For the most part, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion has an intentionally slim scope. Not because the story isn't grand — it is! — but because players chart the course of Zack Fair's life from the beginning of the game until its final scenes, virtually never straying off the beaten path from his perspective.

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As such, there aren't a ton of hidden plotlines in the game. But there are a few. These little tidbits of concealed story simply require us to venture outside the confines of the main quest, searching the sidelines of Midgar's urban culture and beyond.

7 The Boy Who Cried 'Help'

Crisis Core FF7 Reunion Fan Club Insult

It doesn't take an ace detective to notice that there are multiple fan clubs surrounding famous first-class SOLDIERs; you can interact with three rather conspicuous groupies near Sector Eight's fountain as early as Chapter Two. Nor is it a challenge to learn that certain events dictate the downfall of some of these organizations.

But if you follow this plot to its conclusion, there's a real bummer of a beat toward its end. Angeal's biggest fan is a woman with a son who is, we'd estimate, maybe ten years old or so. Throughout the game, he comments on his mom's obsessive state, but things come to a head when she manically decides she's going to search for Angeal herself. Thankfully, you can talk her down from this nonsense, but the moment still stings — neglectful parents are no fun at all.

6 This Guy Are Mean

Crisis Core FF7 Reunion Sector Five Wall Graffiti Rock Hole

Speak with everyone you see in Chapter Four when Aerith brings Zack to the Sector Five Market, and you're bound to bump into a Shinra Security Guard with a real chip on his shoulder. For many players, the oddity goes unresolved. Why is he so distraught? What does he have against our hero?

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It turns out, the guy's no Shinra man at all, but a Wutai spy in service of the infamous Crescent Unit. The same holds true for five more denizens of Midgar, as you'll learn if you engage in a quest to unmask them; but what makes this fellow stand out so much is that he tips his hand so early, so blatantly, and those who rush through Crisis Core will forever be left wondering if he simply got up on the wrong side of bed.

5 The Benefactor

Crisis Core FF7 Reunion Fort Tamblin Yuffie

Most missions in Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion are devoid of story outside whatever email sends Zack to mop up a threat in the first place. One of the few exceptions, and by far the most expansive, is a string of increasingly comical run-ins with a kid-age Yuffie Kisaragi. Already chock-full of spunk, little Yuffie is brimming with enthusiasm to help restore her homeland... but her methods leave something to be desired.

We'd wager that most folks at least get started with these missions, since their not-so-anonymous instigator contacts Zack directly. Some even see it through to completion, even as the fights grow increasingly difficult. What relatively few of us tend to realize is who the truly anonymous benefactor is who sets Yuffie's schemes into motion in the first place: with his blond hair and late-game loyalty revelations, it's probably none other than Director Lazard himself.

4 Crisis More

Crisis Core Face Body With A View

Fans of Final Fantasy 7 may recall a pilot trainee aboard the airship Highwind. His personal plight, his saga of hard work and dedication. While it'd be a stretch to call this a reference, it's still easy to miss: there's a SOLDIER 3rd Class in the Shinra Building who looks up to Zack so much, he begs Zack to show him the ropes... again... and again... and still doesn't quite make the cut.

But not all hope is lost. It's hardly a Rocky flick, but watching him rise to the occasion, electing to remain on the force, doing squats nonstop, it's frankly inspirational. Another solid reminder that even within Shinra, there are probably far more misguided souls than evil ones.

3 Deepground Dirty Work

Nero from Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade

Here's a fun one. Nero and Weiss, reigning elites of the top-secret Shinra organization called Deepground, looked the part of fairly average Shinra troops when they absconded with Genesis' not-quite-dead body at the end of Crisis Core. They've got Deepground's crests, but otherwise, they're not especially eye-catching. And, while until recently Dirge of Cerberus (the game that capitalizes upon all this and properly introduces them) was a largely forgotten offshoot, things have changed considerably.

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Courtesy of Final Fantasy 7 Remake's Yuffie-centric Intermission DLC, we've now met Weiss within the confines of Remake's precarious new reality. Plenty of players were left scratching their heads and looking these guys' names up on the internet after finishing Intermission. It makes their covert cameo at the conclusion of Crisis Core all the more important, now that it seems we're destined to see more of them.

2 Second-Place Son

Lazard sitting at desk in a chair

Our investigation into the antics of one Lazard Deusericus isn't over. While Lazard leaking sensitive information to Yuffie's father, Godo, is eyebrow-raising enough, the real dirt on this tragic man stems from the implications that he is none other than President Shinra's son. A woman outside Aerith's church just so happens to mention the president had previously had a clandestine relationship with a slum-dwelling woman who, it appears, gave birth to Lazard.

Lazard is said to be somewhat well-off despite his heritage in the slums, too, but seeing what he does of the less fortunate side of Midgar still sparks him into drastic actions. Did President Shinra send his illegitimate son up the ranks out of genealogical selfishness? Or did Lazard earn it all himself? Either way, there's something to be said for the achievement.

1 If That's Her Real Name

Crisis Core FF7 Reunion Cissnei In Action-1

If Crisis Core is somewhat underplayed relative to the flagship Final Fantasy 7, then Before Crisis is unknown enough outside Japan to make Crisis Core look halfway to Skyrim fame. Before Crisis is a mobile game from years before mobile gaming really caught on, so the concept was foreign enough to the West at that point that porting it overseas just didn't seem worth the hassle.

That's unfortunate. Before Crisis isn't a perfect game, but it brilliantly interweaves with Crisis Core. Critical plot events occur simultaneously from different perspectives. That's pretty cool and all, but the real loss with Before Crisis' obscurity is more context for Cissnei. Our favorite gal who conveniently exits stage right before FF7 proper is, in fact, called Shuriken and a fully playable character.

Is Shuriken the 'real name' Cissnei wished she had the chance to share with Zack? If it is, it's... quite the choice. More likely, it's another codename. But it only deepens the mystery of the answer we may never get.

Next: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion - Things Only Final Fantasy Fans Noticed