Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- version differences

The following is a list of version differences between releases of Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-.
==PlayStation Portable==
===Japan===
*The original version of the game released on September 13, 2007.
===International===
The North American version of the game released on March 25, 2008, and the European/Oceanic versions on June 20, 2008.
*A difficulty level of either Normal or Hard are available to select from the title screen when beginning a new game.
*Some in-game scenes are fully voiced instead of text only.
*Players no longer receive a Game Over when failing a Mission.
*In the Banora Underground, a statue representing the goddess Minerva was redesigned from the Japanese version to avoid connections with Christianity. The pedestal where the Goddess Materia are placed retains the original goddess, however.
GoddessStatue-ccvii.png|Japanese version
MinervaStatue-ccvii.png|International version
== Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Reunion ==
An enhanced high-definition remaster was announced as part of the Final Fantasy VII 25th Anniversary livestream on June 16, 2022. It was released on December 13, 2022 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and Steam.
===Visuals===
*Remade HD visuals running at up to 120fps on PC, 60fps on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S and 30fps on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, developed on Unreal Engine 4, with redesigned level geometry and lighting effects used for the more enhanced eighth and ninth generation consoles.
*New models akin to Final Fantasy VII Remake with updated animations:
**The Buster Sword is redesigned, even in FMV videos, which are otherwise unaltered.
**Sephiroth's appearance, outside of FMV, has been updated to match Final Fantasy VII Remake. However, he lacks the winged belt he sported in Remake.
**Tifa's appearance is slightly altered from how she looked in a flashback scene from Final Fantasy VII Remake with minor changes to hairstyle and eyes, and having a black slip under her corset that covers her cleavage.
**Every NPC has also been redesigned.
**There is a female NPC standing near Cloud's house in Nibelheim town square in chapter 8 who was long speculated to be Claudia Strife: her design was different from Nomura's original artwork, and was shared with other female NPCs in the village, but she looked similar enough to Cloud to justify the theory. In Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Reunion, the NPC's new design looks completely different from Claudia's appearance in Final Fantasy VII Remake.
**Locations are mostly unaltered from their original appearances, thus looking different from how they appeared in Final Fantasy VII Remake, but have much more detailed visuals. The only notable exception is the exterior of Aerith's church, which uses the same assets as Remake.
**Some enemies have been changed to match their Final Fantasy VII Remake appearance, while others just use updated versions of their original Crisis Core models: the latter include Guard Hound, Epiornis, Bizarre Bug, Bomb, Behemoth, and Malboro type enemies.
**Summons Ifrit and Bahamut have been updated to their Final Fantasy VII Remake designs. Odin, Phoenix, and Bahamut Fury, who were not in Final Fantasy VII Remake, have received brand-new redesigns.
**Jenova's appearance has been altered. Her head is now fully covered in a metal helmet, probably to avoid showing a decapitated head.
*When characters are wounded, they emit black smoke from their wounds, much like when President Shinra was impaled by Sephiroth in Final Fantasy VII Remake. The only exceptions are the scene where Zack gets his scar and the game's final battle.
*An optimized user interface is used resembling the UI in Final Fantasy VII Remake.
*Full Motion Videos are identical to the original, though the Buster Sword's new appearance is retained. The only exception is the epilogue movie, which replaces some of the scenes from a pre-rendered CG recreation of the Final Fantasy VII Technical Demo for PS3, with those from the opening movie of Final Fantasy VII Remake, albeit with a close-up shot of Aerith to mirror the same scene as the original. It would later be reused in Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis. The pre-launch version uses the original scene from said game.
**Summon FMVs are remade and are drastically shortened, from approximately 30–60 seconds to 15–30 seconds.
**Cutscenes can now be paused or skipped.
*Zack's Final Stand received cosmetic updates.
**The background environment with the Shinra troops has been revised to better match the FMV.
**During the climax of the battle, the bodies of fallen troops and destroyed helicopters are now seen. The fixed camera angle made to replicate the scene from the original Final Fantasy VII was removed.
===Sound/Dialogue===
*Dialogue is re-recorded by new English voice actors from Final Fantasy VII Remake (Zack was originally voiced by Rick Gomez; he is now voiced by Caleb Pierce). Characters not in Remake are also recast. 
**Full voice-overs are added for in-game scenes that were originally text only, including characters that were not previously voiced.
*The soundtrack is rearranged by Takeharu Ishimoto.
*Some lines of dialogue are altered:
**Zack now says "No! Not if I can help it!" during Air Strike instead of "I'm trying! I'm trying!"
**The little girl next to the sector 6 slums, who originally said Don Corneo promised to marry her, now says he will make her work for him.
**When a 2nd Class SOLDIER asks Zack if there's a more beautiful woman than Scarlet, the player can still choose between Aerith, Cissnei, and Zack himself, but the outcome will be the same for all three: Zack will get uncomfortable and refuse to pick.
**When Zack chooses the name for the future Seventh Heaven bar, the carpenter no longer talks about having a busty girl with long legs as the bartender, instead talking about how the name feels.
*Some mails have been altered:
**Reeve's email about the construction of Midgar posits the plate floats 300 meters aboveground rather than 50 meters.
**Kunsel's email about Hojo no longer mentions Jenova, only an unspecified method of enhancing SOLDIER operatives.
===Gameplay===
*A new menu-based battle system is used that makes numerous changes to the gameplay and the Digital Mind Wave:
**Zack runs at a faster speed, will dash quicker to locked-on enemies when attacking, and recovers from dodge rolls quicker.
***Enemies also have better response times.
**Attacking during battle is no longer restricted to the button command and can be freely used in combat, with Zack's combo slashes appearing faster and fluid.
***Zack will now attack in place if not locked on to an enemy, rather than automatically running up to them.
**Guarding and dodge rolling no longer cost 1 AP.
**Offensive abilities gain a damage bonus if performed in the middle of a normal attack combo, signified by the damage number turning orange. The power of the damage bonus increases based on the number of normal attacks performed prior to the ability.
**Item and materia commands each have their own menus, with the latter accessed through shortcuts.
**Modulating Phase/Limit Verge now occurs automatically without interrupting combat. Combat now only pauses when a memory cutscene occurs.
***Due to this change, the DMW breaking in Zack's Final Stand has been turned into three full-motion videos.
***The DMW no longer says "Modulating Phase" or "Power Surge".
**When the DMW successfully rolls a Limit Break/Summon, it is now stocked instead of being used automatically. Stocked Limit Breaks/Summons persist until used or until the end of the fight and can be activated with a button command. Up to one Limit Break and one Summon each can be stocked at a time; any new Limit Break and/or Summon that is called by the DMW replaces any unused stocked Limit Break/Summon. For the purposes of this mechanic, Chocobo Mode counts as a Summon, and Genesis Mode counts as a Limit Break.
***Limit Breaks/Summons can no longer be used if Zack is unable to act.
***Flashback scenes no longer guarantee a Limit Break.
***Genesis Mode is now only disabled during storyline events, rather than from Zack being KO'd or accepting a potion from the Shinra Employee.
***Rebirth Flame no longer gives a Phoenix Down.
**Scenes of Zack using a Limit Break can now be skipped.
***The words of LOVELESS from the last verse (spare, sea, sand, sky) that appear on Apocalypse's crest have been rotated 90° counter-clockwise.
**Certain enemies now display an Ability Power gauge that determines how strong an unblockable attack is, with the power reduced the more damage is dealt to them. If the gauge is fully depleted, the enemy attack is cancelled.
**If combat ends while the DMW is spinning, the DMW will now grant the results of the final spin even if the spin is not completed.
**A visible indicator is added when fleeing.
*The ability to dash outside of battle is implemented.
*The camera is reassigned to the right stick, improving the field view outside of battles with additional Y-axis perspective. 
**The camera can now be freely moved during combat, rather than being restricted to locked-on enemies.
**Enemies can be manually locked on to with the new Target Lock feature.
**The camera no longer automatically adjusts itself.
*After Zack obtains the Buster Sword, he gains access to several new benefits, including mechanics inspired by Final Fantasy VII Remake.
**Zack can enter Battle Stance by consuming 10 AP. While in Battle Stance, Zack cannot be staggered and passively guards all attacks. Performing a normal attack while in a Battle Stance will execute a Strong Attack, dealing more damage at the cost of speed. Abilities performed while in a Battle Stance will also have their damage increased as if they were used during a normal attack combo.
**Zack can earn Buster Sword Proficiency by performing actions with Battle Stance, including defeating an enemy with a Strong Attack, defeating an enemy with an ability, and guarding against attacks. Higher Proficiency levels unlock permanent benefits during Battle Stance, including Damage Limit Break and Barrier Piercing.
**Zack gains Necrosmose, a permanent passive ability that recovers MP and AP when Zack defeats an enemy.
**Zack gains increased Guard efficacy, reducing damage taken by 80% instead of 50%.
*Combat Evaluations occur once Zack is promoted to SOLDIER 1st Class. Zack recovers HP, MP, and AP at the end of battle based on in-battle performance, including defeating enemies with Magic, Abilities, Limit Breaks, and Summons, as well as finishing the battle without taking damage.
*Pressing down on the d-pad outside of battle will consume potions to fully restore Zack's HP, prioritizing lower-grade potions.
**Potions, Hi-Potions, and X-Potions can heal up to 99,999 HP, rather than being capped to 9,999.
*Negative status effects now wear off after battle or after unequipping accessories.
**Esuna can no longer be used in the menu.
*Regen restores 3.125% of max HP every 2 seconds rather than 6.25% every 4 seconds.
*Poison deals damage equal to 0.75% of max HP every 2 seconds rather than 6.25% every 4 seconds, and Zack no longer staggers.
*Zack no longer recoils from attacks when Invincible.
*Costly Punch now consumes 15.625% of the user's current HP value per use, compared to the original 1.5625%. The bug causing Costly Punch to deal 0 damage when the user's HP is over 1.11x its standard limit is fixed.
*Fire Blade, Blizzard Blade, Thunder Blade, and their respective upgraded counterparts now consume AP instead of MP.
*Zack can no longer guard against Ultima.
*Enemy encounters no longer trigger twice consecutively in the same area.
*Enemies now have visible health bars.
**Libra now displays HP and MP values higher than 99,999.
**Statuses and elemental weaknesses are visible by default instead of requiring a Libra materia.
***The duration of status effects is represented by a gauge around the border of the icon.
*The player can have up to five different equipment layouts.
**Switching to a layout with lower HP will retain the former's HP value.
*Items and materia can be sorted by Recently Acquired and their Level.
**The maximum number of materia that can be held is increased from 256 to 999.
**Different materia of the same category no longer have separate color shades.
*When fusing materia, the end result is displayed when selecting the second materia, rather than having to select the Fuse button.
**Fusion items can no longer be used on materia with maxed-out stat values, preventing them from being changed.
*Additional mail has been added. This includes mail showing where to obtain certain key items and sample recipes for Materia Fusion. Some mail text is slightly reworded.
**The Mail menu can be quickly accessed via the shoulder button.
*Mission briefing displays completion rewards, as well as a treasure chest counter that tracks the total number of treasure chests available during the mission and the number of chests that Zack has opened. During a mission, this counter is displayed at the upper right corner of the screen when outside of combat.
**Mission difficulty is now ranked with stars ranging from 1-10 rather than Very Easy-Very Hard denominations, which adjusted based on Zack's level.
**Mission completion milestone rewards can now be viewed.
**Missions can be sorted by All, New, Uncleared, and Unopened Chests.
**The Missions menu can be quickly opened during a mission via a button prompt.
*Notifications will appear when new missions are unlocked, instead of when reaching a Save point.
**When clearing certain missions unlocked by speaking to an NPC, a notification will display to report back to them.
*The placement of several treasure chests are rearranged.
**Summon items and addresses that were originally found in treasure chests are now granted as mission rewards from their corresponding missions.
**Research Department QMC+ is still found in a treasure chest and thus can still be permanently lost, but its treasure chest has been relocated.
*When Zack is incapacitated, the player is additionally given the option to retry the battle or edit their equipment before retrying.
**Aborting a mission resets Zack's state to prior to accepting the mission. This bars him from keeping any items, gil, or character/materia progress acquired if the player is defeated.
*The title screen can be returned to from the pause menu.
*An Options menu is added to the main menu.
**Controller rumble is available.
**Game difficulty can be changed at any time outside of combat.
**Destination icons are added and turned on by default.
**Subtitles can be turned off.
**Voice dialogue can be freely switched between English and Japanese.
**Dialogue can be automatically or manually advanced; this can also be changed from the pause menu.
**Sound and brightness settings are included.
**Various camera settings are available.
**Some button customization is available.
**Save files can be loaded.
*Most enemies on Hard Mode retain their stats from Normal Mode.
**Sea Hulk now has 232,800 HP on both difficulties.
*The fight against Minerva is adjusted:
**Both the intro cutscene and the fight will no longer show Zack wielding the Buster Sword if he does not have access to it yet.
**Ultima now deals fixed damage.
**Judgement Arrow (renamed from Judgment Arrow) now deals fixed damage, and can be weakened. The MP and AP removed are displayed on-screen.
**Minerva's HP is increased to 77,777,777 HP on Hard difficulty, Judgement Arrow is stronger, and Flash Slash can dispel status effects.
===Miscellaneous===
*Chapters are only named in achievement names.
*The intro FMV and title screen are separated, instead of having the menu options overlay over the FMV.
*30 save slots are available, rather than an indefinite number determined by hard drive space.
**An Auto-save feature is added, with an additional slot reserved for them.
**Gil totals are no longer displayed on save files.
**The Missions menu can be accessed directly at a Save point. This replaces the ability to delete save files.
**Save points now automatically restore Zack’s HP, MP and AP.
*The screen no longer fades to black between the Briefing Room's supply pod area and the Main Conference Room in the Shinra Building.
*The Midgar Motor Group logo is no longer visible on the Shinra Model sA-37 in the Exhibit Room.
*Additional NPCs that cannot be interacted with are added to Midgar areas.
*Open field missions now have red diamond boundaries, though touching them does not give a prompt to leave the mission.
*The initial random encounter in the Alert Head Sniper Rifle minigame is removed.
**Targets have health bars instead of numerical HP values.
**The rewards in the minigame are now given automatically, rather than from treasure chests.
*The number of chests in the Gongaga waterfall minigame is reduced from 11 to 10.
Category:Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-