Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis (2023) [Mobile] first impressions

Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis marks Square-Enix’s second attempt at a free-to-play mobile title set in the Final Fantasy VII universe. Whereas Final Fantasy VII: The First SOLDIER was a third-person battle royale shooter akin to Fortnite, Ever Crisis returns Final Fantasy VII to its JRPG roots in a mobile-friendly setting. 

Now, despite my pedigree as a console/PC gamer, I’ve also had plenty of experience with free-to-play mobile titles. I’ve played and enjoyed Final Fantasy: Record Keeper when it was released in 2014. I’ve also been sucked into the black hole that is the arena/card battler Clash Royale for a good number of years until I decided to go cold turkey. And naturally (since this is me we’re talking about), I’ve beaten the mobile ports for both Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and played through a multitude of Sonic mobile games. 

When Ever Crisis was announced back at the end of 2022, I was initially excited. My mood soured slightly when Square Enix announced that it would be a mobile-only, free-to-play title. Nevertheless, the art style of the field screens combined with the Final Fantasy VII: Remake-style battle screens intrigued me enough to pre-register for the September 7th release. The focus on the storylines for Final Fantasy VII and Crisis Core also drew me in. The main attraction that Square Enix is focusing on in this title appears to be Sephiroth and how he became the supposed hero leading up to the events of Final Fantasy VII. This dive into Sephiroth’s character leads me to believe that Ever Crisis will be a vehicle that’s used to humanize him. But I digress, let’s get down to the first impressions.

Three SOLDIER’s Show You The Ropes

Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis begins with a battle between Cloud and Sephiroth. This battle introduces the game’s turn-based combat mechanics to new players. Players must focus on three gauges: HP, Limit and Active Time Battle (ATB). HP represents your character’s health, Limit is used for Limit Breaks and the ATB is what allows characters to use skills and magic.

The ATB gauge continually fills in battle and is separated into seven segments grouped in a 3-2-2 split. By consuming the ATB gauge, characters can unleash abilities and magic. Players can activate these by tapping on them. Each skill and spell has a specific ATB cost: Cloud’s Fast Attack consumes four segments, while Cure consumes five. This system greatly resembles the Command Synergy Battle system in the Final Fantasy XIII series of games.

Zack soon makes an appearance (and I admit, I geeked out upon seeing him), which gives the game an opportunity to introduce Limit Breaks. Limit Breaks work the same as in the original game and in Remake: once the gauge is filled, you can unleash a Limit by tapping the icon on screen. Limits do big damage and the game encourages you to use them liberally.

A Memory Recalled

Once the initial tutorial battle is complete, the game moves to the story mode. After the opening cutscene, lifted directly from the beginning of Final Fantasy VII: Remake, players take control of Cloud during the Mako Reactor No.1 bombing. On the field screen, Cloud will move wherever players tap on. Alternatively, pressing down on the screen will bring up a mini-joystick that players can use to move. The character models in Ever Crisis bring to mind the blocky polygonal character models from Final Fantasy VII, but are more appealing to look at. Dialogue appears to be pulled from both Remake and from the original game. In fact, it feels like they merged the dialogue to distinguish Ever Crisis apart from the aforementioned titles.

The Mako Reactor No.1 segment is truncated – only the reactor’s entrance and the heart of the reactor are featured in Ever Crisis. Nevertheless, the game presents ample opportunities to explain weaknesses, target selection and how party members operate within battle. Speaking of, players will gain experience and rewards upon completing battles, of which they occur randomly. The first part of Ever Crisis culminates in a boss fight against the Guard Scorpion and introduces more combat options for players to take advantage of. 

Cloud and Barret can switch between defensive and offensive stances through a press of a button on screen. The defensive stance helps to take the brunt of special attacks, like the Scorpion’s Tail Laser. Eventually, the boss throws up a wall with a number of sigils displayed on screen. Characters must use specific ATB skills that match the sigil to break and interrupt the boss.

During the interrupt stage, the ATB gauge speeds up and gives players the opportunity to either land heavy damage or recover and regroup. The final mechanic introduced is Limit Chaining. Players can chain together Limit Breaks to cause more damage together than they would individually. 

The Story Continues

On the main screen, players can continue the story mode and and play missions that advance the plot. Some of these missions are story-driven – that is, there are no battles and it mainly consists of dialogue. The majority of missions include battles and they offer rewards for their completion. Before starting, players can outfit characters with equipment earned to suit the mission’s recommended power level. Character level and equipment affects power level.

Solo Mission content is unlocked after completing a trio of side stories set between Reactors 1 and 5. These missions are primarily focused on enhancing your character’s stats and equipment and require the use of stamina to participate in.

Gacha, Gacha, Gacha!

Lastly, I’ll talk about the gacha mechanics, which underpins the Ever Crisis experience. By spending Blue and Red Crystals, players can obtain new weapons and Gear through random draws. Gear is more than just cosmetics, as they enhance defense and provide additional passive bonuses. Gear and weapons are separated by rarity – the rarer they are, the better. They can also be enhanced so long as players have the required materials.

Materials are obtained as battle spoils, mission rewards or gifts. Blue Crystals can be earned in game, but Red Crystals require real currency to purchase. Red Crystals are necessary to access the more lucrative weapon and gear draws. Alongside Crystals, players can also use tickets to draw even more equipment. There’s even a stamp system that guarantees certain items if you collect enough stamps through Draws.

Final Thoughts

Ever Crisis is a nostalgic and trimmed-down trip through memory lane with freshened-up dialogue pulled from the OG and from Final Fantasy VII: Remake. The battle system is familiar, yet intuitive and doesn’t feel overwhelming.

However, as this is free-to-play, at what point of the game will it be required to get premium equipment via the gacha mechanics to advance further? That’s the major concern I have with Ever Crisis right now. To that end, I’m willing to put in more time to see both where the story leads and at what point does the game force you to pony up for Red Crystals and Season Passes.

Ryan Cheddi – our friendly, neighbourhood caffeine addict – is a man of many talents: an engineer, a gaming historian, a fiction writer and a streamer. He is also a self-avowed Sonic the Hedgehog fan. You can check out his cool beans at his site – Games with Coffee – or find him on Twitter as @GameswCoffee, and Instagram as @games_with_coffee. He streams on Twitch, also as GamesWithCoffee.