Final Fantasy 7/VII - Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy VII (7) is the seventh title in the flagship series Final Fantasy, an RPG style game produced by Square (Later to become Square Enix) and released in 1997, the first title to be released on the Sony PlayStation console. The game was produced by series veterans Hironobu Sakaguchi, composer Nobuo Uematsu and director Yoshinori Kitase. It was later released on various platforms including PlayStation 4, iOS, Android, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, and Switch.
The game was a great critical success and remains the best selling title of the franchise. It was said that Final Fantasy VII sold more than two million copies just in the first few days of release in Japan. Achieving numerous awards and praise upon release in 1997, it inspired a Final Fantasy 7 Remake which is set to be released in March 2020 on the Sony PlayStation 4. Often cited as one of the best video games of all time, it popularized Japanese RPG style games and drove sales of the PlayStation franchise. The game’s main protagonist is named Cloud Strife, a mercenary hired by an eco-terrorist group named AVALANCHE to stop an evil megacorporation from harvesting the world’s lifeblood as a source of energy and profit.
Final Fantasy VII Plot
The game takes place on “The Planet”, where Shinra Electric Power Company, a megacorporation, is harvesting the world’s lifeblood and processing it into its refined form, “Mako”. AVALANCHE, an eco terrorist group, works to stop Shinra, since its actions are effectively killing the planet. Numerous groups, including SOLDIER (An elite shinra special unit of Mako empowered humans), TURKS (An elite task force of the Shinra), the Cetra (A near extinct human tribe connected to the planet and its life force) are struggling to determine the fate of the planet. The main cast comes into contact with Sephiroth, the main antagonist of the Final Fantasy VII game who wishes to use Black Materia to summon a meteor that will destroy the planet.
Characters
- Cloud Strife- Mercenary that is hired by eco-terrorist group AVALANCHE to stop Shinra Electric Power Co. from harvesting the world’s lifeblood. Initially apathetic to their cause, he ends up fighting with zeal.
- Barret Wallace- The leader of AVALANCHE. He wields a gun on his injured right hand and with a strong personality.
- Tifa Lockhart- Runs the bar 7th Heaven in the ghetto of sector 7. Childhood friend of Cloud and a strong and capable fighter.
- [Aerith Gainsborough](/otapedia/games/final_fantasy/aerith_gainsborough - A flower girl from the ghetto of sector 5 that joins Cloud and AVALANCHE.
- Red XIII- a wolf/lion-like beast capable of speech that the party rescues from Shinra.
- Cait Sith- A robot cat that sits atop a mog.
- Cid Highwind- A chainsmoker from Rocket Town who wished to be the first man in space but was forced to give up on his dream. Although bitter, he is a good friend.
- Yuffie Kisaragi- A Muteria hunter that wishes to restore her home of Wutai to its past glory. She is randomly encountered in the forest.
- Vincent Valentine- A former Turk with a painful past. Due to experimentation, he is able to metamorph into multiple forms. Feelings of guilt led him to seal himself away in a coffin.
- Zack Fair- A member of SOLDIER and a key character in Cloud’s back story. Aerith’s first love.
- Sephiroth- A non controllable character that joins the party for only one sequence. He was presumed dead but returns and is the game’s main antagonist.
Gameplay
Final Fantasy VII uses the familiar ATB (Active Time Battle) system whereby character’s have time and limit gauge bars that fill up and deplete after actions are taken. Like previous games, actions are carried out on the world map, the field, and the battle screen. Travel occurs by foot, vehicle, or with the aid of chocobos.
During battle, commands include attack with weapon, consuming items, summoning monsters, casting magic, defend, and various other actions. Upon victory, items, money, and experience points may be gained which increase the player’s stats, such as HP or magic ability. If the player is defeated, they revert to their last save point.
Materia allows a character to acquire supporting abilities, summon, cast spells, perform command abilities, and boost stats. Materia form the basis of the skill and ability system for Final Fantasy VII, and play a prominent role in character skills in other games.
Development
The game was initially being produced for the Super Nintendo SNES, but the team opted for the riskier option of developing for the next generation of consoles. The team was tasked with choosing between the cartridge based N64, CD ROM PlayStation, and Sega Saturn format. Ultimately, considerations of pricing and other hardware/memory capabilities lead the team to select the Sony PlayStation console. It was the first Final Fantasy game to utilize proper 3D computer graphics and full motion video. Also, the game was the first to feature 3D character models superimposed over 2D pre-rendered backgrounds
Links
Square Enix Official
Final Fantasy 7 Remake
Best Selling FF7 Interview