A recap of...
Final Fantasy Vii
Final Fantasy VII begins with AVALANCHE, an eco-terrorist group, sabotaging a Mako reactor in the city of Midgar to oppose the Shinra Electric Power Company’s exploitation of the planet’s life force. However, a subsequent mission goes awry, and Cloud Strife, a former member of Shinra’s elite SOLDIER unit turned mercenary, falls into the slums below. There, he meets Aerith Gainsborough, a flower seller with a mysterious connection to the planet, and agrees to protect her from Shinra forces.
As Shinra retaliates, they discover AVALANCHE's hideout and collapse a section of the city’s upper plate, killing many members of AVALANCHE and innocent civilians. Aerith is also captured, as Shinra believes her Cetra heritage could help them locate the mythical “Promised Land,” thought to be a source of immense Lifestream energy. Cloud, along with AVALANCHE leader Barret Wallace and childhood friend Tifa Lockhart, rescues Aerith. During their escape from Midgar, they discover that President Shinra has been killed by Sephiroth, a legendary figure presumed dead for years. Rufus, the president's son, takes over Shinra, and the group sets out to pursue Sephiroth across the world, gathering allies along the way.
At an ancient Cetra temple, Sephiroth reveals his plan to use the powerful Black Materia to cast Meteor, a devastating spell intended to severely wound the planet. He plans to absorb the Lifestream as it attempts to heal the damage, ascending to godhood. The party retrieves the Black Materia, but Sephiroth manipulates Cloud into surrendering it. Aerith, seeking to stop Sephiroth, travels alone to an abandoned Cetra city. As she prays to the planet for aid, Sephiroth attempts to force Cloud to kill her; when this fails, Sephiroth kills her himself, leaving behind the White Materia, which she had used to summon the spell Holy.
The party learns that Sephiroth’s origins are tied to Jenova, a malevolent alien lifeform that crashed on the planet two millennia earlier. Jenova infected the Cetra with a virus, nearly wiping them out before being sealed away. Discovered by Shinra, Jenova’s cells were used in experiments that ultimately led to Sephiroth’s creation. Five years before the game’s events, Sephiroth learned of his origins during a mission to Nibelheim with Cloud and descended into madness, destroying the town before vanishing after a confrontation with Cloud.
At the Northern Crater, the party discovers that the Sephiroth they have been pursuing is actually a series of Jenova clones created by Shinra scientist Hojo. The real Sephiroth, dormant at the crater, manipulates Cloud into handing over the Black Materia. He taunts Cloud by showing memories of another SOLDIER in Cloud’s place during the events at Nibelheim, suggesting Cloud is merely a failed clone of Sephiroth. With the Black Materia, Sephiroth summons Meteor and seals the crater, while Cloud falls into the Lifestream and the party is captured by Shinra.
After escaping Shinra, the group finds Cloud at a hospital on a remote island, catatonic from Mako poisoning. Tifa stays to care for him. When the island is attacked by Weapon, a planetary defense creature, Cloud and Tifa fall into the Lifestream, where Tifa helps Cloud reconcile his fractured memories. He was never in SOLDIER but was a regular infantryman who idolized Sephiroth. At Nibelheim, Cloud ambushed and injured Sephiroth after the latter’s breakdown, but Jenova preserved Sephiroth’s life. Cloud and his friend Zack Fair were later captured by Hojo and subjected to experiments involving Jenova cells and Mako exposure. While they escaped, Zack was killed, and Cloud’s trauma caused him to adopt a false persona based on Zack’s stories and his own aspirations. With his identity restored, Cloud reunites with the party.
They learn Aerith’s prayer to the planet had successfully summoned Holy to counter Meteor, but Sephiroth’s influence prevents it from acting. Shinra’s attempts to destroy Meteor fail, though they do manage to breach the Northern Crater, apparently killing Rufus and several executives in the process. After defeating Hojo, who is revealed to be Sephiroth’s biological father, the party descends to the planet’s core. There, they destroy both Jenova and Sephiroth.
Holy is unleashed and, with the assistance of the Lifestream, destroys Meteor, saving the planet. In a flash-forward 500 years later, Red XIII and his offspring survey a lush, overgrown Midgar, symbolizing the planet’s recovery.
As Shinra retaliates, they discover AVALANCHE's hideout and collapse a section of the city’s upper plate, killing many members of AVALANCHE and innocent civilians. Aerith is also captured, as Shinra believes her Cetra heritage could help them locate the mythical “Promised Land,” thought to be a source of immense Lifestream energy. Cloud, along with AVALANCHE leader Barret Wallace and childhood friend Tifa Lockhart, rescues Aerith. During their escape from Midgar, they discover that President Shinra has been killed by Sephiroth, a legendary figure presumed dead for years. Rufus, the president's son, takes over Shinra, and the group sets out to pursue Sephiroth across the world, gathering allies along the way.
At an ancient Cetra temple, Sephiroth reveals his plan to use the powerful Black Materia to cast Meteor, a devastating spell intended to severely wound the planet. He plans to absorb the Lifestream as it attempts to heal the damage, ascending to godhood. The party retrieves the Black Materia, but Sephiroth manipulates Cloud into surrendering it. Aerith, seeking to stop Sephiroth, travels alone to an abandoned Cetra city. As she prays to the planet for aid, Sephiroth attempts to force Cloud to kill her; when this fails, Sephiroth kills her himself, leaving behind the White Materia, which she had used to summon the spell Holy.
The party learns that Sephiroth’s origins are tied to Jenova, a malevolent alien lifeform that crashed on the planet two millennia earlier. Jenova infected the Cetra with a virus, nearly wiping them out before being sealed away. Discovered by Shinra, Jenova’s cells were used in experiments that ultimately led to Sephiroth’s creation. Five years before the game’s events, Sephiroth learned of his origins during a mission to Nibelheim with Cloud and descended into madness, destroying the town before vanishing after a confrontation with Cloud.
At the Northern Crater, the party discovers that the Sephiroth they have been pursuing is actually a series of Jenova clones created by Shinra scientist Hojo. The real Sephiroth, dormant at the crater, manipulates Cloud into handing over the Black Materia. He taunts Cloud by showing memories of another SOLDIER in Cloud’s place during the events at Nibelheim, suggesting Cloud is merely a failed clone of Sephiroth. With the Black Materia, Sephiroth summons Meteor and seals the crater, while Cloud falls into the Lifestream and the party is captured by Shinra.
After escaping Shinra, the group finds Cloud at a hospital on a remote island, catatonic from Mako poisoning. Tifa stays to care for him. When the island is attacked by Weapon, a planetary defense creature, Cloud and Tifa fall into the Lifestream, where Tifa helps Cloud reconcile his fractured memories. He was never in SOLDIER but was a regular infantryman who idolized Sephiroth. At Nibelheim, Cloud ambushed and injured Sephiroth after the latter’s breakdown, but Jenova preserved Sephiroth’s life. Cloud and his friend Zack Fair were later captured by Hojo and subjected to experiments involving Jenova cells and Mako exposure. While they escaped, Zack was killed, and Cloud’s trauma caused him to adopt a false persona based on Zack’s stories and his own aspirations. With his identity restored, Cloud reunites with the party.
They learn Aerith’s prayer to the planet had successfully summoned Holy to counter Meteor, but Sephiroth’s influence prevents it from acting. Shinra’s attempts to destroy Meteor fail, though they do manage to breach the Northern Crater, apparently killing Rufus and several executives in the process. After defeating Hojo, who is revealed to be Sephiroth’s biological father, the party descends to the planet’s core. There, they destroy both Jenova and Sephiroth.
Holy is unleashed and, with the assistance of the Lifestream, destroys Meteor, saving the planet. In a flash-forward 500 years later, Red XIII and his offspring survey a lush, overgrown Midgar, symbolizing the planet’s recovery.
