Final Fantasy VII is a 1997 role-playing video game created and published by Square for the PlayStation. It is the seventh main game in the Final Fantasy series. The game was first released in Japan by Square and later released internationally by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was the first main series game to have a PAL version for release in Europe and other regions. The story follows Cloud Strife, a soldier for hire who joins a group fighting to protect the environment from a powerful company that plans to use the planet’s life force as an energy source. Cloud and his friends later try to stop Sephiroth, a powerful being who wants to harm the planet and use its healing power to become a god. During their journey, Cloud forms strong friendships with his team, including Aerith Gainsborough, who knows the key to saving their world.
Development of the game began in 1994, originally planned for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. After delays and technical problems with other platforms, such as the Nintendo 64, Square decided to make the game for the PlayStation because of the benefits of using CD-ROM technology. Many experienced members of the Final Fantasy team worked on the game, including Hironobu Sakaguchi, the series creator and producer, Yoshinori Kitase, the director, and Nobuo Uematsu, the composer. This game was the first in the series to use full-motion video and 3D computer graphics, with 3D characters placed over 2D backgrounds. While the gameplay was similar to earlier games, Final Fantasy VII added more science fiction themes and a more realistic style. The total cost for making and marketing the game was about $80 million.
Final Fantasy VII was widely praised when it was released and was very successful. Reviewers liked its graphics, story, music, and gameplay, though some criticized the original English version. It is still considered a major achievement and one of the most important and influential video games ever made. The game won many Game of the Year awards and helped increase sales of the PlayStation. It also helped spread Japanese role-playing games around the world. Because of its popularity, the game has been released on other platforms, inspired a series of related media called the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, and led to a high-definition remake trilogy that includes Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020) and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (2024).
Gameplay
The gameplay of Final Fantasy VII is similar to earlier Final Fantasy games and Japanese role-playing games. The game has three main ways to play: the world map, the field, and the battle screen. On the world map, players explore the game’s world in 3D. The map shows places the player can enter, such as towns, environments, and ruins. Natural obstacles like mountains, deserts, and water block access to some areas. As the story progresses, players gain vehicles to move past these obstacles, allowing them to explore more of the game world. Chocobos, which are large birds, can be found in certain areas. If caught, they can be ridden to places that are hard to reach on foot or with vehicles.
In field mode, players explore detailed versions of the areas shown on the world map. Final Fantasy VII is the first game in the series to use a 3D space for this mode. Here, players can move around, talk to characters, advance the story, and play short minigames called event games. These minigames use special controls and are connected to the story. While in field mode, players can also visit shops and inns. Shops let players buy or sell items like weapons, armor, and accessories that help Cloud and his party. Inns allow characters to rest, which restores their health and magic points and cures unusual conditions they may have from battles.
Battles happen randomly on the world map and in field mode, as well as at specific story moments. During a battle, players and enemies are placed on opposite sides. The game uses an Active Time Battle (ATB) system, where characters take turns until one side is defeated. The damage or healing done by each side is shown as numbers on the screen. Each character has statistics that affect their performance in battle. For example, hit points show how much damage they can take, and magic shows how much damage they can deal with spells. Each character has a time gauge; when full, the player can choose an action for them. The available actions change as the game progresses and depend on the characters in the party and the abilities or spells they have. Actions include attacking with weapons, casting magic, using items, summoning monsters, or other helpful moves. Final Fantasy VII also includes special moves called Limit Breaks, which can only be used after a gauge fills from taking enemy attacks. If characters are attacked, they may get unusual conditions like poison or paralysis. These can be removed with special items, abilities, or by resting at an inn. When all enemies are defeated, the battle ends, and the player receives money, items, and experience points. If the player loses all characters, the game ends, and the player must reload from the last saved point.
When not in battle, players can use the menu screen to check character stats, use items and abilities, change equipment, save the game on the world map or at a save point, and manage Materia. Materia are the main way to customize characters in Final Fantasy VII. They can be attached to equipment to give characters new spells, summon monsters, commands, stat improvements, and other benefits. Materia gain experience points and level up, and they can be combined to create new effects.
Synopsis
Final Fantasy VII takes place on a world called "the Planet" in the game, which was later named "Gaia." The Planet's lifeforce, known as the Lifestream, is a flow of spiritual energy that gives life to everything on the Planet. This energy is processed into a substance called "Mako." The game's world is set in a science fiction environment that resembles an industrial or post-industrial society. During the game, the Shinra Electric Power Company, a powerful corporation based in the city of Midgar, drains the Planet's Lifestream to generate energy. This action weakens the Planet and endangers all life on it. Key groups in the game include AVALANCHE, an eco-terrorist group fighting to stop Shinra and help the Planet recover; the Turks, a secret security force working for Shinra; SOLDIER, an elite fighting unit created by enhancing humans with Mako; and the Cetra, a nearly extinct human tribe that has a deep connection to the Planet and the Lifestream.
The main character is Cloud Strife, a lone fighter who claims to have been a top-ranking SOLDIER. Early in the story, he teams up with Barret Wallace, a bold but caring leader of AVALANCHE, and Tifa Lockhart, a shy but kind martial artist and Cloud's childhood friend. During their journey, they meet Aerith Gainsborough, a cheerful flower seller and one of the last surviving Cetra; Red XIII, a smart feline from a tribe that protects the Planet; Cait Sith, a robotic cat that tells fortunes and is controlled by a former Shinra employee named Reeve; and Cid Highwind, a pilot who dreamed of space travel but never achieved it. The group can also recruit Yuffie Kisaragi, a young ninja who steals magical items called Materia, and Vincent Valentine, a former Turk who suffered from Shinra's experiments. The main villains are Rufus Shinra, the son of Shinra's leader and later head of the company; Sephiroth, a former SOLDIER who was thought dead but returns; and Jenova, an alien lifeform imprisoned by the Cetra 2,000 years ago, from which Sephiroth was created. A key figure in Cloud's past is Zack Fair, a SOLDIER and Aerith's former love interest.
AVALANCHE destroys a Shinra Mako reactor in Midgar, but an attack on another reactor fails, causing Cloud to fall into the city's slums. There, he meets Aerith and protects her from Shinra. Shinra then attacks AVALANCHE's base and collapses part of Midgar's upper city, killing many AVALANCHE members and civilians. Aerith is captured because Shinra believes she can lead them to the "Promised Land," a place they think holds untapped Lifestream energy. Cloud, Barret, and Tifa rescue Aerith and learn that Sephiroth, who was presumed dead, killed President Shinra. The group pursues Sephiroth across the Planet, with Rufus Shinra chasing them. They are later joined by other playable characters.
At a Cetra temple, Sephiroth reveals his plan to use a magical artifact called the "Black Materia" to cast the spell "Meteor," which would destroy the Planet. He intends to absorb the Lifestream as it tries to heal the damage from Meteor and become a god-like being. The group retrieves the Black Materia, but Sephiroth tricks Cloud into giving it to him. Aerith leaves to stop Sephiroth and follows him to an abandoned Cetra city. While Aerith prays to the Planet for help, Sephiroth tries to force Cloud to kill her. When this fails, Sephiroth kills Aerith and flees, leaving behind the "White Materia." The group later learns about Jenova, an alien lifeform that infected the Cetra 2,000 years ago. A small group of Cetra sealed Jenova in a tomb, which Shinra later uncovered. Jenova's cells were used in experiments that created Sephiroth. Five years before the game's events, Sephiroth and Cloud visited Nibelheim, where Sephiroth discovered his origins and was driven mad. He killed the townspeople and vanished after Cloud confronted him.
At the Northern Crater, the group discovers that the "Sephiroths" they have faced are clones of Jenova created by the mad scientist Hojo. Cloud confronts the real Sephiroth, who is trying to reunite Jenova's cells, but is tricked into giving him the Black Materia. Sephiroth taunts Cloud by showing a memory of Nibelheim where a different SOLDIER was with him, suggesting Cloud is a failed clone of Sephiroth. Sephiroth summons Meteor and traps Cloud in the Lifestream while Rufus captures the group.
After escaping Shinra, the group finds Cloud in a hospital, where he is in a coma from Mako poisoning. Tifa stays with him as his caretaker. When a powerful enemy called Weapon attacks the island, Tifa and Cloud fall into the Lifestream, where Tifa helps Cloud remember his true past. Cloud was never a SOLDIER; the SOLDIER in his memories was his friend Zack. In Nibelheim, Cloud wounded Sephiroth after the latter's breakdown, but Jenova saved Sephiroth's life. For four years, Cloud and Zack were experimented on by Hojo, who injected them with Jenova's cells and Mako. They escaped, but Zack died. This trauma caused Cloud to lose his identity and create a false persona based on Zack's stories. Cloud accepts his past and reunites with the group, who learn that Aerith's prayer to the Planet was successful. The Planet tried to summon "Holy" to stop Meteor, but Sephiroth blocked it.
Shinra fails to destroy Meteor but defeats Weapon and damages the Northern Crater, with Rufus seemingly dying in the process. After killing Hojo, who is revealed to be Sephiroth's biological father, the group reaches the Planet's core and defeats both Jenova and Sephiroth. Holy is summoned again, destroying Meteor with the help of the Lifestream. Five hundred years later, Red XIII is seen with two cubs looking over the ruins of Midgar, now covered in greenery, showing the Planet has healed.
Development
In 1994, Square Enix began planning Final Fantasy VII after finishing Final Fantasy VI. Hironobu Sakaguchi, the series creator, became a producer, allowing others to take more active roles in development, including Yoshinori Kitase, one of the directors of Final Fantasy VI. The next game was planned as a 2D game for Nintendo’s Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Super NES). After creating an early 2D prototype, the team paused development to help finish Chrono Trigger (1995). Once Chrono Trigger was completed, the team resumed planning Final Fantasy VII in 1995.
The team considered continuing with 2D graphics, which would have been the safer and faster option before the video game industry shifted to 3D games. However, this change would require new development methods. Instead, the team chose to make a 3D game using new hardware but had not yet decided between the cartridge-based Nintendo 64 or the CD-ROM-based PlayStation from Sony Computer Entertainment. They also considered the Sega Saturn and Microsoft Windows. Their decision was influenced by two factors: a successful tech demo using Final Fantasy VI and the high cost of cartridge-based games, which limited Square’s audience.
Tests were made for a Nintendo 64 version, which would use the planned 64DD peripheral despite the lack of development tools and changing hardware specifications. This version was abandoned during early testing because the Nintendo 64 struggled to handle the complex graphics needed for the Behemoth monster, causing slow frame rates. It would have required about thirty 64DD discs to run the game properly with the compression methods of the time. Faced with technical and economic challenges on Nintendo’s hardware and impressed by the PlayStation’s larger storage capacity, Square shifted development of Final Fantasy VII and other projects to the PlayStation.
At one point, the Final Fantasy VII team planned to use a first-person camera for exploring the world map and allow up to 10 characters in battle. However, the final version kept gameplay systems similar to Final Fantasy V and VI but focused more on player control. Battles used shifting camera angles, and battle arenas had fewer detailed graphics than field areas. The switch to 3D improved summon sequences, as the team had struggled to show their scale with 2D graphics. Sakaguchi, as producer, helped design the Materia system, which allowed players to customize characters’ abilities more than in previous games. Artist Tetsuya Nomura designed the Limit Break system, which evolved from Desperation Attacks in Final Fantasy VI. Limit Breaks added gameplay features while showing each character’s personality in battle.
Square used the same passion-based development approach as earlier projects but now had more resources and ambition to create the game they wanted. This was possible because Square had earned enough money from previous games to focus on quality and scale rather than budget limits. Final Fantasy VII was one of the most expensive video games at the time, costing about $40 million (equivalent to $61 million in 2017). Development took about 100 to 150 people over a year to complete. This was a larger team than usual, as most game teams had only 20 people. The team worked in Japan and the United States, with the American team focusing on city backgrounds.
The game’s art director was Yusuke Naora, who had previously worked on Final Fantasy VI. Switching to 3D required Naora to relearn drawing, as 3D visuals need different techniques than 2D. A team was dedicated to the game’s visual design, handling tasks like illustrations, 3D character modeling, texturing, environments, visual effects, and animation. The Shinra logo, which included a kanji symbol, was drawn by Naora. Promotional artwork and the logo were created by Yoshitaka Amano, who had worked on earlier Final Fantasy games. Amano could not contribute as much due to other commitments, but his logo design was inspired by the game’s Meteor scene. The logo’s green and blue colors reflected the lighting in Midgar and the Lifestream’s color, as well as the game’s ecological themes.
Tetsuya Nomura was brought on as the main character designer after impressing Sakaguchi with his handwritten and illustrated ideas. Nomura designed characters like Cloud and Sephiroth, with Sephiroth’s look described as “kakkoii,” meaning stylish and cool. Some character designs changed during development, such as Cloud’s hair color being changed from black to blond to make him look more heroic. Vincent’s occupation was revised multiple times before settling on a former Turk with a tragic past.
Hironobu Sakaguchi wrote the initial plot, which was different from the final version. In this early draft for the planned Super NES version, the game was set in New York City in 1999. The main characters were part of an organization trying to destroy Mako reactors but were pursued by a detective named Joe. The story would eventually involve blowing up the city.
Release
Final Fantasy VII was announced in February 1996. Square’s president and CEO, Tomoyuki Takechi, believed Japanese players would make the game a commercial success even though it was being released on a new platform. A playable demo was given away at the 1996 Tokyo Game Show on a disc titled Square's Preview Extra: Final Fantasy VII & Siggraph '95 Works. The disc also included early test footage of characters from Final Fantasy VI. The game was originally planned for release in 1996, but Square delayed it for almost a year to improve the game. Final Fantasy VII was finally released on January 31, 1997, in Japan by Square. A re-release called Final Fantasy VII International was released on October 2, 1997. This version inspired Square to update Japanese releases based on improved Western versions. The International version was later included in the Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary Ultimate Box in Japan on December 18, 2012.
Square expected Final Fantasy VII to succeed in Japan but was unsure about its reception in North America and Europe, where Japanese role-playing games were not widely popular. Sony, which was competing with Nintendo and Sega for console dominance, asked Square to let them publish the game in Western regions. Sony offered Square a profitable royalty deal, which Square accepted because it lacked experience publishing games outside Japan. Square was unsure about the game’s success, as earlier games like Final Fantasy VI had sold poorly outside Japan. To promote the game, Square closed its Washington office and opened a new one in Costa Mesa, California. The game was first shown to Western audiences at the 1996 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).
To promote the game globally, Square and Sony launched a three-month advertising campaign in August 1997. This included television commercials shown with popular shows like Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons, articles in gaming and general-interest magazines, advertisements in comics from DC Comics and Marvel Comics, a collaboration with Pepsi, media events, sample discs, and merchandise. Takechi estimated the total worldwide marketing budget was $40 million, with $10 million spent in Japan, $10 million in Europe, and $20 million in North America. Final Fantasy VII was released in North America on September 7, 1997, and in Europe on November 17, 1997, becoming the first Final Fantasy game available in Europe. The Western version included changes like a simplified menu system, reduced enemy health, improved navigation cues, and new scenes about Cloud’s past.
A PC version of the game was developed by Square’s Costa Mesa office. Square created the PC version to reach more players, as many Western consumers did not own a PlayStation. The port was handled by a team of 15 to 20 people, mostly from Costa Mesa, with help from Tokyo. Programmers had to rewrite about 80% of the game’s code because the original PlayStation version used five different game engines. The PC version included a license for Yamaha’s S-YXG70 synthesizer to ensure high-quality music across different computers. Yamaha converted nearly 100 musical pieces to XG format.
To help sell the PC version, Square partnered with Eidos Interactive, a company known for publishing Tomb Raider. Eidos agreed to market and publish the PC version in North America and Europe. The port was announced in December 1997, though rumors suggested it might have been released earlier. Eidos designed the packaging with a trapezoidal shape to make the game stand out. The contract with Eidos cost $1.8 million, and sales forecasts predicted 100,000 units sold. The PC version was released in North America and Europe on June 25, 1998, but not in Japan. Sales exceeded expectations within a month, and the PC version became the basis for future ports.
Square handled the localization of Final Fantasy VII internally. The English version, led by Seth Luisi, was completed by a team of about 50 people. Translators faced challenges because Japanese and English sentence structures differ. Michael Basket was the main translator, with help from native Japanese speakers in Tokyo. The team struggled with limited experience, no professional editors, and poor communication between offices. This led to errors, such as the original translation of Aerith’s name as “Aeris” instead of the intended “Aerith.”
Technical issues also arose during localization. The game used a fixed-width font, making it hard to add special characters like diacritics. Translators had to use kanji input keys to insert symbols. The code used obscure kanji for character names, confusing translators. Translated text often took more space than Japanese text, so a proportional typeface was added to fit more text on the screen. Swear words were used in the English version to match the original Japanese tone, though most were censored with symbols like “@#$%!”. The European version had additional issues, but details are incomplete.
Reception
Final Fantasy VII sold more than two million copies in Japan within three days of its release. This success led many stores in North America to sell the game before its official release date in September to meet high demand. During its first weekend in North America, the game sold 330,000 copies, and by the end of three weeks, it had sold 500,000 copies. The game’s popularity continued for several months. By early December, Sony reported that it had sold one million copies in North America. A business analyst named Edward Williams said that Final Fantasy VII changed how people viewed role-playing games and brought new players into the genre. According to Weekly Famitsu, the game sold 3.27 million copies in Japan by the end of 1997.
By the end of 2005, the PlayStation version of the game had sold 9.8 million copies worldwide, including 4 million in Japan, making it the best-selling game in the Final Fantasy series. By the end of 2006, a cheaper version of the game called The Best sold over 158,000 copies in Japan. By May 2010, the game had sold more than 10 million copies worldwide, becoming the most popular game in the series. The original PC version sold more than one million copies, far exceeding the initial goal of 100,000 copies. This success earned Square over $2 million in royalties. By August 2015, the PlayStation and PC versions combined had sold over 11 million copies worldwide. As of April 2018, the game had sold over 1.2 million copies on Steam. By July 2018, it had 1.14 million players on the platform. As of June 2020, the game had sold more than 13.3 million copies worldwide. By September 2025, the original version had sold over 15.3 million copies worldwide.
Final Fantasy VII received top scores from many critics when it was first released. Magazines like 1Up.com, AllGame, and GamePro gave it perfect scores. GameFan called it "quite possibly the greatest game ever made," and this quote was printed on the game’s packaging. GameSpot said that Final Fantasy VII combined technology, playability, and storytelling better than any other game. Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) gave it a 9.5 out of 10 and called it "Game of the Month." They praised the game’s story, graphics, and battle system, though they said the ending left some questions unanswered. Both GamePro and Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (OPM) said the game’s story was emotional and made characters feel real. They also praised the ATB battle system for adding tension to fights and called the summon animations "awe-inspiring." IGN said the game’s graphics were "light years beyond anything else on the PlayStation" and called the battle system its strongest feature.
Computer and Video Games and Next Generation praised the game’s story and characters. They said the graphics were the best on the PlayStation and called the story a mix of drama and poetry. Edge magazine said the game was close to being an interactive movie, and RPGamer praised the soundtrack, saying it was one of the best works by the game’s composer, Uematsu.
Some critics had concerns. OPM and GameSpot said the game’s story had a limited path for players to follow. OPM said the translation was confusing, and RPGamer said the translation had many errors. GamePro and IGN also said the Japanese-to-English translation was a weakness. IGN said the game’s system of using only three characters at a time was its only shortcoming.
The PC version of the game received similar praise but had technical issues. Computer Games Magazine said the game often failed to work properly on different computers. Computer Gaming World said the music quality was lower on PC sound cards, and Next Generation said the pre-rendered backgrounds looked worse than on the PlayStation version. However, they praised the high-quality battle visuals and said the game showed the power of PCs. All three magazines still gave the game high praise despite its technical problems. PC Gamer said the game was still a success on PC, even though it only met the minimum requirements to run on Windows.
Final Fantasy VII won many awards in 1997. At the CESA Awards, it won the Grand Prize, Scenario Award, and Sound Award. At the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences’ first Interactive Achievement Awards, it won "Console Adventure Game of the Year" and "Console Role-Playing Game of the Year." It also received nominations in other categories. In the Origins Awards, it won "Best Roleplaying Computer Game of 1997." Magazines like Game Informer, GamePro, and Hyper named it Game of the Year. EGM gave it awards for "Role-Playing Game of the Year," "Best Graphics," and "Hottest Video Game Babe" (for Tifa Lockhart).
Since 1997, Final Fantasy VII has been listed as one of the greatest games of all time. It was ranked 91st in EGM’s 2001 "100 Best Games of All Time" and fourth in Retro Gamer’s 2004 "Top 100 Games." In 2018, it was ranked 99th in IGN’s "Top 100 Games of All Time" and third in PALGN’s "The Greatest 100 Games Ever." GameSpot included it in its 2006 "The Greatest Games of All Time" list, and it was ranked second in Empire’s 2006 "100 Greatest Games of All Time." In 2012, Time named it one of its "All-Time 100 Video Games." Game Informer’s 2018 "Readers’ Choice Top 300 Games" also included it.
Legacy
The game inspired an unofficial version for the NES made by a Chinese company called Shenzhen Nanjing Technology. This version changed the Final Fantasy VII game to 2D and removed some side quests. The game also inspired a fan-made remake by Jamie Colliver for LittleBigPlanet. Colliver’s version changed the original game into a platformer and received two Guinness World Records in 2014. These records were for the first complete Final Fantasy remake made in another video game and for the first role-playing game remade in LittleBigPlanet.
The game’s popularity and open-ended story led director Kitase and writer Nojima to connect Final Fantasy VII with Final Fantasy X-2 (2003). In X-2, a character named Shinra suggests taking life energy from the planet Spira. Nojima said this was a direct reference to the Shinra Company and that he saw X-2 as a story that happened before VII. The technology used to make Final Fantasy VII’s FMV sequences and computer graphics helped Sakaguchi create the first Final Fantasy movie, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001). The game introduced a style mixing fantasy with modern or advanced technology, which later appeared in Final Fantasy VIII (1999), The Spirits Within, and XV (2016). After the release of Final Fantasy VII International, Square Enix frequently re-released its games in Japan with bonus features. Later games, such as Final Fantasy X and the Kingdom Hearts series, were also re-released for international audiences.
Final Fantasy VII had the greatest impact of any Final Fantasy game and helped console role-playing games become popular outside Japan. The death of the character Aerith is often called one of the most important moments in video game history. The game also used the literary idea of an unreliable narrator, similar to movies like Fight Club (1999) and Memento (2000). Patrick Holleman and Jeremy Parish said the game’s interactivity made players feel a deeper connection to the main character, Cloud, making it different from films and other games. Harry Mackin wrote that the game challenged how people think about heroism, masculinity, and identity in video games. Ric Manning noted the game included ideas from psychoanalysis. The game also had cyberpunk themes, and GamesRadar+ called it one of the best games in the genre. Paste compared the game’s city, Midgar, to Akira and Blade Runner. Comic Book Resources said the game’s message about climate change was even more relevant in 2019 than in 1997.
Characters from Final Fantasy VII appeared in other Square Enix games, such as the fighting game Ehrgeiz (1998) and the Kingdom Hearts series. The game Dissidia Final Fantasy (2008) includes characters like Cloud and Sephiroth, allowing players to fight with characters from the entire Final Fantasy series. A later version, Dissidia 012 (2011), added Tifa. Cloud is also a playable character in Final Fantasy Tactics. In December 2015, Cloud was added as downloadable content to Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U (2014), along with a stage based on Midgar. He returned in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018), and Sephiroth was added as downloadable content in December 2020.
The world of Final Fantasy VII was expanded in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, which includes games, animated films, and stories. The first title in the compilation is Before Crisis, a mobile game that tells a story about the Turks six years before the original game. The CGI film Advent Children, set two years after the original game, was the second title released. Special DVD editions of the film included Last Order, a short animation about the destruction of Nibelheim. Dirge of Cerberus and its mobile version, Dirge of Cerberus: Lost Episode, are third-person shooters set one year after Advent Children. These games focus on Vincent Valentine’s backstory. The most recent title is Crisis Core, a PlayStation Portable game about Zack’s past.
Other releases not part of the compilation include Maiden Who Travels the Planet, which follows Aerith’s journey in the Lifestream after her death. In 1998, the Official Final Fantasy VII Strategy Guide was published by Brady Games. Final Fantasy VII Snowboarding is a mobile game based on a snowboarding minigame from the original game, available on V Cast-compatible phones in 2005. Final Fantasy VII G-Bike is a mobile game released in 2014, based on a motorbike minigame from the original game. In 2007, Square Enix published Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversary Ultimania, a book with details about the game’s story and artwork. A Final Fantasy VII-themed virtual reality attraction is being developed for Universal Studios in Japan.
After the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII was announced, people guessed that a remake of the original game might be made for the PlayStation 3. This idea was supported by a video showing the game’s opening scene remade with PlayStation 3 graphics at E3 2005. After 10 years of guessing, a remake was announced at E3 2015. The remake changed the story and combat system and is planned to be released in three parts. The first part came out for the PlayStation 4 in April 2020. The second part, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, was released for the PlayStation 5 in February 2024. The third part is being developed for Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion, a remastered version of Crisis Core, was released in December 2022 and is considered a prequel to the remake project.