Before Crisis Final Fantasy VII

E3 Preview 2005

With the Final Fantasy VII-related games a major part of this year’s Square Enix lineup, mobile phones are getting in on the action with Before Crisis, a game that’s played through the eyes of Final Fantasy VII villains fans know as the Shinra Inc. Turks. It’s also one surprisingly beautiful and fun-looking game.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Turks, they’re a special elite group of operatives working for the corporate government of Shinra Inc. Clad in black suits and slim black ties, they do Shinra’s dirty work and are actually good at it. Taking place before the events that lead up to PSOne classic RPG, Final Fantasy VII, Before Crisis was a game first introduced in Japan as an exclusive. Yet because of Final Fantasy VII’s loyal following, the game is coming to the States on compatible phones such as the NTT DoCoMo FOMA (900i and 9011 series).

The game sees civil unrest in the city of Midgar because of fear that the evil corporation is sucking the lifeforce (known as Mako energy) of the planet dry.  As a direct result, a group of rebels known as AVALANCHE has been formed with the intention of putting a stop to the corporation’s evil acts.  You assume the role of a new Turk recruit determined to put an end to the group’s act of “terrorism” on behalf of Shinra Inc. You even meet up with two very familiar character from Final Fantasy VII - Cloud and the destined-to-become-Midgar’s-doom bad man, Sephiroth.

The phone game sported some pretty impressive-looking visuals that showed off nicely detailed environments and cool effects. The real-time action has you playing with multiple players over the network and even has you recruiting new members to help you carry out missions.

For those with compatible phones, this is sure to be one of the most enjoyable experiences you’ll have on the palm of your hands. Hopefully Square Enix will consider sending this one to other portable mediums such as the Sony PSP or the Nintendo DS. Either way this is one you’ll want to play.