Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-

Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII- is a Japanese action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix in 2004. Before Crisis is the prequel to Final Fantasy VII, taking place during the six years prior to the events of that game. It was the first original (i.e. not an enhanced remake) game to be produced by Square-Enix for mobile phones, and was released on NTT DoCoMo's FOMA 900i line of phones on a monthly subscription basis. In their pre-E3, 2006 press conference, Square-Enix announced that an English version of the game would be released in the United States sometime during 2006. The prevailing rumor was that the game would have been released on Sprint mobile phones. However, it seems the English localization has been cancelled completely, possibly due to other projects, making this the only Final Fantasy VII game not released outside of Japan.

Before Crisis involves the adventures of the Turks, a group of supporting characters featured in Final Fantasy VII, and was the second installment in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII series, which also includes the games Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII- and Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, as well as the CGI movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, the OVA Last Order -Final Fantasy VII-, the novella On the Way to a Smile, and the original Final Fantasy VII itself.

The last episode of the Japanese version of Before Crisis was released on April 1, 2006 — the series officially ending at a total of 25 episodes, including a special episode entitled "Tseng's Side Story", set prior to the events of Before Crisis and revealing parts of his past. At end of May a special addition to the game known as WEAPON Mode was released. WEAPON Mode involves the player traveling the world and hunting down the Jade Weapon, which is released after Zirconiade is defeated. The Jade Weapon is the seventh Weapon to be created but the first to appear in the Final Fantasy VII world chronologically.

Battle System


Before Crisis is a real-time action RPG. The game's graphics are 2D, and the player moves along in a side-scrolling manner. Gameplay is divided up between several modes of play. Episode Mode plays through the game's main storyline though the various Episodes. The player must complete the objectives given to continue onward in the game. Free Mode allows the player to play extra Missions to gain EXP and Items, similiar to Crisis Core's Missions. Some Items can are exclusive to Free Mode. Rescue Mode is the last Mode of play. If a player is defeated during the game's playthrough, they have two options. They can either restart and lose points, or allow themselves to be imprisoned. Afterwards they must wait for other players on their network to rescue them.

Characters have HP and MP, level up upon acquisition of EXP and can equip weapons and armor. Materia is present in the game, but must be gotten by the player him or herself via a unique system called the Materia Generation System. The player must take a picture with their camera phone, and the game synthesizes that picture down to it's base color. Depending upon the dominant color, lighting, darkness, and other factors, the game instantly makes a Materia of certain type. A dark green picture makes a Bio Materia, a blue picture makes Cure etc. Materia can be leveled up as in Final Fantasy VII, up to level 9.

Another new feature to Before Crisis are Rank Points (RP). RP are given during the completion of objectives in all three modes of play. After so much RP is accumilated, special bonuses such as stronger Armor, Weapons, and Materia Slots can be given. The player is also given a Rank, based upon how long they have been playing the game. The higher their Rank, the better the bonuses the player gets. But it makes Training Mode more difficult, as the player must fight stronger and stronger opponents.

Story


Before Crisis ' s story begins shortly after the ending of the war between the Shin-Ra Electric Power Company and the Wutai tribe, a conflict mentioned in passing during Final Fantasy VII. With Wutai defeated and the people of the world now dependent on their Mako Energy and Materia, Shin-ra finds itself the dominant economic, military and political power in the world. The story continues for several years until after Zack Fair escapes from the experiments at Nibelheim, all at the same time as Shin-Ra is fighting Genesis during the events of Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, though the two storylines do not overlap.

There are those who remain dedicated to the destruction of Shin-Ra, chief among them being the newly emerged insurgent movement known as "AVALANCHE". AVALANCHE is an eco-terrorist organization that seeks to topple Shin-Ra, whom they know to be slowly killing the Planet with their manufacture of Mako Energy. This first AVALANCHE is far more ruthless and violent then the group headed by Barret Wallace in the beginning of Final Fantasy VII, and are the villains this time around. The game's central heroes are the player Turks. The player decides which of these Turks take place in the storyline, and gives them their names. The Turks are lead by Verdot, with his lieutenant the future leader, Tseng. Non-player Turks include Reno and Rude, both veterans who have been in the organization longer than the player.

The game unfolds through a series of "episodes." Because of the subscription-based nature of the game, the game's story unfolded over a period of time. Thus the game's storyline is highly disjointed and episodic, with episodes rarely having much to do with each other. It isn't until the very end of the game that episodes flow together in a single coalescing story arc. Over the course of the story, much of the backstory of Final Fantasy VII is included as Episodes, including the Nibelheim Incident, the destruction of Corel, and other events. The entire playable cast of Final Fantasy VII make cameo appearances.

The player Turk first encounters the AVALANCHE organization during his or her routine patrol of Midgar Sector 8, as per Turk tradition for new recruits. Using the PHS to contact Tseng, the player reports the insurgents attacking Shin-Ra's capital. The player, with help of Reno, fights the AVALANCHE forces and forces them to retreat. The enemy commander, Sears proves to be a formidable opponent, with skills in martial arts and dangerously well-formed intelligence.



But the attack on Midgar is a rouse for a greater strike at Junon, where President Shinra himself is located to give a speech. Fuhito, the cold scientist for AVALANCHE out to destroy all life and return it to the Planet, leads this attack. Though the Turks try to protect the President, a secret AVALANCHE fifth column inside Shin-Ra forces allows them to get close enough to Shinra to shoot him. The President survives, and calls in his trump card, the legendary SOLDIER, Sephiroth. After all that has happened, it is revealed that even AVALANCHE's plot against Shinra was another ruse. Their true goal was the Mako Cannon, which they planned to fire upon Midgar and destroy the city. This force is lead by AVALANCHE's leader herself, Elfé, a frighteningly powerful warrior with a mysterious Materia embedded in the back of her hand. Sephiroth arrives and fights Elfé, but even with all his power he can only end the fight in a draw. AVALANCHE retreats to create havoc across the Planet.

During one of these attacks, at Midgar, AVALANCHE targeted Professor Rayleigh, who was carrying data on the SOLDIER members and their creation. The player Turk is sent to protect her, along with several Shin-Ra guards, one of whom is Cloud Strife, the future hero of Final Fantasy VII but for now is a mere grunt. Using a new creation by Fuhito, the monstrous Black warriors known as the Ravens, the data is captured. The Turk decides to follow morals over duty by saving Rayleigh rather than the data, a sign of future differences between Shin-Ra and the Turks.

Using the SOLDIER data, Fuhito continues to perfect his Ravens. He uses them to capture two SOLDIER members, Essai and Sebastian up north in Icicle Inn. The Turks are sent to rescue them, and succeed despite the heavy enemy resistance from Fuhito and Sears fighting together. Afterwards, the Turks, Essai, Sebastian, and a SOLDIER 1st Class, Zack Fair are sent in to destroy the AVALANCHE forces in the area. Essai and Sebastian are captured once again, and are turned into Ravens. Zack must kill his fellow SOLDIERs, much to his emotional bereavement.

President Shinra now becomes suspicious of the men beneath him, knowing that somebody must be leaking information. There could be no other way that AVALANCHE could be working this effectively. He wrongly suspect Verdot, and removes him from command of the Turks. In Verdot's place, the President puts Heidegger in charge, the arrogant and incompetent head of the Shin-Ra military. Heidegger only leads a single operation, and comes close to completely destroying Junon. Verdot blackmails the President to return his job. With Verdot in command, the Turks defeat AVALANCHE.

The AVALANCHE base is finally found to be located at Wutai. The Turks are sent in to destroy it and defeat AVALANCHE completely. Elfé wishes to remain with her soldiers and fight Shin-Ra to the death, but a sudden fainting spell forces her and the other commanders to abandon the base. The base is blown up, thus making Shin-Ra think that AVALANCHE has been finished. However, with help from their benefactor Rufus Shinra, President Shinra's scheming son and Vice President, AVALANCHE continues to plan attacks.

An assault at Corel's Mako Reactor proves to be a key battle. Rufus Shinra is captured by the Turks, but they are ordered to merely put him under house arrest, rather than use stronger methods for the traitor. Sears, a good man who is worried about Elfé's condition, defects from AVALANCHE to join with the Turks to save her. Verdot discovers that Elfé is in fact his long lost daughter Felicia, and he leaves Shin-Ra. With Elfé continuing to weaken, Fuhito takes completely control of AVALANCHE. During the fighting, a strange Materia is found. It turns out that Elfé's Materia is in fact Zirconiade an ancient Summon with immense power. But the Zirconiade Materia is broken, and is slowly sucking away at Elfé as a power source. To save her, the four Support Materia must be found. Fuhito holds one, and now the Turks working with Sears hold another.



Though Shin-Ra orders the Turks to take Verdot in, they continue to follow his orders and work for him. They also hold Rufus as leverage against the President. Not wishing that his son's betrayal become known, the President orders Scarlet to target the Turks and kill them. Now the Turks are enemies of both AVALANCHE and Shin-Ra. Despite the threats, they find two more Support Materia, one in Gongaga with help from Cait Sith, another in Corel Prison. Verdot is captured by Scarlet, and has to be rescued.



With Fuhito's control, AVALANCHE breaks down into an army of zombies and Ravens. It can barely even hold together as a fighting force towards the end. In the final battle, Fuhito summons Zirconiade to destroy all life on the Planet, fusing the monster with his own body. Sears sacrifices himself to save Elfé, and is killed. He transforms into an insane monster. But his plans fall apart when Zirconiade itself is defeated by the player Turks, thus saving the world. Fuhito is killed during the fighting. Tseng saves Verdot and Elfé by reporting them assassinated, and is allowed to return to Shin-Ra as the Turk leader, though they all now work under Heidegger. The player Turks escape into obscurity, but appear again to help save Midgar from Meteor years later. The first AVALANCHE collapses, but a second, much smaller version is created just afterwards in the Sector 7 Slums of Midgar. This group takes up plans left behind by Fuhito to attack the Sector 1 Reactor, and so set the stage for the beginning of Final Fantasy VII.

Playable Characters
With Before Crisis, several members of the Turks not seen in Final Fantasy VII were introduced. They are the playable characters of this game, and are named by the player.

(Note that all of the game's playable Turks' official names are composed of their weapon and gender, and have not been officially given any other proper names.)




 * Rod (Male): One of the playable male Turks. An ex-gang leader from Midgar, he enjoyed fighting other gangs and stealing motorbikes. He is highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat, as well as in riding and fixing motorbikes. He was rather unfamiliar with failure, and — with his ever growing confidence — decided to sneak into Shin-Ra's parking garage to steal a bike from the company, but was arrested by Reno. Verdot realized his skills could be used to aid the Turks, and he was offered a place in the organization. Aside from his role in Before Crisis, he also appears in Last Order -Final Fantasy VII-. He has been playable since the original beta version of the game, and uses a retractable metallic rod as his weapon, similar to Reno's.




 * Gun (Female): One of the playable females. Her father was a teacher at the Shin-Ra military academy, where she attended. She graduated with outstanding performances, and her forte is marksmanship. Her excellent handling of firearms impressed the leader of the Turks, Tseng, and he recruited her to the force with great confidence in her abilities. She is a very serious person who rarely jokes around, and is often very strict. Like Rod (Male), she also appears in Last Order. Elena, a Turks member featured in Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, is Gun (Female)'s younger sister. The two are not on very good terms in Before Crisis, as — despite their mutual dedication to their work and their exceptional skills — their personalities often clash and Elena resents her sister for outdoing her. Gun (Female) has been playable since the original beta version of the game, and uses only guns as her weapons.




 * Two Guns (Male): A former bodyguard of Don Corneo, his specialty is his ability to rapidly fire two guns at once with outstanding accuracy, much like Gun (Female). Spending most of his time in the slums, he became fed up with the politics that had overrun the underworld society and was offered a place in the Turks. He took up the role, knowing that it would put his skills to the test. His unorthodox "underground" style of conducting missions often results in him failing. He also appears in Last Order, and has been playable since the official release of Before Crisis. His weaponry is strictly dual firearms.




 * Shotgun (Female): A female hunter from a wealthy family who likes to do things with flair. She has familiarized herself with the art of hunting since she was a child, and is, thus, an expert with her chosen weapon. She likes showing off and constantly tries to outdo herself, and, thus, immediately accepted the offer to become a Turks when it was presented. She also appears in Last Order, and has been playable since the official release of Before Crisis. She uses a range of shotguns as her only form of weaponry.




 * Martial Arts (Male): An ex-detective from Costa del Sol, where he solved some rather complicated cases. A passionate, hot blooded and courageous man, he puts his all into everything he does, a trait that manifests in his personal and professional lives. His tendency to rely on his emotions eventually got him in trouble with his previous occupation, and — seeing no other alternative — took the job offered to him by the Turks, who had been trying to recruit him for some time. Like several of the other Turks, he also appears in Last Order. He has been playable since Episode 7 of Before Crisis when Verdot decided that the Turks were still lacking the required manpower to deal with AVALANCHE. He uses his powerful fists as his only weapons.




 * Martial Arts (Female): A new recruit to the Turks in Episode 7, along with Martial Arts (Male). As a mercenary, she has seen a lot of battle and is accustomed to taking orders. As such, she adjusted to her new-found role in the Turks easier than some. A thoroughly businesslike woman during missions, she gets her work done with a minimum of fuss. She is level-headed, alert and perceptive, frequently able to assess a situation and take the most prudent course of action. She is a skilled martial artist who uses a style that involves a great deal of agility and kicking. Like many of the other Turks, she also appears in Last Order, but has no speaking role.




 * Katana (Male): A swordsman who was born in Gongaga and has a soft spot for beauty. He tends not to stay in one place for very long. Those in his hometown fear his skill and strength for it is said that he killed a large number of people to rescue a friend and was imprisoned as a result. Under the condition that he would join the Turks, he was given amnesty. He first appears in Episode 18 of Before Crisis, but has been a Turk for several years at that point. He uses a Katana as his sole weapon.




 * Shuriken (Female): A young woman whose place of birth is unknown, she uses a large throwing star (similar to those used by Yuffie Kisaragi in Final Fantasy VII) as her weapon of choice. She is warm-hearted and has a mothering side which can border on bossy, which often manifests in how she looks after her colleagues. While still in an orphanage at a young age, the Turks expressed an interest in recruiting her, and she was brought up under harsh training techniques. In the history of the Turks, she is the youngest member to join. Like Katana (Male), she first appears in Episode 18, though at that time had been a Turk for several years. She appears in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- under the code name of Cissnei.




 * Nunchaku (Male): A young man born into a wealthy family and raised in an environment where anything he desired could be bought. However, unsatisfied with his rich luxurious life, he demanded a membership in the Turks to seek a new life of his own. He follows the ideals of the Turks dearly. He is a short-range fighter, using nunchaku in battle. He appears in Episode 1, only in the Softbank version.


 * Knife (Female): A young woman from Corel who fights by using throwing knives. Although she feels as if she's all alone in the world, she covers it up by cheerfully doing her duties. She appears in Episode 1, only in the EZweb version.


 * Legendary Turk: A legend amongst the Turks, whose combat experience and abilities make him infamous. He comes from Junon, and fought in the Wutai War.  However, an unknown incident made Shin-Ra fear him, so the Legendary Turk get him under watch at Costa del Sol.  He didn't find the confinment difficult though, as he spent his time getting familiar with the women nearby.  He fights with Bombs but also knows other ways to fight, and is said to be Tseng's former mentor.

Trivia

 * Up until mere months until its release, any trailer for Before Crisis consitsted of scenes from Last Order -Final Fantasy VII- that included the Turks.