This is the incredible story of Final Fantasy 7’s blockbuster status.
JRPGs have historically been a niche genre.
Ask most gamers to name a character fromDragon QuestorPersona, and they will likely draw a blank.
But ask them to name someone fromFinal Fantasy, odds are they will say, Cloud Strife.
Yet when most people think of the series, they usually jump toFinal Fantasy 7.
Even Square Enix considers this game its golden child.
Not evenFinal Fantasy 14and its incredible ongoingprofitabilitycan compare toFinal Fantasy 7.
Nevertheless, the question arises: How and why didFinal Fantasy 7become such a mainstream hit?
EveryFinal Fantasygame up toFinal Fantasy 6was released on the NES or SNES.
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Final Fantasy 7actuallybegan life as a 2D gamefor the SNES.
That experiment quite literally slowed to a crawl when Square encountered performance and framerate issues.
These CDs let Squares programmers craft the largestFinal Fantasyworld yet, and the PlayStations 3D graphics revolutionized presentation.
3D models superimposed over pre-rendered backgrounds gave environments more depth than 2D-pixel environments.
BeforeFinal Fantasy 7, Squaresoft RPG cutscenes played out with sprites running around screens and pantomiming expressions.
FMVs could deliver impressive cinematic sequences full of dynamic camera angles and actual emoting characters.
And we cant forget the PlayStations audio.
In many ways, the mainstream success ofFinal Fantasy 7and the PlayStation are two sides of the same coin.
Squaresoft supplemented this plan by also making sure the game could reach even more customers than ever before.
Moreover, several months afterFinal Fantasy 7s release, Square released aPC port: a first for the series.
The success ofFinal Fantasy 7in one market circled back to continue its money-printing fame in prior ones.
Why did Square do this?
SinceFinal Fantasy 7is widely considered a beloved classic, it had to do something right.
More like several things.
Uematsu took advantage of those sixteen music channels via a modified approach.
The resulting songs are considered some of his best creations,One Winged Angelchief among them.
The song was the firstFinal Fantasytune to include lyrics and left an impression on everyone.
Final Fantasy 7s soundtrack was so impressive that it snagged third place onJapans music chartsthirteen times.
Final Fantasy 7s 3D graphics also played a role in the games legacy.
Nobody had seen a JRPG quite like it.
Summons also received a presentation buff.
In prior games, they were just big sprites that filled the screen with light flashes and effects.
Final Fantasy 7s 3D models and camera emphasizedtheir stature and strengthlike never before.
This increase in scope continued outside of battles, as the world map could seemingly stretch for miles.
In previous entries, the map was flat and 2D, which didnt evoke the same jaw-dropping awe.
Final Fantasy 7s setting and narrative also broke new ground for the franchise.
Unlike previousFinal Fantasygames,Final Fantasy 7takes place in a semi-contemporary world that reflects ours.
Squaresoft also populated this new direction with a more mature narrative.
Still, what good is a narrative without characters to drive it?
Cloud, for instance, is afantastic realizationof the unreliable narrator trope.
The reverse side of Clouds coin is none other than the main antagonist, Sephiroth.
The game gradually reveals how and why he became a tantamount mythical figure.
Hes still gone mad and needs to be stopped, though.
And of course, we cant forget about Aerith.
She is memorable thanks to her personality, and shes indispensable on the battlefield.
Players learn to rely on her, and then the game kills her in a cutscene.
Countless gamers agree that Aeriths death isthe most impactful narrative eventto ever occur in video games.
The combat system also received a nice spit and polish forFinal Fantasy 7.
The games iconic Materia system added another intriguing layer of depth.
Instead, party members have to slot Materia into their weapons or armor.
That mechanic allows for freeform character builds that are slightly more complex yet enjoyable to explore.
So long as they kept theFinal Fantasy 7train running.
And, of course, rereleases and remakes.
All those years later, the game some fans still wanted most was moreFinal Fantasy 7.
Given the popularity of the original title, theFinal Fantasy 7zeitgeist engine might burn for eternity.
