In the pantheon of video game classics, there's Final Fantasy VII and then there's everything else. It is the most cherished title in a series that enjoys reserved seating on almost every "best of" list ever made, and, since it's 1997 release, it has spawned a slew of prequels, sequels, and toys, and even an animated feature-length film that was much, much better than Pootie Tang.
In other words, you probably already know of Final Fantasy VII. But I bet you didn't know these five facts I dug up from around the Internet.
Originally, there were only three characters in the entire game
Director Yoshinori Kitase and character designer/coauthor Tetsuya Nomura were Final Fantasy veterans by the time they began working on FFVII, and from the beginning the two men set out to create memorable characters who could stand up to fan favorites from earlier titles. Cloud would be the quiet hero plagued by self-doubt and the scars of a dark, mysterious past. Beside him would be Barrett and Aeris –– and that's it. Nobody else in the entire game. No Sephiroth, no Tifa, not even any big talking cats.
Aeris had a death wish
In the hours and days after FFVII's release, the Internet was awash in searches for strategies, codes, and voodoo rituals that would bring Aeris back to life after Sephiroth impaled her like one of those little plastic swords that hold sandwiches together. Nobody found a reincarnation cheat, however, because co-creators Kitase and Nomura always intended for her to die in order to break the cliche of the noble protagonist sacrificing himself for the greater good. Both Barrett and Aeris were up for the role of sacrificial lamb but the duo told EGM that they decided to kill off the less obvious choice and the one they thought would leave behind the largest emotional hole: Aeris. Recollections of my hot tears and girlish whimpering say they chose well.
The composer makes his own beer
Nobuo Uematsu's instantly recognizable music sweeps through almost all of the Final Fantasy series, and his work on FFVII is among his most popular. Case in point: I still get teary eyed whenever I hear Aeris's theme. But did you know Uematsu brews his own beer? Alright, maybe this isn't technically FFVII related, but, c'mon, he brews his own beer! Uematsu told Destructoid that his brew is more like an ale than a traditional Japanese beer. Also, his stupid friends refuse to take a sip of it for some unfathomable reason.
Cloud's sword was referred to as the "Giant Kitchen Knife"
Cloud's big ass sword is possibly the most recognizable weapon in any video game ever made. Its creator, character designer Tetsuya Nomura, preferred to call it the strangely adorable "Giant Kitchen Knife" based on how he originally envisioned it. I would LOVE to see that infomercial, which I imagine would go something like this.
Its official name is the "Buster Sword" and later titles reveal that Cloud is actually its third wielder after SOLDIER members Angeal Hewley and Zack Fair. The Buster Sword appears in plenty of other Final Fantasy titles, including FFIX, where Zidane can inspect it and recall "I remember a guy with spiky hair who carried something like this." That he did, monkey boy, that he did.
Star Wars made a cameo
If Wedge and Biggs of the resistance group AVALANCHE look awfully familiar, it's because their names were ripped straight from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. That's right, the erstwhile Red Squadron wingmen are something of a running gag in the Final Fantasy series, even popping up as Blitzball players in FFX and, strangely enough, as a pair of machines in the FFVII prequel Crisis Core. Both resistance fighters meet a tragic end in FFVII, however, when all of Sector 7 is destroyed by Shinra. RIP, Red Two and Red Three.
Now be honest: how many of these facts did you already know?
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