Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese action role-playing game
developed and published by Square Enix
in 2004. It was the first original (i.e. not an enhanced remake
) game to be produced by Square Enix exclusively for mobile phone
s, and was released on NTT DoCoMo
's FOMA
iMode line of phones on a monthly subscription basis. Following an announcement at TGS 2006, it was released for the first of two additional Japanese mobile carriers, Softbank
Yahoo!
Mobile, in January 2007, and a version for EZweb was released in April 2007. In their pre-E3, 2005 press conference, Square Enix announced that an English version of the game would be released in the United States
in 2006, although it never was. There are currently no plans for a US release.
Before Crisis is a prequel
to the 1997 PlayStation
video game Final Fantasy VII
, taking place during the six years prior to the events of that game. It involves the adventures of the Turks, a group of supporting characters featured in Final Fantasy VII, and was the second installment in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
series.
Characters have HP and MP, level up upon acquisition of EXP and can equip weapons and armor. Materia is present in the game, but must be acquired by the player via a unique system called the Materia Generation System. The player must take a picture with their camera phone, and the game synthesizes that picture down to its base color. Depending upon the dominant color, lighting, darkness, and other factors, the game instantly makes a Materia of certain type. A dark green picture makes a Bio Materia, a blue picture makes Cure, etc. Materia can be leveled up as in Final Fantasy VII, up to level 9.
Another new feature to Before Crisis are Rank Points (RP). RP are given during the completion of objectives in all three modes of play. After so much RP is accumulated, special bonuses such as stronger armor, weapons, and Materia slots can be given. The player is also given a rank, based upon how long they have been playing the game. The higher their rank, the better the bonuses the player gets. But it makes Training Mode more difficult, as the player must fight stronger and stronger opponents
There are those who remain dedicated to the destruction of Shinra, chief among them being the newly emerged insurgent movement known as "AVALANCHE". AVALANCHE is an eco-terrorist organization that seeks to topple Shinra, whom they know to be slowly killing the Planet with their manufacture of Mako Energy. This first AVALANCHE is far more ruthless and violent than the group headed by Barret Wallace in the beginning of Final Fantasy VII, and are the villains this time around. The game's central heroes are the player Turks. The player decides which of these Turks take place in the storyline, and gives them their names. The Turks are led by Verdot, with his lieutenant the future leader, Tseng. Non-player Turks include Reno and Rude, both veterans who have been in the organization longer than the player.
The game unfolds through a series of "episodes." Because of the subscription-based nature of the game, the game's story unfolded over a period of time. Thus the game's storyline is highly disjointed and episodic, with episodes rarely having much to do with each other. It isn't until the very end of the game that episodes flow together in a single coalescing story arc. Over the course of the story, much of the backstory of Final Fantasy VII is included as Episodes, including the Nibelheim Incident, the destruction of Corel, and other events. The entire playable cast of Final Fantasy VII make cameo appearances.
The player Turk first encounters the AVALANCHE organization during his or her routine patrol of Midgar Sector 8, as per Turk tradition for new recruits. Using the PHS to contact Tseng, the player reports the insurgents attacking Shinra's capital. The player, with help of Reno, fights the AVALANCHE forces and forces them to retreat. The enemy commander, Sears proves to be a formidable opponent, with skills in martial arts and dangerously well-formed intelligence.
But the attack on Midgar is a rouse for a greater strike at Junon, where President Shinra himself is located to give a speech. Fuhito, the cold scientist for AVALANCHE out to destroy all life and return it to the Planet, leads this attack. Though the Turks try to protect the President, a secret AVALANCHE fifth column inside Shinra forces allows them to get close enough to Shinra to shoot him. The President survives, and calls in his trump card, the legendary SOLDIER, Sephiroth. After all that has happened, it is revealed that even AVALANCHE's plot against Shinra was another ruse. Their true goal was the Mako Cannon, which they planned to fire upon Midgar and destroy the city. This force is led by AVALANCHE's leader herself, Elfé, a frighteningly powerful warrior with a mysterious Materia embedded in the back of her hand. Sephiroth arrives and fights Elfé, but even with all his power he can only end the fight in a draw. AVALANCHE retreats to create havoc across the Planet.
During one of these attacks, at Midgar, AVALANCHE targeted Professor Rayleigh, who was carrying data on the SOLDIER members and their creation. The player Turk is sent to protect her, along with several Shinra guards, one of whom is Cloud Strife, the future hero of Final Fantasy VII but for now is a mere grunt. Using a new creation by Fuhito, the monstrous Black Warriors known as the Ravens, the data is captured. The Turk decides to follow morals over duty by saving Rayleigh rather than the data, a sign of future differences between Shinra and the Turks.
Using the SOLDIER data, Fuhito continues to perfect his Ravens. He uses them to capture two SOLDIER members, Essai and Sebastian up north in Icicle Inn. The Turks are sent to rescue them, and succeed despite the heavy enemy resistance from Fuhito and Sears fighting together. Afterwards, the Turks, Essai, Sebastian, and a SOLDIER 1st Class, Zack Fair are sent in to destroy the AVALANCHE forces in the area. Essai and Sebastian are captured once again, and are turned into Ravens. Zack must kill his fellow SOLDIERs, much to his emotional bereavement. (In Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, there is a scene in which Zack and Tseng visit their makeshift graves.)
President Shinra now becomes suspicious of the men beneath him, knowing that somebody must be leaking information. There could be no other way that AVALANCHE could be working this effectively. He wrongly suspect Verdot, and removes him from command of the Turks. In Verdot's place, the President puts Heidegger in charge, the arrogant and incompetent head of the Shinra military. Heidegger only leads a single operation, and comes close to completely destroying Junon. Verdot blackmails the President to return his job. With Verdot in command, the Turks defeat AVALANCHE.
An assault at Corel's Mako Reactor proves to be a key battle. Rufus Shinra is captured by the Turks, but they are ordered to merely put him under house arrest, rather than use stronger methods for the traitor. Sears, a good man who is worried about Elfé's condition, defects from AVALANCHE to join with the Turks to save her. Verdot discovers that Elfé is in fact his long lost daughter Felicia, and he leaves Shinra. With Elfé continuing to weaken, Fuhito takes completely control of AVALANCHE. During the fighting, a strange Materia is found. It turns out that Elfé's Materia is in fact Zirconiade an ancient Summon with immense power. But the Zirconiade Materia is broken, and is slowly sucking away at Elfé as a power source. To save her, the four Support Materia must be found. Fuhito holds one, and now the Turks working with Sears hold another.
Though Shinra orders the Turks to take Verdot in, they continue to follow his orders and work for him. They also hold Rufus as leverage against the President. Not wishing that his son's betrayal become known, the President orders Scarlet to target the Turks and kill them. Now the Turks are enemies of both AVALANCHE and Shinra. Despite the threats, they find two more Support Materia, one in Gongaga with help from Cait Sith, another in Corel Prison. Verdot is captured by Scarlet, and has to be rescued.
With Fuhito's control, AVALANCHE breaks down into an army of zombies and Ravens. It can barely even hold together as a fighting force towards the end. In the final battle, Fuhito summons Zirconiade to destroy all life on the Planet, fusing the monster with his own body. Sears sacrifices himself to save Elfé, and is killed. He transforms into an insane monster. But his plans fall apart when Zirconiade itself is defeated by the player Turks, thus saving the world. Fuhito is killed during the fighting. Tseng saves Verdot and Elfé by reporting them assassinated, and is allowed to return to Shinra as the Turk leader, though they all now work under Heidegger. The player Turks escape into obscurity, but appear again to defeat Jade WEAPON and later help save Midgar from Meteor. The first AVALANCHE collapses, but a second, much smaller version is created just afterwards in the Sector 7 Slums of Midgar. This group takes up plans left behind by Fuhito to attack the Sector 1 Reactor, and so set the stage for the beginning of Final Fantasy VII.
The Turks perform covert operations on behalf of the Shinra company, including espionage
, kidnapping
s and assassination
s. They also scout for potential candidates for Shinra's elite military unit, SOLDIER, and serve as bodyguards for the Shinra executives. With Before Crisis, several members of the Turks not seen in Final Fantasy VII were introduced to continuity, and are included in this list. Note that all of the game's playable Turks' official names are composed of their weapon and gender, and have not been officially given any other proper names.
The following Turks are playable characters in Before Crisis (and therefore named by the player) and have no particular names, and are thus referred to here by their weapon of choice. The Softbank and AU versions of the game each originally contained an original character only available in those versions, however, all three versions share the same mobile network, meaning that they can interact via the Rescue Missions and other multiplayer aspects.
is the previous leader of the Turks. He is very particular on matters relating to succeeding in missions and very unforgiving when it comes to failure. Tseng considers him a role model and eventually succeeds him. Though many of his subordinates are intimidated by his severity, they all deeply respect him. When Heidegger usurps his position at one point during the story, Verdot blackmails President Shinra into returning it. Formerly a resident of the town of Kalm, he had a daughter and wife that he believed perished when the town was razed due to his own misinterpreted commands. In actuality, his daughter survived, and is eventually revealed to be the leader of AVALANCHE, Elfe. He cares very deeply for the Turks, and does not wish for them to suffer any events similar to what he has; he also cares very much for his daughter, defecting from Shinra when he discovers she is alive. Verdot appears only in Before Crisis, but is mentioned in Last Order: Final Fantasy VII
.
AVALANCHE
AVALANCHE is an eco-terrorist
organization that seeks to topple Shinra, whom they believe to be slowly killing the Planet with their manufacturing of Mako Energy. In Final Fantasy VII' s continuity, there are two incarnations of AVALANCHE, the second of which is featured in Final Fantasy VII and its sequels; the original group, which was far more militant and ruthless, appears in Before Crisis.
Other characters
Numerous characters from Final Fantasy VII reappear in Before Crisis, mostly in cameo
appearances. These include the nine playable characters as well as Sephiroth, Zack Fair
, the Shinra executives, and Elena. Azul from Dirge of Cerberus also makes an appearance in Episode 21. "Special Episode of Reno", a crossover with Crisis Core, also features the Dr. Hollander and Genesis Copies.
Original minor characters include Shalua Rui, who would have a more important role in Dirge of Cerberus. Rayleigh is a scientist who is employed at Shinra. Due to the knowledge she carries, AVALANCHE targets her. Sebastian and Essai are two SOLDIERs who have an acquaintance with Zack. They are captured and experimented on by Fuhito, leading Zack and the player's Turk to team up and attempt to free them. However, they become soulless due to the experiments, and Zack is forced to kill them. In Crisis Core, Zack visits their grave in a DMW sequence. Deneh is of the same species as Red XIII and was chosen to perform a ceremony with him. When Shinra is sent to collect one of them for testing, Red XIII defends Deneh and is taken instead of her.
's Bethany Massimilla also previewed the game at E3. Massimilla called the game "perfectly digestible in delivery" with its use of storytelling and narrative that come in "small bursts in between action periods". The reviewer continued on to say that Before Crisis ", with well-defined and detailed character portraits and lean, lanky character models running around the city and mako reactor, which had a simple layout but still looked nice." Massimilla praised the animation as "smooth" and felt that "the controls were easy to learn and were responsive." Additionally, she thought the demo phone's vibrating function, set off when the player receives a call from Tseng, "was a really nice touch".
Over 1 million people have played this game in Japan.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese action role-playing game
Action role-playing game
Action role-playing games form a loosely defined sub-genre of role-playing video games that incorporate elements of action or action-adventure games, emphasizing real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat...
developed and published by Square Enix
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
in 2004. It was the first original (i.e. not an enhanced remake
Enhanced remake
A video game remake is a game closely adapted from an earlier title, usually for the purpose of modernizing a game for newer hardware and contemporary audiences. Typically, a remake shares essentially the same title, fundamental gameplay concepts, and story elements of the original game...
) game to be produced by Square Enix exclusively for mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s, and was released on NTT DoCoMo
NTT DoCoMo
is the predominant mobile phone operator in Japan. The name is officially an abbreviation of the phrase, "do communications over the mobile network", and is also from a compound word dokomo, meaning "everywhere" in Japanese. Docomo provides phone, video phone , i-mode , and mail services...
's FOMA
Foma
Foma may refer to:* FOMA , a Japanese mobile telecommunications service* Sergei Fomenko, nicknamed "Foma", Ukrainian musician...
iMode line of phones on a monthly subscription basis. Following an announcement at TGS 2006, it was released for the first of two additional Japanese mobile carriers, Softbank
SoftBank
is a Japanese telecommunications and internet corporation, with operations in broadband, fixed-line telecommunications, e-Commerce, Internet, broadmedia, technology services, finance, media and marketing, and other businesses....
Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
Mobile, in January 2007, and a version for EZweb was released in April 2007. In their pre-E3, 2005 press conference, Square Enix announced that an English version of the game would be released in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 2006, although it never was. There are currently no plans for a US release.
Before Crisis is a prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
to the 1997 PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
video game Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VII
is a role-playing video game developed by Square and published by Sony Computer Entertainment as the seventh installment in the Final Fantasy series. It was originally released in 1997 for the Sony PlayStation and was re-released in 1998 for Microsoft Windows-based personal computers and in 2009...
, taking place during the six years prior to the events of that game. It involves the adventures of the Turks, a group of supporting characters featured in Final Fantasy VII, and was the second installment in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Compilation of Final Fantasy VII is a series of games and animated features developed by Square Enix based in the world and continuity of Final Fantasy VII...
series.
Battle System
Before Crisis is a real-time action RPG. The game's graphics are 2D, and the player moves along in a side-scrolling manner. Gameplay is divided up between several modes of play. Episode Mode plays through the game's main storyline through the various episodes. The player must complete the objectives given to continue onward in the game. Free Mode allows the player to play extra missions to gain EXP and items, similar to Crisis Core's missions. Some items are exclusive to Free Mode. Rescue Mode is the last mode of play. If a player is defeated during the game's playthrough, they have two options. They can either restart and lose points, or allow themselves to be imprisoned. Afterwards they must wait for other players on their network to rescue them.Characters have HP and MP, level up upon acquisition of EXP and can equip weapons and armor. Materia is present in the game, but must be acquired by the player via a unique system called the Materia Generation System. The player must take a picture with their camera phone, and the game synthesizes that picture down to its base color. Depending upon the dominant color, lighting, darkness, and other factors, the game instantly makes a Materia of certain type. A dark green picture makes a Bio Materia, a blue picture makes Cure, etc. Materia can be leveled up as in Final Fantasy VII, up to level 9.
Another new feature to Before Crisis are Rank Points (RP). RP are given during the completion of objectives in all three modes of play. After so much RP is accumulated, special bonuses such as stronger armor, weapons, and Materia slots can be given. The player is also given a rank, based upon how long they have been playing the game. The higher their rank, the better the bonuses the player gets. But it makes Training Mode more difficult, as the player must fight stronger and stronger opponents
Story
Before Crisis's story begins shortly after the ending of the war between the Shinra Electric Power Company and the Wutai tribe, a conflict mentioned in passing during Final Fantasy VII. With Wutai defeated and the people of the world now dependent on their Mako Energy and Materia, Shinra finds itself the dominant economic, military and political power in the world. The story continues for several years until after Zack Fair escapes from the experiments at Nibelheim, all at the same time as Shinra is fighting Genesis during the events of Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, though the two storylines do not overlap.There are those who remain dedicated to the destruction of Shinra, chief among them being the newly emerged insurgent movement known as "AVALANCHE". AVALANCHE is an eco-terrorist organization that seeks to topple Shinra, whom they know to be slowly killing the Planet with their manufacture of Mako Energy. This first AVALANCHE is far more ruthless and violent than the group headed by Barret Wallace in the beginning of Final Fantasy VII, and are the villains this time around. The game's central heroes are the player Turks. The player decides which of these Turks take place in the storyline, and gives them their names. The Turks are led by Verdot, with his lieutenant the future leader, Tseng. Non-player Turks include Reno and Rude, both veterans who have been in the organization longer than the player.
The game unfolds through a series of "episodes." Because of the subscription-based nature of the game, the game's story unfolded over a period of time. Thus the game's storyline is highly disjointed and episodic, with episodes rarely having much to do with each other. It isn't until the very end of the game that episodes flow together in a single coalescing story arc. Over the course of the story, much of the backstory of Final Fantasy VII is included as Episodes, including the Nibelheim Incident, the destruction of Corel, and other events. The entire playable cast of Final Fantasy VII make cameo appearances.
The player Turk first encounters the AVALANCHE organization during his or her routine patrol of Midgar Sector 8, as per Turk tradition for new recruits. Using the PHS to contact Tseng, the player reports the insurgents attacking Shinra's capital. The player, with help of Reno, fights the AVALANCHE forces and forces them to retreat. The enemy commander, Sears proves to be a formidable opponent, with skills in martial arts and dangerously well-formed intelligence.
But the attack on Midgar is a rouse for a greater strike at Junon, where President Shinra himself is located to give a speech. Fuhito, the cold scientist for AVALANCHE out to destroy all life and return it to the Planet, leads this attack. Though the Turks try to protect the President, a secret AVALANCHE fifth column inside Shinra forces allows them to get close enough to Shinra to shoot him. The President survives, and calls in his trump card, the legendary SOLDIER, Sephiroth. After all that has happened, it is revealed that even AVALANCHE's plot against Shinra was another ruse. Their true goal was the Mako Cannon, which they planned to fire upon Midgar and destroy the city. This force is led by AVALANCHE's leader herself, Elfé, a frighteningly powerful warrior with a mysterious Materia embedded in the back of her hand. Sephiroth arrives and fights Elfé, but even with all his power he can only end the fight in a draw. AVALANCHE retreats to create havoc across the Planet.
During one of these attacks, at Midgar, AVALANCHE targeted Professor Rayleigh, who was carrying data on the SOLDIER members and their creation. The player Turk is sent to protect her, along with several Shinra guards, one of whom is Cloud Strife, the future hero of Final Fantasy VII but for now is a mere grunt. Using a new creation by Fuhito, the monstrous Black Warriors known as the Ravens, the data is captured. The Turk decides to follow morals over duty by saving Rayleigh rather than the data, a sign of future differences between Shinra and the Turks.
Using the SOLDIER data, Fuhito continues to perfect his Ravens. He uses them to capture two SOLDIER members, Essai and Sebastian up north in Icicle Inn. The Turks are sent to rescue them, and succeed despite the heavy enemy resistance from Fuhito and Sears fighting together. Afterwards, the Turks, Essai, Sebastian, and a SOLDIER 1st Class, Zack Fair are sent in to destroy the AVALANCHE forces in the area. Essai and Sebastian are captured once again, and are turned into Ravens. Zack must kill his fellow SOLDIERs, much to his emotional bereavement. (In Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, there is a scene in which Zack and Tseng visit their makeshift graves.)
President Shinra now becomes suspicious of the men beneath him, knowing that somebody must be leaking information. There could be no other way that AVALANCHE could be working this effectively. He wrongly suspect Verdot, and removes him from command of the Turks. In Verdot's place, the President puts Heidegger in charge, the arrogant and incompetent head of the Shinra military. Heidegger only leads a single operation, and comes close to completely destroying Junon. Verdot blackmails the President to return his job. With Verdot in command, the Turks defeat AVALANCHE.
An assault at Corel's Mako Reactor proves to be a key battle. Rufus Shinra is captured by the Turks, but they are ordered to merely put him under house arrest, rather than use stronger methods for the traitor. Sears, a good man who is worried about Elfé's condition, defects from AVALANCHE to join with the Turks to save her. Verdot discovers that Elfé is in fact his long lost daughter Felicia, and he leaves Shinra. With Elfé continuing to weaken, Fuhito takes completely control of AVALANCHE. During the fighting, a strange Materia is found. It turns out that Elfé's Materia is in fact Zirconiade an ancient Summon with immense power. But the Zirconiade Materia is broken, and is slowly sucking away at Elfé as a power source. To save her, the four Support Materia must be found. Fuhito holds one, and now the Turks working with Sears hold another.
Though Shinra orders the Turks to take Verdot in, they continue to follow his orders and work for him. They also hold Rufus as leverage against the President. Not wishing that his son's betrayal become known, the President orders Scarlet to target the Turks and kill them. Now the Turks are enemies of both AVALANCHE and Shinra. Despite the threats, they find two more Support Materia, one in Gongaga with help from Cait Sith, another in Corel Prison. Verdot is captured by Scarlet, and has to be rescued.
With Fuhito's control, AVALANCHE breaks down into an army of zombies and Ravens. It can barely even hold together as a fighting force towards the end. In the final battle, Fuhito summons Zirconiade to destroy all life on the Planet, fusing the monster with his own body. Sears sacrifices himself to save Elfé, and is killed. He transforms into an insane monster. But his plans fall apart when Zirconiade itself is defeated by the player Turks, thus saving the world. Fuhito is killed during the fighting. Tseng saves Verdot and Elfé by reporting them assassinated, and is allowed to return to Shinra as the Turk leader, though they all now work under Heidegger. The player Turks escape into obscurity, but appear again to defeat Jade WEAPON and later help save Midgar from Meteor. The first AVALANCHE collapses, but a second, much smaller version is created just afterwards in the Sector 7 Slums of Midgar. This group takes up plans left behind by Fuhito to attack the Sector 1 Reactor, and so set the stage for the beginning of Final Fantasy VII.
Characters
TurksThe Turks perform covert operations on behalf of the Shinra company, including espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
, kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
s and assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
s. They also scout for potential candidates for Shinra's elite military unit, SOLDIER, and serve as bodyguards for the Shinra executives. With Before Crisis, several members of the Turks not seen in Final Fantasy VII were introduced to continuity, and are included in this list. Note that all of the game's playable Turks' official names are composed of their weapon and gender, and have not been officially given any other proper names.
The following Turks are playable characters in Before Crisis (and therefore named by the player) and have no particular names, and are thus referred to here by their weapon of choice. The Softbank and AU versions of the game each originally contained an original character only available in those versions, however, all three versions share the same mobile network, meaning that they can interact via the Rescue Missions and other multiplayer aspects.
- Rod (Male): An ex-gang leader from Midgar, he enjoyed fighting other gangs and stealing motorbikes. He is highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat, as well as in riding and fixing motorbikes. He was rather unfamiliar with failure, and — with his ever growing confidence — decided to sneak into Shinra's parking garage to steal a bike from the company, but was arrested by Reno. Verdot realized his skills could be used to aid the Turks, and he was offered a place in the organization. Aside from his role in Before Crisis, he also appears in Last Order: Final Fantasy VIILast Order: Final Fantasy VII, also abbreviated as Last Order or LO, is a 2005 Japanese anime original video animation produced by Madhouse and released by Square Enix. It was directed by Morio Asaka and produced by Masao Maruyama, Jungo Maruta, and Akio Ofuji. Tetsuya Nomura acted as the supervising director...
. In the OVA he seemed to have some familiarity with Shotgun (Female) due to the fact that she teased him at the end of the mission. He was also called "newcomer" by Reno before the Turks boarded the helicopter. He has been playable since the original beta version of the game, and uses a rod as his weapon. Voiced by Daisuke NamikawaDaisuke Namikawais a Japanese voice actor who is affiliated with Across Entertainment.He started acting in 1984. He is sometimes mistaken for fellow voice actor Daisuke Hirakawa, as their names only differ by one character when written in kanji. Despite his wide range of voice casting, he is usually cast as young,...
in his guest role in Last Order: Final Fantasy VII. - Gun (Female): Her father was a teacher at the Shinra military academy, where she attended. She graduated with outstanding performances, and her forte is marksmanship. Her excellent handling of firearms impressed the leader of the Turks, Tseng, and he recruited her to the force with great confidence in her abilities. She is a very serious person who rarely jokes around, and is often very strict. Like Rod (Male), she also appears in Last Order. Elena, a Turks member featured in Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, is Gun (Female)'s younger sister. The two are not on very good terms in Before Crisis, as — despite their mutual dedication to their work and their exceptional skills — their personalities often clash and Elena resents her sister for outdoing her. Gun (Female) has been playable since the original beta version of the game, and uses handguns as her weapons. Like her more known younger sister, she is voiced by Megumi ToyoguchiMegumi Toyoguchiis a voice actress, born on January 2, 1978 in Machida, Tokyo, Japan. She is employed by the talent management firm 81 Produce.-Trivia:* Toyoguchi is the only seiyū to have the distinction of appearing in every anime in the Saturday 6 p.m...
in her guest role in Last Order: Final Fantasy VII. - Two Guns (Male): A former bodyguard of Don Corneo, his specialty is his ability to rapidly fire two guns at once with outstanding accuracy, much like Gun (Female). Spending most of his time in the slums, he became fed up with the politics that had overrun the underworld society and was offered a place in the Turks. He took up the role, knowing that it would put his skills to the test. His unorthodox "underground" style of conducting missions often results in him failing. He also appears in Last Order, and has been playable since the official release of Before Crisis. His weaponry is strictly dual firearms. Voiced by Ginpei SatoGinpei Satois a Japanese voice actor in numerous anime and non-anime works.He is most known for his role as Saïx of Organization XIII and as Jin , who are both voiced by Kirk Thornton in their respective English dubs....
in his guest role in Last Order: Final Fantasy VII. - Shotgun (Female): A female hunter from a wealthy family who likes to do things with flair. She has familiarized herself with the art of hunting since she was a child, and is, thus, an expert with her chosen weapon. She likes showing off and constantly tries to outdo herself, and, thus, immediately accepted the offer to become a Turk when it was presented. She also appears in Last Order, and has been playable since the official release of Before Crisis. She uses a range of shotguns as her only form of weaponry. Voiced by Mayuko AokiMayuko Aokiis a Japanese voice actress who has worked on several anime and video game productions. Mayuko Aoki also sang the FINAL FANTASY X-2 VOCAL COLLECTION / YUNA * 4 tracks* .- Roles :Anime:* Aquarian Age - Sign for Revolution - Yoriko Sannou...
, who has also voiced Yuna in Final Fantasy X and X-2, in her guest role in Last Order: Final Fantasy VII. - Martial Arts (Male): An ex-detective from Costa del Sol, where he solved some rather complicated cases. A passionate, hot blooded and courageous man, he puts his all into everything he does, a trait that manifests in his personal and professional lives. His tendency to rely on his emotions eventually got him in trouble with his previous occupation, and — seeing no alternative — took the job offered to him by the Turks, who had been trying to recruit him for some time. He uses his powerful fists as his only weapons. He has been playable since Episode 7 of Before Crisis when Verdot decided that the Turks were still lacking the required manpower to deal with AVALANCHE. Like several of the other Turks, he also appears in Last Order, where he is voiced by Hōchū ŌtsukaHochu Otsuka, also known by the his stage name , is a Japanese voice actor from Okayama Prefecture, affiliated with the talent management firm Crazy Box. He is the official Japanese dub-over artist for: Gary Oldman and Jean-Claude Van Damme....
. - Martial Arts (Female): A new recruit to the Turks in Episode 7, along with Martial Arts (Male). As a mercenary, she has seen a lot of battle and is accustomed to taking orders. As such, she adjusted to her new-found role in the Turks easier than some. A thoroughly businesslike woman during missions, she gets her work done with a minimum of fuss. She is level-headed, alert and perceptive, frequently able to assess a situation and take the most prudent course of action. She is a skilled martial artist who uses a style that involves a great deal of agility and kicking. Like many of the other Turks, she also appears in Last Order, but has no speaking role.
- Katana (Male): A swordsman who was born in Gongaga and has a soft spot for beauty. He tends not to stay in one place for very long. Those in his hometown fear his skill and strength for it is said that he killed a large number of people to rescue a friend and was imprisoned as a result. Under the condition that he would join the Turks, he was given amnesty. He first appears in Episode 18 of Before Crisis, but has been a Turk for several years at that point and was simply on an undisclosed assignment. He uses a katanaKatanaA Japanese sword, or , is one of the traditional bladed weapons of Japan. There are several types of Japanese swords, according to size, field of application and method of manufacture.-Description:...
as his sole weapon. - Shuriken (Female): A young woman whose place of birth is unknown, she wields a crimson Shuriken called "Rekka" in battle as her weapon of choice. She is warm-hearted and has a mothering side which can border on bossy, which often manifests in how she looks after her colleagues. While still in an orphanage at a young age, the Turks expressed an interest in recruiting her, and she was brought up under harsh training techniques. In the history of the Turks, she is the youngest member to join. Like Katana (Male), she first appears in Episode 18, though at that time had been a Turk for several years and was simply on assignment. In "Special Episode of Reno", it is revealed that her assignment had been to keep Zack under surveillance. She also appears in Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VIICrisis Core: Final Fantasy VIIis an action role-playing game developed by Square Enix for the PlayStation Portable. First released in 2007, the game is a prequel to the video game Final Fantasy VII and is also the sixth installment in metaseries Compilation of Final Fantasy VII which includes products related to the game...
, in which she is given the name Cissnei, though she later reveals to Zack that this isn't her real name. She is voiced in Japanese by Asumi NakataAsumi Nakatais a female seiyū and a Japanese child model who was born in Tokyo, Japan. She is 173 cm tall.She belonged to the talent agency Crayon, subsequently to Five Eight and Switch 58...
and in English by Carrie SavageCarrie SavageCarrie A. Savage is an American voice actress, ADR Director, and Script Writer primarily known for her work for Bang Zoom! Entertainment, ADV Films, Funimation Entertainment, Bandai Entertainment, Geneon Entertainment, Media Blasters, New Generation Pictures, OkraTron 5000, and Viz Media...
in Crisis Core. - Nunchaku (Male): A young man who was born into a wealthy household, and despite being raised in an environment where anything he wanted could be purchased, he was unsatisfied with money and demanded to join the Turks in order to seek out a new life of his own. The brand of the Turks is very dear to him, and he follows their ideals every day. He is a short-range fighter, using nunchakuNunchakuis a traditional Okinawan weapon consisting of two sticks connected at their ends with a short chain or rope.-Etymology:The Japanese word nunchaku is the Kun'yomi reading of the Kanji term for a traditional Chinese two section staff....
in battle. He appears in Episode 1, and was originally only available in the Softbank version, though he is now available in the DoCoMo version as well. - Knife (Female): A young woman from Corel who fights by using throwing knives. Although she feels as if she's all alone in the world, she covers it up by cheerfully doing her duties. Both her parents died in the war, so she fights desperately in hopes of creating a peaceful world to prevent tragedies like her own from happening again. She is well attuned to other people's feelings and is a bit clumsy due to an old bullet wound. She appears in Episode 1, and was originally only available in the EZweb version, though she is now available in the DoCoMo version as well.
- Legend (Male): Originally from Junon, he is a super-first class agent who was once feared on the battlefield as the God of Death, and is nicknamed the "Legendary Turk". His fame attracts a great deal of attention, thus he is intensely private in both his official and personal life. He uses both chain bombs and remote controlled bombs in battle. He becomes a playable character after completing Episode 24, has his own Special Episode, and can be used for Episode 10 and on.
is the previous leader of the Turks. He is very particular on matters relating to succeeding in missions and very unforgiving when it comes to failure. Tseng considers him a role model and eventually succeeds him. Though many of his subordinates are intimidated by his severity, they all deeply respect him. When Heidegger usurps his position at one point during the story, Verdot blackmails President Shinra into returning it. Formerly a resident of the town of Kalm, he had a daughter and wife that he believed perished when the town was razed due to his own misinterpreted commands. In actuality, his daughter survived, and is eventually revealed to be the leader of AVALANCHE, Elfe. He cares very deeply for the Turks, and does not wish for them to suffer any events similar to what he has; he also cares very much for his daughter, defecting from Shinra when he discovers she is alive. Verdot appears only in Before Crisis, but is mentioned in Last Order: Final Fantasy VII
Last Order: Final Fantasy VII
, also abbreviated as Last Order or LO, is a 2005 Japanese anime original video animation produced by Madhouse and released by Square Enix. It was directed by Morio Asaka and produced by Masao Maruyama, Jungo Maruta, and Akio Ofuji. Tetsuya Nomura acted as the supervising director...
.
AVALANCHE
AVALANCHE is an eco-terrorist
Eco-terrorism
Eco-terrorism usually refers to acts of violence or sabotage committed in support of ecological, environmental, or animal rights causes against persons or their property....
organization that seeks to topple Shinra, whom they believe to be slowly killing the Planet with their manufacturing of Mako Energy. In Final Fantasy VII
- Elfe: Raised from a young age by AVALANCHE, she was chosen to be their leader after the founder died. She wields a katana, and her superb fighting capabilities have earned her much respect among the organization. Over the course of the story, she is revealed to be getting gradually weaker despite her superhuman strength, both of which came as a result of the presence of a mysterious summon materia — called "Zirconiade" — implanted within her body by Hojo. The only others who seemed aware were Aerith GainsboroughAerith Gainsborough— spelled Aeris Gainsborough in the English releases of Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy Tactics — is a player character in Square's console role-playing game Final Fantasy VII...
(who felt that Elfe's voice sounded nostalgic, though unaware that she actually recognized materia housed inside Elfe's body) and Fuhito, who intended to use Zirconiade in his plans. This summon beast is drawn from her when Fuhito summons Zirconiade in an incomplete form. Elfe is somewhat quiet, decidedly taciturn, and surprisingly non-charismatic. She is eventually revealed to be Felicia, the daughter of Verdot, leader of the Turks.
- Sears: A powerful field leader of AVALANCHE and second strongest member of the organization in physical terms (second only to Elfe), he had excellent hand-to-hand combat skills and often took charge of executing operations and formulating battle strategies. He is completely devoted to Elfe and even once asks the player to defend her if he should die. He and Fuhito are decidedly not fond of one another, and at one point argue over how Fuhito speaks of Elfe.
- Fuhito: The intellectual force behind AVALANCHE, Fuhito excels in creating battle plans. Highly knowledgeable in not just matters of science, but also in terms of tactical warfare, he is helpful with conceiving tactical solutions and providing support from a strategic vantage. However, he is very treacherous, planning to not only destroy Shinra, but he's also been using Elfe in a plot to summon a creature called "Zirconiade" to fulfill his true ambitions: killing all life on the Planet so as to remove all potential threats to it, while also revitalizing it. Fuhito creates the genetically enhanced AVALANCHE force known as "the Ravens," who serve as his personal attack squad, and he is shown to have no tolerance for failure, casually killing one of his subordinates for being beaten by the Turks. He is also shown to have no patience with Sears.
- The Ravens: A squad of AVALANCHE members who have undergone genetic modification by Fuhito to serve as his personal attack squad. Though they have developed increased combat capabilities, as well as the ability to completely recover from normally fatal wounds, they have lost their humanity. Despite their formidable regenerative capabilities, they can be killed when properly wounded. Named Ravens are Tierce, Kyneugh, and Kanos. SOLDIERs Yishay and Sebastian were also put through the same modification.
Other characters
Numerous characters from Final Fantasy VII reappear in Before Crisis, mostly in cameo
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
appearances. These include the nine playable characters as well as Sephiroth, Zack Fair
Zack Fair
is a fictional character from the Final Fantasy series by Square Enix. He first appeared as a non-player character in the role-playing game Final Fantasy VII. In the story, Zack is a late member from the paramilitary organization SOLDIER developed by the megacorporation Shinra Electric Power Company...
, the Shinra executives, and Elena. Azul from Dirge of Cerberus also makes an appearance in Episode 21. "Special Episode of Reno", a crossover with Crisis Core, also features the Dr. Hollander and Genesis Copies.
Original minor characters include Shalua Rui, who would have a more important role in Dirge of Cerberus. Rayleigh is a scientist who is employed at Shinra. Due to the knowledge she carries, AVALANCHE targets her. Sebastian and Essai are two SOLDIERs who have an acquaintance with Zack. They are captured and experimented on by Fuhito, leading Zack and the player's Turk to team up and attempt to free them. However, they become soulless due to the experiments, and Zack is forced to kill them. In Crisis Core, Zack visits their grave in a DMW sequence. Deneh is of the same species as Red XIII and was chosen to perform a ceremony with him. When Shinra is sent to collect one of them for testing, Red XIII defends Deneh and is taken instead of her.
Reception
Before Crisis has garnered generally positive feedback from Western critics. AnimeFringe commented that the visuals seemed "remarkable good" and praised that the game chose to "reverse the good and bad guy roles" by making the Turks protagonists, rather than enemies. Cara Lee Haslam of RPGamer previewed the game at the Electronic Entertainment Expo ("E3"). Haslam stated that "graphics are really great, especially for a cell phone game", though noted that the animation "isn't the best". GameSpotGameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
's Bethany Massimilla also previewed the game at E3. Massimilla called the game "perfectly digestible in delivery" with its use of storytelling and narrative that come in "small bursts in between action periods". The reviewer continued on to say that Before Crisis ", with well-defined and detailed character portraits and lean, lanky character models running around the city and mako reactor, which had a simple layout but still looked nice." Massimilla praised the animation as "smooth" and felt that "the controls were easy to learn and were responsive." Additionally, she thought the demo phone's vibrating function, set off when the player receives a call from Tseng, "was a really nice touch".
Over 1 million people have played this game in Japan.