A few anniversaries are going on today in the video game space, as two significant titles in video game history were released on this day, albeit two decades apart. But the one we’re talking about here is one of the most iconic and influential video games ever: the all-time classic RPG Final Fantasy VII. Some might wonder why we didn’t say it was “the most important RPG ever,” but that’s simple. It’s narrowing it down to one genre, whereas this game transcended gaming in multiple ways. Twenty-six years later, it’s still revered, and more people are enjoying it than ever before.
On Twitter, Square Enix made multiple posts about the 26th anniversary. One of which thanked fans for “having their backs and being with them,” with a picture of Zack Fair and Cloud Strife in both game versions to showcase how far the game has come since its release on the PlayStation 1. But another message was dropped during its celebration in Japan, and it was revealed that January 31st will now be hailed as “Final Fantasy VII Day.” Furthermore, the producer of the original game and the remake project gave a message to fans to showcase what this particular celebration meant to him:
To those unfamiliar with Final Fantasy VII’s history, we’ll help lay it out for you. First, the franchise was originally on the Nintendo line of systems, and it benefitted from them, including making Final Fantasy VI, which many still hail as one of the best in the franchise. But when the team at Square Enix wanted to do something bigger, they felt the N64 couldn’t handle their plans, so they jumped ship to Sony, who was about to release the PlayStation 1. The disc format allowed them to do more detailed cutscenes and have the game be much longer than it would’ve on the N64’s cartridges.
The other factor here was the game was so grand in its looks, story, and character development that fans couldn’t help but fall in love with the characters. That’s why it was the first game in the series to have numerous spinoffs made from it. That included the prequel title Crisis Core, Dirge of Cerberus, and the movie Advent Children.
That’s why fans were stoked when Final Fantasy VII Remake was announced. The game was great on PS1, but having it on PS4 and now PS5 and PC? It was huge, and the remake sold well, with its continuation coming soon.
So this anniversary is very much one worth celebrating.