Final Fantasy VII was the first time I really thought about video games as this medium of the future. Despite the monster letters of the box, the places were not visible. Midgar, in particular, just blew my mind. The way it mixed this kind of futuristic-looking but slum-like city that just felt alive and fresh, just set the stage for what would become one of the most iconic games of all time.
More than just the locations, however, was the story, the characters, and those fantastic CGI scenes. Much of what went down in this game from a story perspective was unknown and was the blueprint for many games going forward.
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We’re going to explore some of the story segments in Final Fantasy VII that were before anything else, and still sound incredible today.
8
Bombing Mission
Getting to Action
Too many games these days are struggling to get out of the gate. Hell, the best are dealing with this issue, regardless of whether they have the full knowledge. Games like Red Dead Redemption 2, Metaphor: ReFantazio, and Kingdom Come Deliverance 2025: 2 all struggle to hold you in the early segments. Final Fantasy VII immediately throws you into an exciting mission, you have to blow up what appears to be a nuclear reactor for some kind of mission.
The adult theme was established right away, and your first battle comes quickly, giving you a fun soundtrack and strong turn-based combat that would go on to define an entire generation of games. It’s something that the JRPG genre really struggles with, and Final Fantasy VII immediately gives you momentum and doesn’t really let you down throughout the grand adventure.
7
Cloud Dress Up
Lowering Expectations
When Final Fantasy VII starts, I think the last thing you expect is cold, nasty mercenaries with a sword the size of a small car to be put in a suit in a few hours. Well, that’s exactly what the game does. To get into Don Corneo’s mansion, you have to dress up as a woman, and it’s always one of the funniest and smartest songs in a game full of them.
In a very male-oriented gaming industry at the time, this period felt ahead of its time, and ahead of today’s times as well. Allowing for its confidence, it’s too cool for the school’s main character to do whatever it takes to get the job done, even if it means being humiliated in the process. It remains one of the game’s most memorable moments, and the remake trilogy treated it with some cleverness to make it even better.
6
Motorcycle Madness
Road rage
Final Fantasy was always a series centered around a deep fantasy world that was often inspired by the medieval period, with elements of science fiction and modern technology thrown in from time to time. Then Final Fantasy VII came along and said, “We’re basically whatever we want this to be.” And nothing exemplifies that more than a motorcycle chase. It feels very modern and futuristic with the action on display. No one playing the original Final Fantasy would have thought that an event like this would happen.
But it happens anyway, and it’s a fun little minigame of sorts that covers the most important part of the game. It felt futuristic and like a game from the next few years. While the controls were tame, the CGI supporting scenes just oozed a cool anime feel that no game had been able to capture before. It was a wonderful way to close out the Midgar section and send us the pain of everything the iconic building does.
5
Cloud’s Coma
Main Character Gets a Bench
When a cloud falls on the Lifestream in Final Fantasy VII, it’s a great time, to say the least. When he is rescued, he is far from his normal self, essentially a Mako-induced coma for all intents and purposes. It puts the main character and the main focus of the story aside, allowing Cid to take over as the de facto leader and really give the other side characters less focus time to shine.
It’s a great story move and one that builds the already awesome characters into the superheroes they are known for today. What sport are you doing today? I haven’t seen a main character get benched as effectively as this in a tough part of the game in ages. Perhaps the most recent would be from a French developer and that game is, of course, inspired by the classic Final Fantasies. It’s a bold move that really paid off, and it’s something many games are afraid to do today.
4
Trail of Blood
Something Sephiroth This Way Comes
Before that moment, Final Fantasy was a series that had its share of dark moments for sure, but this turned the page in a way that many weren’t ready for. It was a horror movie scene as you finally reach the top of Shinra Tower for the first time to find President Shinra dead, and where do you go from? Well, it’s not exactly clear, but it’s a very dangerous thing and something that Cloud knows very well about.
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Trail of Blood was just a cool moment in a game that, until now, had been about a group of ragtag eco-terrorists trying to make a difference in the world. This moment was a game changer. It wasn’t just companies that AVALANCHE had to worry about, but something far, far more terrifying. It was an amazing tone set for the entire game and one of the most memorable moments in the history of the series that tons of games have tried to copy since. Metal Gear Solid, next year, for example.
3
Fake It Until You Make It
The Cloud Lives a Lie
Cloud comes off as a cold-hearted bad guy for most of the game, and to the player, that’s what he is. However, as you progress through the story, you discover that this is all just the beginning. He’s mentally damaged beyond our wildest dreams and basically plays as a real first class SOLDIER, Zack Fair, whose friend died.
It’s a great moment that recaps all the events of the game up until that point and makes you see why Aerith is so attracted to Cloud. You are delusional. He is not this bad, but he is someone who is so convinced that he is a bad person that his true personality is covered and lost to him. This season feels amazing, as it deals with mental health in a mature way while using a ton of character development in the process.
It was a wild story and felt like many other games I would be afraid to touch in today’s age of gaming. The social media backlash may have split it during the day, and it may again when that time comes for the third game in the trilogy, but it still feels like Square is the only developer to try.
2
Sephiroth’s Fateful Plunge
Aerith’s sacrifice
While characters in video games have died in previous games, and before the Final Fantasy games, nothing comes close to Aerith’s death. Aerith was a pure character, a flower girl from the beginning who fell for Cloud, and she carries a deep sadness about a past event that affects her every move. Then the revelation of his status as one of the Ancients, and his last ditch effort to try and save the world from the coming Meteor summons is met with the most heartbreaking of ways.
Just as he is in the middle of a Holy spell prayer, Sephiroth comes crashing down from the ceiling, Masamune ready to strike and deliver the most devastating massacre in video game history. Aerith was already a tragic character, and for her to be killed on top of it, it was an unending pain. It was a defining moment for the character and Sephiroth, marking him as a truly unforgivable antagonist.
A moment that has stayed in the minds of players for almost 30 years now. It’s a strategy that no game uses to this day, as companies are still afraid of player backlash. Imagine if Reddit was around when this time came? It would spontaneously combust. It’s a shame that the remake trilogy got messed up this time around, and in the process created a much weaker scene than the original.
1
You are defeated
Meteor Hits
It’s rare that you see an important mission to save the world fail, however, that’s exactly what happened at the end of Final Fantasy VII. Sephiroth summons Meteor, and Holy appears to fight it, but the power struggle between the two seems to completely wipe out humanity in the process. Now, yes, the movie makes sure that people survive with some impressively recreated nonsense, but we’re talking about the story of the game itself, and in that version, it seems like everyone was killed by the explosion.
This move was unusual, and it feels like every game since then has been really afraid to give the ending this way. Sure, games give a “bad ending” many times, but rarely do they give you an ending where everything was for nothing. In a way, I think the team wins here because you see that Red XIII survived and his pack, but it seems that life elsewhere in the world is completely gone. It’s a step forward many games wouldn’t dare attempt, and Final Fantasy VII did it three decades ago.
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- Released
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January 31, 1997
- The ESRB
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IT For Teens: Blood, Fantasy Violence, Language, Sexual Themes
- Engineer(s).
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Square Enix
- Publisher
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Square Enix
- Engine
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Unusual Engine 4
- Cross-Platform Play
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p.s. pc
- Cross Keep
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Players who have already started their journey on iOS or Android can use save skills
