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Final Fantasy VII (JP) is a role-playing video game published by Square Enix for Nintendo Switch. It is a port of the 1997 title of the same name, originally developed by Square Co. and initially released for the PlayStation. Optimized for Switch by Dotemu, it is based on the PlayStation 4 port of the game, itself carrying over various quality of life improvements from the updated version of the game available on Microsoft Windows. Final Fantasy VII released for Nintendo Switch on March 26, 2019, exclusively as a digital title for Nintendo eShop.
Gameplay[]
The gameplay is a departure from the previous entries in the series in many ways. Though it retains the Active Time Battle pseudo-turn based menu command system, Final Fantasy VII features three party members rather than four. The Materia system allows the player to customize each party member's abilities to their liking, and the Limit system grants them unique combat skills. Though minigames had been a recurring feature, Final Fantasy VII introduces numerous new ones, many of them playable in the theme park Gold Saucer varying from racing with Chocobos to snowboarding.
Plot[]
Final Fantasy VII follows the story of mercenary Cloud Strife, who is hired by the eco-terrorist group AVALANCHE—led by Barret Wallace—to help fight the mega-corporation Shinra Electric Power Company, who attempts to drain the planet's lifeblood as an energy source to further their profits. Apathetic to the cause, Cloud initially fights for personal gain, and for the promise he made to childhood friend Tifa Lockhart. Cloud eventually joins forces with many others to save the planet, which is threatened by Shinra and Cloud's nemesis Sephiroth, and discovers a reason to fight for a cause other than his own.
Development[]
Early development[]
Conceptualization for the next major Final Fantasy title began in 1994 following the release of Square Co.'s latest title at the time, Final Fantasy VI. As with the preceding game, series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi reduced his role to a producer capacity while allowing other developers to have more input on the game's direction, namely Yoshinori Kitase who had served as VI's director. The game was initially planned as another 2D installment for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), with a prototype of this iteration of the project being produced shortly thereafter. However, production would be paused indefinitely as the team immediately shifted towards finishing another planned SNES title at the time, Chrono Trigger (1995). Following that title's completion, talks resumed at the developer regarding Final Fantasy VII.
The team were faced with a critical choice as to how development would proceed, as they could either opt to continue with developing a standard 2D JRPG, which would've been deemed more safe and risk-adverse compared to the industry's shift towards larger budget 3D titles. Square instead elected to pursue the riskier alternative of creating a fully 3D JRPG on the next generation of gaming hardware, motivated by their positively received tech demo demonstrating the prospects of a 3D entry in the series, while using fully rendered models of Terra Branford, Locke Cole, Shadow and a Rock Golem from FFVI, which was later mistaken by the Nintendo Power magazine as a showcase for a Final Fantasy game on Nintendo 64. Their main choices for platforms were the Nintendo 64 or the newly unveiled PlayStation console from Sony Computer Entertainment (later Sony Interactive Entertainment), while discussions additionally took place about developing the game for either the Sega Saturn or Microsoft Windows PCs. An additional factor for converting FFVII into a 3D title was attributed towards the escalating prices for game cartridges, a format which additionally limited the audience Square could reach with their titles on Nintendo platforms.
Internal tests were initially conducted for developing the game on Nintendo 64, utilizing the planned 64DD peripheral in spite of Nintendo not having produced development kits due to the 64DD's fluctuating hardware specifications. This version of the title was discarded relatively quickly, as excessive strain tended to be placed on the N64 hardware during real-time gameplay dependent on the complexity of specific rendered objects or monsters, namely the 2000 polygons required for the Behemoth enemy which caused severe drops in frame rate. Square estimated that approximately thirty 64DD floppy disks of 64MB capacity would've been required to run Final Fantasy VII properly with the limitations of data compression at the time in place. Faced with the shifts in technology, and coming away impressed by the capabilities of the incoming CD-ROM storage format being utilized by Sony's console which would've additionally enabled the use of full-motion video (FMVs), Square ultimately made the decision to move development of Final Fantasy VII and any other titles in development at the publisher, over to the PlayStation. The partnership between Sony and Square would be officially announced in January 1996, confirming Final Fantasy VII as an exclusive game for the PlayStation, while Sony themselves would additionally sign an agreement ensuring publishing rights to Square's next six titles. The decision to cancel FFVII for Nintendo 64 caused a long-standing rift in the previously positive relationship between Nintendo and Square Co., with Nintendo allegedly telling the developer to "never come back" after being made aware of their intentions to develop for Sony's console. Square would thereby not release any titles for Nintendo 64 during the console's lifecycle, and would not return to developing for Nintendo platforms until the releases of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles in 2003 for the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo GameCube, respectively.
Production[]
Yusuke Naora returned to reprise his duties as Final Fantasy VII's art director, after previously serving such a role for Final Fantasy VI, while Tetsuya Nomura, who previously served as a monster designer for Final Fantasy V (1992) and a secondary character designer opposite Yoshitaka Amano for FFVI, would outright succeed Amano as lead character designer for FFVII, attributed towards his art style translating better to the game's 3D presentation as opposed to Amano's art. Amano however, would still contribute the game's logo design, depicting a graphic of Meteor with the Black Materia hovering above it, in addition to numerous promotional art pieces leading up to the game's launch. Naora realized that he needed to relearn drawing, as 3D visuals require a very different approach than 2D. With the massive scale and scope of the project, Naora was granted a team devoted entirely to the game's visual design. The department's duties included illustration, modeling of 3D characters, texturing, the creation of environments, visual effects, and animation. Naora later defined the art style of Final Fantasy VII as "dark" and "weird". The Shinra logo, which incorporates a kanji symbol, was drawn by Naora personally.
Reception[]
Final Fantasy VII was a big influence on the RPG genre and had continued to generate critical acclaim over the years.[1]
In other media[]
Cloud was released as a downloadable content character for the Nintendo crossover fighting games Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, along with a stage based on Midgar. He returned in the 2018 sequel, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Sephiroth was added to Ultimate as downloadable content in December 2020 as part of the Fighters Pass Vol. 2 lineup, alongside 9 additional music tracks from Final Fantasy VII, three additional Mii Costumes based on Aerith, Barret and Tifa, thirteen new Spirits themed around Final Fantasy, and a new stage based on the Northern Cave, the final area in the original game. Both characters remained in Japanese audio in all regions.
References[]
External links[]
- Final Fantasy VII at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Final Fantasy VII at GameFAQs
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