Game preservationists are currently working to make “Before Crisis: Final Fantasy 7,” a Japan-only prequel to the famous Final Fantasy 7, more accessible despite the game being officially discontinued over six years ago.
The game, which focuses on the Turks and is set before the events of the iconic JRPG, was released in Japan in 2004 but was never brought to the West. This has made “Before Crisis” somewhat notorious as the only game in the Compilation of Final Fantasy 7 that wasn’t released outside of Japan.
The game consisted of 25 episodes, with the last one released on April 1, 2006. A special chapter set before the main story focused on the character Tseng’s past. Despite its original inaccessibility, the game remained functional until 2018 when Square Enix shut it down along with some of its older mobile services. Since then, fans and preservationists have been working to revive and preserve this piece of gaming history.
Yuvi, a game preservationist dedicated to making obscure games more accessible, has made significant progress in bringing “Before Crisis” back to life. Through their efforts, several important milestones have been achieved, such as making the player rank and training menu fully operational and populating the shop with all necessary items. This work involves complex reverse engineering to restore the game’s functions.
In addition to restoring “Before Crisis,” there are efforts to revive other Final Fantasy 7-related content. For example, Yuvi has also worked on restoring the online leaderboards for Final Fantasy 7’s snowboarding game, allowing players to compete in time trials and upload their scores. This adds to the growing list of i-mode games with restored online functionality.
Although Square Enix has considered re-releasing “Before Crisis” on platforms like the Nintendo 3DS, the most recent official offering is the mobile game “Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis.” This game provides a retelling of all canon titles in the Compilation of Final Fantasy 7 franchise, including “Before Crisis.”
For those seeking a more authentic experience, a separate fan project has created a full remake of “Before Crisis,” allowing it to be played on PC.