You can (not) re-do
The story of Final Fantasy VII has expanded well beyond the bounds of the original PlayStation RPG. Through the spin-offs and the remake, the world of FF7 has become expansive. But rather than continue to build up, Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis feels like it’s re-centering the lens on the original story, albeit with a few extra touches of its own.
Ever Crisis is a single-player mobile RPG that’s billed as a bit of a retelling of Final Fantasy VII. It’s a chapter-structured RPG that will go back over the events of the original game, alongside Crisis Core and some new story elements included from FF7 Remake writer Kazushige Nojima.
In the demo I played as part of Summer Game Fest 2023, I went through the classic intro to FF7. I got to see how exactly this plays out, and where Ever Crisis adheres to—or differs from—its original text. It’s an interesting way of re-experiencing this tale, for both newcomers and old fans alike.
The planet’s dyin’, Cloud
If you’ve played Final Fantasy VII, either the original or the remake, you remember how the first mission goes. Cloud, Barrett, and the crew infiltrate the Mako Reactor, set up the explosives, fight a giant robot, and escape just in the nick of time. It’s a great intro, and it still works in Ever Crisis.
Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis is set to re-tell the original FF7 story, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t taking some bits from newer versions. The in-game portraits are gorgeous, adding a lot of character to the dialogue-heavy sections. And once you’re in battle, the normally PlayStation-style sprites turn into Remake-style models.
It makes Ever Crisis feel like a compilation, which I guess is kind of the point. The world of not just Final Fantasy, but Final Fantasy VII specifically, is huge at this point. To that end, having a mobile RPG that lets you re-experience the original FF7 story in a slightly abridged format seems like a great way to onboard new players.
Cue the fanfare
As for the actual battling, it feels best summed up as solid, but nothing too involved or interesting. An ATB meter builds up over time, letting you execute commands that have different ATB costs noted along a bottom row.
In my demo, there was a tension between cashing in ATB for Braver or magic, or holding onto it in case I needed some quick healing. It’s a decent system, but not very in-depth. Maybe more options open up as more characters are added and tougher enemies show up. But for these fights, it was pretty straightforward.
And that really leads into my greater questions about Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis. Pre-registration is currently open, and the plan is to roll out the original FF7 story. It will have in-app purchases, which appears to include gacha elements around weapons and costumes for characters.
Any monetization element can make players wary. I’m curious to see what this will look like, and how necessary those elements will feel in the final game. I recently got way into Honkai Star Rail at launch, for example, but fell off as the content roll-out started.
A history of Fantasy
Still, with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth set for early 2024 and rising interest in Final Fantasy in general, I like the idea of making the original FF7 easy to pick up and play. It’s a core piece of this series’ legacy, and though it’s already been ported to tons of platforms, this method just adds a new way of experiencing—or re-experiencing—the story.
So Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis might feel like a re-tread, but a welcome one. What I’ve learned from the demo is that you really don’t have to twist my arm to get me to play more Final Fantasy VII. And if you’re in a similar boat, Ever Crisis might be worth at least a shot when it arrives for mobile.
