Final Fantasy VII (NES video game)
An unauthorized NES demake of Final Fantasy VII.
The cartridge uses a unique circuit board layout and programming distinct from licensed Famicom cartridges. Despite its unauthorized status, the title reproduces the original story in minute detail while adapting many gameplay subsystems.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Shenzhen Nanjing Technology
- Series
- Final Fantasy
- Platforms
- Famicom
- Released
- CHN (2005)
- Genre
- Role-playing
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Development
Shenzhen Nanjing Technology developed the unauthorized NES demake at an unknown date, releasing it in 2005. The box and manual reference Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children as the full title, though the title screen displays only Final Fantasy VII and the game includes no content from the film. Due to Famicom hardware limitations, the remake uses 2D computer graphics. Some in-battle sprites, such as Cloud Strife's, combine two 16x24 pixel sprites side by side instead of a single sprite to account for weapons like Cloud's sword or Barret's gun. The game uses its own several-hundred 16x16-pixel monochrome font, unlike typical Japanese or Chinese games. The script is strewn in chunks across the code; each dialog box text begins with a three-digit number preceded by an @-symbol indicating which character portrait to display. The cartridge circuit board uses a single two-megabyte PRG ROM chip and a RAM chip for character graphics data, similar to the UNROM method. Data is strewn across the PRG ROM in various banks. The cartridge includes one 8-kilobyte battery-backed RAM chip for the single save slot. Many graphics are borrowed from other games, mostly Final Fantasy titles, including Super NES graphics converted to four-color palettes. Much of the music is borrowed from other games, often shortened to a few repeating notes.
Reception
This unauthorized NES port of Final Fantasy VII has been praised for squeezing the entire story onto the cartridge, but it is notoriously punishing. Battles occur at random and drag on, while healing items are scarce and both character abilities and weapon upgrades advance at a snail's pace. One reviewer bluntly advised players to cheat. Despite these issues, there is demand for an English translation patch, and the game has been featured on sites like Gameworld Network and Japan's Gpara.com. A separate fan project, released in 2013 after four years of work by the Romhacking.net community, started as a simple graphics hack but evolved into a full overhaul meant to bring the visuals and gameplay closer to the PlayStation original. Critics have been impressed. Journalist Derrick Sobodash noted that while it won't feel new to veterans of the original, it stands proudly alongside other NES Final Fantasy titles and called the effort surprisingly professional. Kotaku's Luke Plunkett labeled it a Herculean achievement and a triumph of the human spirit. Joel Johnson of Boing Boing Gadgets and Wired News saw it as more than a knock-off, praising the unknown Chinese team's true skill and commitment. GamePro ranked it first on its list of the thirteen best fan-made remakes, calling it the video game equivalent of the Human Genome Project, flaws and all.
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