Today marks the 29th anniversary of Final Fantasy VII, which was released in Japan on January 31, 1997. In celebration, Square Enix has re-released early concept art from the original game, along with a message from Final Fantasy VII remake series Creative Director Tetsuya Nomura.
The concept art features Cloud fighting in a city with a giant double-headed dragon sitting under the bridge. Nomura notes that this art was previously released, but there were no details on what exactly it contained.
Tetsuya Nomura’s message can be seen below:
This year marks the 29th anniversary of Final Fantasy VII, so next year looks set to be an even more special occasion.
Now, in celebration of this 29th anniversary, I sought out some past concept art and comments to share. However, much of it has already been published in various forms, and I couldn’t find anything truly new.
Therefore, I shall repost some very early concept art that was quietly released once before, though without any particular commentary at the time. Note that when it was published previously, the explanation on the right-hand side was omitted, so this is effectively its first full public appearance. This was drawn during the very earliest plot stages of FFVII.
In the foreground is an early design of Cloud, while the figure aiming a gun on the elevated platform is “Johnny the Needle”, a character from the initial plot. He is entirely distinct from the Johnny who appears in the main story; Johnny the Needle’s elements were later incorporated into Reno. On the left staircase, there’s a character reminiscent of Avalanche who was still unnamed and without a defined role at this stage.
Furthermore, unlike previous FF titles, this envisioned combat not on fixed battlefields but whilst moving through the city’s three-dimensional environment. Ultimately, this form of combat wasn’t realised in the original, but has been achieved in the ongoing FFVII remake series.
In that sense, I’d be delighted if you could continue enjoying this grand project, where elements technically unachievable in the original are now being realised in the remake series.
