So, I'm finally playing through Crisis Core for the PSP. Not exactly on the bleeding edge of gaming, but FFVII will always be one of my all-time favorites, so I've had a need to play this game for years. It is almost the sole reason I purchased a PSP a couple years ago and is only the second game I've really played on the system. This has led me to a few harsh realizations:

• I hate the PSP analog pad. It is positioned terribly too low for my hands, which I consider to be of average size. If it were just placed in the position of the D-Pad, it would feel great. I don't have much else to complain about when it comes to the system and I hope the Vita feels a bit more comfortable.
• You can't go back. While I'm enjoying the experience of seeing Gaia again, I'm finding it a little hard to care like I used to. I've heard that Zack's story is really great and, even, touching towards the end of the game, so I will press on. However, I'm finding all the melodrama to be a bit much right now at 6 hours in. I don't know if it's because I'm becoming a cranky old man (FFVII was released 16 years ago!) or I just don't have the time any more for long-winded JRPGs, but I'm just not getting swept up in a roller coaster of nostalgia.
• I really despise the leveling system and the DMW. They have given the player so much more control of the combat, which often makes it quite entertaining, only to take so much depth away. A bit baffling.
• On a positive note, Aerith's introduction was pretty much perfect. Very serene and beautiful.

So that's where I am. I will continue on and see what I came to see. I just hope I can relive a little bit of the magic that 12 year old me felt in 1997.