Creating Climate Conscious Players: Final Fantasy VII’s Ecoactivist Fan Communities

Abstract

This paper examines the ecocritical message espoused by characters in Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VII Remake and uses affect theory to better understand fan response to these beliefs. From there, I note the publishing company, Square-Enix, recently declared interest in pursuing NFT technology as a potential revenue stream despite the environmental concerns this technology brings, which resembles the villainous organization Shinra in these games. Fan response Square-Enix’s NFT projects indicates how fans may identify with and absorb the ideologies of characters in video games, even when that ideology sets the fans in opposition with the companies behind the original game(s).