A writer and content creator, GamesWithCoffee has been one of our most prolific mainstays at The Pixels. When not working, streaming, or raising kids, Coffee writes personally for fun. Recently, Coffee mentioned that he had been working on fanfiction that combines two seemingly disparate universes: Final Fantasy VII and Sonic the Hedgehog. Such a revelation demanded elaboration, so I (ProfNoctis), recently chatted with Coffee about this fascinating project.
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ProfNoctis: So what in the world is this project you’re working on? What can you tell us about it?
GamesWithCoffee: If you ever asked yourself “What would happen if you took the plot elements of Final Fantasy VII and melded them with the elements from the greater Sonic the Hedgehog universe (including video games, comics, animated series/OVA’s, etc.)? The answer you would get is Mobius VII.
Mobius VII tells the story of Final Fantasy VII through the lens of the Sonic the Hedgehog universe. The plot more or less stays the same, but with some creative changes that incorporate components and story bits found throughout the history of Sonic the Hedgehog. Things like Rings, Emeralds, Roboticization from the Sonic SATAM cartoon series, characters, and story arcs from Sonic X. The list goes on.
PN: What inspired such a creation?
GwC: The inspiration behind this came as most inspirational things happen: by sheer boredom, haha. I was 20 years old, in university at the time studying for my engineering degree. I took an elective course in Philosophy and I was supposed to write an essay. Instead, I decided to procrastinate and play yet another round of Final Fantasy VII. As I was going through the game, I let my mind wander around and came to a sudden epiphany – Sonic is like Zack, and Tails is like Cloud.
Despite Sephiroth being his hero, Cloud has also looked up to Zack and has considered him his best friend and someone to emulate. Literally LOL. In the same sense, Tails always looked up to Sonic, almost in the same light as Cloud did with Zack. So, I decided to write a character analysis, which then turned into the first chapter of my story. From there, I began seeing parallels between FF VII and the Sonic universe. Emeralds and Materia, the Shinra Company and the dystopian Robotnik Empire in the Sonic Archie comics and SATAM Sonic, and even the Lifestream and the Source of All featured in the Sonic Archie comic series. These are but a few examples of things I pieced together and with those things in mind, I decided to write a story.
PN: Sonic and FF7 have pretty different tones. How are you going to bring these two worlds together?
GwC: Contrary to what people think, Sonic the Hedgehog has had varying tones than those depicted in the games. This is especially apparent in the comic book series, in which Sonic and company are guerrilla fighters against Robotnik’s tyrannical rule over Mobius. Melding the events in FFVII with things from the Sonic Universe was more about doing lots and lots and lots of research behind both FF VII and the entire Sonic the Hedgehog universe and then finding and connecting the common elements together.
The first draft I wrote all those years ago was pretty much a one-to-one retelling with the Sonic characters replacing the FF VII ones. I didn’t think that was terribly original, hence why I revamped the story. I admit I did make some creative liberties, but I did so to ensure I created a cohesive story that pays homage to the source material and stands out without being labeled as a direct retelling of the original story.
Art by Tracey Yardley
PN: Have you written any other fan fiction?
GwC: Fanfiction is basically in my blood! My first was a retelling of the Game Gear version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 when I was 7 years old. I even drew illustrations and everything! I wrote one about the Super Mario Bros movie (the old version LOL) when I was 8 and one about Super Contra when I was 9. I also drew a comic book sequel to Crash Bandicoot around the same time, where I imagined he turned into a superhero with a cape and everything haha. Sixth grade, I wrote a fanfiction about Alundra and I should probably mention now that all of these stories I wrote were for assignments! My teachers read and graded my fanfiction haha! I got into art and drawing anime in seventh grade and so, for a period of time, I didn’t write much of anything until I started Mobius VII.
PN: What do you hope readers take from this project?
GwC: This is a good question. When I started this project, I wasn’t thinking about the impact it would have on readers. I did this because I thought it was fun to do! Thing is, this story of mine, it took almost 12 years before I finalized and published the first book. At some points, I thought my story wasn’t good enough. At other times, I thought I wasn’t good enough. I’m no Tolkien, no Gaiman, no G.R.R. Martin and certainly no Jordan or Sanderson. But I stuck with it, I didn’t give up, and I kept trying until I got the story to where I wanted it, where I believed it needed to be. I worked on my craft by reading other stories, taking classes and asking for feedback wherever possible. I did my best to develop and continue developing this talent that I have, and it’s thanks to the people I’ve met over the last five years that I ended up getting this done. Now, whenever I look at the first book on my site, I feel this immense sense of pride at what I accomplished. I also feel confident that I can continue what I started. I finished the entire outline of Book 2 last week and I’ve started to put together the first draft.
There’s always an opportunity to learn something new about something you’re good at.
What I want readers to take away from this project are three things. One, that they should dive right in if they have a creative idea to explore. Stick with it for as long as you can. Even if it turns out to be a bust, you’ll learn something about yourself that you can take to the next opportunity. Two, keep working on your craft. There’s always an opportunity to learn something new about something you’re good at. Finally, criticism is not a personal attack on you, it’s an opportunity to be better than you were before. The critical comments I got about both the story and my writing truly helped me in the long run. That’s why I constantly seek feedback on my writing; I genuinely want to find ways to improve what I feel I’m good at.
PN: Bonus question: You’ve opened up a whole new can of worms and possibilities with this combination. So, I have to ask… will we see any new shipping situations? Clonic ? Knuckith? Scarbotnik??
GwC: As for the bonus question, first, LOL. Second, whatever romance exists in my is merely implied at best. I’m pretty much in the camps of both Zerith and Cloti personally. But the love triangle, I feel is secondary to the main theme I’m going for the overall story. And that theme is answers.
Cosmo is trying to find answers about both her powers and the fate of her former boyfriend. Tails is seeking answers as to how he survived what should have been a fatal battle against the greatest SOLDIER ever. Cream, similarly, is looking for answers as to what happened 5 years ago, since a head injury she suffered has clouded her memories of that time. Bark’s looking for answers as to why he keeps fighting: is it for revenge, for his adopted daughter or something else. Sally is looking for answers as to who is truly responsible for her kingdom’s destruction prior to the events of the story. Even Knuckles is looking for answers about his role as a Guardian, the whereabouts of his missing people and why, to his knowledge, he ended up being the last echidna. Upcoming characters to the story will also have to seek their own answers. One wants answers on what it means to have free will. One wants answers about her exile and what it will take to regain what she lost. One wants to find the answers to quests that haunted him for 30 years. And one (predictably) wants answers as to what’s beyond the skies above. The search for truth will drive the characters forward on their paths. What shipping may exist is secondary in nature.
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Book 1 of Mobius VII is already available here. We hope you’ll look forward to the full release of Mobius VII. In the meantime, you can check out GamesWithCoffee’s other content on his website and Twitch!
Editor-in-Chief of The Pixels, Wade (aka ProfNoctis) teaches and plays video games at the University of Alabama. His dissertation combined Judeo-Christian kingship and Final Fantasy XV. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitch.
