Compilation of Final Fantasy VII

The first title conceived for the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII was not a game, but a film that would become a cinematic phenomenon, yet it was delayed so severely that a mobile game released before it. Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children was originally envisioned as a short film presentation created by Visual Works, the animation studio behind CGI cutscenes for the company's games. Early in pre-production, plans to make Advent Children a video game rather than a film were considered, but due to several factors including Visual Works' lack of experience with actual game production, it remained a film. One of the main conditions for the project's launch was to reunite the original staff members of Final Fantasy VII: Kazushige Nojima, art director Yusuke Naora and composer Nobuo Uematsu. After Advent Children began development, it was decided by the team that one title was not enough to fully explore the VII universe. In response, Before Crisis, Dirge of Cerberus and Crisis Core were conceived so as to embrace more aspects of the world and characters. Nomura himself was surprised at the creation of the games, having originally assumed that the film would be the sole product of the project. The first title to be conceived was Advent Children, originally envisioned as a short film presentation created by Visual Works, the animation studio behind CGI cutscenes for the company's games. Early in pre-production, plans to make Advent Children a video game rather than a film were considered, but due to several factors including Visual Works' lack of experience with actual game production, it remained a film. One of the main conditions for the project's launch was to reunite the original staff members of Final Fantasy VII: Nojima, art director Yusuke Naora and composer Nobuo Uematsu. After Advent Children began development, it was decided by the team that one title was not enough to fully explore the VII universe. In response, Before Crisis, Dirge of Cerberus and Crisis Core were conceived so as to embrace more aspects of the world and characters. Nomura himself was surprised at the creation of the games, having originally assumed that the film would be the sole product of the project. The first title to be conceived was Advent Children, originally envisioned as a short film presentation created by Visual Works, the animation studio behind CGI cutscenes for the company's games. Early in pre-production, plans to make Advent Children a video game rather than a film were considered, but due to several factors including Visual Works' lack of experience with actual game production, it remained a film. One of the main conditions for the project's launch was to reunite the original staff members of Final Fantasy VII: Nojima, art director Yusuke Naora and composer Nobuo Uematsu. After Advent Children began development, it was decided by the team that one title was not enough to fully explore the VII universe. In response, Before Crisis, Dirge of Cerberus and Crisis Core were conceived so as to embrace more aspects of the world and characters. Nomura himself was surprised at the creation of the games, having originally assumed that the film would be the sole product of the project.

What was the first title conceived for the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII?

The first title conceived for the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII was the film Advent Children. It was originally envisioned as a short film presentation created by Visual Works, the animation studio behind CGI cutscenes for the company's games.

When was Before Crisis Final Fantasy VII released for NTT DoCoMo's FOMA iMode?

Before Crisis Final Fantasy VII was released for NTT DoCoMo's FOMA iMode on the 24th of September 2004. The game began development in 2002 and went through beta testing in 2004 before its official release.

Which game in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII has the highest average Metacritic score?

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth has the highest average Metacritic score at 92 out of 100. It was released for PlayStation 5 on the 29th of February 2024 and sold over 3.5 million copies across both PlayStation and Steam.

Who were the original staff members reunited for the launch of Advent Children?

One of the main conditions for the project's launch was to reunite the original staff members of Final Fantasy VII including Kazushige Nojima, art director Yusuke Naora and composer Nobuo Uematsu. These individuals were key to the creation of the film and subsequent titles.

When was Final Fantasy VII The First Soldier shut down?

Final Fantasy VII The First Soldier was shut down on the 11th of January 2023. The free-to-play battle royale multiplayer game for mobile phones was released on the 17th of November 2021 and set 18 years before the events of Final Fantasy VII.

What was the original plan for the number of titles in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII?

Multiple staff members including Nomura revealed that the Compilation was only ever intended to extend to three games and a film. The team decided to end the series with the release of Crisis Core to avoid saturating the market.

The Mobile Prequel

Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII is an action role-playing video game split into 24 episodes, with episode delivery working via a monthly subscription-based distribution system. After going through beta testing in 2004, it was released on the 24th of September 2004, for NTT DoCoMo's FOMA iMode, and on January 30 and the 5th of April 2007, for SoftBank Mobile and EZweb respectively. The game was never released to western markets, despite plans to do so. Before Crisis began development in 2002. The Compilation was first unveiled in 2003 with the announcement of Advent Children. None of the titles in the series up to that point were traditional role-playing games like the original. The explanation for this was that traditional RPGs took long production periods and a large staff, which would have made the project stand out a bit too much. One of the other considerations for the team was not to make the titles lightweight as X-2 had been, due to backlash from parts of the fanbase. Conversely, making Final Fantasy X-2 reminded the team that they did not need to stick to completely serious traditional RPGs, enabling the original creation of the Compilation. While Advent Children was the first Compilation title to begin production, it ran into problems during post-production, resulting in the first released title being Before Crisis, despite it being the second title to begin development. Before Crisis was also originally planned for release in North America, but the mobile phones available in North America at the time were not able to handle the game. In addition, the producer Kosei Ito left Square Enix in 2008 and Tabata moved on to other projects, leaving its localization unlikely. Japanese animation studio Madhouse created a commercial to promote Before Crisis. Due to its success and staff feelings that important scenes from VII represented in Advent Children had been needlessly disjointed, the studio was chosen to produce an animated film: this eventually became Last Order. Crisis Core was originally going to be an action game, but became an action RPG, staying within the staff's design strengths while incorporating action elements. Wada had stated in 2006, while the development and release of Compilation titles was still ongoing, that the Compilation could remain an active franchise until 2017, the twentieth anniversary of Final Fantasy VII's release. After finishing work on Advent Children Complete, the team took a break from the series, although they said that they still had various ideas for future titles. In later interviews relating to Final Fantasy VII, multiple staff members including Nomura revealed that the Compilation was only ever intended to extend to three games and a film, ending with the release of Crisis Core. Their reasoning was that releasing any more would saturate the market.

The Soldier's Tragedy

Final Fantasy VII Remake is an action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix, released for PlayStation 4 on the 10th of April 2020. It is the first in a planned trilogy of games remaking the 1997 original. An expanded edition, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, was released for PC Steam and PlayStation 5. Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier is a free-to-play battle royale multiplayer game for mobile phones released on the 17th of November 2021. Developed by Ateam Inc. and published by Square Enix, the game is set 18 years before the events of Final Fantasy VII. The First Soldier follows SOLDIER candidates and the establishment of SOLDIER by the Shinra Electric Power Company to bolster their military. The game's battles are set in a virtual reality recreation of Midgar, similar to the Virtual Reality System and Shinra Combat Simulator. Its gameplay features 3 versus 3 multiplayer arena matches, blending action elements traditional to the genre with RPG mechanics and Final Fantasy gameplay elements. Due to the nature of the gameplay, there is not much narrative element, but the setting and lore is incorporated into the game. Despite fairly regular updates, the game was shut down on the 11th of January 2023. Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis is a role-playing video game. Released in September 2023 for iOS and Android and in December 2023 for Windows, it is an episodic single-player game which retells the events of the canon Compilation titles while adding in new narrative material. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is an action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix, released for PlayStation 5 on the 29th of February 2024. The game is the second installment in the Remake trilogy, while also being made to stand on its own. , Final Fantasy VII Rebirth has the highest average Metacritic score at 92/100. Shubhankar Parijat of GamingBolt applauded the combat system introduced in its predecessor Remake and the expanded mechanics introduced in Rebirth. He describes the combat as "exhilarating" and enjoyed the different mechanics and play styles of each character. Will Nelson of PCGamesN described the characters as depicted in Rebirth as "bursting with personality" and praised them for both their banter and their dialogue during more serious story moments. However, he lamented the repetitive nature of the open world and its activities. Meanwhile, Gene Park of The Washington Post complimented the game's world design, describing it as a "remarkably detailed and seamless open world, a true adventure that spans continents and cultures." Worldwide, Final Fantasy VII Remake shipped and sold over 3.5 million copies within three days. This made it one of the biggest launches for a PlayStation 4 game and the fastest-selling PS4 exclusive in history. By September 2023, the game had shipped and digitally sold over 7 million units worldwide. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth has sold over 3.5 million copies across both PlayStation and Steam. Compared to the original VII, which received near-universal critical acclaim and later cult status as a classic game, the entries in the Compilation have often garnered a mixed reception, and the Compilation as a whole has been critiqued by some. In July 2007, Edge magazine wrote that the titles "could be of a high quality, but there is also a perversion of the original". RPG Site's Alex Donaldson, during a review for Crisis Core, said that the Compilation was "too far detached from the lore of Final Fantasy VII". While critiquing Advent Children and Dirge

The Remake Trilogy

of Cerberus, and faulting Before Crisiss lack of the original game's characters, he felt that Crisis Core was the Compilations "first classic [Final Fantasy VII] spin-off". RPGFans Stephen Meyerink said that the Compilation titles prior to Crisis Core had "expanded, extended, and retconned [the story] into what some would call an unrecognizable mess". Alexa Ray Corriea, writing for Polygon, was highly critical, saying that few of the Compilation titles were good, and only served to "cheapen the 1997 [PlayStation] original". Reviews for Advent Children have been mixed: while critics have praised the presentation, graphics and fan appeal, all reviews agree that the story's context and delivery were confusing for people new to the series. While western critics were positive about Last Order, the OAV received heavy fan criticism in Japan due to its retconning of key events, which prompted the team to ensure that the event was faithfully recreated in Crisis Core. Before Crisis, due to remaining in Japan, has received limited attention in the west, but previews have been highly positive, with many praising the gameplay and graphics as being impressive for a mobile game. Opinions for Dirge of Cerberus were decidedly mixed. While many praised the story and characters, especially the focus on Vincent's character and development, critics were mixed about the graphics and gameplay. Japanese magazine Famitsu notably gave the game a delayed and highly critical review. Crisis Core was generally praised, with many enjoying the story's intimate presentation of the characters and action-oriented gameplay, despite some criticism for it being aimed at fans of VII. Critics of the Compilation have generally cited Crisis Core as the best title of the series prior to the Remake trilogy. The process of thought behind the Compilation would later inspire the creation of Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy, a subseries of games linked by a common mythos, and would use lessons learned from the Compilation production process. On an individual level, Before Crisiss popularity would inspire the creation of another mobile title within the Fabula Nova Crystallis subseries: originally titled Final Fantasy Agito XIII, it would later change platforms and be renamed Final Fantasy Type-0. The battle sequences in Advent Children also served as inspiration for Motomu Toriyama when creating the battle system for Final Fantasy XIII. Former staff members have blamed the Compilation, in conjunction with other extensions of titles like Final Fantasy X, for undermining the series' market presence and fan trust in the West.