Just a Lark

Earlier tonight I headed down to the Metreon with Ricardo Torres to check out the launch event for Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, and with the power of the media badge he gave me got up close and personal with my camera to take a bunch of photos. The event, which was held in the PlayStation Store, began at 6:00 p.m., and the first lucky 100 in line recieved t-shirts and customized Shinra Corporation ID cards (easily one of the cooler pieces of schwag I’ve seen). We arrived at around 5:40 and by that time, the line already stretched along the building and around one corner down the street.

Click for full-size

The inside of the PlayStation Store was decked out in complete Final Fantasy VII regalia, complete with large speakers that pumped out the Crisis Core soundtrack–which includes a number of iconic songs from the hit classic remixed. At the far side of the store from the entrance was the small booth set up for taking photographs for the Shinra IDs and printing them up, and on the other end of the register area in the corner was a veritable shrine, dedicated to all things FF7. This shrine included a number of original concept art pieces and storyboards used, along with some of the character figures. Flanking this gallery on either side were Cloud and Sephiroth themselves in the form of their pricey Masterpiece Arts figures. Cloud came armed with a couple pieces of his Advent Children sword, the First Tsurugi, and Sephiroth of course had his seven-foot-long (in scale) sword the Masamune.

Click for full-size

And of course, it’s not a Final Fantasy event without the cosplayers. The one outfit that I saw most frequently was the uniform of the Shinra Department of Administrative Research, a.k.a. the Turks. Presumably, this is because all you need to do to be a Turk is wear a black suit and tie with a white shirt. I did catch a Sephiroth, however (he was totally going shirtless under his jacket; must’ve been cold in that wind), and an Advent Children Cloud. They weren’t mock fighting though, and I’m not sure if I can decide if that’s good or bad.

Click for full-size

Of course, there were plenty of copies of the game on-hand for purchase. They even had other, non-Crisis-Core games there for sale, I’m told! If you couldn’t make it down to the Metreon, don’t worry–I’ve got your back. Check my Flickr page for all the photos I took, and whether you were there or not, make sure you read Kevin’s review of the game, watch his video review, and check out GameSpot’s Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII launch center!