Final Fantasy VII (1997)

6:48 Final Fantasy VII is the role-playing game Square released on the original PlayStation on Jan 31, 1997 in Japan and on Sep 7, 1997 in North America, where, as Digital Foundry puts it at this moment, it "quickly became a smash hit" and was many players' first RPG. It has since come to PC, phones, PS4, Switch and Xbox One, and Square Enix counts more than 15.1 million copies sold. The remake trilogy retells it in three games: Final Fantasy VII Remake covered its Midgar opening, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth its middle, and Final Fantasy VII Revelation, out Apr 8, 2027, remakes its final third, in the original's 30th anniversary year (RPG Site, Jun 7, 2026).

Quick facts

When did Final Fantasy VII come out?

5:40 It came out on Jan 31, 1997 in Japan and on Sep 7, 1997 in North America. Digital Foundry's retrospective explains a choice made for the Western launch at this moment: the game kept the number VII outside Japan, although only three numbered Final Fantasy games had been released there, which brought the series' numbering into line worldwide. Sony and Square marketed it together, leaning on the pre-rendered cinematics that the PlayStation's CD format made possible.

The numbers are the strongest evidence of what it did. Metacritic lists the PlayStation version at 92 from 20 critics, and Square Enix's own sales count passed 15.1 million in 2025. That is more than double the 7 million Square Enix announced for Remake in Sep 2023.

Every version of Final Fantasy VII

25:31 The first port was to PC, Square's first, made with Eidos Interactive, which Digital Foundry says Square chose partly for its success with Tomb Raider. It arrived in the summer of 1998, a little over a year after the PlayStation original.

37:23 Almost every later release is built on that PC code. Digital Foundry traces it from a 2012 PC remaster to the consoles, including the Switch version, with higher-resolution characters but heavily filtered backgrounds. The versions you can buy today:

The Switch and Xbox One versions added a 3x speed mode and the option to turn off random battles. We think they are the best way to play it now: the speed mode turns a 1997 pace into something a modern player will finish, and none of the versions is far from the others in looks.

What is Final Fantasy VII about?

17:21 Cloud Strife, a former soldier turned mercenary, joins the eco-rebels of Avalanche, led by Barret Wallace, with his childhood friend Tifa Lockhart, and bombs a Shinra reactor in the city of Midgar. After a second attack goes wrong he falls into the slums and meets Aerith, whom he protects from Shinra. That is the opening, as GameSpot's timeline tells it here. What starts as a fight for one city becomes a chase across the planet after Sephiroth, the legendary soldier who wants to become a god. The remake trilogy follows the same journey with major changes, which Final Fantasy VII Remake and Rebirth Story So Far sets out.

The final third: what Revelation remakes

Spoiler warning: this section describes the end of the 1997 game.

26:37 The last part of the original is the chase to the North Crater. As GameSpot summarizes it here, Cloud gathers his friends, each decides what they are fighting for, and the party descends into the crater to fight Sephiroth one last time. The spell Holy is released, but too late to stop Meteor on its own; the spirit of Aerith helps Holy push Meteor away, and an epilogue shows Red XIII looking at a green world 500 years later.

0:17 Revelation's reveal trailer opens on exactly this act: Meteor called down "to bring ruin to all", and the planet "awakening mighty weapons" to stand against it. These are the Weapons, the giant guardians that roam the original's final act, and they are now a headline feature of the remake (Final Fantasy VII Revelation Weapons).

What the remake has confirmed from the original's final third, as of Nov 7, 2026:

4:02 Square Enix's own Gameplay Introduction calls the Weapons "the planet itself" unleashing "its last line of defense", which is the original's idea told in one line. We think the remake keeps the original's broad ending (the North Crater, Holy against Meteor) and changes who is there to see it, since the trilogy has already brought Zack into the story and changed the order of events at the Forgotten Capital. Our full reasoning is on Predictions.

How the remake trilogy differs from the original

0:14 IGN's Remake review sums up the scale of the change at this moment: where other remakes modernize, Final Fantasy VII Remake "is more like a complete reinvention", swapping the original's turn-based battles for real-time action and expanding the Midgar opening into a full game. Our own comparison of the two:

We think the original's greatest strength, how quickly it moves from one surprise to the next, is the one thing the remake has not kept: the trilogy is many times longer, by design. The reviews of Remake and Rebirth both criticize filler, and that is the price of the expansion.

Frequently asked questions

When did Final Fantasy VII come out?

On Jan 31, 1997 in Japan and Sep 7, 1997 in North America, on the original PlayStation. The PC version followed in 1998.

How many copies has Final Fantasy VII sold?

More than 15.1 million, by Square Enix's count reported in Jun 2025. That counts the original and its re-releases, not the remake.

Should I play the original before Revelation?

It is not required. We suggest playing it after Revelation, since Revelation remakes its final third and the original would tell you how that part ends. See Final Fantasy VII Games in Order.

Where can I play the original Final Fantasy VII today?

On Steam, PS4 (and PS5 through backward compatibility), Switch, Xbox One (and Xbox Series X|S) and iOS and Android phones.

Does Revelation follow the original ending?

Not known as of Nov 7, 2026. Square Enix has shown the North Crater, Meteor and the Weapons, but the remake has already changed major events, so the ending may differ.

Sources

• Metacritic: Final Fantasy VII
• KitGuru, Jun 18, 2025: The original 1997 Final Fantasy VII has officially sold over 15 million copies
• RPG Site, Jun 7, 2026: Square Enix shares first details for Final Fantasy VII Revelation
• Gematsu, Sep 2023: Final Fantasy VII Remake shipments and digital sales top seven million
• GameSpot, Jul 2013: Final Fantasy VII released on Steam
• PlayStation Blog, Dec 5, 2015: Final Fantasy VII launches today on PS4
• Gematsu, Feb 2019: Final Fantasy VII launches March 26 for Switch and Xbox One
• Square Enix, Mar 2019: Legendary RPG Final Fantasy VII arrives on Nintendo Switch and Xbox One
• Square Enix, Sep 3, 2026: Final Fantasy VII Revelation releases April 8, 2027
• Digital Foundry, Apr 26, 2020: DF Retro: Final Fantasy 7
• GameSpot, Mar 5, 2024: The Complete Final Fantasy 7 Timeline Explained
• IGN, Apr 6, 2020: Final Fantasy 7 Remake Review