Final Fantasy VII is a 1997 role-playing video game developed by Squaresoft. It is the seventh installment in the Final Fantasy series and the game is the first in the series to use 3D computer graphics, featuring fully rendered characters on pre-rendered backgrounds, and was the first game in the main series to be released in Europe. Final Fantasy VII follows protagonist Cloud Strife, a mercenary who initially joins the eco-terrorist rebel organization AVALANCHE to stop the world-controlling megacorporation Shinra from draining the life of the planet for use as an energy source. As the story progresses, Cloud and his allies become involved in a larger world-threatening conflict, facing off against Sephiroth, the game's main antagonist.
Development of Final Fantasy VII began in 1994. The game was originally intended for release on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, but was moved to the Nintendo 64. However, since the Nintendo 64's cartridges lacked the required storage capacity, Square decided to release the game for the CD-ROM based PlayStation instead. It is also said that Final Fantasy VII story line originally incorporated time travel, which would later be used in Square Soft's Super Nintendo title Chrono Trigger. Final Fantasy VII was directed by Yoshinori Kitase, written by Kazushige Nojima and Kitase, and produced by Hironobu Sakaguchi. The music was composed by Final Fantasy veteran Nobuo Uematsu, while the series' long-time character designer, Yoshitaka Amano, was replaced by Tetsuya Nomura.