The next event in The First Soldier is a prequel to FF7 and it's set at the earliest known point in the series, as the SOLDIER organization hasn't been founded yet, meaning it predates Crisis Core.
FF7 had groundbreaking visuals when it first launched, due to the massive hardware gap between the SNES and the PS1. Despite this, the character models in FF7 were inconsistent, as the party had realistic proportions in battle, chibi proportions on the field, and flipped between the two in cutscenes. The chibi character models were a throwback to the older entries in the series, where the hardware limitations forced all characters to have small sprites. FF7 Remake abandoned the chibi sprites and all of the characters retained their realistic sizes throughout the entire game.
Square Enix revealed during the FF7 25th anniversary celebrations that The First Soldier would have a collaboration event with FF7, and a new update on the official Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier website has revealed new information about this event. The FF7 collab event will begin on February 16 and it will give players a chance to unlock skins based on the blocky sprites used in the original FF7.
The retro FF7 character skins on offer are for Cloud, Barret, Tifa, and Aerith. There is also a retro skin available for the chocobo mount and a backpack based on Red XIII. In order to unlock these skins in FF7: The First Soldier, the player will need to defeat enemies that also have their classic FF7 appearance, including a Cactuar, Shinra grunts, and the Guard Scorpion. Defeating these enemies will unlock limited-time data pieces and secret boxes, which can be used to earn rewards during the FF7 collab event. It was also revealed that there is an update on the way for The First Soldier's classes and chocobos, which will launch on February 18.
The FF7 anniversary event was considered a disappointment by many, as it didn't feature any news about the sequel to FF7 Remake, or a release date for the Ever Crisis. The only announcement most fans enjoyed was the reveal of the FF7 collab event for The First Soldier, as it was the closest thing to an actual anniversary celebration in the livestream. The original FF7 character models seem primitive now, but they were incredible to behold in their day and are fondly ed by fans around the globe. The First Soldier is a superior game in every way when it comes to visuals, but a lot of players will be fighting to play as the blocky Popeye-armed Cloud in the game, as people love the design so much. The collab could also be the boost that The First Soldier needs to attract retro fans.
The Final Fantasy VII collab event in Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier will begin on February 16, 2022.
