Featured OST:
The Prelude from Final Fantasy VII
Featured Artwork:
Featured Fanfiction:
To be added...
Featured Essay:
To be added...
The Final Fantasy Series:
Final Fantasy is a franchise of thematically connected fantasy role-playing games. The stories are, for the most part, completely separate, and take place in entirely different universes. However, the games are linked by common aesthetics, character types, and symbols. Final Fantasy VII is the seventh main entry into the franchise.
Compilation of Final Fantasy VII:
The series within the series that constitutes the story of FFVII. There are several games, short stories, and even a movie. The main game, though, is the original Final Fantasy VII, which came out in 1997. Other major entries are Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, and Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII.
Major entry covers, in story order.
You may have also heard of Final Fantasy VII Remake. I don't know too much about it - I'm waiting for the developers to release all the installments before touching it. I'm excited to see what they do with the story! The more I hear, the more pumped up I get.
The Planet:
Final Fantasy VII is set on a world called Gaia, but it is often just referred to as "the planet". The planet is similar to ours, for the most part - except for the presence of monsters, and the massive veins of a powerful substance called mako running through it.
SHINRA, Inc.:
Shinra, Inc. serves as a government and military for its population. Shinra is willing to do anything for a profit - including slowly destroying the planet. It's also not exactly known for its employee benefits. Remind you of anything familiar..?
The Ancients:
A people who fluorished long ago, who shared a special connection with the planet itself. There's only one known living remnant of the Ancients, but it seems she'd prefer not to be associated. And she might not even be the only one... Either way, much of the Ancients' culture and knowledge is unknown to the modern era.
The Lifestream:
Mako, or the Lifestream, is used by Shinra as an energy source. They use it to power their structures, engineer superhumans, and even enchant their weapons. The Lifestream also serves as a metaphysical afterlife (in death, you become part of the stream). Its tangible form is finite, though, and draining it from the planet causes death and destruction. I wonder if this is an allegory for something...
Materia:
Mako condensed into large marbles which can be equipped into items. They add magical effects to that item - be it fire, ice, thunder, healing, or any other manner of things. They were created a long, long time ago by the Ancients, imbued with their knowledge and connection to the planet. Nowadays, it seems like it's mostly Shinra making them.
SOLDIER:
The SOLDIER unit is where you become a hero - at least, that's what propaganda will tell you. In reality, Shinra is engineering supersoldiers for their military using mako, and exploiting their labor on the front line. Only the best and brightest are candidates for the program. As for the SOLDIERs themselves... The road to hell is paved with good intentions, right?
Turks:
Shinra's unit of mysterious men in black. Someone has to do the dirty work...
JENOVA:
A being with an unknown origin, discovered deep within the planet's ice. She might be from this planet, but she might be from somewhere far, far away. For the moment, she's carefully contained, but can Shinra really be trusted with her?
See also: Glossary (to be added).
Major characters of Final Fantasy VII:
Official character portraits by Tetsuya Nomura.
Major characters of the prequel:
Several familiar faces inhabit the world of the FFVII prequel, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. However, it's Cloud's friend Zack's first time out of flashbacks and into the spotlight, and he's brought some new friends along with him.
Crisis Core primarily follows members of Shinra's SOLDIER program, before the events of Final Fantasy VII.
Zack Fair (right):
The protagonist of Crisis Core. Flirty, outgoing, rambunctious, ambitious, and impulsive, he drags the player along with him on SOLDIER missions all over the map. Friend of everyone, but especially Cloud.
Angeal Hewley (middle):
Zack's mentor. He shares the same values, but unlike Zack, he thinks before acting. Friend of Genesis and Sephiroth.
Genesis Rhapsodos (left):
He has a flair for dramatics. Friend of Angeal and Sephiroth. The main antagonist of Crisis Core.
Official art by Tetsuya Nomura.
Strange and Wonderful is filled with FFVII references, but perhaps the main one is the layout of the website itself.
The backgrounds mimic the text boxes in the actual gameplay! See here:
Look closely as you explore Strange and Wonderful, and you'll spot even more references to the game!
