Disaster Core can be, for a lot of, a Ultimate Fantasy facet recreation they only by no means obtained an opportunity to strive. Provided that the sport has been caught on the Sony PSP since its 2008 launch (2007 in Japan), it’s extremely a lot a welcome sight to see it coming to principally all platforms in 2022. I had the chance to play to the tip of Disaster Core’s third chapter on PlayStation 5, and whereas it isn’t what I anticipated it to be, I am desirous to see extra about the way it fleshes out the world and story of Ultimate Fantasy VII.
As a direct prequel to FFVII, Disaster Core revolves round Zack Truthful, a talented however overconfident member of SOLDIER, the identical group that Cloud Strife was as soon as part of. When you’ve performed Ultimate Fantasy VII Remake, you will have a little bit of an thought about how Disaster Core Reunion feels, however its construction specifically is what I’ve needed to come to phrases with throughout my first few hours with the sport.
Relatively than the bigger world and freedom of exploration provided by the unique Ultimate Fantasy VII (itself solely out there on a Nintendo platform due to the Swap), Zack’s story is split into a number of chapters and options extra of a mission-based construction. The primary three chapters have every concerned a dungeon space in or round a spot just like the Shinra Constructing after which a boss battle, however accessing these segments is essentially performed by way of speaking to the pinnacle of SOLDIER or one other distinguished character. There is no actual touring from A to B right here; the little motion and exploration to be discovered are continually interrupted by cutscenes or fight. And in order that appears to be, not less than to date, on the core of this Reunion 15 years within the making: story beats and action-RPG battles. Do not be anticipating to discover all of Midgar or journey throughout any continent.
Luckily, the fight is fast-paced and really paying homage to FFVII Remake. You may execute primary sword slashes, dashes, and guard strikes but additionally spend MP on magic spells and AP on bodily particular strikes. The interaction between all of Zack’s package makes for an entertaining expertise to make sure, however there’s additionally a random component thrown in referred to as the Digital Thoughts Wave or DMW. The DMW consists of three slot machine reels on the high of the display screen that continually spin throughout fight, and once they land on sure combos they bestow particular perks, like momentary invulnerability or free spell and talent utilization for a time. It is this mechanic that additionally facilitates Zack’s restrict break assaults, that are his strongest strikes, and as he meets new individuals on his journey or acquires extra summoning materia, the DMW turns into stocked with much more potent methods of doling out harm. Hitting an Ifrit jackpot on the proper time actually does make you’re feeling such as you’re on fireplace–your opponent, too.
Along with the primary story path, there are facet missions to undertake for the aim of incomes new materia, gear, and gadgets. These are sometimes very slight fight encounters typically towards acquainted enemies or rematch towards bosses like Ifrit and Bahamut. With a bevy of healing gadgets in inventory and a trusty Cura spell slotted into my loadout, I’ve solely discovered one or two missions to be actually difficult, however they provide a pleasant technique to hone your expertise whereas choosing up further loot.
As a fan of Nobuo Uematsu’s work on the Ultimate Fantasy sequence, it is good to listen to acquainted tunes and sounds from FFVII make a return right here, which one may anticipate for a prequel. Nonetheless, the voice appearing has been a little bit of a letdown to date, with Zack being maybe the one brilliant spot among the many forged. The dialogue has additionally been a bit stilted, with awkward pauses that tinge severe dialog with a seemingly unintentional dose of humor. With many extra hours left to go earlier than rolling credit, I am hopeful that upcoming characters and scenes will sound extra convincing.
After having performed each Ultimate Fantasy VII Remake and exclusives like Demon’s Souls, the visuals of Disaster Core Reunion do depart a bit of bit to be desired as effectively. It seems like a recreation that is popping out on present and final gen {hardware}, as is the case. I can solely speculate, but when the PS5 model would not look all that nice, what the Swap will get might depart of us wanting as effectively. We’ll have extra to say about efficiency particularly once we get our palms on the Swap model.
Having actually simply scratched the floor to date, I am intrigued to see the place the story of Disaster Core Reunion takes me, particularly since I do know roughly the place the narrative finally ends up. The gameplay loop is mostly satisfying, and I am desirous to see if it holds up throughout one other dozen or extra hours. With just some brief weeks earlier than its December 13 launch date, this Ultimate Fantasy prequel as soon as trapped on a single transportable platform is nearly right here. Keep tuned for our full evaluation, together with Swap impressions, close to launch.
