Final Fantasy VII is a role-playing game developed by Square and released for the PlayStation in Japan on 31 January 1997. It began in 1994 as a 2D project for the Super NES, and an early Nintendo 64 test was dropped in favor of the PlayStation, chiefly because CD-ROMs offered more storage. Key staff included producer Hironobu Sakaguchi, director Yoshinori Kitase, composer Nobuo Uematsu and character designer Tetsuya Nomura.
Development cost an estimated US$40 million, with another US$40 million spent on marketing worldwide, and the team of 100 to 150 people was described as the largest in game development up to that point.
The Western releases came out in September and November 1997 with extra content. Final Fantasy VII International, released in Japan on 2 October 1997, brought those additions home and sold about 640,000 copies. The 1998 Windows version, published by Eidos, sold over one million copies against an initial forecast of 100,000.12
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Final Fantasy VII | PlayStation | Sep 7, 1997 | Sony Computer Entertainment | 1 |
| NA | Final Fantasy VIIAlso PAL regions the same day; not released in Japan at the time | Windows | Jun 25, 1998 | Eidos Interactive | 1 |
| NA | Final Fantasy VIIRe-release by DotEmu; Japan 16 May 2013; Steam 4 July 2013 | Windows | Aug 14, 2012 | Square Enix | 1 |
| JP | ファイナルファンタジーVII | PlayStation | Jan 31, 1997 | Square | 1 |
| JP | ファイナルファンタジーVII インターナショナルInternational version | PlayStation | Oct 2, 1997 | Square | 1 |
| EU | Final Fantasy VIIThe Spanish Wikipedia cites an SCE Europe release dated 14 November 1997 | PlayStation | Nov 17, 1997 | Sony Computer Entertainment | 1 |
| JP | ファイナルファンタジーVII インターナショナルPlayStation Store Game Archives (PS3/PSP) | PlayStation 3 | Apr 10, 2009 | Square Enix | 2 |
| WW | Final Fantasy VII | iOS | Aug 19, 2015 | Square Enix | 1 |
| WW | Final Fantasy VIIBased on the PC International version | PlayStation 4 | Dec 5, 2015 | Square Enix | 1 |
| WW | Final Fantasy VII | Android | Jul 7, 2016 | Square Enix | 1 |
| WW | Final Fantasy VIIXbox One the same day | Switch | Mar 26, 2019 | Square Enix | 1 |
Also known as: ファイナルファンタジーVII JP2FF7 JP2FFVII WW2ファイナルファンタジーVII インターナショナル JP2
Box art by region
NA Final Fantasy VII 
EU Final Fantasy VII 
JP ファイナルファンタジーVII
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
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ContentPS1 (NA/EU)International (JP)
The Western release and the Japanese International edition add boss fights against the Weapons, extra flashbacks to Cloud's past, world-map markers, a faster Materia menu and fewer random encounters.1
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DifficultyPS1 (NA/EU)
Enemy health was lowered in the Western versions, and some Enemy Skill spells were weakened.2
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TextPS1 (NA)PC 1998
The English script, handled by a single translator, was criticized for awkward wording; Aerith became 'Aeris' because of poor communication between the localization and QA teams.1
Translations
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Spanish Official
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe1997PlayStation · English localizationReleased · complete
The PAL PlayStation release was translated into Spanish from the English script, and the 1998 PC port corrected very little of that translation.3
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Spanish Official
Square Enix2013Windows · PC re-releaseReleased · complete
The current Steam edition lists Spanish (Spain) text.4
Where to play legally today
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Steam Purchase
FINAL FANTASY VII
PC International-based version with booster features
Checked: 2026-10-134store.steampowered.com
Reception
The game sold over 2 million copies in Japan in three days, passed 10 million worldwide by May 2010 and exceeded 15.3 million by September 2025. It won numerous Game of the Year awards in 1997, and the PlayStation version holds a Metacritic score of 92.1
In lists
Sources
- 1en.wikipedia.org
- 2ja.wikipedia.org
- 3es.wikipedia.org
- 4store.steampowered.com
- 5ja.wikipedia.org
- 6ja.wikipedia.org
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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