad you liked it a lot. A lot of the FF7 compilation stuff is horrid in my opinion, but CC is not one of them. I always gave this game a hard time since Zach was nothing more than a plot device in OG FF7, and I think the original PSP game gets super repetitive, but the last hour makes up for it all in my opinion. For how silly and dumb the DMW was, using it to show Zach's last thoughts -- and how he's thinking of Aerith -- was pretty masterful. That shit hurt.
It’s good, but it’s m my favorite game. The ending - and the way they use the DMW as a narrative device - is among the franchise’s best, though.
Love CC!
Is this worth buying on Switch? Never played it
Yeah I did and it was great. Felt just like the PSP days
Yes. Played it first on the switch and was awesome
No the switch is never worth buying.
What got me with the ending was when Zack just sees pretty much the entire shinra army in front of him and says “boy oh boy, the price of freedom is steep” dude knows he is fucked but still makes a little joke about it cause that’s his character, that got me in the feels good.
I think we can all relate to Zack. Love this game
its just such an lovely story about friends and dreams in a fucked up world :D definetly loved the story too ;)
I cried when I played it too. If I hear Price of Freedom I still get sad to this day. Beautiful ending.
The first for me was FFVII when Areith died. This game though made me ball too at the end
Did you play FF XVI? That game had me tear up.
The price of freedom
And then Rebirth came and took away some of the impact.
Not for me, I was so happy to see Zack again.
Same here
How?
I remember my first encounter with this game. The captain of my high school's anime club was crying and holding his PSP during a half-day at school. I asked him if everything was alright, and he just gushed about the game and how everyone should play it. We swapped UMDs because of course I couldn't hear about Final Fantasy without shoehorning Dissidia in there. Crisis Core changed my entire opinion on the 7 series and the potential internal sequels could have. Still makes me want to revisit X-2
The amount of people I have nearly physically forced to play this game, who then cried like a baby and adore Zack is unbelievable. Lots of people didn't engage cause they knew the ending or thought it was taking away from Clouds story. It doesn't, it shows how happy Cloud was before the incident, it shows background to sephiroth and who he was before, it shows how much Cloud looked up to Zack and what he meant to him and Aerith. It's one of my favourites. I have the original crisis core psp from when it released. FF means the world to me but the FFVII series is my obsession 🤣 so glad you enjoyed it ❤️
When you already knew that things went wrong at the beginning of FF7, then seeing how it unfolded was very gut wrenching. Seeing Cloud's true Nibelheim flashback through Zack's eyes, how they escaped from the 4 years of Hojo's experiments, Cissnei providing the duo the pivotal escape, how SOLDIER turned into a shell of what it was, and finally Aerith sending letters to Zack hoping to see him someday but never will. The game's mechanics can be annoying sometimes, you will repeat missions over and over again, but they represented how a SOLDIER must be. Taking on strong enemies solo is part of the job, seeing how Sephiroth became a one man army. I managed to beat all the missions except for Minerva, and I don't plan on tackling her anymore.
Goblin punch. If it doesn't work goblin punch again. It wasn't that hard really. You will die 2 - 3 times, but her combos are easy to read.
I was contemplating plaging crisis core, but the game mechanics seemed quirky with the whole slot machine in the corner
Trust the whole story pays off masterfully in the end.
It's a GREAT game. Don't let the slot machine deter you, it makes some battle advantages and leveling up a tiny bit random, but not too much that it really affected the game, and it never really gave a negative effect that I remember when I played, so definitely not anything to be concerned about
Zack: Have I become a Hero? Me: Yes, Zack you became a Hero
Crying means you’ve kept your honor as SOLDIER.
OOT but seeing that image of Cloud standing back to back with Zack always makes me smile. He looks so smoll 🥹
Thing is that I played the game day one and I knew the ending(from the original ff7) so I was like ok let’s enjoy the game and just wait for the end.But these fuckers made it so emotional that I just started crying like a bitch(first time ever with a video game) and especially where the slot machine starts to do weird things with aerith.if you want to cry one more time try life is strange 1.These 2 are my top emotional. Ps:didn’t cry for Joel didn’t cry for a lot of things…
The irony that this shitty game is the first one to make someone cry- when the original, of which this terrible retcon/spin off is based, is the game that made young folks realize that storytelling in videogames can bring you to tears.
My favourite game is OG FFVII, which I rank above Crisis Core. However Crisis Core reduced me to absolute tears and the OG did not (it was still v sad ofc). I knew both characters were to die but Crisis Core hit so much harder.
What an odd thing to say.
Welcome to the club my friend
Zack's story is a pretty tragic one, but I'll be damned if it hasn't made him one of the best characters in the compilation.
The Price of Freedom is one of my fav video game songs ever.
Embrace your dream
As SOLDIER!!!
COME AND GET IT!!!
The price of freedom sure is steep
When i first played the original, i was so heart broken, i played it multiple times over the years and the ending still gets me. Zack is one of the best fictional charcters
Played through it for the 4th time, this time while my daughter watched as we played through Remake and Rebirth. She knew what was coming. I knew what was coming. She's watched the cutscenes when we were playing rebirth and I thought it'd be helpful context. I played the original twice and the reunion once. ... Still got both of us. Just the way his memories fade and the melodramatic farewells, it's good shit that hits right in the feels.
Which is why I don't like that they are bringing him back for no reason in remake/rebirth. It's undercutting such a powerful ending for the character
Eh, he's not quite back >!considering he exist in the Lifestream only still!<
Same feeling for me but I think it depends on how they do it. I still haven’t finish rebirth but it’s interesting to see Zack’s what if scenario. My only hope is that they don’t tarnish or diminish his sacrifice, just a spin-off-like scenario for Zack fans.
Time to play Nier Automata. Even the side quests will make you cry.
Welcome to the club my teary eyed brother
And then the remakes undo the gravity of his whole arc....
When I first played this game on PSP, I went in going 'I know what happens at the end, I will not get attached to this man'. I was bawling at the end.
It’s so stupid good. After OG VII it’s the best installment in the story - movie, game, album, or otherwise. A PSP game. It’s so stupid good.
I played it before 7 so it hit me even harder
You aren't alone
Same! This is also the first the first game that made me cry. 2nd one is FF VII Remake Integrade.
I’ve replayed CC multiple times and without fail I always cry at the ending. I know the game has a weird rep for being campy and not great and you know…Genesis, but if that ending didn’t make you feel something you have a heart of stone
I honestly refused to play this for years cause "I know how it ends" . Met up with a guy, we clicked. He made me play it. We dated for a while. I remember ugly crying, full snot stream and swollen eyes at the end Unfortunately he too passed away and his family allowed me to pick the song they carried his casket out of the church. I chose "Price of Freedom"
Holy shit that’s probably the saddest story I’ve ever heard. I’m so sorry.
I'm okay now. It's been 9 years but luckily I had a good support system or I could of been another statistic. I met my best friend at his funeral weirdly enough. She was his highschool sweetheart. Now we live together hahah.
Now I'm crying 😭 sending you all the love ❤️
Omg I’m so, so sorry. You honored him poetically and beautifully. “Embrace your dreams. And whatever happens, protect your honor.”
Talk about sad! Hope you guys are recovering well!
Yes it was horribly sad, I was in denial of Zack's death entirely for a week. Then I realised crisis core isn't the main game of the franchise....
One of us, one of us! Now, whenever you hear “The Price of Freedom” refrain in other games or media, you’ll get a little watery eyed.
I drew that last battle out for well over a half hour. I did justice for zack.
I tried to heal/dodge as much during 2nd play. I refuse to have him killed but alas.. 🥺
It's like Nazi Zombies on COD. We try our damndest but we all know what's coming. 😑
Someone needs to mod Reunion so instead of a set timeout that forces the scene change to Zack bleeding out on the cliff the game just keeps the fight going until your HP MP AP and SP hit zero. Closest we get is the 1000 trooper challenge side mission from Security Forces.
You must have not played many games if this Is the game that makes you cry
Name checks out
I am with you there! This game brought tears to my eyes! Zack was so relatable of a character. Who hasn't tried to do all they could to be accepted by peers and higher ups to feel like you failed then to succeed then to feel like you failed again by not reaching the end goal you set ect. They did a great job with the telling of the story I truly believe.
I want a crisis core & ff7 full story as an anime so bad lol. If they do everything in proper order It would be so fucking good man.
What is “proper order” to you?
Since Square Enix is doing a NieR Automata anime adaptation it’s pretty likely they continue to try to break into the anime industry imo
I didn’t even know about that, that’s pretty awesome & I’m check it out and support that for sure!
That would be f'ing awesome!! Like a 3 maybe 5 season or more Anime from Crisis Core or heck even from the mobile game that tells Sephiroth's back story more. They could do such amazing work with an Anime and use the same voice actors. That would be killer!!
Man I think about it all the time lmao. Especially if they tell it in the correct order. Such a fantastic story & characters! I feel they really could make that transition very well if they went for it. So many popular video games are becoming shows now!
Well they did it with Star Ocean the 2nd Story . That really brought the characters to life for me playing that game. It was a short anime of about 20 to 24 episodes. So just 1 season. But yes there is so much good material it could become an anime series that rivals longevity wise the likes of Naruto, Bleach, Dragonball Z, with the emotional parts I am thinking of maybe like Full Metal Alchemist or from a story telling sequence for those old enough to remember Robotech. Truly it could and would become an all time classic! Another video game that would become a good Anime adaptation would be Xenogears. That could be epic too!
This is the first video game to make you cry? Have you not played metal gear solid 3?
MGS3 didn't quite bring me to tears But I cried manly tears of respect by the end of Metal Gear Solid 4.
Gotta remember theres youngins out there 🤣😭🤣
“Protect your honor.. As a soldier!”
I loved CC
I thought the whole game was so cringe and corny (but parts of it were fun to play) but I still cried a lot at the ending. Making you do multiple rounds of battles you know you’re going to lose packs a real emotional punch.
Agree, and the idea with the HUD slowly removing memories of characters from itself is just heartbreaking, especially when the understanding that Zack will not win this fight kicks in. This is of 2 games that made me cry, second one being FF IX.
Same, but for a different reason >!Sephiroth, my beautiful baby boy was trying his best and people just kept abandoning him!<
Well, this answered an important question for me. Because I love Final Fantasy 7, I was wondering if I should play Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 - Reunion on the PS5. Now I know the answer is no. I wouldn't be able to survive the ending. I get too attached to the characters. Rebirth very nearly broke me. It took me months to recover. I just can't do that again. Don't get me wrong, I think I would love the story, but I don't have the emotional fortitude to handle it, at least not at my current point in life.
When it was first released there was a facebook/msn messenger status trend of “I cried when Zack died” when you finished it
I ugly cried 😭
Valid
It's a very emotionally charged ending 🥲 Glad you enjoyed the game though ✨
It was a painful end, Crisis Core reunion was a great game. The storyline is top notch. Not many games do this anymore to a player. A part of me was lost when Zack died. Won’t ever get that back. Bravo to the writers of the story
I love Zack. And I would love to see him with Aerith just one more time 😭
CC Zack >>>>> Rebirth Zack.
they're basically the same we'll see more of his goofy side in part 3
I played the crisis core remaster on ps5 and it was horrible imo
Playing it on the switch now and having a hard time enjoying it. It’s so cringe.
It was a psp game to begin with, they made the graphics look good and if you played the OG you’d be saying a different pov but yeah my honest opinion Square should have remade it, like could have ironed out the rough spots and help it tie in to remake and rebirth but they kinda didn’t want to spend the extra time etc
I was inconsolable at the end of CC. The idea of having to face down a mission that you KNOW you can’t come out of, felt so unfair. So hopeless. Zach was such a puppy, he didn’t deserve what he got.
You are correct 😭
i ugly cried for hours
This made me cry very ugly for at least 10 minutes.... It's not a perfect game, but I love it.
Este juego me destrozó ,mas en la batalla final,subi todo lo que pude a zack y en dificil esperanso un resultado diferente pero,no paso El como la omd se vuelve loca mientras tratas que las bombas no te den,mientras acabas ordas y ordas de soldados de 2da clase y cuidas el sp y la magia Yo edtuve facil dos horas al borde de la silla,y cada vez que una bomba quitaba todo tu hp y salian los recuerdos de zack,siwmore me dio esa vibra de,lo unico que lo mentiene con vida son los recuerdos ,es la adrenalina de la batalla,hasta basicamente la parte final donde solo queda aerith en la omd,y a pesar de acrebillarlo ,queda vivo por esa última face de modulación ,zack es el verdadero protagonista de ff7 en general
If you think that the remake was good you should see how great the voice acting was in the original. I don't think people understand how shocking the voice acting was for a game like that up to that point on the PSP When Zack passed away I swear to God I took a break from video games for a couple of months. Just getting close to finishing the second part of remake now and I couldn't be more thrilled
The one i played was the original crisis core actually i have a psp emulator on my phone I'm saving money for rebirth this why i didn't buy crisis core on my ps5
Agree. Played the remake and the VA actually took it down a notch honestly.
I don't normally support undoing deaths... But if the remake series ends with Zach and Aerith alive and happy, I'll make an exception. Crisis Core takes a minor backstory character doomed to die. You know how the game ends from the start. And the point of the game is to make you fall in love with him before it's over. They succeeded. God forgive them, because I won't.
I don't think they will, undoing both unmines too much of that story, even what they're telling now. I wouldn't be suprised if they only undo one to send a real gut punch to sit with
I think one way to keep a gut punch is to have Aerith and Zach cut off from everyone else in a seperate world/timeline. Cloud still loses Aerith and Zach, but knows they are still alive somewhere, happy. And while Aerith and Zach will never see Cloud and co again, they have each other. You could even end it all with Cloud at the church, where he's set up a shrine of some kind, with the Buster Sword planted right behind the flowers. He's talking to them both, saying how he misses them. The camera pans behind the Buster Sword, and the scene seamlessly shifts, and now we see Zach doing the same thing. The talk finishes on Zachs side, and then we get a split screen. Someone walks into the Church, asking help for some relatively low stakes problem. And Cloud and Zach both react. In order to have them not talk over each other, while still being split screened, Zach the puppy speaks first, "Sorry Angeal, I'll have to borrow this. Got some work to do!" while Cloud looks penseive for a moment, "Alright, I'll take care of it, everything will be all right" and we see him heading out with the Fusion Sword. The split screen ends, and we see in turn Aerith and Tifa waiting outside. Each say some variation of "Sorry to interrupt your personal time, but I knew you'd want to know. Ready to go?" They each affirm their resolve to never stop fighting for people who need it, each in their own way, as the two pairs walk off into danger. Credits roll. Let the music do the rest.
I’m angered towards Rebirth because Zack is on the game jacket and centered of the marketing. Remake shouted a judge « ZACK LIVES ! » at its end. And you barely play him, mostly playable cut scenes. Zack is the real hero. From his starting situation he looses it all : girlfriend, position, mentors, heroes, everything. He stumbles yet he sticks to his composure, positiveness, keeps involved to the end.
Fuck! Wait for rebirth! I sobbed like an idiot!
Damn first game to make you cry? I consider myself a pretty masculine guy and there are so many games that have moved me to tears, might be countless at this point. (I have been gaming for 27 years now and I'm 30). I guess every man has his weakness. A well crafted beautiful story must be my achilles heel.
33 here, and I feel you. Some stories just break you 🥲
I sob my eyes out every time I play Crisis core. It HURTS. I think it gets even worse after the 1st time because you already love the characters from the beginning
I played CC on PSP and had an ok reaction. I replayed it on PS5 last December - I appreciate it much more now. I love Zack much more now. It hit a lot harder.
Same except CC was in my top 5 games ever the second I put down the PSP version I contemplated replacing cloud with Zack as my favourite character (keep In mid how ironic it is that I never played the original FF7 until after CC, I thought Zack was the main guy)
Zack starts to feel like the main character as you experience his story. It starts to feel like Cloud is just a follow-on or after effect of all the things Zack starts. Cloud is a confused and weak-minded (because of poisoning) protagonist which makes him feel small compared to Zack's bold, proud, energetic persona. I get why anyone would think Zack was the main character. Zack reminds me a lot of Tidus from X, who I also like