Last Order: Final Fantasy VII

Last Order: Final Fantasy VII
Promotional artwork featuring Zack (front), Sephiroth (middle), and Jenova (back)
ラストオーダー -ファイナルファンタジーVII-
(Rasuto Ōdā -Fainaru Fantajī Sebun-)
Original video animation
Directed byMorio Asaka
Produced by
Written by
Music byTakeharu Ishimoto
StudioMadhouse
Licensed bySony Pictures Home Entertainment
ReleasedSeptember 14, 2005
Runtime25 minutes

Last Order: Final Fantasy VII (ラストオーダー -ファイナルファンタジーVII-, Rasuto Ōdā -Fainaru Fantajī Sebun-), also abbreviated as Last Order or LO, is a 2005 Japanese anime original video animation produced by Madhouse and released by Square Enix. It was directed by Morio Asaka, and produced by Masao Maruyama, Jungo Maruta and Akio Ofuji. Tetsuya Nomura served as supervising director. The OVA is an alternate rendition of two flashbacks which were first seen in the video game Final Fantasy VII. Last Order was released in Japan with Advent Pieces: Limited, a special edition release of the film Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, and as a bonus feature in the North American "Limited Edition Collector's Set" release.

Last Order is associated with the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, a series of prequels and sequels to the original Final Fantasy VII. Entries include Before Crisis, Crisis Core, Advent Children, and Dirge of Cerberus. Although not an official Compilation installment, Last Order has nonetheless been included and treated as one in official guidebooks.[citation needed] The OVA's soundtrack was released with the music of Before Crisis, and select songs were later remixed for Crisis Core. Last Order was created due to the success of promotional commercials for Before Crisis, with production lasting six months. The plot encompasses two events occurring before the events of Final Fantasy VII. One follows Sephiroth destroying a village, and the other follows Zack and Cloud escaping from the Shinra Electric Power Company. These flashbacks are narrated by Turk leader Tseng. Originally meant to focus on Zack, Last Order highlighted Tseng's feelings and position in the Shinra company. Last Order received negative fan response due to differences from the original game's content, and the Crisis Core game designers avoided recreating certain scenes from Last Order.