Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-

Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII- (ダージュ オブ ケルベロス -ファイナルファンタジーVII-, Dāju obu Keruberosu -Fainaru Fantajī VII-) is part of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII and is set 3 years after Final Fantasy VII and 1 year after Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. It is a third-person shooter, the game of that type in the entire Final Fantasy series. The game reveals more about Vincent Valentine's past and tells the story of his battle against a group of SOLDIERs known as "Deepground".

The game has been given a mobile phone "midquel" called Dirge of Cerberus Lost Episode -Final Fantasy VII-.

Gameplay
Dirge of Cerberus is a third-person shooter RPG. The game consists of 10 chapters with stages in each of them. Players will primarily play Vincent, though on one occasion, players will also play as Cait Sith.

As Vincent, players will shoot enemies by raising their weapon with L1 or R1, and then subsequently shoot again with R1 after setting an enemy in their sights with the right analog stick. A combo of melee attacks can also be performed to conserve ammunition and even deflect incoming bullets and rockets. Vincent can also loose a elementally-aligned magic bullet with L1 by equipping a Materia to the weapon. Vincent can also perform jumps and rush maneuver to quickly avoid attacks, although in the Japanese version, the rush was originally a simple roll. As Cait Sith, players must hide behind objects to prevent detection from Deepground soldiers while progressing through the level.

Defeating opponents earns players Experience, which can be used to level up Vincent for increased attributes or exchanged for gil at a x10 exchange rate after completing a chapter or restarting upon defeat. Vincent's weapons can also be customized with items bought or found throughout the game. Players can also use the Limit Breaker item to transform Vincent into his iconic Galian Beast, benefiting from increased attack and defense power and being able to shoot homing fireballs. In the Japanese version, the player was able to freely transform back and forth from the Galian Beast by pressing L1+R1, gradually consuming MP as you remained in Limit Break form. Vincent can also purchase items like Potions and Ethers from shops in between chapters or on the field from jukeboxes.

Dirge of Cerberus also supported the use of a USB mouse and keyboard for PC-like control, and a user-friendly sight support system, ranging from the normal "Manual" sight control for seasoned shooters, a "Semi-automatic" sight control allowing players to align an over-sized sight at enemies to lock a smaller sight onto them, and an "Automatic" sight control which locks onto the nearest enemy as soon as the gun is raised, perfect for players lacking the dexterity to accurately aim.

The Japanese version also featured an online multiplayer mode where a player could create a custom Deepground soldier and go head-to-head with other players, or work alongside them to complete missions that takes them all over the world of Final Fantasy VII. The multiplayer even included its own story, divulging more secrets about Deepground and the Tsviets prior to the Vincent's battle with them. While releases outside of Japan did not see the multiplayer, they did come packed with the Extra Mode, which featured a complete list of different Missions to tackle, many of which were missions from the multiplayer.

Returning characters
While the main cast from Final Fantasy VII return, the majority of them make cameos only. Yuffie, Reeve, Cid, and Cait Sith are the only characters that players can talk to. The other characters mainly just make cameos.
 * Vincent Valentine
 * Yuffie Kisaragi
 * Lucrecia Crescent
 * Reeve Tuesti
 * Cait Sith
 * Cid Highwind
 * Cloud Strife
 * Barret Wallace
 * Tifa Lockhart
 * Red XIII
 * Professor Hojo

New characters

 * Shalua Rui
 * Grimoire Valentine
 * Genesis Rhapsodos
 * Omega WEAPON
 * The Tsviets
 * Azul the Cerulean
 * Rosso the Crimson
 * Nero the Sable
 * Shelke the Transparent
 * Weiss the Immaculate

Story
Three years after the events of Final Fantasy VII, an unknown group of powerful SOLDIERs appear, bringing a swift and bitter end to the peace enjoyed by the people of the world. The members of this enigmatic group are the Deepground SOLDIERs; an elite battalion of SOLDIER's finest who were trapped under the ruins of Midgar for three long years. Their intention is to call forth the final WEAPON, Omega, before its time. However, to do that, Deepground needs a mass of "clean" sacrifices, and the enigmatic Vincent to lead the way to Omega.

After Deepground begins their invasion of the sleepy town of Kalm, Vincent Valentine finds himself pursued by their elite members, the Tsviets. An unrelenting chain of events leads Vincent back to places he only wished he could forget, unraveling the truth behind his agonizing past, and forcing him to once again to be the key player in a battle for the planet itself, and all those living in it.

Reeve Tuesti, former Head of Urban Development at Shinra (as well as the remote pilot of Cait Sith), is now the leader of the World Regenesis Organization, or WRO, which is responsible for the reconstruction of the planet, as well as protecting it from those who wish the world further harm. Yuffie Kisaragi is another member of the organization, and several other characters from the original game provide the WRO with outside assistance.

Soundtrack
Dirge of Cerberus ' soundtrack was released in Japan on January 15, 2005. The soundtrack was composed by Masashi Hamauzu. Two theme songs on the soundtrack, LONGING and REDEMPTION, were done by Japanese rock singer Gackt Camui. Gackt makes a "cameo" as Genesis in the game's secret ending.

Development
An idea to make a Final Fantasy First-person shooter game was originally conceived by Producer Yoshinori Kitase. Before the game was to decided to be placed in the Final Fantasy VII universe, several other candidates were considered for the main protagonist like Irvine Kinneas from Final Fantasy VIII and Yuna from Final Fantasy X. Barret Wallace was also considered but Kitase eventually chose Vincent because the character "made a presence" in his mind.

The POV of the game was decided to be placed behind Vincent for a full-character view so that new-comers to the shooter genre would have an easier time adjusting to the gameplay. For this same reason an "Easy" mode was included.

North American and European Changes
Due to a rather negative reception in Japan and the developer's own dissatisfaction with the original version, the game's system was given an overhaul in between international release. The state goal of these changes was to make the game more single-player oriented. Changes include:


 * Weapons can be customized to be lighter, so draw-times are quicker.
 * Vincent runs 1.2X faster.
 * He can perform a double-jump while mid-air. However, the environments are unchanged, so despite a higher jump, the player often cannot reach areas within range.
 * Melee attacks can be performed in the air.
 * Vincent's dodge roll was replaced by a dash move.
 * Limit Breaks do not take away from the Magic Bar, instead they are started by an item called the "Limit Breaker".
 * "Easy Mode" is gone, replaced by an "Extra Hard Mode". In the Extra Hard Mode, players can unlock numerous things such as 40 extra missions, a character models, a music player, and an artwork gallery.
 * The Multiplayer Mode has been removed. Several missions from it have been placed into the game as extra missions, but all storyline elements are absent.

International Version
In addition Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII- International was released by Square Enix in Japan on September 4, 2008. The version retains all of the new features incorporated into the North American and European releases, and also includes the cutscenes that were originally only available in the Japanese online Multiplayer Mode.