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

The Samsung Galaxy S25 FE Hit a Record Low $475 Price for Black Friday. Act Fast To Get This Deal Before It Ends

Score the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE for as low as $475 during the final hours of Black Friday.

Is your old smartphone slowing down? It might be time for an upgrade, and Black Friday is an incredible time to score major savings on a new phone. We’ve seen discounts on a wide range of devices today, but one of the best markdowns is on Samsung’s latest budget smartphone. Right now, you can save 27% on the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE, bringing the price for the 128GB model down to $475.

That’s a considerable discount for a phone released just a few months ago. But the deal won’t be around for long because we’re in the final hours of Black Friday, so you’ll want to wrap up your shopping soon.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 FE is designed as a more affordable entry into the Samsung Galaxy S25 lineup. Its list price is $150 lower than the standard Galaxy S25 smartphone, though its size is more comparable to the S25 Plus with a 6.7-inch wide display. It offers a lightweight design with a slim profile, and is made with a sturdy aluminum frame and Gorilla Glass Victus glass.

CNET’s Mike Sorrentino tested the Galaxy S25 FE and found the software features such as the AI-powered text calling to be standouts. Text Call lets you to text your response on a voice call and have Samsung’s robotic voice will read it out loud. Sorrentino found it to be a helpful feature when trying to get through voice-activated menus. He also noted that the phone has a «solid-performing processor» that launches apps quickly and could handle games like Fortnite well even on high graphics settings.
The Samsung Galaxy S25 FE packs solid functionality into a budget smartphone, but if you want to explore more options before deciding on your next upgrade, check out our full list of the best Black Friday phone deals.

MOBILE DEALS OF THE WEEK

iPhone 17 Pro on Us With Any Condition Trade-in and Qualifying Plan
Google Pixel 10 Pro 128GB Unlocked Phone (Obsidian):

$749 (save $250)
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE 128GB Unlocked Phone (JetBlack):

$475 (save $175)
Google Pixel 9 128GB Unlocked Phone (Obsidian):

$499 (save $300)
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra 256GB Unlocked AI Phone (Titanium Black):

$900 (save $400)

Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.

Why this deal matters

The Samsung Galaxy S25 FE is a 2025 release, so this is a great chance to score a brand new smartphone at a deep discount. This is a deeper discount than we saw during October Amazon Prime Day this year, and the device is already selling out in select colors and storage options on Amazon.

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Technologies

Sora and Google’s Nano Banana Pro Are Slammed, and Scale Back Free Videos and Images

OpenAI and Google are reducing the number of image or video requests you can make on their latest media-generation platforms.

Maybe it’s because of the holiday weekend.

OpenAI’s video generator Sora and Google’s image generator nano banana pro are placing new limits on how many videos (in the case of Sora) and AI images (in the case of nano banana pro) you can make per day.

With more people using their Thanksgiving weekend idle time to, say, make AI videos of cats as angry service industry cashiers, it’s likely these services are hitting their limits.

Bill Peebles, OpenAI’s head of Sora, posted on X, «our gpus are melting, and we want to let as many people access sora as possible!» GPUs are the graphics processing units used by AI services for the complex computations they need to perform.

Peebles wrote that Sora will limit free video generation to six videos per day. ChatGPT Plus and Pro accounts won’t see any changes.

«And everybody can purchase additional gens as needed,» he wrote.

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

Gemini limits

As for Google’s image generator, a Gemini support page says that those without a Google AI plan are now limited to two images generated and edited per day with nano banana pro. The previous limit was three, according to 9to5Google, which also spotted new usage limits on Gemini 3 Pro that are variable. The same support page says free access to Gemini 3 Pro Thinking includes «Basic access — daily limits may change frequently.»

The limit for nano banana (the previous 2.5 non-pro version) is 100 free images per day.

A representative for Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

Technologies

If You Don’t Want to Pay AirPod Prices, I Found Great Noise Canceling Earbuds That Are Only $53 for Black Friday

You don’t need to spend a fortune to get a great pair of earbuds.

Black Friday deal alert: If you’re looking for a new pair of noise-canceling earbuds, there are some good deals on Apple AirPods right now, but you might be able to spend half as much to get similar performance. I’ve found that the Air Pro 4 earbuds from Earfun are legitimate contenders to the AirPods, at a much lower price. Right now at Amazon for Black Friday, you can get the Air Pro 4s for a steal — they’re 34% off, which drops their price down to $53.

In short, they’re great, and the black ones are currently available on Amazon for $53, near the lowest price we’ve ever seen them sell for. The other colors are also on sale; the glossy white and royal blue are both $68.

Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.

HEADPHONE DEALS OF THE WEEK

Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones (Black):

$248 (save $152)
Beats Studio Pro Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones (Black):

$170 (save $181)
Apple AirPods Max ANC Wireless Headphones (USB-C Charging, Midnight):

$400 (save $150)
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones (Lunar Blue):

$299 (save $130)
Bose QuietComfort Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones:

$199 (save $150)

Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.

How these earbuds silence the noise around you

I prefer in-ear headphones because they offer active, electronic and passive noise cancellation. Passive noise cancellation basically consists of plugging your ears with the rubbery tips included with the earbuds.

The Earfuns fit well for me when I use the second-largest of the five swappable ear tip sizes, and they stay sealed and comfortable for hours. Sometimes I have to reseal one after I yawn or something, but that’s the case with other in-ear headphones, too.

For reading, I prefer Earfun’s «Strong ANC» noise-canceling mode, which makes a big difference when blocking out the noise around you, but there are a bunch of other noise-cancellation options. The Ambient Sound function is good for when I want to pay attention to my surroundings.

Overall, I found the app easier to use than Sony’s and just as capable. The main difference is that Sony’s app has a variable slider for ambient sound.

The Earfun app also includes a white noise section in the app. Normally, I prefer Spotify for white noise (and I download my favorite playlists for offline listening) but this feature is useful for people who don’t have another music service. It includes birdsong, waves and rainfall, all of which are short clips that repeat automatically.

Impulse Buys Under $25 That Make Unexpectedly Great Gifts

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Why I chose these earbuds over AirPods

These headphones have every other feature I’d expect, including the ability to connect to two devices simultaneously and programmable touch-sensitive controls on the buds. Plus, battery life has been more than ample for me, even after a marathon reading session.

There’s also a finder function if you misplace either earbud (unlike Apple FindMy, however, they have to be connected and in Bluetooth range). For actual music and voice calling quality, they sound fine, albeit not as good as my big Sonys.

I have an iPhone and briefly thought about buying Apple AirPods, but I didn’t want to spend the money. The AirPods 4 with noise cancellation cost $115 more than these Earfuns and have an open-ear design, so they rely entirely on the electronic (not passive) method. The AirPods Pro 2 are in-ear and superb, but I didn’t want to spend $250 on a pair of secondary headphones.

Yes, I could probably save some money on an even less expensive pair of in-ear noise-cancelling headphones, but I’m not sure I’d be as happy with their fit, long-term comfort, battery life and noise-cancellation performance. The Earfun Pro 4 buds help me relax and concentrate on my book, and for me that’s priceless.

For more headphone savings, check out our roundup of all the best deals on headphones, or find bargains of all kinds in our roundup of the best Amazon Prime Day deals going on now.