Can you play Final Fantasy on iPhone?

Relive Cloud's adventure in Final Fantasy VII for iOS. Screenshot by Anthony Domanico/CNET

Get ready to travel back to Midgar -- on mobile.

The fictional city where Cloud Strife first mounted his resistance against the Shinra Electric Power Company is coming to Apple's iPhones and iPads, as Square Enix on Wednesday released the critically acclaimed game Final Fantasy VII for iOS devices.

"Thank you thank you thank you! I have waited so long for this," one customer wrote on Australia's iTunes store, reflecting the general excitement about the announcement.

For the uninitiated, Final Fantasy VII is a role-playing (RPG) game that follows protagonists Cloud, Barrett and Tifa as they embark on an adventure against the evil company Shinra and the super-soldier Sephiroth.

The iOS release (no word on Android yet) is similar to the PC version of the game, which offers slightly improved graphics from the original 1997 PlayStation version. It also features tweaks to make the game more easily playable on mobile devices, including an overhauled touchscreen control scheme that makes it easier to move characters around.

There are some controversial additions to the mobile version of the game. It lets you turn off random enemy encounters, for example, and has an optional max-stats command that instantly bumps all your characters to level 99 with 9,999 hit points and gives you 999,999,999 gil -- the fictional currency from the game -- to work with.

Toggling on both of those options lets you coast through the game with ease, and since a key gameplay aspect of RPGs is building up your character and overcoming defeat, that kind of defeats the point. Though I'm sure some people will appreciate not having to face random enemies when just trying to see what happens next in the story. To each their own.

But Final Fantasy VII, widely regarded as one of the best role-playing games of all time, isn't the only treat Square Enix is giving gamers this week. It's also released an app called Final Fantasy Portal -- available for both Android and iOS -- that includes the popular, addictive card game Triple Triad from Final Fantasy VIII.

The app lets you gather cards from all of the major Final Fantasy games, and use those cards to play Triple Triad against both AI and human opponents online. Both the Final Fantasy Portal app and the Triple Triad game are free to play, but Triple Triad has a stamina system that only lets you play so often unless you spend real-world money to fill your stamina bar.

Final Fantasy VII for iOS will set you back $15.99 (£11.99, AU$19.99), and is best played on newer Apple devices like the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus and the iPad Air 2. Final Fantasy Portal is free and available for both Android and iOS, though at press time it looks like the iOS app isn't yet available on the US or UK App Stores.

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- As this application is very large, it will take some time to download.
- This application takes up around 2GB of memory. Over 4GB of free space is required to download it, so make sure that ample spare memory is available before attempting to do so.
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Recommended hardware:
iPhone 5s or later, 3rd generation iPad or later, iPad mini 2 or later, iPod touch 6

Supported OS:
iOS 8.0 or later
*Please be aware that users may experience problems, such as exceptionally slow running speeds, if running this application on devices other than those outlined in the recommended hardware section. Such devices are not suited to playing this game and there is a chance of unforeseen errors occurring if running it on them.

Outline

The smash hit RPG: Final Fantasy VII, which has sold over 11,000,000 units* worldwide, finally arrives on iOS!
*Total includes both packaged sales and downloads.

The first Final Fantasy to feature 3D backgrounds and CG movie scenes, this dramatic tale continues to be loved by numerous fans around the world. Battle stages also appear in full 3D for the first time, bringing an even greater sense of awe and spectacle to combat!

Customize your characters in any way you like using the fantastic “material” system that allows endless combinations of spells and abilities.

This product is a port based on Final Fantasy VII for PC (No changes or additions have been made to the story).

Story

With its unshakeable monopoly over Mako energy production, the evil Shinra Electric Power Company holds tight to the reigns of world power.
One day, a Mako reactor serving the sprawling metropolis of Midgar is attacked and destroyed in a bombing raid by a revolutionary group calling themselves Avalanche.
Cloud Strife, a former member of Shinra’s elite “Soldier” unit takes part in the raid as a mercenary hired by Avalanche and sets events in motion that will draw him and his friends into an epic struggle for the fate of the planet itself…

Special features for the iOS edition

- Play using a simple and comfortable virtual controller designed not to obscure the action, choosing between virtual analogue or fixed 4-way digital control pad options. The opacity of on-screen controls can also be adjusted from the Config Menu.

- Two new features to make play easier and more convenient!
The iOS edition also includes an option to turn enemy encounters off on the world and area maps (will not skip event battles) and a Max Stats command to become all-powerful in the blink of an eye.

Major game controls

Movement: Virtual joypad (Select between analogue and digital modes)
Menu navigation: Fixed digital buttons
Confirm: A button
Cancel: B button
Open menu: Y button

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