DEVELOPMENT
How it was made
Developed after the series moved from Nintendo hardware to PlayStation, it became one of Square's largest productions, using CD-ROM capacity for extensive cinematics, music and a broader international presentation.
EDITORIALLY VERIFIEDGAME00000028
1997
Final Fantasy VII
ファイナルファンタジーVII
Final Fantasy VII is one of the most influential role-playing games of the PlayStation era, combining cinematic storytelling, pre-rendered environments, 3D characters and a flexible Materia system.
THE GAME ALMANACFFV
Final Fantasy VII
1997
FranchiseFinal Fantasy
GenreFirst-Person Shooter / Third-Person Shooter
ThemeScience fantasy, environmentalism, identity, memory, grief, corporate exploitation and planetary crisis.
PerspectivePre-rendered backgrounds / Turn-based battles
ModeSingle-player
Still holds upYes
THE RECORD AT A GLANCE
What defines Final Fantasy VII?
Explore towns and dungeons, fight Active Time Battle encounters, customise characters through the Materia system, complete minigames and follow a large story-driven adventure.
GOLD STANDARD EDITORIAL
The complete Almanac record
The workbook’s long-form editorial fields are presented here as a readable feature rather than a wall of database cells.HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE
Why it matters
It helped bring Japanese role-playing games to a much larger global console audience and demonstrated the commercial potential of cinematic presentation on CD-based hardware.
RECEPTION
How it was received
It was widely acclaimed for its story, music, atmosphere, scope and production values, while later criticism has often focused on its uneven localisation, minigame pacing and early polygonal character models.
LEGACY
What it left behind
Its characters, music and story became central to modern RPG culture, leading to films, novels, spin-offs, remasters and the multi-part Final Fantasy VII remake project.
SALES
Commercial record
The original game and its later ports have sold more than fourteen million copies worldwide.
NOTES
Almanac notes
Original Japanese PlayStation release. Square was the original developer and Japanese publisher; regional publishing arrangements differed outside Japan.
CONNECTED HISTORY
One game, many pathways
Every node links back into the live game browser, already using the relationships imported from the spreadsheet.GAME RECORDFinal Fantasy VIIGAME00000028
DeveloperSquarePublisherSquareFranchiseFinal FantasyPlatformSony PlayStationPrimary genreFirst-Person ShooterThemeCrimePEOPLE
Creators and credits
Hironobu SakaguchiProducer
Nobuo UematsuComposer
AWARDS
Recognition
Frequently ranked among the greatest, most influential and most important role-playing games.
RELEASE RECORD
Sony PlayStation
Release information is imported from the workbook’s relational release and platform tables.Release date1997-01-31
RegionJapan
EditionStandard
FormatPhysical
MediaCD-ROM
Display320×240 / 30 Hz
LIVE WORKBOOK IMPORT