[dc]F[/dc]inal Fantasy VII is a roleplaying video game developed and published by Squaresoft. It’s the seventh episode in the series and the first one to ever come in 3D.

The game features fully rendered characters on pre-extracted backgrounds, noted for being the first game in the series to be debuted in Europe. Basically, the game revolves around a mercenary who joins an Eco-terrorist rebel organization called Avalanche in a bid to stop a world-controlling Megacorporation by the name Shintra from draining life on earth and using it as a source of energy.

As the story goes, Cloud and his friends have to face off Sephiroth—the main antagonists, which gets them at the center of a fierce conflict.

Characters

The game features nine playable characters, which includes:

Cloud Strife

an unsociable mercenary believed to be a former first class member of Shinra Soldier Unit. He wields the iconic Buster Sword and he’s also the games’ main protagonist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Barret Walace

the leader of an anti-Shinra Rebel group called Avalanche.

 

Tifa Lockhart

a martial artist and member of Avalanche Rebel Group. She’s also a childhood friend to Cloud.

 

Aerith Gainsborough

a flower merchant pursued by Shinra’s special unit force–the turks, since childhood.

 

Red XIII

a brainy lion-like creature experimented by Shinra’s scientists.

 

Cait Sith

a fortune-telling robot cat that’s always seen riding on an animated moogle doll.

 

Cid Highway

a pilot who aspires to be the first man in space, a dream he never realizes.

 

Yaffi Kisaragi

a young ninja who’s also a skilled thief.

 

Sephiroth

a former member of Shinra’s Soldier unit, who reappears as a villain several years after he was deemed dead. He’s also the main antagonist in the game.

 

Warning: This article may contain spoilers beyond this point

 

 

Plot

First we’re shown Cloud Strife, a mercenary for hire, helping the eco-terrorist group Avalanche raid the Mako reactors surrounding the city of Midgar. According to Barret, Mako, the reactors consume the planet’s lifeblood, killing it. With Tifa in tow, this first mission pans out.

But then again we have the group getting ambushed during the subsequent raid. Then the reactor exploding and dropping Cloud into a slum in Midgar. He’s found shortly after by Aerith, a girl he had a brief acquaintance earlier on.

The Turks arrive, claiming they have been sent to capture Aerith. Cloud is forced to act as Aerith’s bodyguard in a bid to protect her from the Turks. Meanwhile, it becomes known to Shinra that the Avalanche’s hideout is in section 7. They subsequently destroy it by dropping the upper plate onto the slum, annihilating a prodigious number of its population.

The Turks also manage to capture Aerith, whom we’re informed is the only surviving Cetra—a lost tribe believed to be closely juxtaposed with the planet. Aerith is also believed to be the magical key that should help Shinra locate the Promised Land–a mythical land they suspect is rich with Mako.

The remaining members of Avalanche—Cloud, Tifa and barret—manage to infiltrate Shinra and successfully rescue Aerith. In the process, they encounter a specimen by the name Jenova. Red XII—a sentient tiger being experimented by Hojo, joins them in rescuing Aerith. But upon trying to leave, they’re captured by the Turks who detain them within the building. Only for them to wake up in the morning to finds their cells doors ajar, and majority of the personnel—including the President of Shinra—killed. The first perp they suspect is Sephiroth. The Jenova specimen is also found missing.

Rufus, the president’s son assumes leadership in his father’s company. But the remaining members of Avalanche have to leave Midgar to pursue Sephiroth. Joining them is Cait Sith–a robot cat being controlled by Turk Reeve, Yaffi Kisaragi—a teenage ninja girl from Wutai, Cid Highwind—a chain smoking pilot, and Vincent Valentine whom we’re informed was a former Turk.

First they get to a Cetra temple where they meet Sephiroth, who’s quick to spill his plan to them. Turns out, if the world is effusively damaged, the lifestream, which is purely made out of Mako energy, will pile in a common place to heal its wound. If this happens, Sephiroth will use a black material by the name Meteor to cast a spell on the injury, thus uniting himself with the Mako energy to be reborn as a god.

The group manages to drive off Sephiroth, taking the Black material from him. But Sephiroth cunningly manipulates Cloud into giving him the spell back. While the group is still recuperating from the encounter, Aeroth sets off to pursue Sephiroth on her own. She first follows him to a primal city in Cetra. The group follows her shortly, and finds her praying for the planet to intervene. But before they reach her, Sephiroth gets to her first, killing her instantly. Hulked out, Cloud and the rest of the group chase Sephiroth to North Crater, only to find out that Jenova has now morphed into an interstellar with a mission to take over the planet completely.