Final Fantasy 7's nine-disc, open-world fan sequel was too beautiful to live
This Final Fantasy 7 sequel put together by fans shows off just how flexible Squaresoft's tech was.
Final Fantasy 7: Time Guardian was a fan-made sequel to the classic RPG, developed by Japanese indie Rodensoft. What makes it different from other FF7 fan projects is that it was being developed in the same engine as the original, for the PSone.
Gematsu ran down some details of the project, which Rodensoft intended to “demonstrate how much power even the original Final Fantasy 7 PSone engine has”.
Time Guardian kicks off after the Temple of the Ancients sequence, where Cait Sith steals the Black Materia. Falling into a trap laid by the Time Guardian, Cait Sith would accidentally trigger a new timeline in which events referenced in the beta version and Ultimania take place.
Each of the characters would have their memory wiped, and be transported to new locations, eventually meeting up. In the meantime, players could switch between characters and parties at will.
Now here's the cool bit: all this took place in an open world with a day night cycle, random weather, NPC schedules, time-dependent events, resource gathering, housing, repeatable quests, random dungeons, and a faction or karma system.
Rodensoft intended to build a world large enough to fill nine CDs, the limits of the PSOne capabilities. Unfortunately, the project has since been abandoned, as it was a full-time job and Rodensoft needed to get back to making actual money. You can gaze upon its wonder in the video below, though.
