Technologies

Crisis Core Reunion Revives a Final Fantasy 7 Classic Magnificently

Review: Zack Fair’s 2007 spinoff adventure escapes Sony’s dusty old PSP, and Square Enix has brought it in line with Final Fantasy 7 Remake.

Final Fantasy 7 fans got ready to eat well back in the mid-noughties, as developer Square Enix released several spinoffs expanding the universe of the legendary 1997 PlayStation RPG. Unfortunately, most of the new stories — like PS2 shooter Dirge of Cerberus and CGI movie Advent Children — turned to be fast food compared to the delicious and nutritious meal that was Final Fantasy 7.

The sole exception was the excellent 2007 action-RPG Crisis Core. This prequel cast you in the role of Zack Fair, a character with a small but crucial role in Final Fantasy 7’s main story, and explored his career as a member of megacorporation Shinra’s Soldier paramilitary group.

It offered roughly 25 hours of main story gameplay, a solid chunk of side missions and an inevitable emotional gut-punch of an ending that seared itself into fans’ brains.

The problem: It was only on PlayStation Portable, aka the PSP, and remained marooned on Sony’s now-obsolete handheld for more than 15 years. However, after the 2020 Final Fantasy 7 Remake and its downloadable content hinted at Zack’s playing a bigger part in the upcoming Rebirth, Square Enix is finally letting a new generation of gamers dive into Crisis Core.

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion hit PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S, Nintendo Switch and PC on Tuesday. I’ve played a chunk of the game on PS5, and found this remastered classic to be a nostalgic joy.

Initially, I thought this was just the PSP game with some modern flourishes — 3D character models, upgraded environments and the ability to finally play it on a massive TV screen (or mirror the handheld original on Switch). Some of the prerendered cutscenes aren’t as well remastered, with graphical artifacts occasionally marring the image.

As I played, it became increasingly clear that Square Enix had made more subtle changes as well; developers have brought the combat closer to the Remake’s beautiful flow. Chaining physical, magical attacks and summoning god-like beings who perform super attacks feels natural and smooth — partially because all the modern systems’ controllers have more buttons to use than the PSP — making for a far more pleasant experience than it was in 2007.

You also have a new way to interrupt your most powerful enemies’ biggest attacks, by doing as much damage as possible when they’re charging up. It might not seem like a major addition, but it adds a layer of strategy to boss encounters you might otherwise have played defensively.

The slot machine-style Digital Mind Wave system that periodically gives you bonuses or summons an ally in combat remains inscrutable as ever — it also determines when Zack and his abilities level up. Rest assured that this isn’t random, so it seems that way you just can’t see how much experience points you have. Its link to Zack’s emotional effect also used to great narrative effect at a few key points.

All the cutscenes are fully voice acted now — chunks of the original were text-only — with the Remake’s excellent cast back in their roles. That includes Superman & Lois’ Tyler Hoechlin as future villain Sephiroth, who’s a pretty chill (if a bit aloof) dude for much of this game.

However, for good or ill, Crisis Core Reunion is fundamentally the same game we got in 2007. It’s still divided into easily digestible story chapters where Zack goes out on assignments for Shinra, unlocking bite-size missions along the way — it can’t quite shake off its roots as a portable game designed for quick sessions.

It feels a little stop-start in the early hours, especially as the game’s various systems are introduced to you, but you’ll soon get into the groove.

The gameplay loop of doing a chapter, then blasting through a bunch of unlocked missions and talking to the various characters in the hub around Shinra headquarters is satisfying — similar to Mass Effect, another classic 2007 RPG. It’s basically a few rooms and streets, greatly enhanced by the game’s magnificent art direction (without the slow loading of the PSP version).

Zack is also an ultra-charismatic protagonist, and his enthusiasm is a breath of fresh air compared to Final Fantasy 7’s moody Cloud. Fans who know about the relationship between these two will find getting to know Zack particularly rewarding.

The other characters are a mixed bag — Zack’s Soldier mentor Angeal is so stiff that I practically drift off whenever he’s on screen, and main villain Genesis is a dorky Sephiroth wannabe. The voice actors do their best, but the writing around these two just isn’t compelling. However, Cloud and Aerith make up for it when they enter the story.

And seeing the early adventures of these gaming icons, and how Zack helped to shape them, is the best reason to play Crisis Core Reunion. It’s still a 2007 PSP game at heart (as evidenced by the beautiful mid-noughties flip phones), but Square Enix’s ambition made it one of the best games on that system. I’m so glad it’s not trapped there any more. It’s a game every Final Fantasy 7 fan needs to play before Rebirth arrives late next year.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Jan. 14, #948

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Jan. 14 #948.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is kind of tough. The blue category, not the purple one today, expects you to find hidden words in four of the words given in the grid. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: That’s not going anywhere.

Green group hint: End user or customer.

Blue group hint: Ask a meteorologist.

Purple group hint: Not noisy.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Fixed.

Green group: Receiver of goods or services.

Blue group: Starting with weather conditions.

Purple group: Silent ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is fixed. The four answers are fast, firm, secure and tight.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is receiver of goods or services. The four answers are account, client, consumer and user.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is starting with weather conditions. The four answers are frosty (frost), mistletoe (mist), rainmaker (rain) and snowman (snow).

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is silent ____. The four answers are auction, movie, partner and treatment.

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Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Jan. 14, #1670

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for Jan. 14, No. 1,670.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle is a tough one, with a letter that is rarely used and which I just never guess. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has no repeated letters.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

Today’s Wordle answer has three vowels.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with A.

Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter

Today’s Wordle answer ends with D.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can mean to keep away from something or someone.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is AVOID.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, Jan. 13, No. 1669 was GUMBO.

Recent Wordle answers

Jan. 9, No. 1665: EIGHT

Jan. 10, No. 1666: MANIC

Jan. 11, No. 1667: QUARK

Jan. 12, No. 1668: TRIAL

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Apple Launches Creator Studio Package as $13 a Month Subscription

Mac users can still buy the apps individually, but subscribers get access to Final Cut Pro and other Studio tools.

Apple is bundling its pro filmmaking and audio tools including Final Cut Pro with its productivity apps Keynote, Pages and Numbers into a subscription software suite called Apple Creator Studio.

The package, which includes apps for Mac, iPad and iPhone, includes Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, MainStage and the whiteboard app Freeform. Creator Studio will be available starting Jan. 28 at a cost of $13 per month or $129 per year, or $3 per month or $30 per year for students and educators. Mac users will still have the option to purchase software like Final Cut Pro for a one-time free. The current price for Final Cut Pro in the Mac App Store is $300.

While apps such as Keynote and Pages are already free on Apple platforms, it appears that new versions of those apps will receive access to beta features that will roll out first to Creator Studio subscribers. The announcement by Apple alludes to «new AI features and premium content» in some of the apps it otherwise makes available to use for free.

What the Creator Studio bundle comes with

The star of the show in Creator Studio is Final Cut Pro, the video editing software that will now include Transcript Search on both Mac and iPad. There is also a new Beat Detection feature Apple says uses an AI model to analyze a music track and display a beat grid, making it easier to cut video to music rhythms. The software also will include a new Montage Maker on iPad for quick social video creation.

Motion, the 2D and 3D graphics tool, and Compressor also integrate with Final Cut Pro. Apple touted Motion’s Magnetic Mask feature for isolating objects or people without the need for a green screen.

Logic Pro has new features for musicians, including a Synth Player addition to AI Session Players. Chord ID, a new AI feature, can create chord progressions from audio or MIDI recordings. A new Sound Library will have hundreds of royalty-free clips, samples and loops.

A revamped MainStage app gives subscribers access to instrument, voice-professing and guitar rig tools. Pixelmator Pro arrives with new tools and filters, and there will be an iPad version in addition to the Mac tool.

Freeform in the Creator Studio package will add premium content, including curated photos, graphics and illustrations. It will also get new AI features that include image creation.