10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Final Fantasy VII

5. Ruby And Emerald Weapon Were Never In The Original Japanese Release

Super-bosses are a common feature in Final Fantasy games. They are optional enemies with extremely high amounts of hit points who serve as the toughest challenges within the game; usually providing a bigger challenge than the final boss of their respective games. Initially, Final Fantasy VII didn't really have a super-boss. Ultimate Weapon provided the strongest optional challenge within the game but he wasn't that much more challenging than Safer Sephiroth. It wasn't until the American and European releases (and the International re-release in Japan) that Final Fantasy VII received it's ultimate challenges - Ruby and Emerald Weapon. Both Weapons were added to the game to increase the challenge. Interestingly, this also changes the scene at the Northern Cave where the Weapons are released; originally, the cave simply spawns a white flash but in the International version, the various Weapons can visibly be seen flying off into the world. If you've braved the depths of Final Fantasy VII's oceans in the submarine, you'll undoubtedly know Emerald Weapon. It stalks the ocean and if the player bumps into it, they'll immediately be thrust into battle with it. It can be pretty terrifying to turn an underwater corner and suddenly be facing the strongest enemy in the game; it seems pretty shocking that there is a version of the game without this monster. Ruby Weapon can also be found in the sand surrounding the Gold Saucer, though it only spawns after the storyline encounter with Diamond Weapon. It's unclear which is the harder challenge (Emerald has more health but it isn't necessarily the harder battle) although players who fully grasp the game's slightly broken combat system can defeat these super-bosses without even taking damage; still, at least the challenge was there from the beginning.