Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion's release date has been announced. Square Enix announced the remaster earlier this year at Square Enix's Final Fantasy 7 25th Anniversary event alongside Final Fantasy 7 Remake's sequel, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. It was announced that the beloved Final Fantasy 7 PSP prequel be receiving a remaster with enhanced visuals and new voice acting.
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 was first released for PSP in Japan in September 2007. The game follows Zack Fair, the mentor to Final Fantasy 7's Cloud Strife, as he is assigned by the paramilitary group SOLDIER to track down missing agent Genesis Rhapsodos. He meets with many characters from the main game such as Sephiroth and Aerith, providing context towards many of the events that play out in Final Fantasy 7 and its spin-offs. The game was directed by Final Fantasy 15 lead Hajime Tabata, with original Final Fantasy 7 director Tetsuya Nomura serving as character designer.
After receiving an ambiguous "Winter 2022" release window, Square Enix has announced the full release date for Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion. The announcement was made during today's Nintendo Direct. It was revealed that Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion will make its Nintendo Switch debut on December 13th, 2022. The game will also release on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. This will be its first time available on non-PlayStation platforms, as well as home consoles.
The remaster for Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 is going beyond a usual remaster effort from Square Enix, including redone voice acting with cast members from Final Fantasy 7 Remake, redone visuals to also better match the remake's, and a fully reworked combat system. The original Crisis Core received criticism at launch for its use of a rolling slots-based combat system, which made actions very random. The remake will still integrate the slot system, however it will also utilize more action-based combat similar to Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
Given that this will be many players' first time experiencing Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7, and the popularity of 2020's remake, it makes sense that so much work has been redone to bring the game up to today's standards and implement many elements from the remake. Strangely, Square Enix has already confirmed that Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion will not add any new story elements to the game, meaning there will be no larger ties to the world of Final Fantasy 7 Remake. The game will likely do a good job holding fans over for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, which is slated to launch Winter 2023.
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion will launch on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on December 13th 2022.