Final Fantasy VII is the largest game of the series and the most popular internationally. Final Fantasy X has more fans in Japan, but when the original FFVII was released on the PS1, the Western audience found themselves hooked onto this first non-Nintendo exclusive. Spawning several spin-off titles, anime, a movie, and the newly released remake, FFVII has never been more popular.
With so many parts to the series, canon or otherwise, it can be hard to know which game is which or where to start. Over the years the game has expanded in the story and has one of the biggest worlds in the franchise.
8 Final Fantasy VII Was The Polygonal Start Of The Series' Post-Nintendo Life
The first six Final Fantasy games were exclusive to Nintendo, but with how big FFVII was going to be, Square signed with Sony to create their 3D dream JRPG. By using CD-ROMs instead of the cartridges that the Nintendo 64 used, Square was able to make a large game that spanned across three discs.
The game's story focuses on a big cast but the main protagonist of the story is Cloud Strife, an ex-SOLDIER working with AVALANCHE. The eco-terrorist group's mission is to save the planet as the Mako Energy is being used to fuel nearly everything on the planet by the Shinra corporation by draining the planet through several Mako Reactors. Chaos ensues when caught up in a chain of events that occur after the group destroys one of the Mako Reactors, rescues Aerith (then called Aeris due to a translation error) Gainsborough, and tries to follow Sephiroth all while Cloud puts together who he is and why his memories seem so distant to himself.
7 Before Crisis Was A Mobile Game That Centered Around The Turks
Placing six years before the events of the original Final Fantasy VII, Before Crisis had players take control of a newly instated Turk, the unofficial name of the spies working for the Investigation Sector of the General Affairs Department. The game sees many of the cast of the original game as it takes the player on several missions to fight against AVALANCHE.
From protecting the President of Shinra, fighting newly transformed SOLDIERS and other Turks called Ravens, to discovering why there are so few remaining Turks within the organization, the game answers many questions revolving around the group while shaping more of the world of Gaia. The game has character-specific chapters for Reno but most notably, it goes over Tseng's takeover of the group after protecting several old members once President Shinra sought to destroy the group after the discovery of his son's betrayal, wanting to make sure that information never comes to light.
6 Dirge Of Cerberus Is Set Three Years After The Original Game & Has Players Take Control Of Vincent Valentine
Vincent Valentine was an optional party member in the original FFVII game that received his own stand-alone game that dives into his history as well as taking down a new threat. Vincent uses three guns in Dirge of Cerberus and equips them with different parts and Materia for a varied style of gameplay.
The WRO, an organization attempting to restore the planet after the meteor hit, help fight genetically enhanced soldiers leftover from Shinra experimentation along with Vincent. He discovers that they aim to get the Protomateria in hopes of controlling Omega and slowly uncovers a plot by Hojo to use Omega to drain the life of the planet and move onto the next one. The main antagonist is revealed to be possessed by Hojo, who planted his consciousness before he died and took control of Weiss, only to be destroyed by Nero to merge with Weiss's body. Omega (used by Weiss) and Chaos (used by Vincent) fight one another and in the aftermath of the battle, returning to the planet at last.
5 Crisis Core Is The Story Of Zack Fair, The SOLDIER Cloud Thought He Was
The PSP prequel FFVII: Crisis Core brought many new features that would end up being used in the remake. Playing as Zack Fair, the player uses a combination of real-time and turn-based actions to attack, defend, use items, or cast magic in combat. It uses a slot machine type of mechanic as well that utilizes the player's SP to perform various actions including summons or buffs. The story follows Zack's progress as a SOLDIER around 7 years before the events of the first game and how he meets the other familiar faces in the game.
He works alongside Sephiroth, Tseng of the Turks, and even Cloud through the course of the game until the story goes full circle with his standoff against the Shinra army with Cloud. Zack became a fan favorite character after the game's release, finally showing players his character's development and his relationship with Aerith.
4 Advent Children Showed The Aftermath Of The Meteor & The Dangerous Plague "Geostigma"
This CG movie takes place two years after the Meteor hit the planet as Advent Children shows the struggle of those in Midgar who are affected by Geostigma. The disease is the result of the Gaia's Lifestream pushing the Meteor back, but because the Lifestream was tainted with Jenova's cells, the unexpected consequence manifested in the citizens of Midgar.
Following Cloud, the movie displays his struggle to become his own person again after discovering that he had been living with Zack's memories. Over the course of the film, Cloud and his companions fight the physical manifestations of Sephiroth's will as they try to obtain Jenova's remains to rebirth Sephiroth. Cloud hides his Geostigma contraction but gains the will to live over the course of the movie, further being reminded by the spirits of Aerith and Zack to live in the present instead of the past.
3 Final Fantasy VII Remake Expands On The Original Story But With A Twist
While FFVII Remake remains faithful to the original in many aspects, there are several key differences that both build upon the established world of the original game as well as several additional changes that steer the game in a completely different direction. The first portion of the exploration of Midgar is more finely detailed with Cloud having a much more prominent relationship with the people of the slums, as well as Jesse, Biggs, and Wedge, plus more story beats involving previously minor characters. The gameplay is more action-focused with the ability to use special moves with charges of the ATB meter.
The meter builds up through basic and special attacks and each character in the party has their own ATB meter to expend for items, summons, limit breaks, magic, or special moves. There are hints of the story starting to branch off towards something else even towards the beginning of the game but it isn't until the latter half of the game that the story veers off into a self-aware narrative to intentionally go a different path than the original game. The game is only meant to be the first part in a series that will supposedly eventually cover the entirety of the original FFVII's plot.
2 Last Order Is No Longer Canon But Does Tie In Before Crisis & Crisis Core With The Original Game
Released alongside Advent Children, Last Order was a 25-minute OVA that animated the events of the Nibelheim burning and Cloud and Zack's escape through several flashbacks. The two events go back and forth but because of the inconsistencies between the main game and Crisis Core, the OVA was eventually deemed to be outside of the canon.
Despite this, the OVA displays a unique perspective and features many of the Turks from Before Crisis for the first time outside of that game. Because the scenes in the OVA were inspired by the events of both Crisis Core and the original FFVII, the short film tells parts of the story that were already mentioned in those games. However, due to the list of overlapping information and order of events, the movie is seen as more of an interpretation of events rather than a retelling.
1 Ever Crisis Will Attempt To Combine The Story Of The FFVII In A Free-To-Play, Chapter-Based RPG
Developed by the Applibot, Ever Crisis is an upcoming mobile game that will take the Final Fantasy VII Compilation and dive into the story of each installment with an Active Time Battle system like the original game. This includes the lesser-known titles such as Before Crisis and even non-gaming tie-in Advent Children.
The game, currently slated for release in 2022, aims to be another remake of sorts for all the games and will add more depth into the characters' backstories. Whereas the FFVII Remake reimagines and reinvents the story, Ever Crisis will attempt to retell it with additional details. Players will be able to freely switch between the stories of each game as chapters come out so that they may experience each game separately as well.