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The following is a list of version differences between releases of the original Final Fantasy VII. The article uses two h3s, one for PlayStation and one for PC. This is because these are the two significant releases for the game. Both releases have seen re-releases based on the specific versions. The PlayStation version also details differences between the original Japanese release and the International version, which includes the changes made for North America and Europe.

Differences[]

PlayStation[]

Japan[]

Final Fantasy VII was released in Japan in January 1997. This was the original version of the game.

International[]

The "International" version was released in North America in September 1997, Japan in October 1997, and Europe in November 1997.

  • Improvements are made to the script.
    • For worldwide versions, the game was translated to English from Japanese. German, French, and Spanish versions were translated from the English translation.
    • Vincent's Chaos Limit Break exclusive attack, Satan Slam, is mistranslated as Stan Slam in the original 1997 US PlayStation release.
  • Some pre-rendered backgrounds are touched up to ease confusion.
    • A sign for the Gold Saucer is added in North Corel.
    • One area in Corel Prison has a darker path.
    • An area in Mt. Nibel has a pipe obscuring a path in the bottom right corner of the screen removed.
    • A metal bar is removed from the Junon Cannon.
  • Indicators are added for when the cursor is active. Red triangles show entrances and exits, while green triangles show places to climb.
  • A text window is added when pausing the game.
  • The Item menu has a different UI in the North American and PAL versions, with one column next to the party's portraits, instead of two columns and the portraits pop up when selecting an item. The Item menu in battle also displays one column instead of two. Subsequent Japanese releases would follow suit.
  • An Exchange option is added to the Materia menu. The Arrange option now also properly sorts newly-acquired Materia.
  • Elemental and status information in the Status menu is split into two screens.
  • Character HP and MP is no longer displayed on the save file screen.
  • Versions outside of Japan have 9 spaces available when naming characters instead of 6.
  • After naming Barret, he will inform the player to hold down the Cancel button to run before running off.
  • During the train escape sequence, the sound effects and message boxes are altered.
  • Mayor Domino's password-guessing game in the Shinra Building has the player pick a four-letter word instead of a sentence made up of four kanji characters.
    • The player can now pick an answer for the password immediately instead of having to leave the main screen on the 62nd floor twice.
    • In the English and Japanese versions, the correct password is randomized, although ORBS and HOJO (and the corresponding sentences in the Japanese version) are never the correct answer. In the French, German, and Spanish versions, MAKO is always the correct answer.
    • New books are in the Shinra Building library, while others, such as one containing Gast's full name, is removed.
  • Receiving Keycard 68 from the Shinra Building Employee now displays a message box, and the employee will run away.
  • An exit is added to the upper-right section of the Chocobo Farm.
  • The Beginner's Hall in Junon now explains how to toggle between targets when an All Materia is equipped.
  • At Mt. Corel, the game will now zoom over to the shack near the bridge when Cloud meets up with the other party members.
  • The battleground at Corel Reactor is changed, with the battle now being situated on the ground by the reactor.
  • The Battle Square rewards menu is split into two sections.
  • The Speed Square minigame is modified.
    • The player cannot target the Zeppelin propeller.
    • The water wheel now has a point limit of 285.
    • The PAL version of the minigame is slower, making it easier.
  • Rival chocobo names at the races are no longer randomly generated by connecting a list of prefixes and suffixes, instead using a single random list of potential names.
  • Rival chocobos in the original Japanese version have considerably higher stats, even resulting in unwinnable races. This persists in the Japanese International version. This is one of the few and most major differences between the Japanese International and NA/PAL versions.
  • The Submarine Game has various changes.
    • The Undersea Mako Reactor Battle has 7 targets instead of 8.
    • Level 1 and Level 3 no longer require sonar to be manually controlled with the Confirm button to reveal enemy submarines and mines.
    • The player's starting position is slightly higher.
    • The player's submarine is roughly 35% faster and turns roughly 325% faster.
    • The submarine's vertical rotation axis is halved from 180 degrees to 90.
    • Hitting the ceiling of the stage is no longer registered as a "CONFLICT" and the player won't be stuck there without changing the angle of the submarine, now automatically adjusting itself to a zero degree angle when accelerating.
    • When colliding with the ocean floor, the player's submarine automatically adjusts itself to be at zero degrees when accelerating.
    • Enemy submarines take half as many hits to destroy.
    • Mines deal half as much damage.
    • The timer stops counting down after the end of a match.
  • The Snow Game has various changes.
    • If Tifa or Cid are in the current party, there is a 37.5% chance that they will ask to ride the snowboard. If both are in the party, Cid will not ask.
    • An option is added to change the terrain into a checkered variant.
    • A ghost Cactuar is added to the Time Attack mode.
    • When toggling the cursor between the Mog on a snowboard and the Mog on a sleigh (without picking one), the figure on the screen changes in real-time rather than waiting for the player to pick one.
    • When completing Course B with 100 points, the standard “Cool” ranking will now display properly instead of the symbol for the top "Freak" ranking in Time Attack.
    • A new symbol is added for getting 100 points on Course C.
    • The "GODLY" ranking is removed.
    • In the PAL version, the timer and speed number stop when Cloud snowboards off the edge.
    • Rankings are adjusted in the PAL version, due to the game running slower.
  • The gondola in the Round Square is now inaccessible in disc 2 and 3 until the player reaches the bottom of the North Crater.
  • Pressing the two broken keys on the piano inside the Mansion will show a white flash in addition to the improper sound.
    • In the English version of FFVII International, the broken keys are changed to Square and R1/L1+Triangle, instead of R1/L1+Square and R1/L1+Circle.
    • In the German, French, and Spanish versions, none of the piano keys are broken or accompanied by a white flash.
  • The complex version of the clock puzzle in the Temple of the Ancients is removed, always giving the player the simple version which would only otherwise be accessible in the Japanese version after failing three times.
  • Upon falling from the clock room and triggering a fight with two Ancient Dragons, "Let The Battles Begin!" plays instead of "Fight On!"
  • Jumping up the shell structure in the Forgotten Capital is now automatic.
  • When climbing in Gaea's Cliff, the player's temperature is easier to maintain.
  • The chocobo breeding tutorial is now incomplete; Choco Billy will only mention the necessity of nuts if the player picks the "Mating Chocobos" option while not having any nuts in the inventory. He also no longer explains how newborn chocobos and chocobos caught from the wild start on rank C, but can improve by racing. Talking to Chole and choosing "Let me jot this down" will give the dialogue that was originally spoken by Choco Billy in the Japanese version. This includes how to obtain all types of chocobos and how to increase their rank.
  • Two new flashback cutscenes are added in disc 2, showing Tifa finding Cloud at the Train Graveyard, and the ultimate fate of Zack Fair.
  • The FMV at the North Crater is extended to show the Weapons emerging from it.
  • A scenario where the player party fights Diamond Weapon is included.
  • Ruby Weapon and Emerald Weapon are added as superbosses.
  • The Guide Book item becomes the Morph item of the Ghost Ship.
  • The Kalm traveler is introduced, and trades the above items for prizes.
    • The Underwater Materia is introduced, given to the player in exchange for a Guide Book for help against the Emerald Weapon boss battle.
  • The Fuseya Kazumasa-kun and Matsumura Yasushi-kun were removed for the English releases (their IDs being used for two parts of Emerald Weapon). They were re-added to the data in the Japanese International version at different IDs.
  • For the English localization, various ability names used for animation that would never display were not translated and were instead blank. In the Japanese International version, some of these reappear with their original name and the added word ポート (pōto?, lit. port).
  • Encounter rates are lowered across the board. Every area has had its encounter rate reduced by varying amounts.
    • Random encounters are removed from the square area of Sector 8 at the start of the game, and outside of Holzoff's cabin at the base of Gaea's Cliff.
ShinraLogo-ffvii-battleground

Test battleground in the original Japanese release, appearing pure black in all releases thereafter.

  • The Test 0 encounter is removed from the well in Corel Prison.
    • A battleground relating to some of the Test encounters was changed into a blank screen instead.
    • All the Test enemies had their models changed to the Pyramid.
  • While the original Japanese version had several enemy attacks using the Hidden element, later versions reassign the elements for all of them that do damage, with the notable exception of Ultimate Weapon's Ultima Beam.
  • Status effects are no longer displayed over a character's HP in battle.
  • Pressing R2 in battle will display a “Target” marker above each enemy.
  • Tifa and Cait Sith's Limit Breaks will now be silenced before the Fanfare plays instead of before the Battle Results screen.
  • Damage dealt by Chocobuckle is changed from being based on the number of battles the party has fled from multiplied by the user's level to just the number of battles fled, likely because of how strong the attack could become at an early point in the game.
  • Choco/Mog and Typoon now have the Wind element assigned to their respective Materia.
    • Exclusive to this version, Choco/Mog's "Deathblow!!" attack is Wind-elemental.
  • Chocobo enemies are now immune to Paralyzed.
  • Gi Nattak is now immune to Sleep and Poison.
  • Dual Horn's bugged and blank named ability is removed from its manipulate list.
  • Brain Pod's Refuse attacks now inflict Sleep and Poison instead of Berserk and Confusion.
  • Magic Pots are now immune to damage until they receive an Elixir.
  • A glitch with the Mover enemies is fixed, where killing all three at once only played the death animation for one.
  • Ultimate Weapon's level is changed from 60 to 61 in all battles, and Dexterity is increased by varying amounts in three of its forms.
  • When Bizarro∙Sephiroth uses Bizzarro Enegy, the animation has him raise his wings and point them towards each other, instead of merely flapping them or performing no animation at all.
  • Safer∙Sephiroth's abilities and AI are changed.
  • During the FMV where the Highwind escapes from the Northern Crater, "Those Chosen By The Planet" now fades out.
  • After the final post-credits FMV, an endless outer space animation will be displayed instead of a black screen, while "The Prelude" plays in the background.
  • The end credits no longer display "Square Product Development Dept. #1".
  • In addition to removing the first item when canceling the process, the W-Item duplication bug now duplicates the first item when canceling the second item.
  • A glitch that allows the player to obtain a level 1 Yuffie by abusing an in-game countdown is fixed.
  • A glitch in the Train Graveyard allowing the player to move while picking up an item is fixed.
  • Cait Sith's glitched Level 3 Limit Breaks are no longer accessible.
  • A glitch causing Cait Sith to get stuck after jumping down the ladder shaft in Midgar in disc 2 is fixed.

PlayStation Network[]

Released in April 2009 in Japan, and June 2009 to the rest of the world, the PlayStation Network version is almost identical to the original release.

As a digital release, one big change is how disc changes occur due to not using discs (instead having to access the console menu and changing an option).

The Gremlin enemy had its AI changed to prevent it from using the Bad mouth attack.

PC[]

The PC version of Final Fantasy VII was not released in Japan, but released to the rest of the world in June 1998.

The team that worked on the PC port of the game were originally given an early build of the game, and other things were done wrong. This could help explain a number of problems the game has.

The PC version has gained attention over the years due to modding communities accessing the game. A fan developed a rendering engine for the game known as Aali's Driver which would fix a number of graphical glitches, as well as other glitches and allow for more modding of the game. This rendering engine would later be re-used by Square Enix for the 2012 re-release.

  • The translation is re-done. Most grammatical and typographical errors are corrected, such as the Battle Square's "Off course!" and "No, way!" being corrected to "Of course!" and "No way!", and the "Last Elixir" treasure from Gaea's Cliff is corrected to a Megalixir. Other changes to the translation made things incorrect, including time frames and less faithful translations. One thing includes Corral Valley (PS) being renamed Corel Valley (PC) when it has nothing to do with Corel, but is instead "Coral Valley". Cloud, Cid, and Barret's use of the word "shit" and Tifa's use of the word "wench" are turned into symbols.
  • The black border on the top of the screen is moved to the bottom.
  • FMVs are downscaled.
  • Shading effects are more pronounced.
  • Characters now have mouths. The original PlayStation models already had them, but the effect was disabled. The PC port team simply using the original assets made the mouths visible.[1]
    • Many NPCs have black dots for mouths, and they blink their mouths with one eye instead of blinking both eyes. More characters can also be seen blinking.
  • Some models are resized, such as the chocobo mascot in the Wonder Square, and the black cape in Nibelheim.
  • 2D UI elements are upscaled to 640x480. The red and green triangle indicators are the same resolution as before, however, and thus appear smaller.
  • The music is generated by the PC's MIDI playback system, and therefore does not sound exactly like the original PlayStation version. Depending on PC configuration, it can still sound very faithful to the PlayStation's BGM. (Some, or possibly all editions of the PC version come with a Yamaha XG softsynth on the setup disc. If this is installed, the BGM will sound far better than with the standard Microsoft Wavetable Synthesizer built into Windows.)
  • When the game is not the active window, it will pause, but the music will continue playing.
  • Saving, loading, and screen transitions are quicker.
    • The number of save slots is increased from 2 to 10, with the slots now being called “saves”, allowing up to 150 save files. Each save file is also called “GAME”.
  • Logos for Eidos Interactive and a chocobo-themed Squaresoft are displayed.
  • Character naming screens utilize the keyboard to input names. These screens now ignore the given controls and will reset all other buttons to their defaults (on the NumPad).
  • A "Quit" option is added to the menu.
  • Sound options for mono and stereo in the Config menu are replaced with volume sliders for music and sound effects.
  • The battle UI now operates at 15 FPS instead of 60, making Tifa and Cait Sith's Limit Breaks more difficult to pull off correctly.
  • The motorcycle minigame now has a blue biker to go along with the red and yellow variants.
  • An older version of the Seto FMV is used, with more exaggerated camera motions and a lens flare effect.
  • Condor War is altered slightly.
    • A glitch is fixed, where entering the “Start the game?” menu whilst moving the cursor across the map while preparing for battle caused the game to display strings of Japanese from the minigame data files.
    • Enemy units are stronger, and Battle Levels 2-7 feature more enemies.
    • Successfully halting an enemy attack now plays the "Jackpot!" theme, rather than a modified version of the victory fanfare.
  • The Speed Square minigame is much faster and the crosshair moves faster, making precision more difficult.
    • The player can target the Zeppelin's propeller again. The score counter now properly goes above 9999.
  • The Submarine Game is modified once again, retaining some changes from the International PlayStation release, while reverting some of them to the original Japanese release and adding new changes.
    • The Undersea Mako Reactor Battle has 8 targets again instead of 7.
    • The player's submarine turns slower again.
    • The player's submarine can turn up or down 90 degrees instead of 45.
    • The timer once again continues counting down after a victory or loss.
    • The environmental grid is no longer visible.
    • The default camera is closer to the sub.
    • Starting coordinates for Level 2 and Level 3 start near the southwest corner of the map instead of the center.
    • The player's missiles move faster, while enemy missiles have shorter range, and both are worse at homing.
  • The "FREAK" ranking in the Snow Game is slightly easier to obtain.
  • "Bad" and "Awful" scores in the Snow Game are swapped.
  • If running Windows XP or newer, the chocobo racing minigame freezes the game. A patch was developed by jedwin which would later be linked to by Square to fix this.
  • Rewards for finishing chocobo races are organized differently. Hi-Potions are now rewarded properly.
  • The credits are uncropped.
  • After the credits, the player is returned to the desktop; there is no space animation.
  • A number of graphical glitches occur in the game, most notably Vincent's glitched animation at the Water Altar in the Forgotten City.
  • Using the menu to skip events on the world map is also possible on field maps.

Downloadable PC re-release[]

A downloadable re-release of the 1998 PC release was released in August 2012 to North America and Europe. This version uses an edited version of Aali's Driver to improve on the files of the original PC version. This release therefore has fixed everything that was previously fixed by the engine. A number of new features are made available, and other minor changes are made to the game. An identical version of the game was added to Steam in 2013.

  • Windows XP and newer are now supported.
  • A launcher is implemented before accessing the game. Here, settings can be changed and data not stored in save files viewed.
    • 36 achievements are added to the game.
    • A cloud saving feature allows files to be saved to the internet and synced to the web. This does not replace local saves.
    • Controls can be set from the launcher as well as in-game. The ability to change controls from the launcher means minigames and menus that use different control setups will still function with the user's chosen controls.
    • Screen resolutions up to 1920x1080p are supported.
    • Windowed mode is available.
    • Linear filtering can be enabled.
    • Fixed aspect ratio can be enabled.
    • Original Graphic Mode can be enabled.
  • A Character Booster is available from the game's website that allows the player to "boost" their save files.
  • The translation remains the same as the original PC version, but a few corrections are made. These include correcting the list of Greens items in the Chocobo Farm to match the item names, and correcting controls.
  • The music is now in OGG format. It is identical to the PlayStation music as of patch v1.0.9, albeit with some minor looping issues. Originally, the music was an upgraded version of the original MIDI music in OGG format.
  • FMVs are upscaled to be of better quality than the original PlayStation FMVs.
  • New shaders can be applied to increase the quality and looks of the 3D models.
  • The Square Enix logo appears before the Eidos Interactive and Squaresoft logos. The control scheme is also displayed afterwards.
  • Disc change screens are removed, instead saying "End of Part X".
  • Minor timing and background scripts are added and changed.
  • The Secret Cow Level easter egg is added.
  • Cid's use of the word "shit" in the final FMV is once again uncensored.
  • The normal Seto FMV is used again.
  • The chocobo minigame works without needing a patch.
  • The Magic Defense bug is fixed.
  • Vincent's Water Altar bug is fixed by changing his animations.
  • A number of musical glitches can occur, particularly when entering one-time world map fields.

The re-release has gone through many updates, although there is no change log and most of the changes have gone unnoticed.

Between v1.0.1 and v1.0.8
  • Cloud Saving can be disabled from the launcher.
v1.0.9 - 25 September 2013
  • The OGG music files are replaced with the original 1997 PlayStation quality music.

The Japanese PC version is only available through Square Enix's online store in Japan and includes high speed mode and the option to turn off random encounters.

iOS/Android[]

Released in August 2015 for iOS and July 2016 for Android, these versions are based on the PC re-release.

  • Mouths are removed from NPCs, although they still blink improperly.
  • An option to max characters' stats is added to the Config menu.
  • An option to turn on auto-saving is added to Config menu.
  • Encounters can be disabled.
  • The player runs by default.
  • Dialogue changes for control tutorials are applied to match the new controls.
  • The Eidos Interactive logo is removed.
  • Square Enix's "E" icon (for viewing other Square Enix titles), a question mark icon (for viewing additional information), and the Staff icon (for viewing the credits of the mobile port) are shown on the title screen.
  • An "iCloud" option is added to the title screen on iOS.
  • The "Quit" option is removed from the menu.
  • After the final FMV, the player is returned to the title screen.
  • Issues with the mobile ports include crashing, lag, not being able to use vehicles, and not being able to unlock the safe in Shinra Manor due to the control scheme.
  • Background music resets after battles.

Update history[]

Android
  • 1.0.29: Added optimization/fixes for Android 7.0+

PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows 10, Nintendo Switch[]

The PlayStation 4 version was released in December 2015, the Xbox One and Nintendo Switch versions were released in March 2019 and the Windows 10 version was released in August 2020. These versions are based on the PC re-release.

  • Backgrounds have been treated to look less pixelated on bigger screens.
  • The updated PC shaders are used.
  • The font is upscaled and filtered.
  • Field screens are centered again, producing black bars above and below rather than just below.
  • As with the mobile versions, mouths are removed from NPCs, but they still do not blink properly.
  • Trophy and achievement support is added for the PS4 and Xbox One / Windows 10 versions respectively.
  • Controls on the console versions cannot be changed and are now displayed upon starting a new game.
    • Dialogue changes for control tutorials are applied to match the new controls.
    • On PS4, X is set to [OK] and Circle is set to [CANCEL], which is the reverse of PS1 button controls and makes the setup match those in modern Final Fantasy titles. The Japanese version keeps the original button layout. On Xbox One, A is set to [OK] and B is set to [CANCEL]. On Nintendo Switch, A is set to [OK] and B is set to [CANCEL].
    • Left Analogue Stick/Left Stick/Left Control Stick allows movement in eight directions. Partial offset makes player walk, full offset makes player run.
    • L3/Left Stick/Left Control Stick multiplies game speed by three. Menus and cutscenes are unaffected. Holding down the confirm button in battle to continuously select commands will not work while active.
    • R3/Right Stick/Right Control Stick restores party members to max HP, MP and fills their LIMIT gauge.
    • L3/Left Stick/Left Control Stick and R3/Right Stick/Right Control Stick together toggle random encounters on/off.
    • Booster icons are larger in the Switch version.
    • Booster icons overlay onto the game screen in the Windows 10 version when in 4:3.
    • In the Windows 10 version, pressing F9 or Right trigger & the Right Stick on the title screen will display the control mapping. Also, pressing the Esc key will open the System Menu.
  • The Eidos Interactive and Squaresoft logos are not present.
  • On Xbox One and Windows 10, a title screen appears after the Square Enix and Dotemu logos. Pressing any button or key will go straight into the Loop Demo.
    • "Press any button." is changed to "Press any button" in the Windows 10 version.
  • Credits for personnel involved in the port can be viewed in the "Additional Credits" option on the title screen. "One-Winged Angel" plays during this sequence.
  • The E3 2015 trailer for Final Fantasy VII Remake is accessible from the title screen under the "Special Movie" option in the PS4 version.
  • A "Select Profile" option is added to the title screen in the Xbox One version. It also shows the current signed-in profile on the top right of the title screen. This option was removed in the Windows 10 version, but the current signed-in profile is still shown.
  • A "Quit" option is added to the title screen on Windows 10. Hitting the Esc key and selecting "Exit" will close the game as well.
  • Save files in the Xbox One version do not carry over to the Windows 10 version.
  • Selecting "Quit" in the menu in the console versions will return to the title screen.
  • As with the mobile version, the player is returned to the title screen after the final FMV.
  • Pressing the Confirm button almost immediately after moving the cursor in a menu will move two spaces before selecting.
  • Certain areas in the Switch version, such as the Chocobo Square, drop to 15 FPS.
  • As of patches in May 2019 for the Xbox One and Switch, and December 2019 for the PS4, background music no longer resets after battles.
  • The Yuffie music glitch is fixed, as of patches for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Switch versions.
  • As of patch v1.03 for the PS4 version, the date mechanics exploit for Barret at Cosmo Canyon has been fixed.
  • Patches for the Xbox One and Switch versions resolved the issue of the main theme not playing in the Nibel Reactor.

PlayStation Classic[]

Released on December 3, 2018, Final Fantasy VII is included in the list of 20 digital games. It is based on the International version, running on the PCSX ReARMed emulator. A save state feature is available, and the Open button on the PlayStation Classic mini console is used to virtually change discs.

Final Fantasy VII Remake[]

Released in 2020 for PlayStation 4, this version is fully re-imagined from the ground up using Unreal Engine 4 with new character designs, battle system, full 3D, voice acting, new soundtrack, and new story scenes. In 2021, it was updated and released for PlayStation 5 and on Windows PCs. This remake will be released in multiple parts to tell the complete story.

Citations[]

References[]

External links[]

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