Square Enix made the most of its time during Thursday's PlayStation State of Play. Not only did it announce the PS5 upgrade for Final Fantasy 7 Remake and its new DLC, but it then followed it up by announcing two new Final Fantasy games on social media. One of those games is Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis, which there's been a variety of speculation about. It can now be confirmed that Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis is a single-player recreation of not just Final Fantasy 7, but its spin-offs, too.
For Final Fantasy 7 Remake players who were hoping for a more authentic return of the classic JRPG, Ever Crisis is that game. It's an episodic retelling of the original JRPG with a visual overhaul that finds a balance between the original game's visuals and the remake's. Exploration looks like a modernized version of the classic visuals. Combat, however, features visuals much more akin to Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Much remains to be shared regarding the overall scope of the project, including its gameplay.
The bigger promise of Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis is that it will bring together the stories of all major Final Fantasy 7 releases. That means that it includes a retelling of the original Final Fantasy 7, the Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children animated film, the mobile phone game Before Crisis: Final Fantasy 7, PSP prequel Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7, and PS2 action-shooter Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy 7. As if that wasn't enough, the teaser trailer also promises "more."
As for what that additional content could be, Square Enix has yet to confirm it. There's plenty of Final Fantasy 7 content available, though. For example, there's a mobile game midquel to Dirge of Cerberus named Lost Episode, or the Final Fantasy 7 Last Order anime. There are even some goofy options like Final Fantasy 7 Snowboarding or Final Fantasy 7 G-Bike, which could fill a not-so-serious episode. Suffice to say, Ever Crisis has lofty aspirations and plenty of opportunities for fun.
There is one limiting factor to consider with Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis. That factor is that the bundle has only been announced for iOS and Android devices. Square Enix hasn't confirmed plans to bring it to other platforms, which is rather shocking. It would make a lot of sense to have Ever Crisis available on PlayStation platforms, and on Switch as well. Hopefully, plans for that are still in the works.
Ultimately, it's a curious situation that Square Enix is now releasing a more authentic retelling of the original Final Fantasy 7 games shortly after the release of the first chapter of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Some predict that this implies Final Fantasy 7 Remake's second chapter will be significantly different than what came before. Ever Crisis could then be used as a reference, of sorts, allowing players to revisit story beats on their phone that have changed in the remake. Time will tell.
Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis releases in 2022 on iOS and Android devices.