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 canceled 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 titled "Tseng's Side Story", set prior to the events of Before Crisis and revealing parts of his past. At the 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 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. Afterward 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 its 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 accumulated, 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 Shinra 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, Shinra 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 Shinra 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 Shinra, chief among them being the newly emerged insurgent movement known as "AVALANCHE". AVALANCHE is an eco-terrorist organization that seeks to topple Shinra, whom they know to be slowly killing the Planet with their manufacture of Mako Energy. This first AVALANCHE is far more ruthless and violent than 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 led 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 is not 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 Shinra's capital. The player, with help of Reno, fights the AVALANCHE forces and forces them to retreat. The enemy commander, Shears proves to be a formidable opponent, with skills in martial arts and dangerously well-formed intelligence.



But the attack on Midgar is a ruse 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 Shinra 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 Shinra 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 Shinra 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 Shears 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 (In Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, there is a scene in which Zack and Tseng visit their makeshift graves).

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 suspects 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 Shinra 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 Shinra 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 Shinra 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. Shears, 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 Shinra. 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 Shears hold another.



Though Shinra 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 Shinra. 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. Shears 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 Shinra as the Turk leader, though they all now work under Heidegger. The player Turks escape into obscurity, but appear again to defeat Jade WEAPON and later help save Midgar from Meteor. The first AVALANCHE collapses, but a second, much smaller version is created just afterward 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.

Trivia

 * The original Before Crisis trailers and commercials included several original animated scenes by MADHOUSE, which would later animate Last Order -Final Fantasy VII-. Later trailers prominently featured scenes of the Turks from the OVA.