Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII

[Darkus]

I decided to start another playthrough of Crisis Core; and set up the latest version of PPSSPP (1.2.2) to do so.
Everything runs fine, up until the very first fight. The moment I attack, PPSSPP crashes.
Every time, without fail.
I've tried multiple combinations of graphics settings, system settings, sound settings...everything in an attempt to figure out why this is happening.

Googling the problem turns up someone on Reddit having the same issue roughly 2 years ago, but with no resolution mentioned.

My PC is definitely capable of handling the game, i5-4690k, r9 290, 8gb RAM.
Any input on this situation?