Final Fantasy VII Visual References

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children contains a number of visual references
to the packaging design of the original PSX Final Fantasy VII.

You can see this image if you move frame-by-frame through the scene
in which Reno calls Strife's Delivery Service. The camera pans across what
seems to be a column, and a hazy image of the cover to the original
PSX Final Fantasy VII can be seen reflected in the structure.

For an easier comparison, I have adjusted the relevant portion of the image above
to make the Final Fantasy VII cover stand out more. It appears below alongside
an image of the original PSX cover.

Immediately before this image, you can see a number of other Final Fantasy VII
visual references on the same column.

Because these images are difficult to see due to the dark lighting,
I have manipulated the image to bring out the colors more.

The image in the upper right appears to be the Midgar subway map
that Cloud can access during the first sequence with Avalanche in Final Fantasy VII.

The image on the right appears to be the tail of Cloud's
bike as it was rendered in CG for the PSX system's FMV sequences.

The image on the bottom is indiscernible at this point.

For those who want to see these images in context, the following
animated .GIF shows six frames from the movie in sequence.

Here is the same animated .GIF with the FF7 images
brightened for clearer viewing.

A blue silhouette image of one of Cloud's more noticeable poses appears
in the background as Tifa discovers Denzel among the infected children.

Here is the original image.

Here is an image manipulated to draw out the details.

The image appears once more at a slightly different angle.

Players familiar with the original Final Fantasy VII may remember
the Honey Bee, a brothel that Cloud and Aeris had to infiltrate in order
to save Tifa. After the devastation of Meteor, they apparently rebuilt it.

The image has been manipulated to draw out the contrast
between the letters and the sign more.

The sign reads:
NEW HONEY BEE

This sign once hung on the monument erected in the memory
of the meteor impact. Again, Engrish prevails.

METEO IMPACT sounds like a bad J-Pop group.

True to her character from the game,
Yuffie still can't stand heights.

In the game, she spent the majority of her time
aboard the Highwind blowing chunks. Apparently, she doesn't
handle parachute infiltration any better.

The blade on Cid's spear reads HIGHWIND.

You can see it in the lower left corner
of the image below.

Here is an image manipulated to draw out the details.

Right before Bahamut's fireball hits some construction debris,
you can clearly see one of the signs advertising the Golden Saucer.

Here is an image manipulated to draw out the details.

Also in homage to the original game,
Barrett in Advent Children is just as ineffectual
as he was in Final Fantasy VII.