10 Video Games That Jumped To Other Systems During Development
8. Final Fantasy VII
Entering the third dimension in gaming was a daunting challenge for some and RPG master Square was no different. The seventh entry would abandon the Nintendo 64 in favour of the PlayStation's CD-based format.
Final Fantasy VII simply couldn't be accomplished on the cartridge format. Test kits for the proposed Nintendo 64 disk drive were used at first in development, but Square soon realised that the game would place massive strain on the hardware and wouldn't run well as a result. Initially, the SEGA Saturn and PC were considered as alternatives, but neither would be chosen.
After calculating the game would need upwards of thirty N64DD disks to run, Square turned to the CD-ROM format, which was the main delivery system on Sony's PlayStation. By taking this direction, the developer was able to create both the art style and pre-rendered cutscenes they wanted. They now had the resources and technical ambition to realise the project.
Final Fantasy VII became one of the most iconic exclusives on the original PlayStation and is certainly the most popular entry in the long-running franchise to this day. This wouldn't be the last time a mainline Final Fantasy title would ditch one console for another. More on that later...