Crisis Core – Final Fantasy VII – Reunion Switch 2 Review – Great game, terrible value

While Final Fantasy remains the biggest RPG franchise in the history of gaming, it’s generally been synonymous with single platforms. During the 8-bit and 16-bit eras it was tied to Nintendo, but that shifted from the 32-bit era where it shifted to PlayStation and its more capacious CD format.

In the last couple of years, that’s all changed, and now you can play most Final Fantasy games on most platforms, with Square Enix ensuring that they’ve squeezed every last possible penny from the franchise and reached as many fans as possible. There were ports and remasters for the last generation, but 2026 has really seen Square Enix embrace the Switch 2, releasing improved remasters, inducting the newer handheld into the Final Fantasy XIV Online family, and getting them up to date with the Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy. The arrival of Crisis Core – Final Fantasy VII – Reunion on Switch 2 drops into the former bucket, but it’s a release with Square Enix’ bottom line firmly at the forefront, rather than players.

Let’s start with the key issue: Crisis Core is a full-price, £39.99 title – or even more if you opt for the Digital Deluxe upgrade – and there is no upgrade path from the original Switch version to the Switch 2 version. It’s an entirely separate release, so I’m now sat here with two identical icons on my Switch 2 home screen. And if one of them hadn’t just downloaded, I couldn’t tell them apart. There isn’t even a ‘Switch 2’ tag in the name.

That doesn’t help it feel like this is a meaningful upgrade. That’s not entirely true, for reasons we’ll go through, but I was able to find a digital code for the Switch version for less than £10 in the past. The Switch 2 edition is four times that price, which seems like a pretty steep ask for a game I already own. Quite why Square Enix has opted for this approach through their entire Switch 2 roster of upgrades, I still don’t know, but it’s a real slap in the face for fans who just want to play the best version of a game they’ve bought in the past.

That’s compounded by the fact that save data is not compatible between the two. If you were still hoping to continue an earlier, incomplete playthrough of Crisis Core, that option isn’t open to you, and you will have to just start all over again on Switch 2.

Here’s the rub: this is still the best version available to Switch 2 players. For all that Crisis Core was, and is, thoroughly playable on the original Switch, and benefits on the Switch 2 from improved loading times and the Handheld Boost mode, this version marks a distinct step up, both in terms of visuals and frame rate.

First up, there’s now a toggle so you can choose between Graphics and Performance modes. Performance mode reduces the resolution to lock the game to a snappier 60fps, and for an action-forward title, it feels immediately more reactive and snappier to control. It’s still a good step up in terms of visuals over the original Switch edition.

Graphics mode, meanwhile, drops the frame rate to 30fps, while pushing the resolution and visual fidelity to bring it closer to the PS5 and Series X versions, with enhanced reflections, visual effects, skin tones and textures. It will depend greatly on which of these you prefer – it does feel better at 60fps, but Crisis Core isn’t as reliant on split-second timing as some other games might be, making 30fps totally viable for a prettier experience. The only added wrinkle to this, is having to back out to the title screen to switch between the two.

Crisis Core is an integral side story in the Final Fantasy VII lore, and as Switch 2 players have been able to wade through Remake and Rebirth, with Revelation on the way, this completes the set. For newcomers, it’s worth noting that this is a port of a PSP exclusive, and those older handheld roots are clear to see in the game’s structure and gameplay. It’s simple, and most areas are even simpler, but the combat is enjoyable enough to carry you through from start to finish.

It’s all about the story here, though, and you learn more about SOLDIER and Sephiroth through the lens of the likeable Zack, building to a seriously memorable close. It’s interesting to note that the series’ remakes have all pivoted closer to Crisis Core’s action gameplay, and it no longer feels like the outlier it once did, fitting perfectly into the expanded Final Fantasy VII universe.