The Compilation of Final Fantasy VII has seen a shakeup, as the recent Final Fantasy VII Remake Ultimania guide has confirmed that the Last Order movie is no longer considered part of the line-up, and Final Fantasy VII Remake is now the fifth entry in the series.
Final Fantasy VII was intended to be a stand-alone release, but Square Enix changed it into its own franchise, called the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. The Compilation consisted of prequels and sequels to Final Fantasy VII. Until recently, the line-up of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII consisted of Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII (a Japan-exclusive mobile game starring the Turks), Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (a sequel movie about the return of Sephiroth), Last Order: Final Fantasy VII (a prequel movie about Zack and the Turks), Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII (a sequel third-person shooter starring Vincent Valentine), and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (a prequel action RPG starring Zack Fair).
It seems that the developers of Final Fantasy VII Remake have rearranged the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. The Final Fantasy VII Remake Ultimania guide is now available in Japan and segments of it have been translated into English by aitaikimochi on Twitter. Last Order: Final Fantasy VII is no longer considered to be part of the Compilation and Final Fantasy VII Remake has taken its place.
It's unsurprising that Last Order is no longer considered to be part of the Compilation, as many of its events don't gel with the established story of the series. It's surprising that the On the Way to a Smile and The Kids Are Alright spin-off aren't considered to be part of the Compilation, considering that characters from the latter show up in Final Fantasy VII Remake.
A lot of fans assumed that the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII name would be dropped with the remake series, but it seems that Square Enix wants to keep using it for the time being. Elements from Before Crisis and Crisis Core made their way into Final Fantasy VII Remake, so it's likely that Square Enix still wants fans to consider them to be canon.
Final Fantasy VII Remake is available now for PlayStation 4.
Source: aitaikimochi/Twitter