How many reactors do they have to explode in Midgard? You could almost, almost say that Square Enix creates three reactors for every one that Cloud and the rest of AVALANCHE reduce to scrap and rubble. And yet, there are still new stories and great excuses to keep returning to Final Fantasy VII as epic as it is interesting. Like, for example, discovering for the first time the journey of a young hero named Sephiroth.
Developed by Applibot for iOS and Android devices, Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis (FF7: Ever Core) dares to synthesize everything already shown, interspersing the classic aesthetic with which Cloud debuted on the original PlayStation with the modern one of PS5 and PC and, in the process, combining all those parallel stories between both games. Contributing to the fan new pieces to a puzzle under construction that many of us finished.
That’s great, but back to basics: What is FF7: Ever Core? Or, rather, how a new remake of the 1997 game fits into everything that’s already been released and what’s yet to come. If we get strictly pragmatic, it is a mobile RPG that bets on an episodic model and that will bet on free-to-play. Two terms that will make many old-school gamers (and fans of the game) FF7 original) begin to raise their eyebrows.
However, and despite the fact that it is a full-fledged remake of the original that will be released in parallel to the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy, Rebirth and the third title to be shown; FF7: Ever Core is also a curious return to the roots of the Square saga and everything that has been lost over the years. Starting with the very same turn-based combat.
FF7: Ever Core, a remake in which the new and the classic converge
Since its presentation, in February 2021, FF7: Ever Core has assumed what we have all thought to a greater or lesser extent: Is there still room for another Final Fantasy VII remake? What’s more, that same phrase, expressed in the form of a resounding affirmation, is the engine behind the initiative.
The first thing that stands out is that FF7: Ever Core does not commit to a visual style, but to bring the already known ones to its terrain: we will be able to see that detailed and stylized aspect of the Cloud that we saw in the 2020 game, but also an update and comprehensive review of those big-headed heroes with whom we explored the first PlayStation game. Gaining new nuances in both cases.
With that ahead: FF7: Ever Core does not contradict either the Remake or the original, and it does not opt for one or the other: we will see the same scenes reimagined for the occasion. At the playable level, and as detailed, we will have an aerial view and chibi characters during exploration or certain cinematic sequences, while in battle we will have a more dynamic camera and modern designs. Of course, the combats are the same as the originals, but much more visual and comfortable.
Applibot recovers the turn-based combat of classic Final Fantasy VII through an adapted mobile version of the Active Time Battle system, in which a new layer of depth is given to the development of the combats and recurring elements such as the use of of matter (as it should be), the invocations and that system of ‘limit breaks’ from the original game. Accommodating the interface, yes, to the management by the touch screen.
However, what is truly suggestive is that on this occasion the set of already known elements has been accommodated to a new way of enjoying them episodicly, by chapters and even allowing us to intersperse between the different stories, events and adaptations of Final Fantasy VII.
Starting from the main menu we can choose between numerous game events and other productions, including Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-, Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, Dirge of Cerberus – Final Fantasy VII- and the recently removed Final Fantasy VII The First Soldier.
But it is also that each of these incursions into what we can call -badly and quickly- as the multiverse of Final Fantasy VII and its parallel stories are presented as chapters and missions that will make us move forward and, from time to time , they will drop different rewards.
As we mentioned, the great premise of the game is that FF7: Ever Core is to offer content in a serialized manner and to offer them periodically. Expanding the game at your own pace while replaying the big events we’ve already known (or haven’t known yet). However, the most peculiar thing is that in the process the door to new stories is also opened.
Square Enix confirmed that in FF7: Ever Core unprecedented events would be revealed within the already extensive legacy of Final Fantasy VII in video games. Anticipating that we will participate for the first time in a new plot that will reveal a transcendental part of Sephiroth’s past (or Sephirot, if you prefer) and, in the process, unifying and expanding the great background project: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII.
What is the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII Initiative
Before we have referred in an illustrative way to the entire set of projects and initiatives created around Final Fantasy VII as a multiverse. Being more specific, and according to its own, Square Enix the initiative is a metaseries and goes beyond what is seen on consoles and PCs. What’s more, the metaseries has its own name: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII.
Although, throughout the main Final Fantasy saga we have seen how remakes, remasters and direct sequels have been produced without colliding too much with the originals -with some exceptions- the original objective of Compilation of Final Fantasy VII was to expand in various ways forms the universe created for the 1997 video game, including new titles, novels, films and more experimental formats.
The funny thing is that it is not something new: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII started more than 20 years ago (in 2003) with the announcement of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, anticipating the arrival of four video games and a feature film. Of course, FF7: Ever Core is neither the last game, nor the penultimate game of which we are aware: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and the pinnacle of the Remake trilogy will continue to expand the initiative.
Does that mean that all the games in which Cloud or Sephiroth appear are part of the meta-series? Absolutely. Games like Kingdom Hearts or Super Smash Bros. are parallel productions not connected to Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. That said, it is a great initiative: without being clear about what Square Enix has in hand, we are talking about more than a dozen works.
Constructions
Year
Format
Use
Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII
2004
ARPG for mobile
prequel Six years before FFVII
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
2005
animation
Directed by Tetsuya Nomura
Last Order: Final Fantasy VII
2005
OVA (animation)
Produced by Madhouse
Final Fantasy VII Snowboarding
2005
mobile sports game
No impact on canon
The Maiden Who Travels the Planet
2005
Book
Novelization of Aerith’s life
Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII
2006
action game
starring vincent
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
2007
ARPG for consoles
FFVII prequel
Final Fantasy VII: On the Way to a Smile
2009
Book
Selection of short stories
Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete
2009
animation
improved and expanded version of Avent Children
Final Fantasy VII G-Bike
2014
mobile driving game
No impact on canon
Final Fantasy VII Remake
2020
ARPG for consoles
First installment of the episodic remake of FFVII
Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade
2021
ARPG for consoles and PC
extended version of FFVII episodic remake
Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier
2021
battle royale for mobile
Servers shut down in 2022
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion
2022
ARPG for consoles and PC
New version of Crisis Core
Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis
2023
mobile RPG
Based on Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
2024
ARPG for consoles
Second installment of the episodic remake of FFVII
Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 3
to announce
ARPG for consoles
Last installment of the episodic remake of FFVII
Will the initiative end here? Well, we have reason to assume that Square Enix will offer new revisions to the Final Fantasy Remake trilogy for the uncertain future.
The Ultimate Final Fantasy Review?
