Ultimate Fantasy VII was greater than only a success for Sony. It additionally introduced an finish to Nintendo’s reign over third-party builders and gaming generally.
Ultimate Fantasy VII continues to be not solely one of many largest entries in Sq. Enix’s franchise but in addition some of the iconic video video games ever made. It led to an period the place JRPGs dominated the roost, particularly on the Sony PlayStation. Actually, the primary look of Cloud Strife was instrumental to Sony beating rival firm Nintendo at its personal sport.
Not solely was it the catalyst for a wave of JRPGs, however Ultimate Fantasy VII‘s success additionally noticed third-party builders flee Nintendo in droves. This made the PS1 an enormous hit, taking away Nintendo’s dominance over the online game business. Such a destiny has seen the once-mighty Nintendo battle for relevance amongst generations of players ever since, and this “also-ran” standing might be attributed to dropping Sq. Enix’s exclusivity.
Ultimate Fantasy Was As soon as One in every of Nintendo’s Greatest Unique Franchises
Earlier than the period of the Sony PlayStation, Sq. (not but mixed with Enix) was primarily a second-party developer in relation to Nintendo. Its video games have been solely seen on Nintendo consoles, with entries within the Ultimate Fantasy (Ultimate Fantasy VI specifically) and Chrono franchises being killer apps on the Tremendous Nintendo Leisure System. In fact, throughout the time of the SNES’ predecessor, Nintendo just about saved online game builders prisoner. Having saved the business following the online game crash of 1983, its console was now the one place for online game corporations to place their titles. This meant that these corporations needed to adjust to the customarily strenuous censorship and localization necessities that Nintendo had, although they’d quickly have a number of extra choices.
The success of Sega and its superfast rodent mascot put a particular cramp in a sure plumber’s soar, although its rivalry with Nintendo primarily existed throughout the heyday of the SNES and the Sega Genesis. Subsequent Sega {hardware} didn’t capitalize on this success, and this could ultimately see the corporate depart the console enterprise. Thus, with Sega diminishing in reputation amongst players and builders, Nintendo’s stranglehold resumed anew. One newcomer would lure these builders away, nevertheless, with Sq., specifically, being wooed by the promise of CDs.
Cartridges Killed Any Likelihood of FFVII Being an N64 Recreation
For some time, Sq. really developed the unique Ultimate Fantasy VII for the then-unreleased Nintendo 64 console. The sport was already set to be extra bold than any of its predecessors, with its scope and graphics pushing the boundaries of what may very well be achieved in video video games. Sadly, this imaginative and prescient can be extremely hampered if Nintendo had its approach, because the N64 would proceed the corporate’s development of getting video games on cartridge software program. This restricted potential house, and it did not assist that many builders wished to or had already begun switching to disc-based video games.
One such firm was Sony, whose then-upcoming PlayStation console was initially going to be made together with Nintendo. Sq. had always prompt beforehand to Nintendo to develop its subsequent console with discs in thoughts, however this clearly fell on deaf ears. Thus, Sony was in a position to woo the corporate, as its new console and software program provided the house wanted to convey Ultimate Fantasy VII to life. The following success of the sport was an enormous hit for Sony, placing the PS1 on the map and making it not solely a rival to Nintendo however a superior.
Sony’s dominance over Nintendo was primarily as a result of huge library on the PS1, a lot of which was made up of titles from third-party builders as soon as solely beholden to Nintendo. Capcom’s Resident Evil titles grew to become a number of the a number of must-have PS1 video games, and the entire era was one thing of a humiliation for Nintendo. Although it had particular success tales like Tremendous Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, the N64 was the primary of its consoles that was primarily a “Nintendo console” as a substitute of a online game console with a large swathe of video games. It did not assist that whole genres have been lacking, with combating video games and RPGs practically MIA on the {hardware}. One infamous advert for Ultimate Fantasy VII even mocked the weaker {hardware} of the N64, which cemented it as a kind of “kiddy console.”
Since then, Nintendo has been one thing of a developer of “secondary consoles,” with Sony and Microsoft creating extra mainstream “main” consoles. Third events have constantly shunned the corporate, which has constantly chosen generally hackneyed gimmicks over extra conventional gaming specs. Sq. Enix has returned to make video games for Nintendo packing containers, although the mainline Ultimate Fantasy entries have stayed totally on different consoles. Such a tragic predicament began with Ultimate Fantasy VII, with the sport’s ambition in the end being the undoing of Nintendo’s legacy ever since.
