Author Topic: ► BEFORE CRISIS FFVII - COMPENDIUM ◄  (Read 11342 times)

Kuraudo.

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► BEFORE CRISIS FFVII - COMPENDIUM ◄
« on: 2021-11-06 21:35:23 »
    BEFORE CRISIS FFVII - THE COMPENDIUM ARCHIVE


    「ビフォアクライシス-ファイナルファンタジーVII-」
    Service start date: 24 September 2004
    Service end date: 31 March 2018
    Models supported: mobile phones (i-mode/EZweb/Yahoo! Keitai)
    Genre: network-based action RPG
    Monthly fee: 500 points (525 yen)
    Members: approx. 100,000 (end of March 2006)
    Chapters: 24 + 3 special chapters

    As follow, information about the network-based action RPG, the first of its kind, developed exclusively for japanese mobile phones and published by Square Enix in 2004, released on NTT DoCoMo's FOMA 900i line on a monthly subscription basis with "multiplayer" experience. On September 2007 it was released the last special episode. On March 31, 2018 the service to fully play the game was shut down without leaving any chance to play once again to this title.

    This is a list of data collected through the Internet about 2004 Before Crisis Final Fantasy VII, a prequel to FFVII, and the very first title of Compilation of FFVII. I'm gathering this in the hope of archiving as much as possible all about it and creating an idea of the game design and gameplay loop... But also in the hope of conveying a hint of the feeling that BC was supposed to leave to the player. Enjoy.

    Let's start from this: Please do read this exhaustive mobile post mortem (pp.28) before indulging in the compendium below.

    {NEW ☆}27/06/2024 - We've got some great news for you! The official game files are being dumped from NaoyaShinota, so stay tuned for more updates!
    {NEW ☆}05/07/2024 - Incredible news! Yuvi has finally got 「BEFORE CRISIS -FINAL FANTASY VII-」 booted for real! Training mode is available. Need more flip phones with BC game on them.

    ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ ▇ █ █ ▇ ▆ ▅ ▄ ▃ ▂

    OFFICIAL WEBSITE & FAQ
    Spoiler: show
    • [JP] BC Official Website (Archive) - it's a flash website and only available through pale moon browser
    • [JP] BC Official FAQ (Archive) - it's a flash website and only available through pale moon browser
    • Google Website Translator - many websites listed are Japanese, simply translate it with Google
    • Yandex Image Translator - do screenshot first from the official website and then drop it here to obtain both, the Japanese transcription and the translation of it
    • DeepL Machine Translator - Japanese alternative translator
    • Compatible devices: NTT DoCoMo FOMA 900i Series, SoftBank Yahoo! Mobile phones, AU EZweb phones. | FOMA Devices: D901i, D902i, F901iC, F901iS, F902i, N900i, N900iS, N901iC, N901iS, N902i, P900i, P900iV, P901i, P901iS, P902i, SH900i, SH901iC, SH901iS, SH902i, SH902iS, P-01A, N-02A, P-03A, as well as 902i/703i series or later. | AU Devices: W43H, W43HII, W51H, W51CA, SH008. | SoftBank Yahoo! Devices: 920SH, 921SH, 922SH, 923SH.


    ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ ▇ █ █ ▇ ▆ ▅ ▄ ▃ ▂

    STORY ◄◄◄◄◄◄◄
    Spoiler: show

    more on the Discord's Server Before Crisis: Cissnei
    channel #story


    ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ ▇ █ █ ▇ ▆ ▅ ▄ ▃ ▂

    CHARACTERS ◄◄◄◄◄◄◄
    Spoiler: show
    • BC Character Profiles - 10th Anniversary Ultimania - translation by TurquoiseHammer
    • BC Character names, in-game: Rod, Gun, Two Guns, Shotgun, Martial Arts: Female, Martial Arts: Male, Shuriken, Katana, Nunchaku, Knife, Legend, Veld, Tseng, Reno, Rude - This is obviously referred to the actual weapon they are equipping and in the original Before Crisis you could actually rename the characters as you preferred.
    • Main characters - Fandom Wiki - Archive
    • Main characters by Turk Leader - Archive - note the BC Turks name inside this particular website are fan-made
    • [JP] Character Stats - Archive
    • [JP] Other character information - Archive
    • [JP] HQ Official Portraits 380x462 - A few, including Legend (Archive)
    • All Portraits 170x200 ish by Grimoire Valentine including fanarts (Archive)
    • Original Avalanche BC, CC and Remake costume comparison
    • In the new Nojima's 2024 FF7R novel "Two Thousand Gil to Become a Hero" the Turks name "Emma" is mentioned
    • From a bonus video of ACC, Reminiscence of Compilation FFVII: Balto バルト [Katana] and Crisis クライシス [Rod]
    • About Following Character Names: Veld[Verdot ヴェルド], Shears[Sears シアーズ], Deeneh[ディネ, Dine], see:
      • The FFVII Advent Children Reunion Files, a rare book released in 2006 which feature both japanese and english language (page 96) has both Veld/Verdot and Shears/Sears depicted on the same page
      • The FFVII 10th Anniversary Ultimania, a book released in Japan only in 2007 has Verdot and Sears only
      • As per a Japanese-speaker: "The Japanese has very precise and inviolable rules on phonetics, for example every consonant (except n) must necessarily have a vowel behind it. So when a Japanese creates a non-Japanese name in katakana, it will often be approximate. "Shears" and "Sears", pronounced in English, share the same result - シ ア ー ズ, so without more info from who created the name it becomes impossible to trace the original name with certainty. Ditto for "Veld" and "Verdot", although Veld *perhaps* could be written differently in Katakana."
      • For Nanaki's companion, as per Japanese source ( ディネ ): "It's Dìne or Dinè (or Deeneh in phonetic English) but impossibile to guess where the accent should be going." Following English Fandom Wiki: Diné is the name of the Navajo people in their native language. So ultimately I would say it's Deeneh, pronounced Diné.

    From the sketches of Last Order -Final Fantasy VII-
    Katana, Shuriken, Nunchaku, Knife, Legend are not on those sketches
    • Rod (Male): Alvis アルヴィス (The name Alvis is of Old Norse origin, he is mentioned as a dwarf who fell in love with the daughter of Thor, the god of thunder. In another source Alvis is described as meaning “All-knowing” or “All-wise”. Numerology: number 5, which is associated with being brilliant in every way possible and having strong emotional desires)
    • Gun (Female): Emma エマ (The name Emma derived from the Old German word “ermen” or “irmen”, which means “whole” or “universal”)
    • Two Guns (Male): Ruluf ルルフ (Rulf is believed to have originated from the Old English word “hrofl”, which means “wolf”. It is likely a variant of the word “rool” or “roolfe”, which was used to refer to a wolf or a wild animal)
    • Shotgun (Female): Freyra フレイラ (Freyra is derived from the Old Norse name Freyja, which means “a noble woman”. Numerology: Destiny, Inner Dream, Soul Urge, Personality and Heart’s Desire)
    • Martial Arts Male: Maur マウル (The maul "Ursus arctos" is a subspecies of the brown bear)
    • Martial Arts Female: Juget ジュゲット (A Jugette is a Japanese bite-sized piece of fried dough coated in a sweet or savory glaze. Chouquette in French)
    • Katana (Male): Balto バルト (The name Balto is also a derivative of the Greek name Balthasar, which means “Babylonian” or “Assyrian”. Babylonian: Characterized by a luxurious, pleasure-seeking, and often immoral way of life)
    • Shuriken (Female): Cissnei シスネ (The word “cisne” originates from Old French, derived from Late Latin “cicinus,” which is ultimately from Ancient Greek “kýknos” (κούκνος), meaning “swan.”)

    more on the Discord's Server Before Crisis: Cissnei
    channel #characters


    ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ ▇ █ █ ▇ ▆ ▅ ▄ ▃ ▂

    GAMEPLAY ◄◄◄◄◄◄◄
    Spoiler: show


    ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ ▇ █ █ ▇ ▆ ▅ ▄ ▃ ▂

    GOLD SAUCER ◄◄◄◄◄◄◄


    ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ ▇ █ █ ▇ ▆ ▅ ▄ ▃ ▂

    MUSIC
    Spoiler: show
    Tracks:
    01 - "Theme of Turks" (BC-FFVII-Version)
    02 - "Mission"
    03 - "Survive"
    04 - "Secret action"
    05 - "Theme of Elfe"
    06 - "Black Beat"
    07 - "Desperate Crisis"
    08 - "Last Labyrinth"
    09 - "Rebirth"
    Bonus Track:
    10 - "Theme of Elfe" (Angel)
    11 - "Theme of Elfe" (Devil)
    12 - "Rebirth" (Edit)
    Theme of Elfe - Lyrics:
    "The sky is falling, the stars are unclear
    Sometimes I wonder where I belong
    Please take me back to when the stars all aligned and shined
    I try to keep myself alive
    Please don't predict my future

    Be strong enough to live your life
    Don't look back
    Keep your eyes wide open and see
    Cast aside all doubts

    Fly me to the sky
    No time to waste
    Fly into your dream and future
    I need to go on and on
    Never runaway from the true
    Fly me in the sky
    I need to go on and on

    How can you see me, inside of my heart?
    Sometimes I'm afraid to realize
    Someone is dying, someone is killing
    How can be build a peaceful world?

    Be strong enough to live your life
    Don't look back
    Keep your eyes wide open and see
    Cast aside all doubts"[/list]


    ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ ▇ █ █ ▇ ▆ ▅ ▄ ▃ ▂

    GALLERY/MEDIA
    Spoiler: show
      PORTRAITS

      ARTWORKS
      FF ARTNIKS & TCG - CARD ARTWORKS

      MERCHANDISING

      OFFICIAL MAIN TRAILER
      Download with: https://ssyoutube.com/en174YV/youtube-video-downloader or https://yt5s.biz/enxj100/ or https://v4.mp3youtube.cc/ensfU or h.ttps://yt1s.ltd/en165xjh/ or https://y2down.cc/en/ or https://save.tube/en32/
      Regarding the 1920x1080 youtube link I'm not sure if that is being modified anyhow, prolly another upscale.
      1) There is the niconico video n.1 (Archive) (512x384) which source as mentioned in the description might come from a specific DVD from magazine "Young Gangan"(ヤングガンガン創刊号付録)。The niconico video n.1 is matching with the resolution of Grimoire's uploaded version (512x384).
      2) The niconico video n.2 (Archive) (1920x1080) it's mentioning another source in the description which is the SQUARE ENIX DVD PRESS 2014 WINTER (51:00). The only issue with niconico video n.2 it's the audio which is totally different.
      3) It is possible to download any niconico video from videofk.com website or nico downloader chrome plugin

      TRAILERS & GAMEPLAY FOOTAGE


      ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ ▇ █ █ ▇ ▆ ▅ ▄ ▃ ▂

      NEWS SITES, ARCHIVES, GUIDES & BLOGS
      Spoiler: show

      INTERVIEWS


      ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ ▇ █ █ ▇ ▆ ▅ ▄ ▃ ▂

      BONUS: FF7 EVER CRISIS
      Spoiler: show

      Once gdrive is on, folders: Artworks, Banner Celebration, Character>Introductions>Weapons>Costumes>Videos>Combat>Chibi>Portraits>Limit Breaks, Logo, Story Screenshots, Chapters Videos, Wallpapers In-Game

      YT link to full BC story playthru


      --------
      *Personal Thanks*
      -The above full Compendium was compiled on March 2021 by Kuraudo.
      -Rinrin for uploading the very first Japanese playthrough of BC.
      -DarkAngel at Gunshot Romance for preserving BC material.
      -Grimoire Valentine at FFVIIExcavation for preserving BC and Compilation material.
      -Shademp for his incredible knowledge, BC and Compilation archives which inspired me.
      -Sousi for all his informative BC videos.
      -NaoyaShinota for his tireless efforts to locate the original game, which he successfully accomplished after three years, 2021-2024.
      -Yuvi for reverse engineering and making the magic happen.
      -Keitai Wiki Discord Community for sharing their knowledge and contributing to the research effort. 
      -Without these people, we wouldn't have been able to find BC content, which was released almost 20 years ago, 2004-2024.


      --------

      Other FF7 related topics:
      [/list][/list][/list]
      « Last Edit: 2024-09-11 09:12:34 by Kuraudo. »

      Kuraudo.

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      Re: ► BEFORE CRISIS FFVII - COMPENDIUM ◄
      « Reply #1 on: 2021-11-06 22:08:00 »
      GAMEPLAY


      "Breakdown of game's
      basic mechanics and features."
      (Source: SE Official Pamphlet,
      TGS 2004. Credit to NaoyaShinota
      and RockmanCosmo)


      RESCUE MISSION
      In Before Crisis Final Fantasy VII, if a player runs out of energy in the middle of Episode mode or fails to fulfil a predetermined condition, he will be penalised and can either return to the main menu or be imprisoned by the enemy and ask for help from his friends (other players). The player who is asked for help will receive an e-mail on his mobile phone, even if he has not started the game, and can go to the rescue. Alternatively, the player can actively go to the rescue themselves via the main menu. The player can refuse the request received and can optionally refuse to receive the email request (send/receive rejection). Note that requests for material support cannot be made during rescue missions.

      There are two types of camps in each scenario where your comrades are held: "Camp 1" and "Camp 2", the latter of which requires a certain amount of career experience and is more difficult. In addition, you cannot go to the camps of chapters you cannot select to rescue your companions who are being held captive.

      You can escape yourself with reduced HP and MP. You will have to go through a different route from the rescue mission. Escape is only possible from Camp 1, and if you fail, you are returned to the camp. They may also be held in Camp 2.
      « Last Edit: 2024-07-19 08:43:26 by Kuraudo. »

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      Re: ► BEFORE CRISIS FFVII - COMPENDIUM ◄
      « Reply #2 on: 2023-08-20 10:52:14 »
      GOLD SAUCER


      If you download the Gold Saucer App from the official website, you can visit the Gold Saucer (GS for short), a giant amusement park that also appears in FFVII. This is where various minigames are played, and to play one of them, Battle Square, you must additionally download an "Extra App". To play these, you need to spend Rank Points and purchase Gold Saucer Points (GP) in the game. In terms to play the minigames you must spend Rank Points in the game to purchase Gold Saucer Points (GP)

      CHOCOBO SQUARE
      -Chocobo Racing
      A minigame with a horse racing-like flavour. Players bet Gold Saucer Points to predict the position of the chocobo (first or second place). You can also own captured chocobos and have them participate in races. You can also train and feed chocobos to raise their status. Unlike the chocobo racing in FFVII, chocobos can learn abilities at random. By equipping chocobos with materia and letting them use magic at their discretion, they can interfere with opposing chocobos.

      WONDER SQUARE
      -Super dunk
      A minigame in which the player continuously throws basketballs into the goal. There are two modes: "Normal", in which you gain GP for each successive shot, and "Score Attack", in which the game ends if you fail once. In Score Attack, players compete to see how many balls they can get in a certain amount of time.
       
      -Arm wrestling
      An arm wrestling game named "Arm Wrestling Mega Zumou" (名前は「アームレスリング メガずもう」).
      A minigame in which the aim is to beat your opponent by continuously hitting buttons in accordance with the on-screen instructions. The basic rules and fighting style differ slightly between normal and winner-takes-all. In Normal, you choose an opponent from five players of different difficulty levels and compete only once ("Sumo" who has a weak reward of 1 GP and "Wrestler" who has a better reward of 2 GP for example). If you win, you receive GP depending on the strength of your opponent. In the winner-takes-all mode, you can attack and defend not only by repeatedly pressing buttons, but also by pressing the left and right directional keys (or the 4 and 6 number keys), and you can even perform special moves when your gauge is full. GPs are awarded according to the number of times you win.

      -Fortune-telling
      Since the result is random, it will be needed to repeat the game until the desired information is obtained. 1 GP per play.
      Medal Fortune-telling: You will be told which chapters you can obtain Dio Medals you haven't yet, and the conditions for obtaining them, such as what to do.
      Clear Bonus Fortune-telling: You will be told the conditions and rewards for acquiring actions, etc. for each story chapter's Mission Performance Level S.

      BATTLE SQUARE
      -Battle Arena
      This is a minigame in which you can fight other opponents (one-on-one) regardless of their level or rank. There are two types of battles: promotion battles, in which you can raise your rank, and victory battles, in which you can fight with a handicap determined by the slot. Promotion battles are mainly fought by buying and possessing amulets sold at gold saucers, which increase the critical rate in battles according to rank. The winner is judged not by the number of times the opponent is defeated, but by how much damage they inflict in the battle.

      FFVII SNOWBOARDING
      {NEW ☆}Play it now! Setup instructions below, credit to Keitai Wiki Community

      FINAL FANTASY VII Snowboarding is a mini-game included in FINAL FANTASY VII for PlayStation released in 1997. In this game, players control Cloud, the protagonist of FFVII, and compete for clearing time and points on prepared courses.
      There are three courses available: "Beginner Course", "Middle Course" and "Advanced Course". If you perform well in all courses, a "Time Attack Mode" will appear and you can compete in the rankings with players from all over the country.
      SE started distributing the minigame Final Fantasy VII Snowboarding on its i-mode site Final Fantasy Mobile on 10 November 2008. The fee is 300 points (equivalent to 315 yen). Compatible models are FOMA 703i/902i series or later. Members of "Before Crisis Final Fantasy VII" can play the game for free.

      Setup Instructions:
      Spoiler: show
      • Install the DoJa 5.1 SDK emulator and get FFVII Snowboarding's files (download ⁠resources from Keitai Wiki Discord server). Make sure to get ff7snowboard_original.jar, and rename it to ff7snowboard.jar so it matches with the jam and sp file names.
      • In any channel, write /get-uid (write a / and the command list will show up)
      • In any channel, write /get-ff7sb-config. Butler Sheep will DM you a pre-made jam file with your unique configuration.
      • Replace your existing FFVII Snowboarding jam file with this new one. If necessary, make sure to rename the file to match the jar and sp.
      • Load the game in the DoJa 5.1 SDK emulator. When asked if you want to connect, select "yes" (it's the left option).
        (see this video/archive if the next steps are confusing)
      • After loading the game, go to the bottom option on the first screen and then select the bottom option on the next screen. This will allow you to set your name
      • You must get a "GOOD" or better score on game's three maps. They're accessed by selecting the top option on the first screen.
      • After that, replay each of those stages, but hit the yellow balloon at the start. That'll unlock time attack! Complete each map's time attack mode.
      • Go back to the same menu that you went to for setting your name. Instead of selecting the bottom option, select the middle option. This will send your scores to Yuvi's local server.
      • Select the top option in that same menu to view online leaderboards. For each course's category, you'll want to select the top option, since the bottom option is for motion controls. Then, you can view monthly and daily scores!
      « Last Edit: 2024-07-31 17:36:30 by Kuraudo. »

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      Re: ► BEFORE CRISIS FFVII - COMPENDIUM ◄
      « Reply #3 on: 2023-08-20 10:53:05 »
      CHARACTERS

      PLAYABLE TURKS

      Ɛ: Rude and Elena are not playable
      And: Verdot & Tseng, Reno, are playable only in their respective special chapters
      Initially selectable characters: Rod, Gun, Two Guns, Shotgun, Nunchaku, Knife
      After clearing certain chapters: Martial Arts F, Martial Arts M, Katana, Shuriken, Legend
      « Last Edit: 2024-08-15 20:56:46 by Kuraudo. »

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      Re: ► BEFORE CRISIS FFVII - COMPENDIUM ◄
      « Reply #4 on: 2023-08-20 10:54:26 »
      STORY


      "Tracing the six-year
      struggle of a group
      who vanished into the
      shadows of history..."
      Quote
      "Six years before Meteor's disastrous impact with the planet, a fierce
      struggle breaks out between the Auditing Department of Shinra's
      General Affairs Division the Turks and an anti-Shinra
      organization known as Avalanche. Through this conflict quickly
      spreads to consume the world, few are aware that a battle to protect
      the planet is taking place that transcends the two groups' mutual
      aggression. Here we uncover the shady truth behind the history
      leading up to the "assassination" of Avalanche's leader..."
      « Last Edit: 2024-07-13 22:19:48 by Kuraudo. »

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      « Last Edit: 2024-07-17 09:43:26 by Kuraudo. »

      Kuraudo.

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      « Last Edit: 2024-07-17 09:44:27 by Kuraudo. »

      Kuraudo.

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      Re: ► BEFORE CRISIS FFVII - COMPENDIUM ◄
      « Reply #7 on: 2024-07-17 22:28:27 »
      WEAPON DIMENSION MODE


      To play, you need to download the "Extra App" from the official website. WEAPON was defeated once, but resurrected again from a different space and started attacking the player again. The name was also changed from WEAPON Mode to WEAPON Dimension Mode. With the advent of this mode, the most difficult rescue mission has now been added.

      -WEAPON D Mode
      Fight against Jade WEAPON in a nationwide special mission. The player is assigned to six areas based on the location information of the mobile phone. WEAPONS appear in the sky above each area, so attack and provide materia support. When the towers in each area reach their maximum level, they can be used to provide materia support to other areas.
      "The light barrier that was preventing the attack on the Jade Weapon has changed! The time for a direct confrontation looms."
      WEAPON Dimension Mode. Abbreviated as Weapon D mode due to mobile phone character limits.
      A mode (extra app) that uses location data to fight Jade Weapon in different areas of the Japanese archipelago.
      If the Extra app is activated after Weapon is defeated, it switches to the BC app, RP can be obtained depending on the damage inflicted on the WEAPON, the number of clusters destroyed and the number of materia support provided.

      -WEAPON Radar
      You can view Weapon's location, your own battle record and information on each region, as well as set up attack notification emails.
      If a WEAPON is in your area, select Battle to start a cluster fight. When the WEAPONis not in your area, you can use materia support and summon magic when the gauge is full. When WEAPON is hidden (when Weapon's HP is depleting fast), you can neither battle nor provide cover.
      Incidentally, as battles are conducted via the BC application, you will receive mail without regard even when you are in the middle of a battle.

      In WEAPON Mode, players all over the Japanese network cooperate to bring down Jade WEAPON by engaging it in battle and wearing down its HP. Depending on the player's physical location, they will battle Jade WEAPON in a corresponding location on Gaia:

      Midgar - Tokyo
      Junon - Kanto (excluding Tokyo)
      Costa Del Sol - Southern Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu
      Cosmo Canyon - Central Honshu
      Wutai - Kinki Region (Osaka and Kyoto)
      Icicle Lodge - Northern Honshu and Hokkaido

      -Rescue missions
      Rescue Turks who have been defeated and captured in a different space. Rescue request mail can be accepted. The map is different from a normal rescue mission, and the companions are not in prison, but in a black hole. The biggest enemies are your companions after you join them, and you will have to use a series of magic attacks for them to run into the skells on their own. Although there are recovery points, it is difficult to get to them unless you are at a very high LV, even if you load up on items to the maximum extent.
      « Last Edit: 2024-07-19 08:37:42 by Kuraudo. »