If you were a Square Enix fan in 2005, things were getting weird. We weren't just getting games; we were getting the "Compilation of Final Fantasy VII." It was this massive, sprawling attempt to expand a world that many of us thought was perfectly closed off in 1997. Amidst the high-budget CG of Advent Children and the clunky shooter mechanics of Dirge of Cerberus, a small, 25-minute anime called Last Order: Final Fantasy VII dropped. It was tucked away in the "Ultimate Edition" of the movie, and honestly? It’s still one of the most debated pieces of media in the entire franchise.
It’s messy. It’s beautiful. It’s arguably the most stylish the series has ever looked. But if you’re looking for a perfect 1:1 retelling of the game’s lore, you’re going to be very confused.
What Actually Is Last Order: Final Fantasy VII?
Produced by Madhouse—the legendary studio behind Death Note and One Punch Man—this OVA (Original Video Animation) focuses on two specific timelines. One follows Zack Fair and a catatonic Cloud Strife as they flee from Shinra toward Midgar. The other flashes back to the Nibelheim Incident, specifically the showdown at the reactor.
The animation is fluid. It has this gritty, mid-2000s edgy aesthetic that makes the characters feel more grounded than their floating, gravity-defying game counterparts. You see Zack’s desperation. You feel the heat of the fire. But here is the kicker: Last Order: Final Fantasy VII took some massive liberties with the canon.
Specifically, the ending of the Sephiroth fight.
In the original PlayStation game, Cloud stabs Sephiroth, and Sephiroth stumbles into the Lifestream. In Last Order, Sephiroth... jumps. He looks at Cloud, acknowledges his strength, and takes a dive. At the time, fans lost their minds. How could they change such a pivotal moment of Cloud's triumph? It felt like they were turning Sephiroth into some noble tragic figure rather than a monster who had just been bested by a low-level grunt.
The Retcon That Wasn't
Most people think Last Order was a mistake by Madhouse. The reality is more nuanced. Morio Asaka, the director, was working with a script that aimed to emphasize the emotional connection and the "legendary" status of these characters. The jump wasn't necessarily a mistake; it was a stylistic choice that backfired with the hardcore lore-keepers.
The controversy got so loud that Square Enix actually had to address it later. When Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII was in development for the PSP, the developers specifically went back to the original game's version of the Nibelheim events. They effectively "de-canonized" the ending of Last Order.
So, why watch it?
Because it captures the vibe of the series better than almost anything else. The way Zack interacts with the Turks—specifically Tseng—adds layers to the Shinra hierarchy that the original game barely touched. It portrays the Turks not as cardboard villains, but as professionals caught between their duty and their personal respect for Zack.
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Why the Art Style Still Holds Up
Madhouse didn't use the standard character designs from the game. They went with something more angular. Cloud looks sick. Not just "protagonist sick," but actually physically poisoned by Mako. His eyes are vacant. He's a dead weight that Zack is literally dragging across a wasteland.
Compare this to the 2020 Remake or Rebirth. Those games are gorgeous, but they are very "clean." Last Order: Final Fantasy VII is dirty. It feels like a world where people actually get sweaty and tired. The fight between Zack and the Shinra soldiers on the cliffside is choreographed with a frantic energy that 3D models sometimes struggle to replicate. It’s fast. It’s bloody. It’s desperate.
Key Moments You Might Have Missed:
- The focus on the sniper. This adds a level of tension to Zack's final stand that makes the eventual outcome feel like an inevitable tragedy rather than a random gameplay encounter.
- The Turk involvement. Seeing Cissnei (before she was a major player in Crisis Core) and the rest of the crew trying to "save" Zack while ostensibly hunting him adds a tragic irony to the whole story.
- The soundtrack. Tsuyoshi Sekito's work here is rock-heavy and pulsing. It’s a far cry from Nobuo Uematsu’s orchestral scores, but it fits the frantic pace of a fugitive on the run.
The Disconnect Between Creators and Fans
There is a lesson in Last Order about the dangers of the "Compilation" era. During the mid-2000s, Square Enix was throwing ideas at the wall. They wanted Final Fantasy VII to be a brand, not just a game. This led to various directors having different takes on the same events.
Tetsuya Nomura, who has been the gatekeeper of the series for years, eventually had to reel it all in. If you play Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis today, you'll see a unified version of these events. But for a brief window in 2005, Last Order was the boldest, weirdest, and most visually interesting version of the Nibelheim story we had.
It highlights a fundamental truth about this franchise: the "truth" is often a matter of perspective. In the original game, we see the story through Cloud's fractured mind. In Last Order, we see it through a cinematic lens that prioritizes cool over consistency. Neither is "wrong" in an artistic sense, but only one fits the spreadsheet of the series' lore.
How to Watch It Today
Finding a legal way to watch Last Order: Final Fantasy VII is surprisingly annoying. It was never released as a standalone product in most regions. It’s usually found as a bonus feature on the Advent Children Complete Blu-ray or the original special edition DVD.
Is it worth tracking down? Absolutely. Even with the lore inaccuracies, it provides a bridge between the 1997 classic and the modern era. It shows the first steps Square took toward humanizing Zack Fair, turning him from a flashback plot device into the heart of the entire saga.
The animation alone justifies the 25 minutes. There is a sequence where Zack is fighting off a squad of soldiers while trying to keep Cloud safe that is genuinely one of the best-directed action scenes in the entire franchise. It doesn't rely on magic or summons; it's just a guy with a sword and a lot of heart, which is really what Zack's story is all about.
Actionable Insights for the Completionist
If you want the full experience of this specific era of Final Fantasy history, don't just watch the OVA and move on. You need to contextualize it.
- Watch Last Order immediately after playing the Nibelheim flashback in the original game. The contrast in how Sephiroth is portrayed is fascinating and will give you a better appreciation for why the "jump" was so controversial.
- Pay attention to the background characters. The Turks in Last Order are the most "human" version of the group. Note how they interact with each other when the cameras (or their bosses) aren't looking.
- Compare the ending to Crisis Core. Seeing how Square Enix "corrected" the ending in 2007 shows the evolution of how they handled fan feedback regarding lore consistency.
- Look for the subtle visual cues. Notice how the Mako glow in the eyes is handled differently here than in the movies. It’s a more subtle, haunting effect that makes the SOLDIERs look slightly inhuman.
Ultimately, Last Order is a beautiful anomaly. It’s a piece of history from a time when Square Enix was willing to take massive risks with their most precious story. It might not be "canon" in the strictest sense anymore, but for many fans, it remains the definitive vibe of the Nibelheim incident. It’s raw, it’s flawed, and it’s undeniably Final Fantasy.
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To get the most out of your dive into the compilation, seek out the Advent Children Complete version of the film, as the OVA is often included in the special features. Once finished, compare the "Zack vs. Infantry" scene here to the ending of Crisis Core Reunion. The differences in choreography and tone tell the entire story of how the franchise's direction shifted over two decades.