Final Fantasy VII

The game

A job with larger stakes

Cloud Strife is a mercenary hired by AVALANCHE, the resistance group fighting Shinra. The corporation draws Mako energy from the planet through its reactors, making the struggle over power quite literal. Cloud’s paid assignment pulls him into a wider fight for the planet’s survival, beginning amid the streets and machinery of Midgar.

Explore, prepare, fight

Between battles, you speak with residents, search for supplies, visit shops, and tackle events with their own rules. Combat uses Active Time Battle: a filled Time gauge gives a character the opportunity to receive a command. Victories can award money, items, experience, and Ability Points. Materia fitted to weapons or armor supplies magic and additional commands, so equipment helps determine what each party member can do.

This edition

The original PlayStation edition

This is the USA PlayStation version, originally spread across three discs. The game requests the next disc when needed; on the original console, that change happens without switching off the power. Saving uses a PlayStation Memory Card. The controller labels below follow this edition’s original assignments.

Start here

1. Begin a new adventure

   Choose NEW GAME. When a naming screen appears, you can keep the supplied name or enter one of up to nine letters. Keeping the defaults makes the cast easier to recognize as introductions accumulate.

2. Learn the battle display

   In your first fights, locate each character’s current and maximum HP, remaining MP, and Time gauge. Try Attack, then check your targets carefully when using magic or items: commands can also target allies.

3. Visit the Beginner’s Hall

   Once you reach the Sector 7 Slums, look above the weapon shop near AVALANCHE headquarters. Speak with the people in the Beginner’s Hall for practical lessons before pushing farther into the adventure.

Original controls

These are the original game's controls. For keyboard, controller and touch settings in this player, see Controls & help.

Directional buttons and Circle

Use the directional buttons to move or select. Circle talks, examines, collects items, and confirms commands.

Cross

Cancel a selection; hold while moving in the field to run.

Triangle and Square

Triangle opens the field menu or switches ready characters in battle. Square switches between the Materia and Equip menus.

Select

Show your position and door indicators where available; display command help during battle.

Start

Cycle world map displays or pause and resume a battle.

L1 + R1

Hold both buttons to attempt escape. Some enemies and formations prevent retreat.

Playing tips

• Keep a Limit in reserve

  A full Limit gauge carries into the next battle if unused. When a fight is nearly finished, consider saving that character’s special attack for a tougher encounter.

• Find the defensive commands

  Press right at the command window’s right edge to reach Defend, which halves incoming damage until the next Time gauge fills. It is a useful choice when surviving matters more than another attack.

• Rest before resources run dry

  Most inns fully restore the party’s HP and MP and clear abnormal status. Compare the price of a stay with your remaining recovery supplies before heading onward.

• Read before an event begins

  Special events may change the controls or impose a time limit. Read their messages and screen instructions first; ordinary movement and battle habits may not cover the task ahead.