Square Enix rolled out an updated version of the original Final Fantasy VII on Steam this week and immediately ran into serious technical problems. The most critical issue forced all combat encounters to run at 3x speed by default, completely breaking the game’s Active Time Battle system.
The updated release was supposed to be an improvement over the 2013 Steam version. Square Enix based it on the PS4 port and added features like better controller support, Steam Cloud saves, and removal of the Square Enix account requirement that plagued the older PC release.
Instead, players who tried to install the game initially encountered a bizarre zero-byte download error that prevented them from playing at all. Once Square Enix fixed that issue, the forced triple-speed combat bug became apparent.
Final Fantasy VII‘s ATB system relies heavily on timing. Actions happen in real-time while players navigate menus to select commands. Running everything at 3x speed fundamentally changes how the combat plays, making it nearly impossible to execute strategies properly. The speed boost is supposed to be an optional quality-of-life feature, not a forced default state.
The Final Fantasy VII Team posted acknowledgments in Steam discussions confirming they were aware of the battle speed issue and working on a fix. According to SteamDB records, the patch went live roughly eight hours after the initial release.
Some players also reported other problems beyond the speed bug. Visual complaints included blurry backgrounds caused by linear filtering, worse-looking FMV cutscenes compared to previous versions, and a barebones launcher with limited options. At least one Steam Deck user reported the game breaking when they opened the in-game config menu.
When speed isn’t your friend
The launch problems hit the game’s Steam user review score hard. Final Fantasy VII‘s rating dropped to “Mostly Negative” as players who encountered the bugs left thumbs-down reviews.
The battle speed bug appears to be fixed now based on player reports. The GOG version of the updated release reportedly didn’t have the same issue, leading some users to speculate Steam received an incorrect build initially.
