Last Order: Final Fantasy VII

Last Order explores situations shown and referenced within Final Fantasy VII and other Compilation titles. The world of Final Fantasy VII, referred to as "the Planet", is dependent for its survival on a flow of spirit energy called the Lifestream. The megacorporation Shinra eventually rises to power and begins extracting the Lifestream through mako reactors, killing the Planet. Shinra uses Mako as an energy source and to manipulate the strength and abilities of their paramilitary organization, SOLDIER. Sephiroth, considered the strongest member of SOLDIER, is sent to investigate a Mako reactor in the secluded town of Nibelheim and is accompanied by the SOLDIER Zack and two grunts, one of whom is Cloud. While there, Sephiroth spends most of his time reading in the Shinra Mansion, which had previously been used by the Shinra scientist Hojo to conduct experiments. Through Hojo's log books, Sephiroth comes to learn of his past, in which he was injected with Jenova's cells. The Planet had once been inhabited by the Cetra (or "Ancients"), who were almost completely destroyed by Jenova, an extraterrestrial lifeform that crashed onto the Planet 2,000 years previously, and began infecting the Cetra with a virus. When Jenova was unearthed by a Shinra science team, it was mistakenly identified as a Cetra. This caused Sephiroth to believe he was also a Cetra, and that humans had betrayed his ancestors. ==Plot==

After killing the villagers of Nibelheim, Sephiroth goes to the mako reactor facility, and incapacitates Tifa and Zack. As Sephiroth reunites with Jenova, Cloud ambushes him. Sephiroth impales Cloud and escapes with Jenova. Hojo and the soldiers arrive, and take Zack and Cloud for science experimentation, during which Cloud succumbs to mako poisoning. Zack later escapes with the unconscious Cloud and is ambushed by the Shinra military en route to Midgar. ==Cast==

• Kenichi Suzumura as Zack Fair: a 1st class SOLDIER. He protects Cloud from Shinra. The production crew used Last Order "to portray Zack properly" as light-hearted and young. Suzumura noted Zack felt more "alive" in comparison to his appearance in Advent Children. • Takahiro Sakurai as Cloud Strife: a Shinra infantryman and a survivor of Nibelheim. • Toshiyuki Morikawa as Sephiroth: a 1st class SOLDIER. He betrays Cloud, Tifa, and Zack. • Junichi Suwabe as Tseng: the leader of the Turks who narrates the OVA. Originally, it was intended to focus on Zack, but Tseng became the "real highlight". Last Order elaborates on Tseng's changing feelings towards his job, as well as where he places his moral values. • Ayumi Ito as Tifa Lockhart: a resident of Nibelheim and childhood acquaintance of Cloud. • Hiroshi Fujioka as Zangan: Tifa's martial arts instructor. He escorts her to safety after Sephiroth destroys the village. • Keiji Fujiwara as Reno and Taiten Kusunoki as Rude: A duo of Turks agents under Tseng's command. • Nachi Nozawa as Professor Hojo: the head of Shinra's science department. He takes Zack and Cloud for experiments, and dismisses Tseng's group of agents. Other roles include Daisuke Namikawa as Turk (Rod), Ginpei Sato as Turk (Two Guns), Hōchū Ōtsuka as Turk (Martial Arts), Mayuko Aoki as Turk (Shotgun), and Megumi Toyoguchi as Turk (Gun); together, they are group of agents under Tseng's command who previously appeared in Before Crisis. Keiji Okuda, Atsushi Imaruoka, Ryuji Mizuno, and Daisuke Kirii voice members of Shinra's military unit, who attempt to apprehend Cloud and Zack. Yōhei Tadano and Katsuhisa Hōki voice villagers of Nibelheim. ==Production and release==

Last Order: Final Fantasy VII was produced and scripted by Square Enix collaboration with Madhouse The decision to create Last Order arose from the positive reaction towards a popular promotional clip created by Madhouse for the game Before Crisis. Madhouse was chosen to produce the OVA partly because of their success with the clip and because the president of Madhouse was very enthusiastic about the project. acted as the supervising director. The OVA was included in the North American "Limited Edition Collector's Set" of Advent Children, released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on February 20, 2007. The North America release did not come with an English dub and the OVA is subtitled. The Compilation of Final Fantasy VII is a series of prequels and sequels to the original Final Fantasy VII game. Last Order is not part of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII and is considered an outside work. However, it has been associated with the Final Fantasy VII series since its creation, and is mentioned alongside official installments in official guidebooks and companion books. The soundtrack was later made available in North America by Square Enix. Tracks 13 through 27 on the disc contain the score from Last Order, while tracks 1 through 12 contain music from Before Crisis. OverClocked ReMix's four-disc tribute album, Voices of the Lifestream, has a disc entitled Order. The name was chosen to coincide with Last Order, and the music is themed after it. ==Response and cultural impact==

Only 77,777 copies of Advent Pieces: Limited were produced in Japan, and they are no longer available, having been sold out months in advance of its release. They retailed for ¥29,500, or US$300, each Overall, Last Order garnered positive feedback from Western critics. Chris Carle of IGN noted that Last Order was "the true meat of the new extras [in the Advent Children collector's set]… a traditionally animated chapter for Final Fantasy fans that centers on the story of Zack and Cloud" and that "it adds even more dimension to the story [of Final Fantasy VII]". However, Hideki Imaizumi, the producer of Crisis Core, stated that they had received "considerable negative feedback" from fans, who were displeased with changes made to the Nibelheim event in Last Order. Due to this, the scene was redone for Crisis Core, and the production crew was careful to avoid making the same decisions. == Notes ==