Ff7 Profile
Final Fantasy VII
North American cover art featuring Cloud Strife
Developer(s) Square
Publisher(s) PlayStation JP Square NA SCE America INT Square PAL SCE Europe Windows (PC) Eidos Interactive
Designer(s) Hironobu Sakaguchi (game producer, original scenario concept) Yoshinori Kitase (game director, scenario writer) Tetsuya Nomura (character designer, original scenario concept) Kazushige Nojima (scenario writer, event planner) Yoshitaka Amano (image illustrator, title logo designer) Nobuo Uematsu (composer)
Series Final Fantasy series
Platform(s) Sony PlayStation, Microsoft Windows
Release date PlayStation JP January 31, 1997 NA September 7, 1997 INT October 2, 1997 EU November 17, 1997 AUS November, 1997 Windows (PC) NA June 24, 1998 EU 1998 AUS 1998
Genre(s) Console role-playing game
Mode(s) Single player
Rating(s) ESRB: T (Teen) (13+) USK: 12+ ELSPA: 11+ PEGI: 12+ OFLC: G8+
Media PlayStation 3 CD-ROMs Windows (PC) 4 CD-ROMs
System requirements Windows (PC) 166 MHz Pentium CPU, 32 MB RAM, 4X CD-ROM drive, DirectX 5.1 compatible sound and video card, 260 MB available hard disk space, Windows 95 or above (officially not compatible with 2000 or XP)
Input method(s) Windows (PC) Keyboard, or joystick PlayStation PlayStation controller
Final Fantasy VII (ファイナルファンタジーVII, Fainaru Fantajī Sebun?) is a console role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix), and the seventh installment in the Final Fantasy video game series. It was released in 1997 and is the first numbered Final Fantasy game for the Sony PlayStation video game console and Microsoft Windows-based personal computers; it is also the first to use 3D computer graphics The game's story centers on a group of adventurers as they battle a powerful mega corporation called "Shinra", which is draining the life of the planet to use as an energy source. As the story progresses, conflicts escalate and the world's safety becomes the central concern. A major critical and commercial success, the game remains arguably the most popular title in the series,
Contents
1 Gameplay
1.1 Combat
2 Plot
2.1 Setting 2.2 Characters 2.3 Story
3 Development
3.1 Early development and Final Fantasy SGI 3.2 Changes from past installments 3.3 Design and inspirations 3.4 North American release
4 Music 5 Reception
5.1 Critical response 5.2 Legacy
6 Related media and merchandise 7 References 8 External links
Gameplay
Navigation on a town's field map
Like previous installments of the Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy VII consists of three basic gameplay modes: an overworld map, town and dungeon field maps, and a battle screen. The overworld map is a 3D model, featuring a scaled-down simplified version of the game's fictional world, While characters are miniaturised on maps, in combat their renderings are more realistic and normal-scaled. Initially, the player is restricted to travel within a single city, Midgar, but as the game continues, more areas become accessible, and the player is given more freedom to explore. Progression through the game's storyline is largely developed by way of scripted sequences, which cannot be skipped, and require frequent player interaction to proceed. At other times, pre-rendered cinematic cut scenes advance the story.
Combat During its turn-based battle sequences, the game uses the same Active Time Battle (ATB) system designed by Hiroyuki Ito and first featured in Final Fantasy IV. Unlike previous games in the series, which allow 4–5 playable characters to participate in battle, Final Fantasy VII allows for only up to three characters to be present in the party at any one time.
A battle in Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VII's skill system is built around the use of materia, magical orbs that are placed in special slots on weapons and armor, allowing players to customize their characters' access to magic spells, summons, and special abilities. In addition to their individual traits, materia can be used together in a fixed number of ways to enhance their effects or produce other abilities. A modified form of Final Fantasy VI's Desperation Attacks appears here as the Limit Break. Nomura decided to incorporate elaborately animated summon spells in the game, one of which lasts more than a minute.
Plot
Setting
Main article: Gaia (Final Fantasy VII)
World map of Final Fantasy VII
The game's setting follows in the footsteps of Final Fantasy VI by presenting a world with considerably more advanced technology than the first five games in the series. Overall, the game's technology and society approximates that of modern or near-future science fiction. but referred to in the game as "The Planet", is composed of three land masses. The eastern continent features the city of Midgar, an industrial metropolis that serves as the headquarters of the Shinra Electric Power Company, a ruthless mega corporation that operates as the de facto world government. Shinra's major military base, Junon, is also located on the continent, along with a chocobo ranch and a small town called Kalm. The western continent features most of the playable areas, which include the Gold Saucer(an amusement park), a seaside resort, and a settlement constructed on a plateau called "Cosmo Canyon". The tribe inhabiting the canyon places a strong emphasis on living in harmony with nature and dedicate great consideration to the planet's well-being. The northernmost continent is a heavily glaciated wasteland covered in snow and ice, with its few settlements largely concerned with excavation or research. It does, however, feature a ski resort. There are also underwater locations accessible via submarine.
Characters
Main article: Characters of Final Fantasy VII
Tetsuya Nomura's designs of the main playable characters in Final Fantasy VII
The nine main playable characters in Final Fantasy VII are Cloud Strife, an unsociable mercenary who serves as the game's protagonist and claims to be a former 1st Class member of Shinra's SOLDIER unit; All of the game's main characters have had significant ties to the Shinra Company in their past, and all harbor disapproval or outright hatred for the corporation and its activities. Although the antagonists for the first portion of the game are the Shinra executives, a mysterious man named Sephiroth — once hailed as the greatest SOLDIER — reappears several years after disappearing in a battle in which he was concluded to have died. The game's character designer, Tetsuya Nomura, has expressed feeling that Final Fantasy VII was hindered by graphical limitations, and that his designs were, consequently, very plain in comparison to his "true" style. Vincent's character developed from horror researcher to detective, then to chemist, and finally to the figure of a former Turk with a tragic past. It has been explained that his crimson mantle was added to symbolize the idea of carrying a heavy weight on his shoulders associated with death. Nomura has indicated that Cid Highwind's fighting style resembles that of a Dragon Knight, a character class so chosen because his last name is the same as that of two previous Dragon Knights featured in the Final Fantasy series, Ricard Highwind of Final Fantasy II and Kain Highwind of Final Fantasy IV. Due to their popularity, several characters from the game have made cameo appearances in other Square Enix titles, most notably the fighting game Ehrgeiz and the popular Final Fantasy-Disney crossover series Kingdom Hearts. Sephiroth remains one of the most popular villains in video game history, unanimously voted #1 by the staff of gaming publication Electronic Gaming Monthly in their "Top 10 Video Game Bosses" list in October 2005.
Story Final Fantasy VII begins with Cloud joining AVALANCHE in a raid on one of eight Mako reactors that surround the city of Midgar. The Mako reactor is destroyed and the group makes their way back to their base. During their next mission at another reactor, AVALANCHE is trapped by a Shinra mecha-soldier and confronted by President Shinra before they can escape. Although they defeat the Shinra machine, the reactor's explosion sends Cloud flying from the upper levels of Midgar into the slums below. Falling through the roof of a derelict church in Sector 5, he lands on a flower bed unharmed, where he is formally introduced to Aeris. After Cloud defends Aeris from her would-be kidnappers, Aeris offers to show him the way back to Sector 7. Along the way, she reveals that her first boyfriend had been a 1st Class SOLDIER, as Cloud claims to have been. The two spot Tifa entering Wall Market, an area of Sector 6 infamous for criminal activity, and they follow her. After infiltrating the mansion of crime boss Don Corneo, the three learn that Shinra has discovered the location of AVALANCHE's hideout and plans to collapse the upper level of Sector 7 onto the slums below. The remaining members of AVALANCHE - Cloud, Tifa, and Barret - infiltrate Shinra's headquarters to rescue Aeris. After freeing her and Red XIII, who joins the party, they escape when most of the personnel in the building — including President Shinra — are killed. Finding the body of the president skewered by a long sword, Cloud suspects a man called Sephiroth has returned from his presumed death. These suspicions are confirmed by an executive spared during the massacre, who claims to have witnessed Sephiroth murder the president and state that he would never allow Shinra to claim the Promised Land. While Rufus Shinra, the president's son, assumes control of the Shinra Company, AVALANCHE pursues Sephiroth across the planet, fearing his intentions for the Promised Land may be more destructive than Shinra's. During this pursuit, the party is joined by Yuffie, Cait Sith, Vincent and Cid. As the journey progresses, each member of the group must come to terms with personal conflicts from their past, and the full scope of Sephiroth's plan is eventually revealed to the player: if the planet is significantly damaged, the Lifestream within will gather at the point of injury, attempting to heal the wound. Sephiroth explains that he intends to use a powerful spell known as "Meteor" to fatally injure the planet, inciting a reaction in the Lifestream to heal the wound before it can cause the planet's destruction. Entering the fissure created by the meteor's impact, Sephiroth would merge with all the energy of the planet, granting him god-like power over it. At an ancient temple erected by the Cetra, AVALANCHE attempts to undermine Sephiroth's plot by claiming the Black Materia needed to activate Meteor, but Sephiroth displays a mysterious power over Cloud, forcing him to relinquish it.
Sephiroth kills Aeris in a scene referred to as "the most shocking moment in video games".
Fearing that Sephiroth may cast Meteor, and having gained a greater understanding of her heritage from scholars in Cosmo Canyon and the memories of her ancestors in the Cetra's temple, Aeris sets off to stop him on her own. Concerned for her safety, AVALANCHE follows her to the northern continent, where the player must enter an ancient Cetra city. After finding Aeris praying to the planet for aid, Sephiroth, unseen, begins affecting Cloud's behavior once again, and attempts to force him to kill her. Cloud resists Sephiroth's command, but Sephiroth himself appears and kills Aeris. After laying her body to rest, the surviving characters resolve to defeat Sephiroth and avenge her. Later, Sephiroth begins causing Cloud to doubt his memories and insists that he is not a real human, but rather a specimen created from Jenova's genetic material by Professor Hojo. Jenova, the player learns, was an interstellar creature who crashlanded on the planet approximately two thousand years earlier, arriving via travel on a meteor. This collision formed a large impact crater, grievously harming the planet. Five years before the present-day events, in a cutscene seen by the player, Sephiroth learned that he was the product of this experiment while on a Shinra mission in Nibelheim, the hometown of Cloud and Tifa. However, unaware of all details involved, he concluded that he was a Cetra who had been produced solely from Jenova's genetic material. Enraged, he burned down the town, intending to kill all descendants of those he believed had abandoned his ancestors in the defense of the planet. According to Cloud, he confronted Sephiroth during this massacre, after which Sephiroth vanished under unknown circumstances and was presumed dead until his reappearance in the Shinra building. When AVALANCHE reaches the Northern Crater, Sephiroth tells Cloud that he was not in Nibelheim, showing him images of a 1st Class SOLDIER with dark hair who occupies Cloud's place in his memories. With Tifa unable to refute Sephiroth's claims, Cloud breaks down and allows him to cast Meteor, resulting in the WEAPONs' awakening. During the earthquake that follows, Cloud is separated from his companions and falls into the Lifestream. As the meteor summoned by Sephiroth slowly approaches the planet, the Shinra Company focuses its efforts on protecting humanity from the WEAPONs, who have begun to perceive everything as a threat to the planet. Meanwhile, AVALANCHE searches for Cloud, eventually locating him on a tropical resort island where he washed up following the casting of Meteor; he is in a catatonic state. The WEAPONs' destructive activity quickly causes the island to split open, depositing Cloud and Tifa into the Lifestream below. There, she reconstructs Cloud's memories and learns the truth about his past. Although the player learns that he is a real human being and had actually been in Nibelheim during Sephiroth's attack, he never actually succeeded in joining SOLDIER and only managed to attain the rank of private in Shinra's military. The player learns that the previously-seen dark-haired SOLDIER is named "Zack", and was Aeris' first boyfriend. During Sephiroth's destruction of Nibelheim, Zack, Tifa and Cloud fought Sephiroth in Nibelheim's Mako reactor. Although Tifa and Zack were defeated, Cloud and Sephiroth severely wounded one another. After decapitating the body of Jenova, which had been stored in the Mako reactor, Sephiroth is thrown into the Lifestream by Cloud, taking the creature's head with him. Rather than dying, however, his body and consciousness were preserved in Mako inside Jenova's crater. While Tifa was taken to safety in Midgar, Cloud and Zack were among the wounded survivors who were apprehended by Shinra as part an elaborate cover-up of Sephiroth's massacre. Professor Hojo subjected these survivors to an experiment, in which he performed the same enhancements given to members of SOLDIER. However, because Hojo conducted the experiment without any concern for the subjects' mental capacities to handle the procedure, all but Zack entered a comatose state. Nearly five years later, Zack broke free from his confinement and took Cloud with him. The player learns that the procedure used to enhance members of SOLDIER involved both Mako showers and the injection of cells from Jenova. The alien cells inhabiting Cloud's body allowed his mind to construct a false persona, built around Zack's behavior, fighting style, and description of Sephiroth's destruction in Nibelheim, but they also allowed Sephiroth to modulate his behavior. The cells' inherent ability to duplicate information led Cloud to believe that he had been the 1st Class SOLDIER in Nibelheim, as Zack was shot and killed outside Midgar by pursuing Shinra soldiers, shortly before the beginning of the game. Afterward, Tifa discovered Cloud, who was wearing Zack's spare uniform, and offered him a job with AVALANCHE. With the truth revealed, Cloud awakens and rejoins AVALANCHE. The player learns that, in her final moments, Aeris was casting a spell known as "Holy", the only means of opposing Meteor. Though she succeeds, Sephiroth's focused will prevents the spell from taking effect and has been restraining it since. Deciding that humanity must be protected from the WEAPONs before Sephiroth can be approached, Shinra and AVALANCHE destroy the WEAPONs, but nearly all of Shinra's executives are killed in the process. Among the few survivors are Reeve Tuesti, revealed to be the repentant controller of Cait Sith, When Hojo attempts to help Sephiroth to gain mastery over the Lifestream afterward, AVALANCHE is given no choice but to fight and kill him. With each member of AVALANCHE at peace with his or her past and all other opponents defeated, the group travels through the mantle of the planet to its core, where they defeat Sephiroth and free Holy. However, due to Meteor's already close proximity to the planet's surface, Holy is unable to destroy it alone. Selected as Meteor's target, Midgar is almost completely destroyed by the storms that spawn from its presence. However, sent by Aeris' spirit, the Lifestream itself rises from the planet to aid Holy by pushing Meteor away, allowing Holy to destroy it. During the epilogue that follows, the ruins of Midgar are shown five hundred years later. While the landscape had once been desolate due to Shinra's operations, it is now a land of lush greenery.
Development
This article or section needs to be updated. Please update the article to reflect recent events, and remove this template when finished.
Early development and Final Fantasy SGI
A development screenshot of the game showing Midgar and a copyright date of 1996; Final Fantasy VII was originally to be released in that year.
Another early screenshot; Aeris appears in the starting party for this version.
Development of Final Fantasy VII began in late 1995, Called "Final Fantasy SGI", the demo featured polygon-based 3D renderings of characters from Final Fantasy VI in a real-time battle and incorporated interactive elements. In 1996, a demonstration disc was released to those who attended Tokyo Game Show.
Changes from past installments The transition from 2D computer graphics to 3D environments overlaid on pre-rendered backgrounds Among the difficulties faced was the potential inability to render 3D polygon models based on the designs of Yoshitaka Amano, the series' long-time character designer. As his style was considered too exquisite to be compatible with the visual format of the project, this issue was addressed by bringing Tetsuya Nomura onboard as the project's main artist, while Amano aided in the design of the game's world map. Previously a monster designer for Final Fantasy V, prompting a rerelease in Japan under the title "Final Fantasy VII International".
Design and inspirations Art director Yusuke Naora refers to the game's atmosphere as "strong Members of the development team have revealed that they intended some aspects of the game's story to be left open to the interpretation of individual players. and Square has provided explanations for other details of the game's plot with the publication of the Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω guidebook.
North American release The game's release in North America was preceded by a massive three month marketing campaign for which Sony allocated a US$100 million budget. The high-profile campaign consisted of three 30-second television commercials on major networks, a holiday promotion with Pepsi, and printed ads in publications such as Rolling Stone, Details, Spin, Playboy and comic books published by Marvel and DC.
Music
Main article: Music of Final Fantasy VII
The soundtrack for Final Fantasy VII was composed by Nobuo Uematsu. Instead of recorded music and sound effects for the game, Uematsu opted for MIDIs, using the PlayStation's own internal sound chip. He has explained that he chose this method because it allowed the console's CPU to process audio data more quickly, which in turn allowed it to focus more on processing the game's 3D engine and to prevent noticeable load times. The game was originally intended to feature a vocal piece, but this was cut due to the limitations imposed by recorded audio. However, a song with synthesized choral backing is heard in "One-Winged Angel". The game's soundtrack was commercially released on four compact discs; On September 14, 2007, OverClocked ReMix, a website dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of video game music, released a community driven Final Fantasy VII tribute album, entitled Voices of the Lifestream.
Reception Final Fantasy VII was both a critical and commercial success, and set several sales records. Within three days of its January 1997 release in Japan, the game had sold 2.3 million copies. This popularity inspired thousands of retailers in North America to break street dates in September to meet public demand for the title. Although Square's announcement that Final Fantasy VII would be produced for Sony rather than Nintendo and that it would not be based on the Final Fantasy SGI demo was initially met with discontent among gamers,
Critical response The game received extremely favorable reviews from many well-known gaming publications. GameFan called it "quite possibly the greatest game ever made", while GameSpot commented that "never before have technology, playability, and narrative combined as well as in Final Fantasy VII", expressing particular favor toward the game's graphics, audio and story. The UK-based publication Edge gave the game a 9/10, Final Fantasy VII has received negative criticism as well. GameSpy rated it 7th on their "25 Most Overrated Games" list in September 2003, saying, "Most FF aficionados will tell you that VII, while very good, is hardly the best game in the series", two of the reviewers placing both Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy X above it. The game has also been the subject of criticism from parents concerned with violence in video games, particularly in the wake of the Columbine High School massacre in 1999. Following the event, several parents of children murdered in the massacre filed a US$5 billion lawsuit against companies that published and developed video and computer games. Among the co-defendants were Eidos Interactive, publisher of the PC version of the game, with Final Fantasy VII cited as their offending contribution.
Legacy Final Fantasy VII is regarded as one of the most influential titles in the history of video games. It is credited with allowing console RPGs to find a place in markets outside Japan, and remains arguably the most popular title in the Final Fantasy series. The game's legacy includes the acceptance and standard inclusion of FMV sequences in RPGs, as well as significant advancement in computer graphics. These developments would allow series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi to begin production of the first Final Fantasy film, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. and Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System.
Related media and merchandise
This article or section needs to be updated. Please update the article to reflect recent events, and remove this template when finished.
Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Games
Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII Dirge of Cerberus Lost Episode: Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Films
Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Last Order: Final Fantasy VII
Further information: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Compilation of Final Fantasy VII is the formal title for a series of games and animated features developed by Square Enix based in the world and continuity of Final Fantasy VII. Spearheaded by Tetsuya Nomura and Yoshinori Kitase, the series consists of several titles across various platforms, all of which are extensions of the Final Fantasy VII story.
Final Fantasy VII: Snowboarding: comparison of the PlayStation (left) and mobile versions.
Though not under the Compilation label, two novellas set within Final Fantasy VII's continuity have been produced, while a third Final Fantasy VII mobile game has also been developed. The first of the two novellas is Maiden who Travels the Planet. It follows Aeris' journey in the Lifestream following her death at the hands of Sephiroth, taking place concurrently with the second half of Final Fantasy VII. The game is playable on the LG VX8000, LG VX8100, Audiovox 8940 and Samsung A890 mobile phone and contains different tracks than the original minigame. Some speculate that the Compilation will also include an enhanced remake of the original Final Fantasy VII for the PlayStation 3. This speculation was sparked at the 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo by the release of a Final Fantasy VII technology demo featuring the opening sequence of Final Fantasy VII recreated using the PlayStation 3's graphical capabilities. Although Yōichi Wada explained that the presentation was intended only for technological demonstration purposes
Cans of "Final Fantasy VII Potion" are printed with CG images of the game's main characters.
At the Square Enix Party event of May 2007, Suntory unveiled a drink named "Final Fantasy VII Potion", produced to celebrate Final Fantasy VII's 10th anniversary. The drink was a limited edition product.
References
^ SCEE (1997). SCEE 1997 - Key facts and figures. SCEE Press Room. Retrieved on November 25, 2006.
External links
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Final Fantasy VII
Square Enix's official Final Fantasy VII website Final Fantasy VII at the Final Fantasy Wiki at Wikia
v • d • e
Final Fantasy VII & Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Before Crisis • Advent Children • Dirge of Cerberus • Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII (Famicom)
Characters • Gaia • Music
Cloud • Sephiroth • Vincent • Aerith • Tifa • Zack
v • d • e
Final Fantasy series
Main series Final Fantasy • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII • VIII • IX • X • XI • XII • XIII
Other media Compilations and collections • Sequels and sidestories • Spin-offs • Novels and manga • Films and animation
Common elements • Minigames
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