NOTE: This review contains spoilers for both Final Fantasy VII and Advent Children. While some of these stories were written as a way to lead into Advent Children, other chapters will ruin the movie.
Chances are, if you’re a fan of Final Fantasy VII, you’ve heard about the various “Case of” stories. Originally released here and there, in 2009, revised versions of those stories and new ones were packaged together as On the Way to a Smile. As the years went by, it seemed like this would be the usual “only Japan gets the full story” situation.
So this being licensed would normally be cause for celebration, but, well, 2015 happened. There’s a large part of me that says, “Why bother reading this now?” A whole new canon is going to be established thanks to Final Fantasy VII Remake, and who knows what that will bring. Like maybe Rufus will actually kick the bucket.
Final Fantasy VII: On the Way to a Smile contains six chapters, each focusing on a different character or groups of characters: Denzel, Tifa, Barret, Nanaki, Yuffie, and Shinra. In between are short 1-page interludes featuring two familiar voices from the Lifestream. “Case of Shinra” is about 50 pages, the rest 20-25.
Of these stories, there’s a reason that Tifa’s story appears to be the most popular in the fandom: it is very critical to the setup of Advent Children. I know I’m biased since Tifa is my favorite character, but “Case of Tifa” really should have been an OVA. It explains her complicated relationship with Cloud and how their family life at Edge came to be. Despite what the movie may make you think, he didn’t spend those two years just sulking. Plus the scenes featuring the pair and Barret are great. This was the original three-member party, and these moments really bring back some classic memories. (Staircase, anyone?)
“Case of Shinra” is probably the next most significant, as it explains the opening Advent Children scene at the North Crater and how Rufus survived his near-death experience in the original game. The Turks, who are fan-favorite characters, are explored as well, even changing how readers will view Tseng’s actions. Unfortunately, there are still some significant issues when it comes to the universe’s canon (particularly Crisis Core), and the fact that this story references the Japan-only Before Crisis lessens the enjoyment.
Denzel’s story, the opening chapter, is technically both a prologue and an epilogue to Advent Children. Denzel introduces his past while also explaining the state of the world up until his arrival at Seventh Heaven. It’s not a nostalgia-fueled way to kick off the novel, but like “Case of Tifa”, it is an important segue into Advent Children.
The Lifestream parts are too short to really care about, but the remaining three chapters check-in with the other party members: Yuffie’s homecoming is far from ideal, Barret and Cid try to find new paths forward, and Nanaki faces an internal foe. I had mixed feelings on all of them. Nanaki’s, for instance, has a great ending, but his struggle between intelligent creature vs. wild beast feels…all over the map. I mean, how does Yuffie NOT know who set the world up to be destroyed? That makes no sense. On the other hand, Cid and Barret hanging out is the cuss-filled gold mine you’d expect (and want).
The book opens with full-color renders of the characters on the cover. The rest of the book, unfortunately, is less attractive — the font is tiny! It’s a couple of points smaller than in other Yen On books, and it’s especially noticeable since it’s written like a traditional novel rather than a light novel. If you have vision problems, I’d recommend going for a digital version where you can play around with the font size. I wish Yen Press had upped the page count, even if it meant raising the price.
Also, for those curious: yes, it’s Aerith. You shouldn’t be expecting otherwise. This translation does a remarkably good job of making everyone sound in-character, so I was very impressed their spirits were captured so well. There are a couple of differences from Final Fantasy VII that I don’t know if were stylistic decisions, mistakes, or orders from Square-Enix. Only SOLDIER is all caps, not Avalanche or Weapon. The sunken ship is the Guernica instead of the Gelnika, and a Before Crisis character’s name is established as Verdot rather than the other popular interpretation Veld.
On the Way to a Smile is far from the perfect missing piece of the puzzle in the lore of Final Fantasy VII. But if you are a Tifa or Turks fan, or just want to enjoy Advent Children as more than just a series of fight scenes, this should be added to your collection faster than you can say Omnislash. Everyone else, well, you’ve got plenty of time to kill until Remake; this should give you a taste of what you want to see more of, what you want corrected, and what needs to be firmly established.