‘Crisis Core’ remaster celebrates launch with a festive Buster Sword tree sculpture

To mark the launch of Crisis Core Final Fantasy 7 Reunion today (December 13), Square Enix and UK-based tree sculptor Simon O’Rourke have unveiled a Christmas tree sculpture of the game’s iconic Buster Sword.

The Buster Sword sculpture took O’Rourke 30 hours to create, and Square Enix noted that the tree was sourced “ethically” from a tree that had already been cut down due to disease.

In the below video, you can see O’Rourke using a chainsaw to carve out the general shape of the Buster Sword, before using a blowtorch to char parts of it and hammer in the metal parts of the sword.

According to Square Enix, O’Rourke used his “collection” of chainsaws to carve through the outer layers of the tree, and went on to use drills, grinders and rotary tools to achieve the finer details of the sculpture.

Following that, O’Rourke inserted metal into the tree to ensure parts of it would stay intact while he worked on the finer details of the Buster Sword, before finalising the artwork with a chisel and colouring the tree.

With the finished Buster Sword, O’Rourke adorned it in LED lights and will keep it in front of his house during the festive season.

“I’ve been waiting in anticipation for months to showcase to the world my homage to the Buster Sword, and I hope the fans of the franchise will feel that I’ve done the video game justice,” shared O’Rourke, who says he wanted to “surprise my family with a Christmas tree with a difference.”

While many fans will associate the Buster Sword with Final Fantasy 7 protagonist Cloud Strife, Crisis Core is a prequel to the game that explains how the heirloom fell into his hands.

We awarded Crisis Core Final Fantasy 7 Reunion four stars in our review of the remaster, describing it as a “faithful, thrilling remaster that celebrates one of Square Enix’s finest stories.”

In other festive gaming news, Goat Simulator 3 has added a variety of Christmas outfits in a “mandatory holiday” update.