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THE WORLD OF FINAL FANTASY VII: ESSAYS ON THE GAME AND ITS LEGACY

Carlos Cruz, Ceschino P. Brooks de Vita, Craig T. Olsen, Gregory D. Jones Jr., Indira Neill Hoch, Jason C. Cash, Kathleen Morrissey, Nicholas Langenberg, Nick Hertzog, Samuel Stinson, Yasheng She



 

Final Fantasy VII altered the course of video game history when it was released in 1997 on Sony’s PlayStation system. It converted the Japanese role-playing game into an international gaming standard with enhanced gameplay, spectacular cutscenes and a vast narrative involving an iconic cast.


In the decades after its release, the Final Fantasy VII franchise has grown to encompass a number of video game sequels, prequels, a feature-length film, a novel and a multi-volume remake series. This volume, the first edited collection of essays devoted only to the world of Final Fantasy VII, blends scholarly rigor with fan passion in order to identify the elements that keep Final Fantasy VII current and exciting for players. Some essays specifically address the game’s perennially relevant themes and scenarios, ranging from environmental consciousness to economic inequity and posthumanism. Others examine the mechanisms used to immerse the player or to improve the narrative. Finally, there are several essays devoted specifically to the game’s legacy, from its influence on later games to its characters’ many crossovers and cameos.


Introduction

  • Let's Mosey

Disc 1: Narrative

  • The Bringer of Light Becomes the Fallen Angel: Sephiroth, Lucifer, and Frankenstein’s Creature

  • Angelus ex Machina: Economic and Environmental Justice in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII

  • The Death of Aerith: Traumatic Femininity and Japan’s Postwar Modernity

  • Fragile Materials: Memory and Ecology in Final Fantasy VII

Disc 2: Player Experience

  • “A body hast thou prepared me”: Algorithmic Suture, Gamic Memory, and (Co-)creating a Rhetorical Network of ­Identity-Trauma in Final Fantasy VII

  • Final FantaSi’ VII: ­Role-Playing the ­Eco-Ethics of Laudato si’

  • “Action combat trash”: Final Fantasy VII Remake, Control, and Combat Nostalgia

Disc 3: Legacy

  • Very Superstitious Spoilers on the Wall: A Deep Read of Fan Reactions to Tragedy in Final Fantasy VII

  • “Because, you are … a puppet”: How Final Fantasy VII Anticipated the “Posthuman Turn”

  • Square’s Lifestream: Examining the Impact of Final Fantasy VII Characters Across the Gaming World

  • The Timelessness of Final Fantasy VII

Conclusion

  • Where the Rail Takes Us

 

PUBLICATION DETAILS

LANGUAGE

BINDING

EDITION

ISBN

YEAR

PAGES

English

Paperback


9781476681863

2023

237

English

eBook


9781476647258

2023

237

 

TAGS


Publishers: #McFarland (McFarland)

Languages: #English

Accessibility: N/A

Year: #Year2023


Companies:

#SquareEnix (Squaresoft, Square Enix)


Public Figures: N/A


Games: #FinalFantasy (#FinalFantasyVII [Final Fantasy 7, FF7, FFVII, Final Fantasy VII])


Misc:

#StudiesInGaming (Studies in Gaming)

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