Releases Edit

See also: Final Fantasy VII version differences

Original Edit
Final Fantasy VII was released January 17, 1997 in Japan, and later that year on
September 7 in North America and in October 2 internationally. Its United States marketing
budget amounted to $100 million,[17] spent on a three-month marketing campaign. This
consisted of three thirty-second television advertisements found in Saturday Night
Live and The Simpsons and on channels such as ESPN and MTV, as well as print adverts
within magazines, such was Rolling Stone and Spin, and within comic books by DC
Comics and Marvel Comics.[22] The $145 million budget, of which $45 million was
development costs and the rest marketing,[17] made it the most expensive video game
release of all time until Star Wars: The Old Republic in 2011,[23] even when not taking into
account inflation.
The North American and PAL releases of Final Fantasy VII made substantial changes to
the original Japanese version. Several areas of gameplay have been made more difficult by
adding in new bosses. Random battle rates were cut down, and Materia swapping between
characters was made easier. New flashbacks of Tifa meeting the semi-conscious Cloud on
a train station, and a flashback of Cloud and Zack escaping Nibelheim, were also added in.
This version was re-released on PlayStation Network in North America on June 2, 2009,
and in Europe and Australia on June 4 of the same year. The re-release made it playable
on PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable and PlayStation Vita consoles. It was downloaded
100,000 times within the first two weeks of release, making it the fastest-selling PlayStation
game on the Network.[24]

International Edit

The game with the changes made to the North American version was re-released in Japan
as Final Fantasy VII International, the first International Version, a semi-recurring feature of
the series. It includes Final Fantasy VII: Perfect Guide, a special fourth disc with maps,
character information, design sketches, and other trivia. A later limited version, Final
Fantasy VII International Advent Pieces: Limited was released in a collectible metal case
that could be assembled into a display stand.

This version was re-released on PlayStation Network on April 10, 2009.

PC (1998) Edit
In 1998, the game received its first port to the Microsoft Windows platform. The re-release
features smoother graphics and fixes to translation and spelling errors (such as "This guy
are sick" and "Beacause Cloud"), though the audio quality was diminished. The PC release
is popular among modding communities.

PC (2012) Edit
In 2012, Square Enix re-released the game for the PC platform. It was initially released
through the Square Enix Store in August 14, 2012, before later released on Steam on July
4, 2013. Initially, the re-release appeared on August 5, 2012 on the Square Enix Store, as a
result of testing the site for the product's relaunch, though the product upon purchase was
unusable, and Square Enix offered a refund and a free copy of the re-release to those who
had bought it.[25]
In addition to graphical resolution improvements to the previous port, the re-release also
featured cloud saving, as well as unlockable achievements and a Character
Booster feature. The audio quality received many complaints, and on 27 September 2013,
Square Enix upgraded the in-game audio.[26]

The system requirements for this release are as follows:

Minimum

OS Microsoft Windows XP/Vista/7 (32/64bits)

Processor 2GHz

Memory 1 GB RAM

Graphics DirectX 9.0c-compatible graphic card

Hard Drive 3 GB available space

DirectX 9.0c
Others
Square Enix account

A battle in Final Fantasy VII.

Final Fantasy VII uses the Active Time Battle system, in which the party member's action is input
with a command in a menu once their ATB gauge fills, with up to three playable characters in a
party, who can have various weapons, armor, accessories and—unique to the game—
Materia equipped. Party members stand in a row (though their position can be altered in the menu)
facing rows of enemies, which come arranged in one of many attack formations: facing them,
surrounded by them, or surrounding them. The character commands include Attack, Magic, a
command provided by Command Materia, Summon or Item command to use an item in their
inventory, with the additional ability to Defend or change row.
Abilities the character can use depend on their equipped Materia, which can provide additional
Magic, Summon and command abilities, or in other cases swap out commands for more powerful
equivalents (such as W-Item replacing Item), and allows them to use any combination of abilities.
Materia can also provide enhancements when combined with other Materia, or simply provide
support abilities on their own.

Cloud's Meteorain ability.

Once a Limit gauge fills, the Attack command is replaced with "Limit", and a character has access to
one of their specific Limit abilities (depending on their current Limit level and unlocked Limit
abilities). Unlike the battle abilities provided by Materia, each Limit is character-specific with
unique effects varying from dealing physical or magical damage to providing healing and buffs,
which factor in different stats. Though most simply require choosing the ability and then choosing its
target, Tifa's Limits and Cait Sith's second Limit require the use of Slots, and Vincent's Limits as
well as one of Red XIII's Limits transform themselves to become more powerful yet uncontrollable
rather than choosing a tar