9.5/10 – A masterpiece of extended cinema that turned a flawed sequel into a legendary epilogue. Happy 10th Anniversary, Complete . Are you a fan of the original or the Complete edition? Share your memories of watching Cloud and Sephiroth duel in the comments below.
In the pantheon of video game adaptations, few films have carried the weight of expectation—or the burden of legacy—quite like Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children . Released originally in 2005 as a direct-to-DVD sequel to the 1997 PlayStation masterpiece, the film was a dazzling, albeit flawed, experiment in photorealistic CGI. It gave fans the closure they craved: a chance to see Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart, and the surviving cast in stunning high definition, two years after the planet-saving events of Meteor . Final Fantasy VII - Advent Children Complete 10...
But it was the 2009 re-release, specifically , that transformed a cult favorite into a definitive masterpiece. As we mark the 10th anniversary of the "Complete" edition (originally released on Blu-ray in Japan on April 16, 2009, with North America following in June), it is worth exploring why this specific cut of the film remains the gold standard for video game cinema—and how it set the stage for the Final Fantasy VII renaissance we are enjoying today. The "Complete" Difference: More Than Just a Director’s Cut When fans hear "Complete," they often assume a few added minutes and some cleaned-up textures. In the case of Advent Children Complete , that assumption is dangerously inaccurate. Director Tetsuya Nomura and co-director Takeshi Nozue didn't just tweak the original 101-minute theatrical cut; they re-choreographed the soul of the movie. The "Complete" edition added approximately 26 minutes of new footage, bringing the runtime to 126 minutes. But quantity was never the point. 1. The Geostigma Clarification The original film was notoriously cryptic about the disease plaguing the children of Midgar—Geostigma. Advent Children Complete adds explicit scenes explaining that the stigma is a physical manifestation of Jenova's cellular influence, reacting to the planet's attempts to heal itself. A critical new scene features Dr. Shera (from Before Crisis and Dirge of Cerberus ) providing a scientific breakdown, transforming the disease from a vague anime curse into a logical (if fantastic) biological consequence of Sephiroth's legacy. 2. The Zack Fair Expansion Perhaps the most emotionally resonant addition involves Zack Fair, Cloud’s mentor. In the original cut, Zack appears only as a fleeting, silent vision. In Complete , he receives dialogue, a fully rendered model, and a spiritual conversation with Aerith. The scene where Zack places his hands on Cloud’s shoulders—telling him that he is “their living legacy”—turns the climax from a simple victory into a profound meditation on survivor’s guilt and forgiveness. 3. The Blood and Fury One of the most controversial changes in the original Advent Children was the removal of blood to secure a PG-13/12A rating. Complete restored the visceral impact. When Sephiroth impales Cloud with Masamune, the blade emerges streaked with crimson. When Bahamut SHIN is cleaved in two, the pieces don't just dissolve; they rain down with a weight that feels genuinely catastrophic. This tonal shift elevates the film from a sleek action demo to a gritty epilogue worthy of Final Fantasy VII’s darker themes. Why the 10th Anniversary Still Matters (2019-2024) While the literal 10th anniversary of Complete occurred in 2019, the legacy of that edition is only now being fully understood. Here is why this milestone period matters for Final Fantasy VII fans. The Perfect Prologue to Remake Square Enix famously used Advent Children Complete as a technical showcase for the PlayStation 3 (included as a bonus disc with the Final Fantasy XIII demo). But more importantly, it served as the narrative and aesthetic blueprint for the Remake trilogy. The combat choreography—Cloud parrying bullets, the particle effects of magic, the seamless summoning of Bahamut—was directly lifted from Complete and iterated upon for the PS4/PS5. In essence, the 10th anniversary of Complete aligns perfectly with the development and release of Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020) and Rebirth (2024). Watching Complete today feels less like watching a sequel and more like watching the conceptual animatic for the modern games. The Voice Cast Maturation The 10th anniversary retrospectives have highlighted the evolution of the English voice cast. The original 2005 dub was rushed and often wooden. For Complete , Square Enix re-recorded the entire English audio track with a new cast (including Steve Burton as Cloud and George Newbern as Sephiroth) and improved direction. As we look back a decade later, this is the cast that fans now hear in their heads. The Complete edition canonized the voices of Crisis Core , Dirge , and eventually Remake . Visual Fidelity That Defies Age It is staggering to realize that Advent Children Complete is now over a decade old. The original standard DVD release of 2005 has aged noticeably. But the 2009 Blu-ray (and its subsequent 4K upscale release in 2021) remains a benchmark. The render of the Church in the slums, with individual flowers swaying in the breeze, or the high-frequency detail on Sephiroth's leather coat during the final duel—these visuals were ahead of their time. The 10th anniversary reminded critics that this was the film that convinced many Hollywood directors that real-time game engines might one day rival offline renders. That day has come, but Complete was the watershed. Deconstructing the Ending: A Legacy of Hope On this 10th anniversary of Complete , it is worth re-examining the film’s final moments. After Cloud defeats Sephiroth (and finally accepts his own identity, independent of Zack, Sephiroth, or Jenova), we see the cure for Geostigma fall as rain over Midgar. The final shot of the film—Cloud smiling as he turns to rejoin his family—is a radical departure from the game’s ambiguous ending. Share your memories of watching Cloud and Sephiroth
As we await the third chapter of the Final Fantasy VII Remake saga, revisiting Advent Children Complete on its 10th anniversary (and beyond) is essential viewing. It is the bridge between the polygons of 1997 and the photorealism of the future. It is a reminder that even after the credits roll, some Reunions are worth waiting for. It gave fans the closure they craved: a