The primary entry within the ongoing Final Fantasy 7 trilogy, Remake covers your entire Midgar portion of the unique recreation. Nonetheless, the place the unique spent about seven or so hours within the neon-lit metropolis, Remake expands the chapter to a full-blown 40-hour journey. So, what occurs throughout these few dozen hours? Let’s dive in.
Bombing Mission
Final Fantasy 7 Remake opens the identical manner as its ’97 counterpart: with the bombing of Midgar’s Sector 1 Mako Reactor. The operation is carried out by the eco-terrorist group Avalanche with a bit of assist from our recreation’s major character, Cloud Strife. Cloud Strife is just not a member of the ragtag staff, however fairly a mercenary introduced on for this explicit mission attributable to his information of the reactor’s structure. You see Cloud is a former Soldier, an elite member of Shinra Electrical Energy Firms standing navy.
As for why an influence firm wants its personal navy, on the earth of Final Fantasy 7, Shinra basically owns and operates the majority of the world. The corporate rose to energy after it found it may faucet into the planet’s life force–or lifestream, as the sport calls it–to withdraw mako, an vitality supply used to energy folks’s properties and lifestyle. The one draw back to all that is they kind-of, sort-of is likely to be killing the planet whereas additionally contributing to poverty, class warfare, and gross inequality–hence why Avalanche is intent on shutting down their operations.
Alongside Avalanche founder Barret Wallace and members Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge, Cloud efficiently infiltrates the reactor and locations a bomb on its core. After just a few battles, a slim escape, and an explosion a lot bigger (and extra deadly) than anybody at Avalanche anticipated, we see through the Shinra safety cameras a pair very fascinating issues: President Shinra was watching the group your entire time, the bomb was a dud, and the explosion set off was truly courtesy of the Shinra firm itself.
Assembly Aerith
In order to keep away from suspicion, Avalanche separates and joins the panicking crowd. As Cloud navigates by the chaos, rubble and damage, he begins to hallucinate an encounter with Sephiroth, a formidable determine unique Final Fantasy 7 followers (and Smash Bros. gamers) can be very acquainted with. Cloud chases after the caped man till the fiery phantasm is damaged by a younger girl, Aerith Gainsborough, asking him if he’d prefer to buy a flower.
The pair’s meet-cute is interrupted, as Aerith is swarmed by ghastly, hooded figures who’re invisible to Cloud till the pair make contact. Whereas Aerith is ready to flee the scene, the ordeal catches the eye of close by Shinra officers, who start to search out Cloud. The ever-cool-headed Cloud narrowly escapes by leaping aboard a transferring prepare and reunites with the remainder of Avalanche. The staff then heads to the Sector 7 slums, the place their hideout and Cloud’s childhood pal, Tifa Lockhart, await their return.
The Sector 7 Slums
Tifa greets the staff as they arrive at her bar-turned-Avalanche headquarters, Seventh Heaven, and expresses concern over the operation and the quantity of harm the staff did to Sector 1. Whereas Jessie feels equally, Barret and the remainder of the staff are largely content material on transferring to the following target–albeit with out Cloud’s dear companies. Tifa takes Cloud’s lapse in employment as a possibility to assist Cloud set up himself within the neighborhood, rents him an house close to hers, and presents to assist him discover purchasers round city. Cloud accepts Tifa’s assist, however alarms her when he virtually assaults his frail, murmuring neighbor who wears a cloak and reminds Cloud of Sephiroth.
In the midst of Cloud and Tifa’s quest to seek out Cloud work, Tifa’s pal Johnny is taken by Shinra’s Public Safety staff underneath suspicion of him being a member of Avalanche. Fearful he may let her involvement slip, Tifa asks Cloud to affix her in rescuing the gullible goofball. After the pair take out the troopers holding Johnny underneath arrest, Cloud prepares to kill him to make sure he will not let the data slip. Nonetheless, a distraught Tifa shortly stops him, and Johnny leaves, vowing to by no means return to the slums.
Although Cloud’s time with Avalanche has seemingly come to an in depth, Jessie approaches the merc with a mission of her personal: to assist her discover a new blasting agent that will not trigger as many civilian casualties, as she nonetheless is underneath the idea her bomb induced Sector 1’s devastation. Cloud agrees, and follows her, Biggs, and Wedge to the rich a part of city, which resides atop the plate above the slums. On the way in which, Cloud is confronted by a Soldier named Roche, who expresses a peculiar curiosity in Cloud. The group continues to the Shinra worker housing district, the place Jessie’s mother and father dwell. Whereas Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge distract Jessie’s mom, Cloud sneaks in by the again to steal Jessie’s father’s work ID. Cloud discovers that her father is in a comatose state after affected by mako poisoning whereas working for Shinra, a significant component in Jessie leaving her budding theater profession to affix Avalanche.
Atop the plate, we get a bit extra of Cloud and Tifa’s backstory, as the celebs remind Cloud of the promise he made to Tifa again after they had been teenagers. On a starry night time in Nibelheim–the pair’s hometown–Cloud informed Tifa he was leaving with a number of the different village boys to turn out to be a Soldier. Tifa then asks him to vow that if she is ever in hassle, he would be the one to return save her; Cloud agrees.
Again within the current, Jessie breaks right into a Shinra constructing utilizing her father’s ID, however the staff is shortly overrun by Shinra troops till one other Avalanche cell reveals as much as assist them escape. As a thanks for serving to her, Jessie guarantees Cloud the pair will quickly go on a date. The subsequent day within the slums, nevertheless, Jessie is attacked by the identical hooded figures Cloud and Aerith encountered. Her accidents drive her to sit down out Avalanche’s subsequent mission, and Barrett begrudgingly rehires Cloud. Barrett, Cloud, and Tifa head to the following reactor through prepare, however their IDs are flagged as suspicious, inflicting them to desert the prepare and head to the reactor through a collection of tunnels.
After reaching the reactor and arming the bomb, a hologram of President Shinra reveals to the trio that he has been watching their work and broadcasting it to the general public, as presenting Avalanche as a menace will increase public assist for the Shinra firm. He then deploys a high-end weapon to get rid of the group. Whereas Barrett, Tifa, and Cloud survive the scrap, the ensuing injury causes a part of the walkway they had been standing on to break down, sending Cloud plummeting right down to the Sector 5 slums.
Flowers Blooming In The Church
Cloud collapses by a church roof and wakes up in a mattress of flowers, after which he’s reunited with Aerith. Aerith explains to Cloud that she is being hunted by Shinra’s elite black ops division, often known as The Turks, and asks him to be her bodyguard. Cloud agrees and enters a battle with an agent named Reno, virtually murdering the person earlier than the hooded figures intervene.
Aerith convinces Cloud to remain the night time at her and her mom’s house in Sector 5 and return to Sector 7 the following day. Cloud agrees and the pair get to know one another a bit higher, in addition to tackle Reno’s associate, Impolite. Later that night time, Aerith brings Cloud again to her home the place the pair are chastised by her mom, Elmyra. Elmyra resents Cloud for being a Soldier and thus inviting extra hazard into Aerith’s life; Cloud understands her considerations and agrees to go away in the midst of the night time.
Nonetheless, Aerith hears Cloud sneak out and takes him to a close-by park, the place she reveals that her old flame was additionally a Soldier First-Class. Aerith reveals the identify of her former flame to Cloud, however we’re unable to listen to it, as Cloud’s ears start to ring on the point out. The pair then discover a carriage passing by the park, and Cloud realizes Tifa is within the again. Aerith informs Cloud that the carriage is headed to a strong slumlord named Don Corneo’s manor, and Tifa is at risk.
The pair head to Wall Market, the slums’ shady leisure district, and uncover Tifa has been “recruited” as a possible bride for Corneo. Cloud and Aerith resolve to get elaborate makeovers themselves with the intention to current themselves as potential brides as effectively and sneak into the manor. After a fairly risque therapeutic massage and a implausible dance efficiency by Cloud, the pair wind up within the manor and Cloud is reunited with Tifa. The trio confronts Corneo, who lets it slip that Shinra will quickly be dropping the Sector 7 plate down on Sector 7’s slums, killing all those that dwell beneath it. He then opens a lure door, sending them down into the sewers.
The destruction of Sector 7 Slums
Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith race by the sewers and a prepare graveyard to get again to the Sector 7 slums, which is underneath assault by the point they arrive. The trio overhears a Shinra broadcast purporting that Avalanche is at present attacking a pillar very important to protecting the Sector 7 plate standing, all whereas Barrett, Jessie, Wedge, and Biggs are combating their hardest to defend the pillar towards Shinra’s deliberate detonation. Cloud and Tifa set off forward to affix the remainder of Avalanche in combating Shinra, whereas Aerith rushes to Tifa’s bar to make sure Barrett’s younger daughter Marlene makes it out of Sector 7 safely. Aerith rescues Marlene whereas seventh Heaven burns to the bottom, however the pair are confronted by a Turk named Tseng, who agrees he’ll get Marlene to security if Aerith comes with him; Aerith agrees.
Cloud scales the tower, and is devastated by the lack of each Biggs and Jessie, the latter of whom dies in his arms. Cloud, Tifa, and Barrett attain the highest of the tower and face off towards Reno and Impolite, and whereas each are severely injured by the following battle, the trio in the end fails to cease the Turks from each taking Aerith and destroying the pillar, thus dropping the plate down on Sector 7. Barrett, Tifa, and Cloud handle to make use of a cable to flee Sector 7, however are devastated by the lack of their family members and houses.
Barrett, consumed by grief over his daughter’s presumed dying, turns into enraged. Nonetheless, Cloud tells him he believes Marlene is protected at Aerith’s home. The trio heads straight there and discovers Marlene is alive and protected underneath Elmyra’s care. Elmyra then opens as much as the group about why the Turks are so considering Aerith, revealing that she is definitely her adopted mom and that Aerith’s organic mom died exterior a prepare station after she and her daughter escaped a Shinra analysis lab. Elmyra determined to soak up Aerith, however shortly observed the younger woman has unusual powers–including the flexibility to speak with the lifeless.
Aerith and the Ancients
The Turks quickly monitor Aerith down, and inform Elmyra that Aerith is an Historical, a near-extinct race with mystical powers tied to the lifestream. Naturally, Shinra is considering exploiting Aerith’s skills for private achieve, however Elmyra tells Cloud that she does not consider the Turks would ever damage Aerith, as they’ve by no means used drive towards her.
The trio goes again to the Sector 7 slums and discover an injured Wedge in addition to an underground Shinra analysis facility. As they discover the power, the staff discovers that Shinra has been conducting experiments on dwelling beings to create monsters. Nonetheless, the hooded specters forestall the group from exploring too deeply, they usually return to Aerith and Elmyra’s home, Cloud now insistent that they need to rescue Aerith.
Cloud floats the concept to Elmyra, who says she wants an evening to consider it. Cloud agrees, and he, Barrett, and Tifa settle in for the night time. At this level, Cloud has a particular dialog with whichever teammate he has fashioned the closest bond with. With Barrett, the pair talk about the opposite sects of Avalanche and Cloud guarantees to fulfill them as soon as that is throughout. If he meets up with Tifa, he consoles and embraces her as she breaks down over the whole lot Shinra has taken from them. Cloud additionally has the possibility to fulfill up with a dream-like model of Aerith, who tells Cloud to not develop too hooked up to her, as she suspects her time with him will not be lengthy.
Infiltrating Shinra HQ
Elmyra in the end agrees with the staff that Aerith must be rescued, they usually set off to Shinra HQ to rescue her. After one other journey to Don Corneo’s and the sewers the place he now hides out, the staff finally finds a method to infiltrate the Shinra constructing. Cloud then deduces that Aerith might be trapped in Hojo’s workplace on the sixty fifth flooring, as he’s the pinnacle of Shinra’s analysis and science division and would most probably be observing her. Nonetheless, a detour to the sixty fourth flooring permits the staff to overhear a Shinra C-suite assembly through which President Shinra denies Midgar head of city improvement Reeve Tuesti the required funds to rebuild Sector 7. President Shinra states that now that they’ve Aerith, they may use her Historical ancestry to seek out the Mako-rich “Promised Land” to construct Neo Midgar. Hojo provides that he additionally plans to breed Aerith with Troopers to provide extra Ancients.
The trio shadow Hojo to his lab the place they bear witness and battle a few of his grotesque check topics and finally rescue each Aerith and a feline-esque character known as Crimson XIII. Hojo remarks that Cloud bears resemblance to a Soldier, however is pretty sure he was not part of this system, which causes Cloud’s head to pulse as soon as once more. Nonetheless, Hojo is ushered away by the cloaked figures earlier than he can additional interrogate Cloud.
A short time later, Cloud collapses after sensing a creature referred to as Jenova is close to. He finally involves in Aerith’s outdated room at Hojo’s lab, the place she explains to the social gathering her Historical–or Cetra–heritage, and states that she hasn’t the faintest thought on tips on how to lead Shinra to the Promised Land. The staff leaves the room and finds a tank labeled Jenova, which holds the physique of the humanoid creature. Crimson XIII explains she is Hojo’s most treasured check topic. The social gathering explores a bit more–warding off extra of Hojo’s experiments as they do so–before coming again to the tank and realizing Jenova is not there.
Jenova unleashed
The staff follows a path of blood to President Shinra’s workplace, the place they discover a cowering President Shinra asking them to save lots of him. After Barrett rejects his supply, Sephiroth seems and fatally stabs the President. After killing Shinra and stabbing Barrett, “Sephiroth” reveals himself to be a cloaked man much like the one who lived by Cloud in Sector 7. He then transforms right into a type of Jenova, Jenova Dreamweaver, and assaults the group.
Following the battle, one of many specters seems and heals Barrett, complicated the social gathering, who’s not sure of whose aspect the spirit-like beings are on. The staff then notices one other “Sephiroth” carrying away Jenova’s physique, simply earlier than President Shinra’s son, Rufus Shinra, lands his helicopter on the constructing and has an intense one-on-one showdown with Cloud.
After Cloud defeats Rufus, he races to affix the remainder of the social gathering of their makes an attempt to flee Shinra HQ. The staff steal a truck and a motorbike from one of many constructing’s displays and race away, combating off Shinra cellular models as they accomplish that. Whereas the staff manages to flee Shinra, the street out of Midgar leads them to Sephiroth. Sephiroth tears a passage into the air, then asks Cloud to comply with him. Nonetheless, earlier than the staff enters, Crimson XIII explains that the specter-like beings which have been intervening by their journey are referred to as Whispers, and they’re basically arbiters of destiny whose solely function is to make sure the predetermined path the world is meant to comply with occurs.
The combat towards destiny
Upon this realization, many moments all through Final Fantasy 7 Remake start to make extra sense. All through the sport, the Whispers ensured Cloud met Aerith on the proper time, Cloud attended Avalanche’s second bombing mission (subsequently sending him tumbling by Aerith’s church), Reno was spared by Cloud, Barrett survived being stabbed by Sephiroth, and extra.
The gang then enters the portal and faces off towards each Sephiroth and the Whispers. By the sport’s finish, the staff have quickly defeated Sephiroth and the Whispers, thus liberating themselves from the bindings of destiny. The staff reaches the outskirts of Midgar and Aerith expresses a worry of the unknown. Later, we see clips of Biggs recovering from his thought-to-be-fatal damage and a dark-haired man–Zack Honest–leading a collapsed Cloud to Midgar. These cutscenes appear to point the existence of a Final Fantasy 7 multiverse, the place the predetermined path explored within the unique Final Fantasy 7 is just one of many situations that might have performed out.
Episode Intermission
Remake’s one-and-only DLC, Intermission follows Yuffie Kisaragi–a beforehand elective social gathering member–on her journey to Midgar to retrieve a legendary piece of materia from Shinra. Upon arriving, Yuffie meets up with considered one of Avalanche’s many cells, however finds herself pissed off by their objective of liberating the town from Shinra, as she believes the town is so linked to the corporate it’s not potential. Nonetheless, Yuffie approves of the extra action-oriented Barrett and Tifa who’re lamenting the lack of Cloud following the Sector 5 bombing when she catches a glimpse of them; whereas a quick second, this incident provides us a greater thought of when precisely this story takes place.
Yuffie then meets up along with her associate, Sonon, and the pair get hold of false worker IDs with the intention to infiltrate Shinra HQ. Through the mission, Sonon compares Yuffie to his youthful sister who was killed throughout a Shinra raid on Wutai, clearly upsetting the presumably love-struck Yuffie. Nonetheless, the pair proceed on their journey till they’re confronted by Scarlet, Midgar’s head of weapon improvement. Scarlet informs Yuffie that Shinra doesn’t have any legendary materia and sends numerous Shinra weapons on the pair. Whereas these machines are bested by Yuffie and Sonon, the tables flip when Scarlet deploys the top-secret navy group Deepground on them.
Nero the Sable, one of many Tsviets or leaders of Deepground, pursues the pair and is in the end defeated by them. Nonetheless, as Yuffie and Sonon put together to go away the power, Nero rises as soon as extra. Sonon shortly shoves Yuffie into the elevator to assist her escape, sacrificing himself to make sure she goes free. Yuffie escapes in time to see the Sector 7 plate dropped, successfully killing an eighth of Midgar’s inhabitants, and cries out in grief and anger over the whole lot the corporate has taken from each her and the world.
What’s subsequent
So there you may have it: the whole lot you might want to know earlier than enjoying Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. For the following a part of the trilogy, we’ll be following Cloud and the staff ranging from the quiet metropolis of Kalm, all the way in which to their fateful showdown on the Temple of the Ancients. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth can be launched completely on PlayStation 5 on February 29, 2024.