Two of the greatest games from the PlayStation Portable era are back – and they’ve had some work done.
Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII Reunion and Tactics Ogre: Reborn aren’t mere remasters – they’re whole new experiences, with enhancements, additional features and much more.
For example, Crisis Core – a prequel to the original Final Fantasy VII – has been given a lavish visual upgrade, and its battle system significantly revamped to be faster, smoother and more enjoyable to play.
Tactics Ogre: Reborn enhances the critically acclaimed Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together with updated visuals and sound, plus enhancements to the battle and customization systems that make it easier to play, and even more strategically deep. There’s even entirely new content. It was already considered one of the jewels of the tactical RPG genre – now it shines even brighter!
But what goes into bringing these once handheld-exclusive games over to modern platforms? With both games arriving in 2022, we gathered the devs to find out!
Involved in this discussion are:
Yoshinori Kitase (Producer, Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII Reunion)
Mariko Sato (Producer, Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII Reunion)
Hiroaki Kato (Producer, Tactics Ogre: Reborn)
Takashi Katano (Director, Tactics Ogre: Reborn)
Naoyuki Takahashi (Lead Game Designer, Tactics Ogre Reborn)
Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII and Tactics Ogre: Let us Cling Together are two of the most acclaimed games released on the PSP. There’s a lot of anticipation about them coming back, especially in new and improved form – but why do it now?
Hiroaki Kato (Producer, Tactics Ogre: Reborn): Personally speaking, I’d always had a strong desire to be involved in the development of Tactics Ogre again at some point – especially if I could incorporate some of the feedback from people who played the PSP version.
The turning point for me was the development of Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age, which I was in charge of. After improving elements of the original game – such as the visuals, and sound, adding new voice recordings, and improving the battle design and playability – I thought: “Maybe I can utilize this knowledge to create a new Tactics Ogre!”
That’s when I decided to develop it.
Yoshinori Kitase (Producer, Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII Reunion): If a game’s original hardware is no longer manufactured, it can be difficult to play the title. Crisis Core