Final Fantasy VII

Final Fantasy VII is the seventh installment of the main Final Fantasy series, and it was originally released for the PlayStation in 1997. The game has its own subseries, the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII and a remake for the PlayStation 4, titled Final Fantasy VII Remake. In 2005, the game received an unlicensed Famicom port exclusive to China.

Final Fantasy VII is widely as one of the most influential and greatest video games of all time, as well as the Final Fantasy series. It is credited with providing mass-market appeal to console RPGs outside of Japan. Final Fantasy VII was the first game of the series that used 3D character models on 2D pre-rendered backgrounds and full-motion video sequences. It is the first Final Fantasy game that was released for a Sony console, and several Final Fantasy games would be released as console exclusives for the PlayStation line of systems.

The game's main setting is a dystopia named Midgar, whose areas are divided into eight sectors. The main protagonist and playable character is Cloud Strife, a mercenary and a former first-class SOLDIER official who works with AVALANCHE to stop Shinra Electric Power Company, an evil megacorporation that profits from using the planet's natural resources for an energy source. Barret Wallace, Tifa Lockhart, and Aerith Gainsborough are party members in different parts of the game. The main antagonist is Cloud's nemesis, Sephiroth, who tries to become a demigod after learning about his origin.

Disc 1
The story begins with Cloud joining a group known as AVALANCHE in a series of raids against the Mako reactors that surround the city of Midgar. Although their first mission, which was to blow up the Mako Reactor 1, is a success, AVALANCHE is trapped at another reactor during a subsequent raid. Before they can escape the reactor explodes, launching Cloud from the upper levels of Midgar into the slums below. He lands unharmed on a flower bed, where he is formally introduced to Aeris. Prompted by the arrival of Shinra's Turks operatives sent to capture Aeris, Cloud agrees to work for Aeris as her bodyguard.

After Cloud defends Aeris from her would-be kidnappers, Aeris offers to show him the way back to Sector 7. They then meet up with Tifa Lockhart, and the three infiltrate Corneo Hall, the mansion of crime boss Don Corneo. From him, the party learns that Shinra has discovered the location of AVALANCHE's hideout and plans to collapse the upper level of Sector 7 onto the slums below. Despite AVALANCHE's efforts to prevent it, Shinra successfully destroys Sector 7, killing its population and three members of AVALANCHE. The Turks finally capture Aeris, who is the last living member of the Cetra, a race closely attuned with the planet, and previously thought extinct. President Shinra believes that Aeris can lead him to a mythical land of fertility known as the Promised Land, which he expects to be ripe with easily harvested Mako energy. The remaining members of AVALANCHE—Cloud, Tifa, and Barret—infiltrate Shinra's headquarters to rescue Aeris. After freeing her and Red XIII, who joins the party, they escape when most of the personnel in the building are killed, including President Shinra. Finding the body of the president skewered by a masamune, Cloud suspects a man called Sephiroth has returned from his presumed death. These suspicions are confirmed by an executive spared during the massacre, who claims to have witnessed Sephiroth murder the president and state that he would never allow Shinra to claim the Promised Land. The party also learns that during Sephiroth's attack on Shinra, the headless body of a creature named Jenova disappeared from the building's research facility.

While Rufus Shinra, the president's son, assumes control of the Shinra Company, AVALANCHE pursues Sephiroth across the planet, fearing his intentions for the Promised Land may be more destructive than Shinra's. During this pursuit, the party is joined by Yuffie, Cait Sith, Vincent Valentine, and Cid Highwind. As the journey progresses, each member of the group must come to terms with personal conflicts from their past, and the full scope of Sephiroth's plan is eventually revealed: if the planet is significantly damaged, the Lifestream within will gather at the point of injury, attempting to heal the wound. Sephiroth explains that he intends to use a powerful spell known as Meteor to summon a powerful meteor that would heavily damage the planet, inciting a reaction in the Lifestream to heal the wound before it can cause the planet's destruction. Entering the fissure created by the meteor's impact, Sephiroth would merge with all the energy of the planet, granting him god-like power over it. At the Temple of the Ancients, AVALANCHE attempts to undermine Sephiroth's plot by claiming the Black Materia needed to activate Meteor, but Sephiroth displays a mysterious power over Cloud, forcing him to relinquish the Black Materia.

At an inn in Kalm, Cloud tells the party his story five years ago. During a Shinra mission at Nibelheim, the hometown of Cloud and Tifa, Sephiroth learned that he was the product of this experiment. However, unaware of all details involved, he concluded that he was a Cetra who had been produced solely from Jenova's genetic material. Enraged, Sephiroth burned down the town, intending to kill all descendants of those he believed had abandoned his ancestors in the defense of the planet. According to Cloud, he confronted Sephiroth during this massacre, after which Sephiroth vanished under unknown circumstances and was presumed dead until his reappearance in the Shinra Building.

Fearing that Sephiroth may cast Meteor, Aeris sets off to stop him on her own. Concerned for Aeris's safety, AVALANCHE follows her to the Northern Continent, where they enter the Forgotten City, an ancient city once populated by the Cetra. After finding Aeris praying to the planet for aid, Sephiroth, unseen, begins affecting Cloud's behavior, once again, and attempts to force him to kill her. Cloud resists Sephiroth's command, but Sephiroth himself appears and kills Aeris. After laying her body to rest, the surviving characters resolve to defeat Sephiroth and avenge her.

Disc 2
In the middle of the night, Cloud has a vision of Sephiroth heading north. He gathers the party together and arrive in Icicle Inn. In one of the houses, Cloud finds old videos belonging to Professor Gast. In the videos, Gast interviews Ifalna, one of the last Cetra. She teaches Gast of an interstellar creature that crash-landed on the Planet 2,000 years ago. It traveled via a meteor, whose collision formed a large impact crater, grievously harming the planet. The creature, who came to be known as Jenova, emerged from the crater, intending to infect all living organisms on the planet with a virus that would induce insanity and incite monstrous transformations. Among its victims were most of the Cetra, who were approached when Jenova used its mimic abilities to appear as their relatives. Attempting to defend itself, the planet created giant monsters called WEAPONs. Rather than deciding to fight Jenova, a majority of the humans fled. However, a small group of Cetra survivors fought to defend the planet and managed to defeat Jenova, confining it within the crater that was formed by its landing. Afterward, the WEAPONs entered hibernation to await any possible threat to the planet. Gast and Ifalna came to fall in love and would conceive a child named Aeris.

When AVALANCHE reaches the Northern Crater, Sephiroth tells Cloud that he was not in Nibelheim, and shows him images of a 1st Class SOLDIER with dark hair who occupies Cloud's place in his memories. With Tifa unable to refute Sephiroth's claims, Cloud goes crazy and, thinking it the right thing to do, gives the Black Materia to Sephiroth's real body, which is encased in crystalized Mako. (Earlier, Cloud was pursuing a clone of Sephiroth, who led him to his real body.) This results in the reawakening of the WEAPONs. In the earthquake that follows, Cloud is separated from his companions and falls into the Lifestream. As the meteor summoned by Sephiroth slowly approaches the planet, Shinra focuses its efforts on protecting humanity from the WEAPONs, who have begun to perceive everything as a threat to the planet. The members of AVALANCHE are interrogated, and eventually nearly executed. They escape from Junon and obtain Cid's airship, the Highwind, allowing them to travel anywhere on the overworld. They then search for Cloud. They discover Shinra's plan to take Huge Materia from the major spots of the world. Barret Wallace saves his hometown from Shinra's escort, thus redeeming himself for building the Mako reactor there in the first place. They eventually find Cloud, locating him on a tropical resort island called Mideel, where he washed up following the casting of Meteor; he is in a catatonic state. Unable to see Cloud like this, Tifa resolves that she refuses to leave until Cloud has fully recovered. The WEAPONs' destructive activity quickly causes the island to split open, depositing Cloud and Tifa into the Lifestream below. There, she reconstructs Cloud's memories in his subconscious and learns the truth about his past. While Cloud had actually been in Nibelheim during Sephiroth's attack, he never successfully joined SOLDIER and only managed to attain the rank of private in Shinra's military. It is revealed that the dark-haired SOLDIER is named Zack. During Sephiroth's destruction of Nibelheim, Zack, Tifa and Cloud fought Sephiroth in Nibelheim's Mako reactor. Although Tifa and Zack were defeated, Cloud and Sephiroth severely wounded one another. After decapitating the body of Jenova, which had been stored in the Mako reactor, Sephiroth is thrown into the Lifestream by Cloud, taking the creature's head with him. Rather than dying, his body and consciousness were crystalized in Mako inside Jenova's crater.

Disc 3
In an optional flashback at Nibelheim, it is shown that Cloud and Zack were among the wounded survivors who were apprehended by Shinra as part an elaborate cover-up of Sephiroth's massacre. Professor Hojo subjected these survivors to an experiment, in which he performed the same enhancements given to members of SOLDIER. However, because Hojo conducted the experiment without any concern for the subjects' mental capacities to handle the procedure, all but Zack entered a comatose state. Nearly five years later, Zack broke free from his confinement and took Cloud with him. It is revealed that the procedure used to enhance members of SOLDIER involved both Mako showers and the injection of cells from Jenova. The alien cells inhabiting Cloud's body allowed his mind to construct a false persona, built around Zack's behavior, fighting style, and description of Sephiroth's destruction in Nibelheim, but they also allowed Sephiroth to modulate his behavior. The cells' inherent ability to duplicate information led Cloud to believe he had been the 1st Class SOLDIER in Nibelheim, as Zack was killed outside Midgar by Shinra soldiers after saving Cloud's life. During Zack's final moments, he tells Cloud to live "both of their lives" before taking his final breath. Afterward, Tifa discovered Cloud, who was wearing a SOLDIER 1st Class uniform, which Zack gave him at the Shinra Mansion when they escaped from Hojo's experiment, and offered him a job with AVALANCHE. Back in the present, Cloud awakens and, having learned the truth, rejoins AVALANCHE. Before Cloud awakened, the few members of AVALANCHE recovered Huge Materia to counter Shinra's attempts to destroy the WEAPONs and Meteor. During the next few segments, many members achieve their lifelong dreams, or settle their past. Cid became the first man in outer space, Yuffie encourages her father to return her hometown Wutai to its former glory, and Vincent Valentine learns the truth about his past. With the help of Bugenhagen, the elder of Cosmo Canyon and grandfather of Red XIII, the party discovers that Aeris, just before dying, was casting a spell named Holy as a means to oppose Meteor. Though she succeeds, Sephiroth's focused will prevents the spell from taking effect, and has been restraining it since. Deciding that humanity must be protected from the WEAPONs before Sephiroth can be approached, Shinra and AVALANCHE destroy the WEAPONs, but nearly all of Shinra's executives are killed in the process, seemingly including Rufus. Among the few survivors are Reeve Tuesti, revealed to be the repentant controller of Cait Sith, and Professor Hojo, who is revealed to be Sephiroth's biological father. He explains that he and his wife were assistants to Professor Gast, and offered up their unborn child as a test subject to research involving Jenova. When Hojo attempts to help Sephiroth gain mastery over the Lifestream afterward, AVALANCHE is given no choice but to fight and kill him. Cloud tells the remaining members of his team to go find what they are fighting for. Every member returns, including Cait Sith, who had been captured by Shinra for helping Cloud.

Just before dying from old age, Bugenhagen tells Red XIII to join Cloud for the final battle against Sephiroth. With each member of Cloud's group at peace with his or her past and all other opponents defeated, the group travels through the mantle of the planet to its core, where they defeat Sephiroth and free Holy. However, due to Meteor's already close proximity to the planet's surface, Holy is unable to destroy it alone. Selected as Meteor's target, Midgar is almost completely destroyed by the storms that spawn from its presence. However, sent by Aeris' spirit, the Lifestream itself rises from the planet to aid Holy by pushing Meteor away, allowing Holy to destroy it. Five hundred years later, Red XIII is seen with two cubs looking out over the ruins of Midgar, which are now covered in greenery, showing that the planet has healed.

Gameplay
The core gameplay is similar to the first six Final Fantasy games, although some new mechanics are introduced, especially since Final Fantasy VII is the first 3D game of the series. Several areas have a 2D pre-rendered graphic as a background to create the illusion of a 3D environment, but can still be explored as one. The world map and battle scenes are entirely rendered in 3D. At first, the party is restricted to Midgar, but once the world map becomes accessible, their adventure becomes less linear. As is the case in earlier Final Fantasy titles, the world map features random encounters with enemies. Progression through the game occurs with scripted sequences or, to a lesser extent, pre-rendered cinematic cutscenes.

The game reuses the Active Time Battle system, which first appeared in Final Fantasy IV. Final Fantasy VII introduces the Limit Break, powerful attacks that can be used by certain characters to usually inflict more damage on opponents than normal attacks can. The Limit Break is represented by a bar that gradually fills up as the character takes damage in battle, and the attack is only usable once the bar has been filled.

Another feature introduced in Final Fantasy VII is Materia, which are magical orbs that represent the game's skill system. From the "Materia" submenu of the Menu Screen, the player can customize the empty, circular slots with Materia to enhance either the weapon, armor, or accessory of a character; their magic spells, summons, and special abilities are changed accordingly.

On the world map, there are some natural barriers, such as mountains, deserts, and bodies of water, which prevent the characters from reaching certain areas by foot. As their journey progresses, the party receives vehicles that can overcome certain obstacles on the world map and reach these areas. Late into their journey, the party receives Cid's airship, the Highwind, which can access any place on the world map.

It is possible for the party to temporarily recruit a Chocobo to ride around on the world map. In order to do this, a party member must have the Chocobo Lure materia equipped and go to Chocobo tracks, where there is a chance of a Chocobo appearing during a random enemy encounter. While fighting the enemies, the party can feed a greens to the Chocobo to keep it distracted so that it does not flee. Once the battle has ended, they can ride the Chocobo around on the world map until they dismount it, after which the Chocobo flees back into the wild. While riding a Chocobo, the party can avoid encountering enemies and travel across light bodies of water. Later on, it is possible for the party to raise their own Chocobos at the Chocobo Farm and breed different variants, including green, blue, black and gold, each capable of getting across certain terrains.

Playable characters
There are nine playable characters, two of which are optional characters. All of them are members resistance group, AVALANCHE. Sorted from earliest to latest in-game appearance:


 * Aerith Gainsborough - A friendly young woman who sells flowers. Aerith is one of the few survivors of the Cetra race, and is sought after by Shin-Ra, who want to exploit her magical powers to reach the fabled Promised Land.
 * Barret Wallace - The brash leader of AVALANCHE and father of Marlene. Barret has a robotic arm that he uses during battle.
 * Cloud Strife - The main protagonist of the game, Cloud is a mercenary employed by AVALANCHE. He was formerly a member of Shin-Ra's SOLDIER division.
 * Tifa Lockhart - A young woman skilled in martial arts, Tifa is a childhood friend of Cloud. Early in the game, she was the person who convinced Cloud to join AVALANCHE.
 * Red XIII - A strong lion-like animal who joins AVALANCHE after being rescued from a Shin-Ra experiment.
 * Cait Sith
 * Cid Highwind
 * Yuffie Kisaragi (optional)
 * Vincent Valentine (optional)

Note that during Cloud's flashbacks, Sephiroth (who is at level 50) fights alongside Cloud in some battles, although the player cannot control or equip Sephiroth.

Antagonists
Several of the game's antagonists are employees of Shin-Ra:


 * Heidegger - He is in charge of Shin-Ra's "Peace Preservation Department".
 * Hojo - A scientist who is in charge of Shin-Ra's "Science Department".
 * President Shinra - He was the head of the entire Shin-Ra before Sephiroth killed him.
 * Reeve - He is in charge of the "Head of Urban Development" division.
 * Rufus - The son of President Shinra. He was formerly Shin-Ra's vice president until his father died, so Rufus inherited the company.
 * Scarlet - He is in charge of Shin-Ra's "Head of Weapons Research and Development" division.
 * Sephiroth - The overall main antagonist, Sephiroth was a high-ranked member of SOLDIER. At one point, he worked alongside Cloud. Sephiroth became evil after learning that he was artificially created as a result of the Jenova Project.
 * Turks - an investigative group of assassins that work on behalf of Shin-Ra. It consists of four members: Elena, Rude, Reno, and its leader Tseng.

Locations
The whole game takes place within a world named The Planet. Like Final Fantasy VI, the technology is more advanced than earlier installments of the franchise. The Planet is made up of three continents, accessed in order from east, west, then north.

Eastern continent

 * Midgar – An industrial metropolis where both Shin-Ra and AVALANCHE are based, and it is the starting area.
 * Sector 7 Slums – This is where most of Midgar's inhabitants lived before the upper plate was destroyed.
 * Wall Market – A black market area where Corneo Hall and the Honey Bee Inn are located.
 * Shin-Ra Headquarters – A 70-story building that serves as the headquarters for Shin-Ra and their divisions.
 * Kalm – A small medieval Europe-inspired town near Midgar.
 * Chocobo Farm – A farm used as a breeding area for Chocobos. It is where the group can purchase the Chocobo Lure materia and some greens, both of which are needed to catch a Chocobo.
 * Mythril Mine – An abandoned mine and a former mining area for the inhabitants of Kalm.
 * Fort Condor – A military fortress dedicated to resistance against Shin-Ra. It is named for the massive breed of Condor that lives there.
 * Junon – A heavily-armed Shin-Ra military base that is located above a small fishing town of the same name. It is built upon a plate and houses troop garrisons, an airport, and a seaport.
 * Underwater Reactor – The primary Mako reactor for the city of Junon.

Western continent

 * Costa del Sol – A port town that is used for a seaside resort.
 * Corel – The hometown of Barret, later destroyed from an attack on its Mako Reactor. Ever since, Corel was turned into a prison site.
 * North Corel – A town that the people of Corel have inhabited ever since the original town was destroyed.
 * Gold Saucer – An amusement park owned by Shin-Ra that is located in the desert.
 * Gongaga – The remains of a town that was destroyed by a reactor explosion. It is where Zack lived.
 * Cosmo Canyon – The hometown of Red XIII, Cosmo Canyon is a site for studying natural life. An observatory owned by Bugenhagen is located here.
 * Ancient Forest – A very old forest near Cosmo Canyon. Only accessible by a Green, Black, or Gold Chocobo, or after destroying the Ultimate WEAPON completely.
 * Nibelheim – The hometown of Cloud and Tifa. It was burned down by Sephiroth when he discovered his origin. The town was later rebuilt by Shin-Ra to cover up the incident.
 * Rocket Town – Cid's hometown and the site of Shin-Ra's former space program, where the first rocket launch took place.
 * Wutai – It is Yuffie's hometown and formerly an independent nation before Shin-Ra took over and converted it into a tourist resort.

Northern continent

 * Bone Village – A excavation site where the Lunar Harp is located.
 * Sleeping Forest – Next to Bone Village, it is an enchanted forest that the party can only pass through with Lunar Harp.
 * Forgotten City – A lost city of the Ancients and the location where Aerith tried using the White Materia to summon Holy. This is the area where Aerith was killed.
 * Icicle Inn – The hometown of Aerith, Icicle Inn is town set in an area where it snows year-round. It hosts a snowboarding minigame, Snow Game.
 * Great Glacier – A large glacier to the south of Gaea's Cliffs.
 * Gaea's Cliff – A large cliff that leads to the Whirlwind Maze.
 * Whirlwind Maze – An area at the bottom of North Crater. A lot of Mako energy is located here.
 * Mideel – A tropical town which is situated on an island. It was attacked by Ultimate WEAPON and destroyed by a Lifestream eruption.
 * Northern Cave – This is the final area and is where the climax takes place.

Other

 * Materia Caves – Caves scattered around the world map where very rare and variable materia can be found. They can only be reached with the help of a Chocobo.
 * Temple of the Ancients – A large structure that the Black Materia was turned into to prevent it from being used. The building can only be reverted back to Black Materia if someone solves a series of puzzles to shrink the temple, although this causes the person to die.

References in other games
Note: This list does not include games within the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII.


 * Final Fantasy Tactics: Cloud appears as an unlockable character.
 * : Tifa appears on a poster in Solaris.
 * Ehrgeiz: God Bless the Ring: Cloud, Tifa, Sephiroth, Vincent, Yuffie and Zack appear as playable fighters.
 * Chocobo Racing: Cloud appears as an unlockable playable racer.
 * Kingdom Hearts series: Cloud, Aerith, Yuffie, Cid, and Sephiroth all make appearances in the first game. All of them, excluding Sephiroth, return in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. In Kingdom Hearts II, every character returns, including Tifa. The characters have made several other appearances in the Kingdom Hearts series.
 * Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Special: Cloud, Aerith, Tifa, and Sephiroth appear as playable characters. Both Midgar and the Gold Saucer appear as boards.
 * Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Portable: Cloud, Aerith, Tifa, and Sephiroth return as playable characters. Yuffie also makes an appearance as one.
 * Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U: Cloud makes an appearance as a DLC fighter, and has a corresponding home stage, Midgar, which itself features two of the battle themes as its music.
 * Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Cloud returns as a playable fighter, along with the Midgar stage, this time as part of the base game itself. Later, in December 2020, Sephiroth was introduced as a DLC fighter, and was given a home stage, Northern Cave. Several Final Fantasy VII-related spirits were introduced alongside Sephiroth. More Final Fantasy VII-related themes were added alongside the two from the Midgar stage.