Final Fantasy 7: The First Soldier has offered players many references to the extended continuity in just the couple of months that it's been available. An upcoming The First Soldier update may be the most special one yet though, as content from the original Final Fantasy 7 is headed to the game.
The First Soldier loves referencing the Compilation of Final Fantasy 7. The First Soldier occurs before Final Fantasy 7's beginning, where players control a candidate for Shinra's SOLDIER program in a battle royale setting. Besides the inclusion of purchasable costumes like Cloud and Tifa from Advent Children, and the map incorporating landmarks from the other games, The First Soldier largely keeps to itself. It has been a fairly popular game since its release, with many wishing it wasn't exclusive to mobile.
During the recent Final Fantasy 7 anniversary stream, Square Enix announced that original game's iconic low-polygon models are coming to The First Soldier. It appears that players will be receiving low-polygon versions of Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart, Aerith Gainsborough, and Barret Wallace, along with a Red XIII back accessory, and Chocobo skin. The models are a blend of Final Fantasy 7's overworld and battle rigs, having the large polygonal hands and legs of the former, with the proportions and detailed faces of the latter. This crossover is part of The First Soldier's celebration for Final Fantasy 7's 25th Anniversary.
An image posted to the official The First Soldier Japanese Twitter account offers a more cinematic view of the skins. In center focus is a traditional player character clashing swords with the low-polygon version of Cloud, while Barret in the background lays down suppressing fire with his gun arm. To the left of the sword exchange is a brawler-type character looking to square off with Tifa who is soaring behind Cloud's head. Since players can customize their characters regardless of their class, these skins should hopefully be compatible with The First Soldier's upcoming Dragoon-based class.
Part of the original Final Fantasy 7's enduring charm are those iconic low-polygon models used throughout the game. There were other games at the time doing more sophisticated things graphically, but for the size and scale of Final Fantasy 7, Square Enix had to compromise on character models that could be animated while not eating up storage space. For people visiting the game today, the models may be a bit hard to get used to, but those who played it originally likely remember them pretty fondly. There is no timetable for when these skins will be available.
Final Fantasy 7: The First Soldier is available on mobile.