Qhimm’s Cupcake comments on the following video showing very early teaser footage of Final Fantasy 7. Did we miss anything?

0:13 – Zoom from intro cinematic, different rendering of Midgar, Sector 6 or 7 destroyed. From the amount of damage, I’m willing to bet it’s Sector 7, yet counting, it seems to be Sector 6.

0:28 – This scene is never seen from this angle in-game. Cloud also has a different model.

0:32 – Obviously early beta, perhaps an early version of Nibelheim. Not a pre-rendered background, it’s possible that they were experimenting with a full 3D environment at one point. Collision detection is either not implemented or objects are at different heights with Cloud beneath some of them. People can be walked under/through, one man’s head is a building.

0:36 – Also obviously early beta. Possibly fully 3D. I can’t tell if it’s prerendered, but Cloud’s motion leads me to believe it isn’t prerendered. Clearly an early version of Cosmo Canyon, Cloud walks over the Cosmo Candle.

0:48 – Early battle models, vastly different battle interface. MP counter has three digits at all times. The Barrier (?) bar is directly underneath names. The time bar is blue, as is the limit bar. The Limit bar is also where the Barrier bar usually is. Barret looks very asian. At 0:53, another battle interface is shown, or rather, a new part of the battle interface is shown, displaying symbols for statuses next to icons of the characters at the top of the screen. Several battle backgrounds are shown. One is mostly blank with an orange sky, perhaps on the world map with a sunset, or Meteor providing red light. Another is in Midgar, as evidenced by the ShinRa building in the background. Very industrial, but obviously during early battle tests, as the blending isn’t complete and some angles show a black void in spots. Also early enemies, early Bahamut, and early Leviathan.

0:54 – Here you can see that Barret’s texture is unfinished. His stomach is devoid of textures where he’d normally be wearing metal straps.

1:25 – Human commentator on monitor, unseen scene in final game, old style save point in bottom right hand corner, Marlene is nowhere to be found. Beyond that, Cloud pulls out what is presumably a Materia. However, this is vastly different from the Materia we know and love. First of all, it gives off a green glow and has smaller dots rotating around it, not entirely dissimilar to an atom and its electron cloud. Perhaps Mako is based on nuclear energy, or at least was at one point.

1:49 – Newer battle interface, and a new set of battle models. Quite possibly very close to final, as the battle background is also within a reactor. Only difference I can easily spot here is the models. You can also see Tifa, who was added later in development.

1:55 – Yet another Battle interface. Barrier and Limit bars are in their proper place. A pink window reading “Limit” is displayed over a character name and the text box at the top is smaller. Barret performs his Limit Break, Big Shot. The fight takes place on a near-finished battle background.

2:04 – Beta character icons rather than the character face portraits we’re used to seeing. I kinda like these better, actually.

2:07 – Back to the first Battle Interface, with the Shin-Ra building in the background again. At 2:12 Cloud gets KO’d and disappears in a red puff like an enemy, rather than collapsing to the ground as per the final game. This makes me believe that this is footage of VERY early battle system tests.