Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII

Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII
The logo of Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII as designed for the original FOMA release.
DeveloperSquare Enix
PublisherSquare Enix
DirectorHajime Tabata
ProducerYukimasa Ito
ArtistTetsuya Nomura
Writers
ComposerTakeharu Ishimoto
SeriesCompilation of Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy
PlatformMobile
ReleaseFOMA
  • JP: September 24, 2004
SoftBank
  • JP: January 30, 2007
EZweb
  • JP: April 5, 2007
GenreAction role-playing game
ModesSingle-player, multiplayer

Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII was an action role-playing video game developed by Square Enix and originally released for the FOMA mobile service on September 24, 2004. It was later released for SoftBank Mobile and EZweb in 2007. Before Crisis is a prequel to the 1997 video game Final Fantasy VII and forms part of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, a metaseries expanding on and continuing the story established in Final Fantasy VII. It takes place six years prior to the events of Final Fantasy VII and focuses on the adventures of the Turks, a group of covert operatives working for the Shinra Electric Power Company, and their fights against both rebel group AVALANCHE and their corrupt employers.

As the first major Final Fantasy game for mobile devices, Before Crisis was designed as a gameplay and multiplayer experience unique to the platform. It is the first major project directed by Hajime Tabata, who created the initial concept at the request of Tetsuya Nomura for a game that had the Turks as protagonists. The music was composed by Takeharu Ishimoto, originally a sound arranger at Square Enix. It was highly successful upon release, registering 200,000 users and being accessed over one million times. Western critics have generally praised the title, but due to issues involving the capacity of mobile devices in the west, it has not been released outside Japan. The game was eventually shut down in 2018.

The game's story is planned to be recreated as a part of the mobile game Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis.