Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis

Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis (ファイナルファンタジーVII エバークライシス) is a role-playing video game developed by Applibot and Square Enix, who also publishes it for Android, iOS and Windows. It forms part of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, a series of media spin-offs from the 1997 video game Final Fantasy VII.

It is a mobile gacha game that reimagines the timeline of Final Fantasy VII and the Compilation. It launched on September 7, 2023 for Android and iOS, followed by Windows via Steam on December 7 of the same year.

Content
Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis is a mobile game. Planned to be released in monthly episodic installments, the game retells events from the 1997 video game Final Fantasy VII, and all canon titles in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII media franchise, including the film Advent Children and the video games Before Crisis, Crisis Core and Dirge of Cerberus. The game also features an original storyline set 15 years before Final Fantasy VII, focusing on Sephiroth's past and three new characters, Glenn, Matt, and Lucia. The game borrows several presentational elements from the Final Fantasy VII Remake series. Chapters can be freely selected from a timeline, allowing players to jump between different entries in the series. The battle system draws from the original game's Active Time Battle system. Character voices are only available in Japanese. The title is free to play, but offers loot boxes that include random selections of weapons and costumes.

Development
Ever Crisis forms part of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, a collection of media which expands the universe and narrative of Final Fantasy VII. Ever Crisis is developed by Applibot and Square Enix who also publish it.

Its staff features Shoichi Ichikawa as producer, Kazushige Nojima as story & scenario writer, Yoshinori Kitase as executive producer, Tetsuya Nomura as creative director, Motomu Toriyama as director, Shintaro Takai as graphics & vfx director, Lisa Fujise as character illustrator, Yuji Abe as game design director, Sachie Hirano as lead scenario writer, Toshiaki Watanabe as lead character artist and Nobuyuki Matsuoka as battle designer.

The Compilation originally only included four official titles, concluding with Crisis Core in 2007. Beginning with the 2020 remake, Kitase revived the Compilation and put multiple spin-off projects into production, including Ever Crisis.

Nomura described Ever Crisis as an alternate remake of Final Fantasy VII. In addition to remaking the original storylines, original scenario writer Kazushige Nojima incorporated new material including the backstory of Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier and stories from the childhoods of various Final Fantasy VII characters.

The graphics were described by Square Enix as a "nostalgic visual twist" on the super-deformed or "chibi" graphical style of Final Fantasy VII. Nomura originally wanted the character portraits to be 3D rendered moving portraits, but technical constraints forced the team to use 2D artwork. These portraits and other character artwork were created by Lisa Fujise. Voice acting was under consideration, with the mobile platform's technical limitations needing to be taken into account. Nomura also noted that the games vary widely in technology, style, and mechanics, and this title allows the games to be presented in a unified package. The music also features new arrangements. It marks the Western debut of Before Crisis, which was previously exclusive to Japan.

Ever Crisis was first hinted at in January 2021 with trademark registrations of the title in Japan, North America, Europe and Australia. The title followed naming conventions for the Compilation. The game was later unveiled in February alongside the PlayStation 5 version of Final Fantasy VII Remake, known as Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, and the battle royale mobile spin-off title Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier. It was planned for worldwide release, excluding mainland China & SEA, starting with a closed beta version in 2022, but was later delayed to summer 2023. A closed beta test ran from July 6 to 13. Ever Crisis was released on September 7, 2023, followed by a Windows release on December 7 of the same year.

Reception
By November 2023, Ever Crisis had surpassed seven million downloads.