Short answers, pulled from the story.
Final Fantasy VII was released in Japan on the 31st of January 1997, in North America on the 7th of September 1997, and in Europe on the 17th of November 1997. The European release was the first time any Final Fantasy game had been released on that continent.
As of September 2025, the original Final Fantasy VII has sold over 15.3 million units worldwide. It sold over two million copies within three days of its Japan release, and had passed 10 million worldwide by May 2010.
Final Fantasy VII was developed and published by Square for the PlayStation. The combined development and marketing budget reached approximately 80 million dollars, with development costs alone estimated at 40 million dollars (equivalent to $61 million in 2017 when adjusted for inflation).
Square chose the PlayStation primarily because the Nintendo 64 hardware could not handle the polygon requirements of the game; rendering a single monster called the Behemoth required 2,000 polygons and caused frame rate problems. The full game would also have required an estimated thirty 64DD discs. The CD-ROM format's greater storage capacity made the PlayStation the practical choice.
Nobuo Uematsu composed, arranged, and produced the entire Final Fantasy VII soundtrack. He had served as the sole composer for all six previous Final Fantasy games. His track "One-Winged Angel," used in the final battle, was the first in the series to feature high-quality digitized vocals and is widely cited as his most recognizable contribution to the series.
Final Fantasy VII Remake is a multi-part trilogy reimagining the original 1997 game with an updated story and combat system. The first part was released for PlayStation 4 in April 2020, and the second part, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, was released for PlayStation 5 in February 2024. The unnamed third and final installment is currently in development for Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S.