Final Fantasy 7, one of the most iconic role-playing games (RPGs) of all time, almost had a very different look. Yusuke Naora, the art director of the 1997 game, recently shared insights about an early development phase that featured pixel art, a style reminiscent of earlier games in the series. This revelation came after a screenshot of the early prototype went viral on social media.
(Photo : Square Enix / Screenshot taken from the official website.)
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Early Development Vision
The image, shared on X (formerly Twitter), showed what Final Fantasy 7 might have looked like with pixel art. Naora confirmed he created the art and reflected on the development process. "This is a pixel graphic I created long ago," he tweeted, according to a translation by Automaton. He mentioned that this style was considered before the team decided to take advantage of the storage space offered by CD-ROMs, leading to the 3D graphics seen in the final game.
An Alternate Timeline
Naora's comments sparked curiosity about what Final Fantasy 7 might have been in an "alternate timeline." He explained that the early pixel art was part of experiments as the team prepared for the larger storage capacity of CD-ROMs. "An FF7 like this would have been possible in an alternate timeline," he said, noting the significant shift from pixel art to the 3D graphics the game eventually adopted.
The concept of an alternate version of Final Fantasy 7 comes at an interesting time, as other series developers are considering different styles. Earlier this year, Naoki Yoshida, the producer of Final Fantasy 16, mentioned the possibility of a future game returning to turn-based combat and pixel art graphics. This suggests that the classic style still holds a place in the hearts of the creators and fans alike.
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