Summary
TheFinal Fantasyfranchise is home to countless great villains, fromFinal Fantasy 6’s world-destroying Kefka Palazzo, toFinal Fantasy 8’s time-traveling Ultimecia, toFinal Fantasy 9’s neglected Kuja, and that’s just scratching the surface. But standing above the rest isFinal Fantasy 7, which is home to not just one iconicFinal Fantasyvillain, but three, including theOne-Winged Angelhimself, the horrifying Jenova, and the entirety of the Shinra Electric Power Company, all of whom are given even more time to shine inFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth.
Though Square Enix’s decision to split itsFinal Fantasy 7remake into three parts still proves to be a controversial one all these years later, it does allow each game in the series to explore its themes and world much more than the original 1997Final Fantasy 7ever could. While it got plenty of screen time in the last game, Shinra is back with a vengeance inFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and Square Enix isn’t afraid to delve into just how dark this company can get.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Highlights Shinra’s Villainy
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Shows Shinra’s Indifference to Regular Citizens
ThroughoutFinal Fantasy 7 Remake, it’s made abundantly clear that Shinra is a truly evil corporation, from its repeated attempts to capture and murder the game’s protagonists, to its unflinching decision to drop a whole Midgar plate on top of the Sector 7 slum, to its continued efforts to drain the planet of all its natural resources. But somehow,Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthmanages to show an evendarker side of Shinra, this time really doubling down on the company’s indifference towards the average citizen of the planet.
The first real hint players get of this inFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthis during the game’s second chapter. Taking refuge in Kalm,Cloud and the rest ofFF7’s most-wanted creware in the middle of figuring out the next phase of their journey before being interrupted by a sizable Shinra aerial force. In a short but impactful cutscene, players watch as Shinra’s gigantic aircraft hovers above the town, deploying hundreds of paratroopers that descend upon the peaceful village and sow chaos, all in an attempt to find just a handful of people.
Shinra’s reign of misery becomes even clearer when players get to Junon. A gigantic Shinra fortress adorned with an absurdly large cannon, Junon was built directly on top of an old fishing village. When players arrive in the village now retroactively namedUnder Junon, they’re told that Shinra has essentially destroyed the town’s livelihood. Its gigantic metal fortress above them blocks out the sun’s light; that and pollution have also driven the fish out of the area completely.
Shinra’s grim influence isn’t just localized to the areas surrounding Midgar. As players continue to explore the various regions ofFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s planet, they’ll quickly find that Shinra has affected pretty much every location that they go to, always in a negative way. Barret’s hometown of Corel became the home of an early Mako reactor, and when an old version of Avalanche sabotaged it, Shinra retaliated by burning the town to the ground. Nibelheim is another area forced into chaos due to Shinra’s actions, with its own Mako reactor being the home to some heinous experiments. No matter where players go inFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Shinra is always there, in one form or another.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
WHERE TO PLAY
Discover a vibrant and vast world in this standalone entry in the Final Fantasy VII remake project. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is the second entry in the Final Fantasy VII remake project, which retells the story of the genre-redefining RPG across three distinct games. Iconic heroes Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Aerith and Red XIII have escaped from the dystopian city Midgar and are now in pursuit of Sephiroth, the vengeful swordsman from Cloud’s past who was thought to be dead. This new adventure can be enjoyed by all players, even those who have yet to play Final Fantasy VII Remake or the PlayStation original. Expect a new standard of cinematic storytelling, fast-paced combat and rich exploration across a vast world.
