Money plays a big role in the Final Fantasy VII Remake - the lead character is a mercenary, after all. The monetary unit in the entire Final Fantasy series is called gil, but while its presence is consistent, its relative value is not. For example, a Potion which costs 30 gil in FF4 costs 50 gil in the FF7 Remake. This wanton inflation throughout the series makes it difficult to find out the real-world value of gil. So, in the Final Fantasy VII Remake specifically, how does gil relate to real-world money?
Even within the world of the Final Fantasy VII Remake, the exact worth of gil isn't immediately unclear. Cloud agrees to mercenary work for Avalanche for 2000 gil, while a "Luxury Course" hand massage is 3000 gil, a Phoenix Down is 300 gil, and a tune is 50 gil. The cheapest materia in the game is the Cleansing Materia for 300 gil, and the most expensive - much later in the game - is the Time Materia for 5000. At first glance, the relative cheapness of such important items as Phoenix Down and even the most basic materia is hard to believe in a real world setting.
Even Cloud's mercenary rate seems generous - surely putting his life on the line is worth more than a "luxury" massage? But Cloud is doing a favor for his childhood friend, and then has to earn a new community's trust, all while having the tell-tale eyes of an ex-SOLDIER. This struggle, coupled with the rough conditions in which most of Midgar's citizens live, reflect that money is incredibly hard to come by in Midgar unless one is already rich. Most people live in slums and in poverty unless they work for SHINRA, in which case most are still lower middle-class. Midgar is a place where low prices seem high and skilled workers are underpaid - unless they're in the industry of catering to the rich. With that in mind, the value of gil has both a monetary and social context.
FF7's Gil Depends on Both Monetary Values and Social Forces
NetCredit recently figured Cloud to be one of the richest characters in gaming, based on its estimation of the valuation of gil in FFXV. Using a four-pack of Cup Noodles compared to a real-life equivalent, NetCredit estimates the gil's value at .0182 of a US dollar, which would make a Potion worth about $0.91. While there is also a Potion in FF7 at the same value, to use a common item as a point of reference, Eos and Midgar don't exist in the same universe (so far as is known), making if difficult to say whether their respective gil share the same value.
Yet at that scale, Potions (not to mention the price of Cloud's mercenary services) seem far too cheap. If 10 gil were instead worth $1, making that Potion worth $5, things start to sound more reasonable. In the Sector 7 slums, $5 would be potentially prohibitive for many people, and $30 for Phoenix Down would potentially be a tough sell. This would also mean Cloud's mercenary price for Avalanche is $200, which also seems low until one accounts for the city's poverty (and that Cloud is likely asking for "friend prices") - though it would certainly equal more than the roughly $36 that NetCredit's estimations would work out to.
Figuring out the value of gil in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake isn't only a matter of monetary worth. The game is so rooted in illustrating the poverty of Midgar's slums that there are social forces which complicate its true value. The second part of FF7 will take Cloud and company outside of Midgar, so it will be interesting to see whether their travels also affect their pocket money.
Source: NetCredit