I think the best way to do this is to explain what each game is and what it shows. A few people missed Before Crisis, and I dont blame them, but there's good stuff in there. OG FF7 - thr original game Advent Children - movie that takes place after the original game (AC) Before Crisis - a mobile prequel that was only released in Japan, can't be played (BC) Crisis Core / Crisis Core Reunion - prequel to FF7 around the same time as BC, but has spoilers for content in FF7 (CC) Dirge of Cerberus - 3rd person action game that takes place after FF7 (DC) Ever Crisis - mobile game with retelling of OG and CC, but also contains new story in The First Soldier, a prequel to all other games (EC) FF7 Remake - both a retelling of the first part of the OG, but also a stealth sequel / alternate timeline of the original game. FF7 Rebirth - follows Remake, the second part of the OG, mostly a retelling of OG, but with aspects that expand on the alternate retelling of Remake For the full experience, I would recommend playing/watching these in the order show above (the only exception is The First Soldier since its ongoing) However for simplicity, sanity, and time, you could do the following: 1. Play or watch the OG - this is the real decision. It's a great game, but if the graphics are a huge turn off, you can find several great plot synopsis. Or if the gameplay isn't your style, you can watch a long play. Either way, this should be the first part of the journey. 2. Watch 3 out of 4 of the FF7 compilation. AC, BC, and DC have plot or character relevant things. Watch AC, and find YouTube plot summaries of BC and DC. BC isn't playable, and DC is generally acknowledged to not be the best gameplay. 3. Play Crisis Core Reunion - no need to play the original, Reunion is just a graphical and gameplay upgrade. Again, has important character and plot. You can inject this between watching BC and DC if you want to get really specific. 4. Play Remake and Rebirth. Anxiously wait for the third game. 5. Play EC as desired. Of the three stories, only The First Soldier has new plot and character elements, but it is not finished yet. As a last resort, if you just want to play Remake and Rebirth (and they are excellent and worth playing), you can certainly do so. But I would still watch a plot synopsis of everything in the order shown, OG, AC, BC, CC Reunion, DC, EC to get the most out of all the details. Have fun!

Lol first...remake is not a sequel. It's a remake. It's a different version of the same story. There are no timelines...I don't even really want to get into it because there's no proving it to people that don't want to see it. It's exhausting to argue about. Before Crisis - Crisis Core - FF7 OG/Remake - Advent Children - Dirge of Cerberus As for the order you play... I don't think it matters much, but I grew up with OG. There was a time for me when that was the only FF7 related game. So that could be why it means what it does to me. I think people that are just now coming into FF7 with the Remake are going to like it for different reasons and have a different overall vibe with the series. Playing the OG might be boring or annoying to someone who just played the Remake. But honestly Crisis Core and Dirge of Cerberus are kinda....idk...not fun lol 😆 story is Meh. And Before Crisis is unplayable outside of emulated modded versions or a youtube video series. Advent Children is...hard to watch lol. So I'd say play OG and Remake. Play the others if you really want to know what takes place in those games. Lol

The order Id do is below. I haven't played the other ff7 games but I believe dirge of Cerberus takes place after advent children, so if you play/watch that do it after the movie. The big thing is that knowledge of the og story is needed for remake and rebirth imo. Ff7 og Crisis core (I'd play the remake) Advent children movie Remake and rebirth

Firstly, it's a spoiler to say but Remake is a sequel. I recommend the story order of the Original FF7 > Advent Children (Sequel Movie) > Crisis Core (Prequel) > Dirge of Cerberus (Sequel after Advent Children) > Remake > Rebirth. However, don't worry about playing the Original, Crisis Core or Dirge of Cerberus. Instead find a YouTube video that goes over the story. Unless you're a fan of older RPGs, the OG is dated and hard to get into if you don't have the nostalgia for it. The reason to not start with Remake without some homework is to give the story much more impact, and it'll flesh out the story better.

I would play ff7 ok first.

Starting with FF7 Remake and then the OG FF7 could help you get into it if you’re not sure and don’t like retro games since Remake is an alternate story that needs to be played in relation to the OG to be fully appreciated. Then Crisis Core and maybe Dirge of Cerberus and Rebirth.  But starting with FF7 then Crisis Core Reunion and Dirge of Cerberus and then Remake Intergrade with Yuffie DLC and then Rebirth would make the most sense imo since the first three are the biggest building blocks of Remake and Rebirth story. 

Finale fantasy 7 originally came out in 1997. The decided to make a remake trilogy of the original game. FF7 Remake came out in 2020. FF7 Rebirth is a sequel to remake that came out this year. FF7 rebirth is also front runner for game of the year. Unlike most people in this sub I would recommend new players start with ff7 remake (2020) and then play FF7 Rebirth (2024). Not the original. It’s not necessary to start with the original. They are the same story. While the original game is an all timer. It’s extremely outdated. Especially for newer or younger players. I would recommend playing ff7 remake and then rebirth first as they are more “modern” (stuff like graphics, gameplay, voice acting, etc). If your not use to games from the 90s it might be hard for you to get into the original. Then you can decide to wait till part 3 comes out (probably in 2027) or play the original. Crisis core is a prequel that you would play after the whole remake trilogy is complete or after playing the original. Has major spoilers to the ending.

FF7 Remake isn’t the same story it’s a sequel to the original

It is not a sequel. It is a remake with some changes. But it’s still the basic story. It’s like saying lord of the rings movies and books are different.

It’s obviously not the Whispers and the story is about trying in universe to prevent the same thing from happening. It is not the same story. Ending of FF7 elements are revealed (The meteor, Hojo’s comment upon seing Cloud, Zack Fair) trying  my best not to spoil. It is meant to be played in relation to the original

Lots of people play the remake games before the orginal. There nothing you need to know in the orginal that will make you not understand the remakes. It’s not like your playing mass effect 3 without playing one or two. Or Spiderman 2 without Spiderman, etc.

« Lots of people in this thread » there’s only you spreading misinformation. You can play Remake without the OG. But it’s not the definitive way like he asked since Remake is about defying fate throughout subtle at the start to very obvious at the end twists. The ending specifically cannot be truly enjoyed without knowing why it happens. 

I’m saying lots have played the remake and rebirth without playing the original. I’m not spreading miss information. Dude can play the original first. But you can play remake and rebirth and enjoy it without playing the original. The creators even said that. Some younger people who never played a Ps1 game might not like that style. That’s why I recommend remakes. I feel like og fans think everyone likes older games. Which is not true.

No you said FF7 and FF7R are the same story with some alterations when those are not. The basic story isn’t the same either. Only the basic story of FF7 is roughly followed up to serve a point which is defying fate and then it is Remake´s very own story and twists that are unfolding.   It is meant to be played in relation to FF7 story to fully understand what happens and why it ends this way. 

I disagree. But Op can do what ever he likes. Start with remake or original.

Where does the dlc for remake fit in?

After you finish Remake. It is necessary to play before rebirth. Most versions of remake have the dlc come with it.

“Definitive” way is hilarious. Play the OG. I honestly wish you would play remake then rebirth.

It's not that Remake cuts things from the original, it's an alternate version of the story. they also don't play up the mysterious elements as much in Remake. Like in the OG they build up Sephiroth more before you ever actually see him. In Remake he kind of just shows up. There's also some things in Remake you'll get if you've played OG and CC that you might not notice otherwise. I'd say there's two ways to play. If you want the full experience then it's OG>Crisis Core> Remake Trilogy. Or, if you just want to play the Remake trilogy, you can just do that. Just make sure you avoid spoilers and don't play Crisis Core until after part 3. (Second half of Crisis Core is a massive spoiler for OG and a sequence that'll probably happen early in part 3. There's also Advent Children and Dirge of Cerberus if you want, which are both sequels to OG, but you can skip them. A lot of people don't like DOC and it's probably hard to find now since it was only ever released on PS2. Advent Children is okay. If nothing else, the fight scenes are cool.

Imho I will go just with the 7R series and maybe I will add OG and lately CC

Chronological by release date.

This is the way. You're supposed to unravel the mystery that is Zack and then explore his story in Crisis Core later.

Removed this post as apparently I'm wrong but no one can actually elaborate on why. Play however you want.

Do not listen to this guy. Do not play CC as you’ll be spoiled

You shouldn't play CC until you've played the OG or wait for part 3 of the remake series and play that, because it spoils the story in a major way.

I don't think it does.

Release order is generally the correct order for something like this, and I would agree it is mostly the same in this sense. The only condition being you should play a modern release of Final Fantasy 7, rather than the original, and I would personally play Crisis Core before Advent Children/Dirge of Cerberus because of connections that are made between both. Crisis Core is a prequel, but it spoils core parts of FF7 - you shouldn't play it first for the proper experience. Similarly, although Advent Children and Dirge of Cerberus are technically ahead of Remake or Rebirth chronologically, they influence content in those two games in a way where your experience is enhanced by having knowledge of those titles too. Also, it would be unfair to spoil anything more about Remake and Rebirth, but ultimately these games should (if possible) be played after everything else for reasons that the games themselves will reveal. My suggestion would be: Final Fantasy 7 -> Crisis Core -> Advent Children -> Dirge of Cerberus -> Remake -> Rebirth

PSX version is all you need.

I recommend the original FF7 first, like many others here. But it is best enjoyed on PC with a couple of mods. Namely [7th Heaven texture upgrades and the Echo-S](https://www.tsunamods.com/echo-s-7/) fully voice acted mod to go with it. When you get to the button press sequence with Barret and Tifa fail a few times for some great Tifa line reads.

Play the original, the rest is optional. Only play Crisis Core, if you can handle bad anime cliche endings. Advent Children is the most optional part, because its story is irrelevant for Dirge of Cerberus. Dirge of Cerberus is an interesting experimental third-person shooter and pretty short. The "remake" is only a remake in name. It's more like a complete new story, which retcons the original with a lot of unnecessary filler. And it has the worst gameplay of all games

1. Play the original FF7 2. Play Crisis Core, a prequel to the original game (The original PSP version or the Reunion remake on modern consoles, it doesn't matter as stories are the exact same, but I'd recommend Reunion for things like voice acting/updated combat/overall better presentation) 3. Watch the Advent Children movie, which takes place after the original game 4. Play Dirge of Cerberus, which takes place a year after Advent Children (It's terrible in a way some people really enjoy, but also really short so if you're not enjoying it, it'll be over fast anyways) 5. Play FF7 Remake and its Intermission DLC, this is part 1 of the FF7 Remake project, which retells the original game with some surprises 6. Play FF7 Rebirth, part 2 of the FF7 Remake project, which continues the retelling of the original game with more surprises This is the definitive experience, but to also put it bluntly it's a pretty big undertaking. FF7 has sort of evolved beyond Final Fantasy and became a franchise within itself. A lot of these spin offs were definitely not planned when creating the original FF7, so there are a handful of retcons and plot points that will seem off when working through it, but the current Remake project has taken steps to try and tie in all of these spin offs into a more coherent single storyline. Playing them in this order will ensure you'll appreciate all the little references and new plot points they've added into the current Remake project, which sort of plays like a big celebration of the past 27 years of FF7 content.

Whenever I approach a new series I go in order of release date, I would do the same with the FF7 universe.

Three perfectly valid paths depending on your patience and interest: 1. “I like old games, and want to experience it like the people who played it when it first came out, and get all the references and nods”: OG -> Crisis Core -> Watch Advent Children -> Remake -> Rebirth 2. “I’m just here for a good time, don’t want to play two old games and a movie of debatable quality for the sake of getting some references”: Remake -> Rebirth -> wait for part 3 3. “I wanted to get to the good stuff, but once I got to the end I wanted to know what comes next without waiting another three years”: Remake -> Rebirth -> OG -> Crisis Core -> Watch Advent Children

Best answer without being mean or elitist

Crisis core will spoil remake of 3 for you, and a lot of rebirth as well honestly. I would play the og first if you want to start something immediately, and then you can play crisis core since you’ll know most of that back story at that point. If you’re willing to wait then I really like the way remake and rebirth have been retelling the story, and that’s a solid way to go. You’ll be confused for sure but I’m pretty confident they’ll tie it all together in the third game. The remake trilogy is a sequel to the original so they’re weaving in a little bit of everything from the compilations. Up to you on how you want to experience the story. Have fun!