A game by Square brought a new control system of that time, an extensive story and also 3D graphics. Final Fantasy VII (FF VII) is also the first part of the series that wasn’t designed for Nintendo system, but for Sony PayStation. Although the game was released also for PCs, this version was never officially released in Japan.
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Published: 1997
Developed by: Square
Published by: Square
Platform: PlayStation, Microsoft Windows, Steam
Genre: RPG, sci-fi
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After a long debate, Square decided to terminate its cooperation with Nintendo for which it exclusively developed its games in the past. Square decided to go for Sony and its PlayStation console which was completely new on the market at that time. Two years later, FF VII was released and it completely changed the gaming industry. It attracted millions players and turned the game into a legend. FF VII had it all – technology, strong story, unique design, perfect control and message which was inspiring for many players.
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Originally, FFVII was planned to be another 2D game. Yet this plan has changed. The development of FF VII was postponed as most developers were needed for completing of the Chrono Trigger project. It was possible to continue again in 1995. This postponement was the greatest help for the success of FF VII. The developers had to decided whether to go for 2 or 3D. The 2D option would mean that it would take minimum time to finish the game and release it even before 3D games would appear. 3D option would mean a complete reconstruction of the game. The second option won and it was the right decision. That was the beginning of the very first 3D game in the Squaresoft history.
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Hironobu Sakaguchi (*1962), the father of FF, Squaresoft managing director for many years. This talented designer and producer, one of the most renowned designers, greatly contributed to the company’s success.
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Yoshinori Kitase (*1966), a key director, producer and Sakaguchi’s right hand. He was responsible for the FF’s growth. The game got film atmosphere and dimensions thanks to the method of work with a camera and proportionate scale of the characters. Kitase believed that the games will be as believable as films in the future.
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Tetsuya Nomura (*1970), a designer who took part in designing most of the main characters. He used to think out of the box and he came with the idea to add the limits to the game – a special attacks of the characters that evoked their nature.
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Yoshitaka Amano (*1952), a designer of the game’s official logo, the green-blue falling meteorite. Green stands for life and nature, blue represents technology and temporary ruling of people over the nature. The logo perfectly depicted the depressing atmosphere where nature and life are oppressed by technology.
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Yusuke Naora (*1971) – he contributed to the overal design and he was also responsible for the artistic visualisation of the game. His team was in charge of the texture, illustration, characters in 3D, visual effects, animation and making of the scene. The manga style of the game was easy to create and allowed for expression of the characters.
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Ken Narita (*1964), a head programmer who had to decide on many technical compromises. His team could make a better graphics using CD-ROM but that would mean a slower data access. Most of the loading time was covered by animations.
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Kazuyuki Hashimoto – a leader of 3D graphic designers team that should implement a full motion video (FMV). As there weren’t many people with experience in this particular field, it was necessary to make up a way to synchronise the FMV with the other animations. And since the graphic designers had little experience with PlayStation HW and data compression, they found their own way. Square soft designers were provided with standard starting HW and SW package by Sony but they sort of hacked PlayStation HW which allowed them to access the desired features. Sony wasn’t happy with such method but finally agreed to let Squaresoft use all PlayStation HW features.
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3D technology allowed different representation of the battlefield and fast camera cuts during the fights. In order to make FF VII’s control better compared to previous parts, it was necessary to come up with something new. Sakaguchi introduced the Materia system. The occupation and role which were previously clearly given from the very beginning were now possible to give afterwards, according to the player’s wish. The story of the seventh part is seen as the best in the entire series and also as one of the best game stories of all times. The game received several prequels and sequels over time time.
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1/ Final Fantasy VII was translated to Czech by RK-Translations in 2007.
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2/ Final Fantasy VII was created at time when Squaresoft had such experience and capital that the budget was no issue. When it had to be increased, it was increased. That’s why FF VII was the most expensive project at that time, costing an estimated USD 40 million.
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3/ It took a staff of between 100 and 150 people (even this number holds the first place in the gaming history).
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4/ The Shinra logo was designed by Yusuke Naora and it is playing a crucial role in the FF VII.
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5/ Squaresoft invested nearly USD 21 million in software and new equipment so that it can work with 3D technology.
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6/ The most modern computer of that time – Silicon Graphics Onyx – the developers worked with for the first time so they had to learn it first.
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7/ The battle animations in battles were designed after live models but with handmade animation. It wasn’t possible to scan the movements of live actors and transfer them to computer animation (this technology wasn’t available then).
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8/ The animation team consisted of film specialists and graphic designers from all around the world.
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9/ No other game (using consoles of that time) had such number of animations as FF VII.