Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core

Screenshots:

Fanart:

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Concept Art:

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Background:
"Men who shed tears for their own fate, and for their friends."

Set seven years before the original Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core focuses around the the infamous ShinRa Company and it's war with the prosperous Western continent of Wutai.

You play as Zack Fair, a young man who is striving to become a highly ranked First-Class SOLDIER in the elite ShinRa army, along with his best friend, Cloud Strife.

But after the disappearance of Genesis (a powerful First-Class SOLDIER), the ShinRa Company soon send Zack, his mentor Angeal, and Sephioth (the antagonist of FFVII) to recover their lost comrade, and put an end to the war.
But things don't quite go to plan, and a cruel struggle of fate soon awaits Zack...

Gameplay:
As an action-RPG, Crisis Core introduces a new Battle System to the Final Fantasy series: the Digital Mind Wave (DMW).
Being similar to the Limit Break system from the original Final Fantasy VII, the DMW system revolves around a series of slots in the upper left-hand corner of the screen, that show the faces of characters that Zack has met on his journey.
Due to this system being strongly linked to Zack's emotions, feelings and memories, the slots are constantly spinning and changing his state of mind. When the slots finally line up, Zack will get a "Power Surge" and will be able to use a Special Attack.
How the character uses DMW will determine what sort of abilites and strengths Zack will have at the end of the game.

Random encounters are also back, but not in a way that Final Fantasy fans will expect. There are no transitions or Loading times this time around. Instead, the battles begin on the screen that the player is vieweing, while the display menus pop-up. In these menus, the player has the choice to Attack, use Materia magic, or use an Item.