Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis Story Chapters Will Be Free-to-Play

Compilation of Final Fantasy VII was once the name for a line of FFVII spin-off titles, but it’s looking like the recently announced  Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis mobile game is what will actually live up to the “compilation” name with its story chapters. The mobile title, in the vein of Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition, will serve as a comprehensive, bite-size exploration of the expansive world of FFVII and its growing backstory. And players will be able to do that for free, according to a Famitsu interview with Director Tetsuya Nomura [Thanks, Famitsu].

Famitsu raised the question of just how Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis would be monetized. The initial announcement made clear that it was a single-player title driven by its story, but was unclear on how it would make Square Enix money. Nomura answered that the story chapters themselves would be free to access, as would the core gameplay. However, the game will feature gacha elements, specifically for acquiring weapons and possibly costumes. The special weapons will come with interesting gimmicks that weren’t present in the original games. There will also be new and original costumes.

Even for players only interested in the story, the chapters of Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis will be considerable in size. The original Final Fantasy VII is expected to take up about ten chapters, with players escaping Midgar by the third chapter. The game won’t be a lock-step recreation of FFVII and its spin-offs, though. As evidenced by screenshots of things like seeing Aerith in the party during the first boss battle (The Guard Scorpion at Mako Reactor No. 1), the battle system will allow players to mix things up to take on new challenges unbound by the narrative. The story itself willalso feature new content, as well as original chapters focusing on things like the backstory of Final Fantasy VII The First Soldier or the younger days of characters who appear in other FFVII games.

Nomura clarified that one of the reasons for Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis‘ creation is to establish common ground among the titles of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. Those games vary widely in terms of technology, style, and mechanics, so this will be a way for fans new and old to experience their uniqueness in a unified way. That said, the game won’t be a replacement for the originals. Nomura mentioned receiving requests to make the older games playable on current platforms, though he didn’t confirm if he’d be acting on those requests.

Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis will release for mobile devices in 2022.