Final Fantasy VII

Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy VII	1998
Final Fantasy VIII	2000
Final Fantasy XI	2003
Final Fantasy XIV	2010
Final Fantasy VII (2012)	2012
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn	2013
Final Fantasy VIII (2013)	2013
Final Fantasy III	2014
Final Fantasy IV	2014
Final Fantasy XIII	2014
Final Fantasy XIII-2	2014
Final Fantasy IV: The After Years	2015
Final Fantasy Type-0 HD‎	2015
Final Fantasy V	2015
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII	2015
Final Fantasy VI	2015
Final Fantasy IX	2016
Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster	2016
Mobius Final Fantasy	2016
Final Fantasy Type-0 Online	2016

This page is for the original 1998 version. For the 2012 re-release, see Final Fantasy VII (2012).

Key points

Unfavorable to the PlayStation version in areas: Has inferior MIDI music.

While the PlayStation version ran at 60 FPS, excluding menu screens the PC frame rate is capped at 30 FPS, 15 FPS during combat and FMVs, breaking the combat camera as well as some menu mechanics. 60FPS BATTLES mostly alleviates the combat situation.^[2]

FMVs are from the 320x224 resolution used on the PlayStation.^[3]

General information

Qhimm Final Fantasy Mod Forums

Availability[edit]

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		DRM: Simple disk check, no physical copy protection.
Gamesplanet

Essential improvements[edit]

Patches[edit]

The official 1.02 patch fixes various bugs and is required for running the game on modern Windows.

TrueMotion 2 codec[edit]

Required by modern versions of Windows to view FMVs in-game, the screen will remain black during the FMVs otherwise.

The Reunion[edit]

A fan-made mod pack with a host of tweaks and fixes.

BEACAUSE: In-game text translation fixes.
MENU OVERHAUL: Updates the font, menu and battle UI.
60FPS BATTLES: Corrects the battle frame rate of the PC versions to be 60, the same as the original PlayStation version (15FPS animations, 30FPS camera, 60FPS menus).
WEAPON: Adjusts various aspects of the game's difficulty to be smoother.
MODEL OVERHAUL: Attempts to improve character models in the game.
MEMORY PATCHES: Various memory patches, such as cheats et al..
1:35 SOLDIER QUEST: "99 1:35 Soldiers will be hidden throughout the world as collectables."

Copying movies to disk[edit]

You can improve performance by running the video files directly from the hard drive.

Running movies from disk^{[citation needed]}

Requires editing the registry.

Go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Square Soft, Inc\Final Fantasy VII\ and create a folder called Movies
Copy all .avi files from the movies folder on each disc to C:\Program Files (x86)\Square Soft, Inc\Final Fantasy VII\Movies
Open the Registry Editor:
- Vista and later: open the Start Screen/Start Menu, type regedit and press ↵ Enter.
- Windows XP: press ⊞ Win+R, type regedit and press ↵ Enter.
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Square Soft, Inc.\Final Fantasy VII\1.00\Graphics
If that doesn't exist go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Square Soft, Inc.\Final Fantasy VII
Change MoviePath to C:\Program Files (x86)\Square Soft, Inc\Final Fantasy VII\Movies\

Aali's custom driver[edit]

Renders the game with OpenGL and enables rendering at higher resolutions with other options. Also avoids graphical issues and artifacts with some modern GPUs. There are two methods of installation:

Directly (direct file link for 0.8.1b). Follow the steps precisely or it will not work.
Via a third party installer (direct file link for 0.8.1). Put this and the above direct archive in the same directory and run the installer. This automates the steps and is recommended over the direct method.

Make sure your GPU drivers are up-to-date as the default Windows GPU drivers have poor OpenGL support.

Introduces some bugs into the game, and currently has a small black bar at the bottom.

Bootleg Configurator[edit]

This utility is a download and install manager for mods.

Bootleg Configurator is the best way to install mods.

Multiple mod packs such as Final Fantasy VII Ultima Edition and Final Fantasy VII Remix have been released, but they are quickly made out of date by current mod development.^[4]

Full playthrough using Bootleg Configurator can be viewed on EQ2Alyza's YouTube channel.

Game data[edit]

Configuration file(s) location[edit]

System	Location
Windows	HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Square Soft, Inc.\Final Fantasy VII\1.00\

With modern versions of Windows it may be in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Square Soft, Inc.\Final Fantasy VII\1.00\Graphics which takes precedence if both registry keys exist.

Save game data location[edit]

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\save\

Video settings[edit]

Supported resolutions: 320x240x16, 320x240x16 pillarboxed in 640x460x16, and 640x460x16.

Graphics in Configuration.

Graphics option	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution		See Aali's custom driver for a workaround, though it currently has a black bottom border.
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed	See Aali's custom driver.
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS	Combat and FMVs are capped at 15 FPS, and everything else is capped at 30 FPS. Use The Reunion for 60 FPS during combat.
120+ FPS	Menu screens are capped at 60 FPS.

Input settings[edit]

No in-game mouse support.

Uses the numpad for keyboard input.

Keyboard and mouse	Native	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
Full controller support		Qualifies after initial configuration, which has no controller support.
Controller remapping
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion
Other
Touchscreen optimised

Additional information
Button prompts
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback

Audio settings[edit]

Sound in Configuration.

MIDI in Configuration.

Audio options	Native	Notes
Separate volume controls		MIDI music slider only.
Surround sound
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost		Game pauses when put in background, MIDI music does not.

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	CC	Notes
English

Issues fixed[edit]

Game immediately quits[edit]

Install the official 1.02 patch.

FMVs display a black screen[edit]

Modern versions of Windows will need the TrueMotion 2 codec to view the FMVs.

Graphical issues[edit]

If you have graphical issues or artifacts, use Aali's custom driver.

Other information[edit]

Running from an ISO or another drive[edit]

By default the game uses the drive it was installed from for CD checks. If you wish to use another drive (common when using an ISO), edit the registry:

Run the Registry Editor
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Square Soft, Inc.\Final Fantasy VII\1.00\Graphics
If that doesn't exist go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Square Soft, Inc.\Final Fantasy VII
Change its value to the drive letter that the .ISO occupies(usually E or F), and relaunch the game.

System requirements[edit]

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	95
Processor (CPU)	Pentium 133 MHz^[5] Pentium 166 MHz^[6]
System memory (RAM)	32 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	260 MB
Video card (GPU)	2 MB of VRAM DirectX 5.1 compatible	4 MB^[5] of VRAM
Other	DirectMedia 5.2 4x CD-ROM

References

↑ Q-Gears: "Unlike what people think, Square did the port, not Edios. Edios was just a publisher who gained the rights to the game."
↑ Qhimm Forums :: 60FPS BATTLES
↑ Qhimm Forums :: FF7 - Technical Discussion on Game Resolution and FMV
↑ makeuseof :: No Sequel, No Problem! Remaster Final Fantasy VII For PC Using Bootleg
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 with 3D accelerator
↑ without 3D accelerator

[1] Q-Gears: "Unlike what people think, Square did the port, not Edios. Edios was just a publisher who gained the rights to the game."

[2] Qhimm Forums :: 60FPS BATTLES

[3] Qhimm Forums :: FF7 - Technical Discussion on Game Resolution and FMV

[4] useof :: No Sequel, No Problem! Remaster Final Fantasy VII For PC Using Bootleg

[yes3D-5] 5.0 ^5.1 with 3D accelerator

[no3D-6] without 3D accelerator

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

Developers

	Square Enix^[1]
Publishers
	Eidos Interactive
Release dates
Windows	May 31, 1998