Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII for Playstation Portable has shipped to North American retailers today. The game is a prequel to Final Fantasy VII, the best-selling Final Fantasy ever that was released over a decade ago. God that makes me feel old.

In Crisis Core, players control Zack, an elite SOLDIER (ten years later, I don't know if that's supposed to be an acronym for something) working for Shinra Corporation and a comrade of Cloud and Sephiroth. Fans of FF7 might remember him making a few appearances in flashbacks. The game will chronicle the events that lead up to the beginning of the 1997 RPG.

Like FF7 the combat system will feature Materia, the magic stones you slot into character's equipment to give them magical abilities. Combat will also make use of a new mechanic known as Digital Mind Wave: in the corner of the screen, there will be three independently spinning reels and when they're aligned, players can perform special attacks and summon huge monsters. The North American version of the game will also feature an exclusive "Hard Mode" to test your skills.

Oh yeah, and at 6 PM tonight, Square Enix is hosting a launch party at the Playstation Store at the Metreon in San Francisco. The party will be limited to 200 fans, with the first 100 people in line getting a free commemorative t-shirt. Makes me nostalgic for the day I pre-ordered FF7 and received a Cloud Strife t-shirt to cover my bony, pre-high school torso...those were simpler, nerdier times.