Want to feel old? This year marks the 25th anniversary of Final Fantasy 7. It originally launched on January 31, 1997 in Japan, arriving in the US later that year, on the PlayStation.
FF7 is one of the most important games ever made, popularizing console RPGs, and ushering in the era of AAA games and marketing.
Game directors Yoshinori Kitase and Tetsua Nomura released official statements celebrating the original game, and discussing the future of the franchise.
“Personally, I had always thought of FF7 as a recent game, but it has actually now become one of the game from the ‘early series,'” said Kitase. “Even so, we were honored last year when it was voted as the third most popular game ever by gamers in a (Japanese) TV poll. That we could achieve something like that is very much thanks to all the support we have had from our fans over the long years.”
“Continuing on from the release of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Final Fantasy 7 The First Soldier has also now opened for service, and next week we have Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis waiting in the wings too,” said Normua. “With all of these exciting new projects, I get a real sense of how more and more people are supporting FF7. Not just the fans from the original game, but also those who never experienced it are being drawn to unique world of FF7.”
The original Final Fantasy 7 is available on PC (Steam), PlayStation 4, Switch, and Xbox One. Final Fantasy 7 Remake, which released in 2020 but only covers a fraction of the original game, is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC (Steam). It’s rated T for Teen.
