Final Fantasy 7 is a pivotal piece of art, one of those handful of titles that forever changed the trajectory of the gaming industry. A darker, edgier narrative with complex, conflicted heroes, it was a seismic shift in design and tone. That precedent carried forward into countless RPGs, including the next Final Fantasy, which is why it was so shocking when the gritty techno stories of Final Fantasy 7 and 8 yielded to the classical stylings of Final Fantasy 9.
This complete shift produced one of the series’ most impactful entries, which came out 25 years ago today. A fusion of Final Fantasy past and present that weaved complex storytelling with the franchise’s core tenets, Square created the purest version of what it means to be a Final Fantasy game.
