About
Final Fantasy VII is the seventh entry in Square's flagship RPG series and a landmark of the genre, blending pre-rendered 3D backgrounds with a turn-based Materia combat system. Originally a 1997 PlayStation hit, it was ported to Windows in 1998 by Square's Costa Mesa team and published in the West by Eidos Interactive. The original 1998 disc port is delisted; the version sold on Steam today (AppID 39140) is the 2012/2013 re-release, which is what this recipe and the 7th Heaven mod manager target. The Steam port's rough native gamepad and compatibility support is why 7th Heaven is commonly used to run it. It remains widely regarded as one of the most influential and acclaimed JRPGs ever made.
Identity
Launch
- Binary
- 7th Heaven.exe
- Needs files
- none beyond the binary
Proton
- Version
- GE-Proton
- Winetricks
- —
- ProtonDB
- ProtonDB Platinum runs flawlessly
⚙ Setup notes
Overview: Final Fantasy VII (the modern Steam re-release, AppID 39140) run through the 7th Heaven mod manager, with HD community mod packs (Tsunamods SYW textures/FMVs, ChaOS field models, 60 FPS). The mod manager runs in the same Proton prefix as the game.
Controller: 7th Heaven also applies proper gamepad support, which the rough vanilla Steam port lacks. The bare Steam port still launches via a secondary launcher that usually needs a touchscreen/mouse tap to dismiss.
Proton: The 7th Heaven.exe manager is run inside FF7's Proton prefix. GE-Proton works (GE-Proton 7.0-5/7.0-6 were widely reported), and the current installers (see below) default to a stock Proton 9.x runner; newer Proton 9/10 builds are fine. Pin a specific Proton version rather than letting it drift.
Install: Don't run 7th Heaven.exe by hand — use a community installer that prepares the prefix for you. The current tool is MateriaForge (supersedes the now-deprecated 7thDeck), run from Konsole in desktop mode; it patches FF7's prefix, installs 7th Heaven, adds it to Steam, and applies Deck controller/graphics config. These installers require a fresh Steam install of FF7 (AppID 39140); the old 1998 disc port is not what this targets. As of 2026, 7th Heaven v4.5.x + FFNx are compatible with the current Steam release with no .exe downgrade needed.
The one thing to know
Own the Steam release: This targets the FF7 sold on Steam today (AppID 39140), not the delisted 1998 disc port. Install FF7 from Steam first; the installers below need that fresh Steam copy.
Install: Install-only (7th Heaven won't run portably) and a multi-step Deck setup. Use MateriaForge (the now-deprecated 7thDeck's successor) from Konsole in desktop mode: it preps FF7's Proton prefix, installs 7th Heaven, and registers it in Steam. The recipe binary 7th Heaven.exe is then what you launch.
Proton: GE-Proton works (7.0-5/7.0-6 widely reported); current installers default to a stock Proton 9.x runner and newer 9/10 builds are fine. The bare Steam port shows a secondary launcher that usually needs a touchscreen/mouse tap. Once set up, community reports say it runs cleanly (Platinum on ProtonDB).
Controller: Controller support comes from 7th Heaven (the vanilla Steam port's pad support is poor); a Steam Input layout also works as a fallback.
Difficulty: Treat as advanced. deckport links nothing.
Community guides
Write-ups and threads from people who got this (or a similar) game running. deckport links to them — it doesn't reproduce them.
Get the artwork
deckport never hosts game images. Open this game on SteamGridDB, pick
the cover / hero / logo / icon you like, and drop them into the
game folder under .deckport-art/ before you push it to the
Deck. The importer files them under the right names automatically.
Run it on your Deck
Two files: the one-time importer (deckport.py) in your
Deck's home folder, and this game's install helper. Copy the game
into ~/Games and run the helper with Steam closed — it
writes the recipe (binary, launch options, Proton version)
and registers the shortcut with artwork.