Lend me some FFVII intelligence...

[Jive18]

Alright, I watched Advent Children at my friend's house yesterday, and I'm not going to lie. I was confused. I never played Final Fantasy VII, which I suppose would have been quite benificial towards understanding the whole idea behind Sephiroth, etc. I'm sure some of you are FF junkies, and I need a fairly detailed explanation on the story from the game and how it correlates to the movie.

Yes, I'm lazy. Now be a good samaritan and help me out http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif.

In all honesty, I am actually interested in the story, and I'm quite sure the movie would be better if I knew the basics.

[Kou-Diacyper]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FFVII

Ta-da!

[Jive18]

If I had a nickel every time someone linked Wiki http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_disapprove.gif.

[Eihwaz]

I can explain it to you. On a side note, on the first disk of the Advent Children DVD, there's a feature called "Reminiscence of Final Fantasy VII", which summarizes the major plot points for you. You should check that out sometime.

Many years before the actual plot of FFVII, Shinra found a strange creature inside the Northern Crater. At first, they believe it to be the last of the Cetra (also known as the Ancients). Hojo and pals begin experimenting on said creature, and eventually they realize it's something...different. It's Jenova, the Calamity from the sky!

Hojo begins screwing around with the Jenova cells, injecting them into random people, and noting the effects. He injected some into a pregnant woman, Lucrecia (who also happens to be Vincent's lover), who proceeds to give birth to Sephiroth. Sephiroth eventually joins SOLDIER and quickly becomes one of the highest ranked dudes.

SOLDIER is Shin-ra's special police force. They are trained in various forms of combat, and all get to soak in Mako energy for a while, which only increases their special abilities (like Cloud being able to heft that massive sword of his), as well as giving them distinctly bright eyes.

A while before Final Fantasy VII begins, Sephiroth, Cloud, and Zack go on a mission to inspect some malfunctioning Mako reactors near Nibelheim, Cloud's home town. While there, they find a variety of pods filled with people freakishly mutated by overexposure to Mako. He also finds a tube containing a disturbing, woman-like creature labeled JENOVA. He's rather unnerved by the fact this creature bears the same name as his mother, so he goes to the mansion library and spends hours reading about it. When he discovers the truth, he basically goes insane.

He then burns Nibelheim to the ground, which kills almost everyone there. Anyone who attempted to escape was likely murdered personally by Sephiroth. He made his way back to the reactor, where he attempted to kidnap his "mother." Zack tries to stop him, but is killed. Tifa attempts to do something, but is mortally wounded. Cloud, amazingly, manages to defeat Sephiroth and save Tifa.

Sephiroth, in the canon of the actual game, wants to basically merge with the planet's Lifestream, so that he can become a god. He plans to do so by summoning up the ultimate dark magic, Meteor, which would strike a fatal wound to the planet. As the streams of energy rush to the wound, Sephiroth would stand there and absorb the energies, transforming him into something more than human.

That's basic Sephiroth. For more info, do check out that Wikipedia article. My hands are getting kinda cramped! http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

[darthsaber9x9]

Honestly, it's worth every second of your time and every penny to play that game. Do yourself a favour and play the game instead of settling for a very brief and emotionally lacking explanation to the storyline. It's available on PC as well so track down a copy by whatever means necessary (yes there are illegal sources, plenty of them as well).

[-memoru-]

Wasn't Lucrecia also with Hojo? That's why Vincent was all mad and stuff, cuz Lucrecia and Hojo were both lab partners and something; and she ends up being with Hojo. >_> That's what i gathered from it anyway. And yes i've played/done everything in that game, so i didn't miss anything.

[Moo2u]

Wow, I wouldn't try to dare watch Advent Children if I didn't understand the game's plot. FF plots man...damn confusing....but still! How about some of those sweet fights, eh?

[Eros17]

On the DVD there is a special feature called FFVII Reminicence...


...You're Welcome.

[Nixia]

In all honesty, I thought the movie sucked, plot-wise. Sure it had kickass graphics, awesome fight scenes, and nice character designs but the plot--if one could call it that--was seriously lacking. >.>

On topic: I'm just gonna jump on the "play the game" bandwaggon; you'll thank yourself, later.http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

[Daikarin]

*Snaps fingers*

(SPOILER ALERT)

http://desha.nlb-creations.com/images/shinra-logo2.jpg

The Shinra is a multi-resource conglomerate that has complete monopoly over one of the world's largest cities. It is pratically the biggest company in the world - They even have their own military force.

http://www.ffonline.com/1_ff7en/soldier3.jpg

Of all the Shinra's military units, the strongest and high-ranking ones are known as SOLDIER. Badass dudes that undergo genetic manipulation to become stronger. They're among the strongest living beings in the world.

http://encyclopedia.quickseek.com/images/FF7_Before_Crisis_Hojo.jpg

Hojo, one of Shinra's top R&D scientists, discovered a mysterious creature inside a crater - Jenova:

http://www.rpgmillenium.com/img/FF7/ff7_05.jpg

According to the legends written by the Cetra (Also known as "The Ancients", a group of people who lived in the world long ago, nearly extinct today), in the distant past, Jenova is said to have come from the sky, and crashed into Earth, damaging it seriously. Having landed on Earth, Jenova, being the monster it is, did no less than attempt to destroy the world. Hojo discovered how great this creature's blood is, and made some experiments. He impregnated a woman called Lucrecia to create the ultimate SOLDIER - Sephiroth:

http://www.tabletsofdestiny.com/ff7/sephiroth.jpg

The experiment was a sucess. Sephiroth grew to be incredibly strong, and was quickly Shinra's most powerful military weapon. So strong, that nothing stopped him from becoming the world's greatest legend. But Sephiroth didn't know about his origins.

I'll gladly post the rest when I have more time.

(OMG! I have a nerd within.)

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Daikarin on 2006-07-23 20:37 ]</font>

[bees1234]

also FF7 last order helps qiute a bit if you dont understand the movie. Not alot of people i know have heard of it and it took me a while to find it just google it and you should be good. personaly i beat the game 5 times its one of my favorites.

[Daikarin]

(Continuing from my last post)

SPOILERS

http://ff7.sawen.com/images/lieux/nibelheim.jpeg

Nibelheim's a small town near the mountains. In it, lived a boy called Cloud. He kept much to himself, and considered other kids his age to be immature. He did, however, want to be friends with a girl from his town called Tifa. But it wasn't easy, given his atittude. One time, he told her about his dream to join SOLDIER and become the best of the best, and he promised he would get that far when he was old enough to leave town and work for Shinra. He promised Tifa he would return to her should he be successful in Midgar. So, when the time came, Cloud left, decided to become an elite SOLDIER.

http://eyesonff.com/ff7/images/cid2.jpg

In a town named "Rocket Town", the Shinra held a space program. They would launch a rocket to explore the depths of space, and they picked up a local pilot called "Cid Highwind" to be responsible for the rocket. Unfortunately, the rocket launch went wrong, since one of the scientists on board, "Shera", was still inspecting the engines by the time of the launch, claiming there was something wrong. Cid was forced to cancel the launch of the rocket just as it was leaving the base, in order to save Shera from being burned to a crisp from the extreme high-temperature of the engine room.

http://www.ffcompendium.com/misc/shera7.gif
(animated)

Shera was saved, but Cid's dream was destroyed. Cid blames Shera for what happened, and she feels this way too, so she lives with him, acting pretty much like a slave, feeling he traded his dream for her life.

http://www.ffshrine.org/ff7/fmvshots-d2/18-tifa,-cloud-and-the-lifestream/00017.jpg

Meanwhile, the Shinra discovered a new source of energy: Apparently, beneath the earth, there was this weird liquid substance known as the "Lifestream", which was kind of like the planet's blood or the planet's life energy. They discovered the process of turning that Lifestream into what they called "Mako Energy", to provide electric energy for everyone around the planet. They were quick to withdraw their budget from their space program and invest it in the Mako energy refinement process.

http://www.ffshrine.org/ff7/fmvshots-d1/02-mako-reactor-1/00005.jpg

Shortly, "Mako Reactors" were popping all over the place, reactors which extracted the Lifestream out of the earth and refined them into mako energy, and then, electricity.

There was this town called "Corel", which was a city living essentially out of coal. Soon, the Shinra proposed to the town mayor for the coal mines to be replaced by Mako Reactors, which would provide more electricity for less cost. The people weren't too happy about the idea of forsaking the coal mines inherited by their ancestors and allow Mako Reactors to replace them.

http://www.finalfreaks.com/site/finalfantasy/ff7/images/char/barret.jpg

There was this man named "Barret", which was in favour of trying to welcome Mako Reactors into Corel. He worked in the coal mines with his friend "Dyne", who was one of the many townspeople unwilling to welcome Mako Reactors. Barret tried to convince Dyne and everyone else about how Mako Reactors and Shinra would make life easier for people in Corel.

One day, while they were both out working in the mines, the whole town of Corel was set on fire by Shinra's military troops, as a brute attempt to convince the townspeople to accept Mako Reactors, killing everyone who stood against them. In the middle of the fuss, Dyne fell into a cliff - Barret grabbed his arm, tried to pull him up, but gunfire hit his arm. Dyne fell into the cliff, and Barret could no longer use his right arm.

The townspeople blamed Barret for this accident, since he was the one so inclined to accept Shinra, some even suspected he would be behind the planning of that attack. Feeling no longer welcome in his hometown, Barret decided to leave.

http://final.fr.st.free.fr/image/ff7/marlene.JPG

He took Dyne's only daughter, "Marlene", with him, since she was now alone, and both set out for Midgar. Needless to say, Barret grew to hate Shinra and their Mako Reactors.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Daikarin on 2006-07-24 06:32 ]</font>

[Daikarin]

(MORE SPOILERS)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/08/Ifalna_FFVII.png

"Ifalna" was the soul survivor of "The ancients", or "The Cetra". Professor Gast, a scientist from the Shinra, met her, and worked with her secretly. Should the Shinra find out that there was a survivor from the Ancients, it wouldn't be pretty. Ifalna told professor Gast about the Jenova, about the Lifestream, and about monsters that the planet created to fight Jenova, called "Weapon"s.

Gast and Ifalna fell in love with each other, and had a daughter, "Aeris" (or "Aerith"), which carried the blood of the Cetra. But soon the Shinra found out about them, and tried to take Ifalna and Aeris into custody. Gast stood in their way but got killed. Ifalna managed to run away to Midgar, but shortly died on a train station, holding Aeris in her arms. A local woman passed by, and felt sorry for what she saw. Her husband was a Shinra soldier sent off to fight somewhere, and they had no children, so she decided to adopt Aeris.

http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/7904/untitled1copy8dc.gif

Meanwhile, Cloud grew up and made it to Shinra military, but didn't qualify for SOLDIER.

http://img9.echo.cx/img9/6793/303lv.png

He did had two SOLDIER friends, "Zack" (above) and the legendary well-known Sephiroth. Once, they were assigned, with another guy, for a mission in Cloud's hometown, Nibelheim. They were out to inspect some trouble in the town's Mako Reactor - But they needed a guide to get there.

http://finalfantasy.neoseeker.com/images/uploads/tifa_lockheart_mini.jpg

Tifa was to be their guide. She grew up, and was now learning martial arts. Embarassed that he came to meet her again without becoming SOLDIER, Cloud hid his identity while near her (using the Shinra military helmet to stop her from recognizing her). The 5 set out to the Mako Reactor. An accident made the other Shinra soldier die from falling off a bridge, only Sephiroth, Zack, Cloud and Tifa survived, and made it to the Reactor.

In there, Sephiroth told others what "Materia" is: Lifestream condensed into solid matter, containing special wisdom and magic. He also learned about Hojo's experiments: He was creating monsters out of Lifestream. Sephiroth fixed the Reactor like they set out to do, and apparently nothing else was out of the ordinary. But Sephiroth was curious about what was Hojo doing. He later found out that he, was born out of a monster called Jenova. Having found out how he was created, Sephiroth went crazy, burned down the whole town of Nibelheim and shut himself off in a library wanting to find out more about himself, Jenova, Lifestream and the Ancients. He slowly began to hate mankind for creating him, and seemed curious in reuniting himself with his "Mother", Jenova. He set out to Nibelheim's Mako Reactor, where he learned that Jenova was being kept.

http://www.ffshrine.org/ff7/fmvshots-d1/18-sephiroth-and-jenova/00010.jpg

He killed Tifa's father on the way, and nearly killed Zack. He hurt Tifa when she tried to get him for getting his father. Then, he released the statue that was keeping Jenova sealed inside a capsule, releasing the monster into the world. When Cloud found out what was happening, he checked to see if Tifa was alive, took Zack's sword and wounded Sephiroth when he was off-guard. Sephiroth, wounded, managed to hit Cloud. Sephiroth, being much stronger, still didn't kill Cloud, just wounded him until he was uncounscious. He preferred to release Jenova, since he had a plan in mind: He wanted to control all of the planet's Lifestream, fusing himself with it, to have unlimited power. He could do that, having Jenova blood inside of him.

http://www.tao.cx/tos/flame1.jpg

But despite Sephiroth's true strength, Cloud managed to throw him into the river of Lifestream inside the Mako Reactor, making it seem like he died. The Shinra was quick to try and cover-up what really happened. They quickly rebuilt the city and payed people to admit the fire never happened.

Tifa's martial arts master took her into safety. But Zack and Cloud were found by Hojo and other Shinra scientists, and were taken into being experimental human beings for Hojo's experiments. They were trapped inside Shinra life pods, and were subjected into all sorts of experiments. Hojo wanted to create another Sephiroth: So he injected Jenova cells into both of them, and was thrilled to see that Cloud had a reaction to Jenova cells.

http://www.nautiljon.com/images/anime/final_fantasy_vii_last_order/final_fantasy_vii_last_order_04.jpg

Both managed to escape the laboratory, and ran away. Cloud was feeling numb, so Zack had to help him escape. But the troops chased them until they were near Midgar, and ended up killing Zack. Seeing as Cloud was nearly dead, they decided to abandon him to his fate. But Cloud managed to take Zack's sword again and drag himself to Midgar, half-alive.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Daikarin on 2006-07-24 14:15 ]</font>

[Daikarin]

(EVEN MORE SPOILERS)

http://www.fragdolls.com/blog/media/midgar.jpg

Midgar was a city divided in two parts: Upper and lower. In the Upper part, the wealthier lived, as the lower part was known as the slums. In the middle of the city, were the Shinra HeadQuarters. Midgar has 8 Mako Reactors surrounding its borders. In this city, in the slums, a group of rebels called AVALANCHE fought to get the world rid of Mako Reactors, since they sucked up the planet's life and would eventually kill it. The leader of this radical terrorist group was Barret. Their headquarters was in Tifa's bar, "7th heaven" - Tifa was also with their cause. She later found Cloud, and saw that there was something wrong with him. So she asked him to join AVALANCHE so she would keep an eye out on him. Little did she or he know that Hojo had brainwashed Cloud into believing he really did join SOLDIER, among a lot other stuff. Cloud accepted to work for Barret, if he payed for his services. So the AVALANCHE continued to bomb Mako Reactors, now with Cloud's help, under the slogan that they were "Out to save the planet".

http://www.animeforum.com/images/avatars/avatars/Girls/aeris00.jpg

One day Cloud met Aeris, who was now selling flowers in Midgar. It was a brief encounter, until one day, when one of his AVALANCHE missions went horribly wrong: The Mako Reactor blew up while the team was near it. Cloud fell from a high distance, crashing into the lower part of Midgar, the slums. Tifa and Barret believed he died, but he in fact crashed into a church and fell into a flower bed - Aeris'.

http://totalrpg.webdynamit.net/Images/ff7Image2.jpg

Cloud got to know Aeris, and how the Shinra were always after her for being an Ancient/Cetra. Aeris promised to go out on a date with him if he would be her bodyguard. Cloud accepted, and both started to like each other. But Cloud had to get back to Tifa's bar. Aeris asked to go with him, and she eventually did. It turns out Aeris was Zack's girlfriend, but they both didn't knew that they both knew Zack.

One day, Shinra discovered where the AVALANCHE's HQ were. So their president, decided to get rid of that sector of Midgar forever, making it look like an accident.

http://www.finalcraft.com/ff7/bilder/turks.jpg

There was a pillar that helped gave support to the upper sector of Midgar - They dispatched their special spy force, known as the Turks (above), to collapse that pillar and have that upper sector of Midgar crash into the lower sector of Midgar, killing everyone there and probably finishing off AVALANCHE forever. Cloud, Tifa, Barret escaped, and Aeris took Marlene to her mother's home, but the rest of the AVALANCHE team was killed. Aeris herself was kidnapped by the Turks, and was taken to Hojo's laboratory in Shinra's HQ in Midgar.

Cloud, Tifa and Barret promised they would rescue her, and decided to storm Shinra HQ once and for all.

http://www.ex.org/2.3/images/ff7_4.gif

Inside, they discover that Jenova was being kept in Hojo's laboratory.

http://web.singnet.com.sg/~dc90210/red_xiii.jpg

They meet a talking dog/coyote, who they called "Red XIII", that joined their cause since they set him free. Red XIII was one of Hojo's captured animals for experiments. They managed to rescue Aeris, but the Turks caught all of them and emprisoned them soon after.

Then, as they were in jail, something strange happened - They woke up to see that the jail doors were open, and as they explored the Shinra building, they found out that no one was around. The Shinra president was also murdered and Jenova was set free. Shinra employees were freaked out, saying that Sephiroth had returned. The team eventually got free of the Shinra building, but they could no longer continue to exist as AVALANCHE inside Midgar. Cloud decided he wanted to settle his score with Sephiroth, and wanted to know exactly what he was up to. The team agreed to go with Cloud, and Tifa, Aeris, Barret, Red XIII set out of Midgar chasing Sephiroth.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Daikarin on 2006-07-24 08:01 ]</font>

[Daikarin]

(A LOT MORE SPOILERS)

http://www.lionking.org/~moogle/img/FF7/rufus.gif

Shinra's president's son, Rufus, fully took over the company. He now set out to find the "Promised Land" - A land which, according to the legend, unlimited Lifestream exists - Which meant unlimited Mako Energy. Cloud and friends soon learned that Sephiroth was after this Promised Land himself. Exactly why, they didn't know. They DID know that Aeris was a key element in finding this Promised Land. Cloud and Aeris' relationship grow, making Tifa feel jealous, since she may have a thing or two for him.

http://finalfantasy.gamigo.de/ff7/bilder/anleitung-wk/materia.jpg

While traveling around the world, Cloud's team collected Materia, small crystal balls of condensed Lifestream, that granted them special powers. As they travelled around the world, they grew stronger, and slowly started to see where Sephiroth was going. A temple known as "The temple of the Ancients". Inside, there was something that would grant unlimited power to the bearer: The Black Materia, ultimate destructive materia.

http://www.ffsynthesis.net/ff7/characters/yuffie.jpg

Aside from meeting Cid Highwind, which joined their cause, they also met "Yuffie", a ninja that had a craving for rare materia. She originally set out to steal the group's Materia, but later she turned out to befriend them all.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/1c/Cait_Sith_art.jpg/200px-Cait_Sith_art.jpg

They also found "Cait Sith". A weird cat riding a giant moogle, which turned out to be a spy of the Shinra - A robot being controlled by one of Shinra's top executives. Nevertheless, Cait Sith threatened to kill Marlene unless they let him tag along, even if he didn't want to resort to this. They had no choice but to allow Cait Sith to follow them.

http://www.manga.sk/Informacie/Clanky/Images/meteor3.jpg

They also started to see what Sephiroth's plan was. Sephiroth knew that, should a catastrophe wound the planet badly, the Lifestream would gather in the wounded area to heal it. If he devised a way for the planet to be seriously damaged, the amount of Lifestream gathered would be giant. He knew how - Summoning a Meteor to crash with the planet, risking its very existance. In order to summon a meteor, he needed the Black Materia.

http://www.cloud-strife.net/pictures/black-materia.gif

There was no way to get the Black Materia without sacrificing one person. Cait Sith offered to sacrifice his robot body for the sake of the planet. So he did. (Another Cait Sith robot later appeared to take his place)

Cloud got a hold of the Black Materia. But something unexpected happen - Sephiroth showed up, and told Cloud to give him the Black Materia. Cloud went crazy, as if mind controlled. He couldn't help his actions, and gave the Black Materia to Sephiroth. He also started to attack Aeris, going mad. Then he went unconscious.

When he woke up, Aeris was missing. His friends told him they knew where Sephiroth was heading - The ancient lost city of the Ancients (In Japanese, "Ajit", aka "Forgotten Capital"). Aeris had already gone on her own, saying she was the only one who could stop Sephiroth. Cloud and friends immediatly set out for the Forgotten Capital to help her and to stop Sephiroth. Supposedly the "Forgotten Capital" was the "Promised Land". And inside this city was also another power: "Holy", white magic, the power to fight Meteor.

When they arrived there, they could not find either Sephiroth, or Aeris. They settled in one of the houses, and one night, Cloud sensed someone called him. He got out and went somewhere he felt he should go, his friends slowly chasing him.

http://www.animefringe.com/magazine/2005/12/feature/finalfantasyvii13death.jpg

He discovered a passage that would lead deep into the core of the Forgotten Capital. In there, he saw Aeris, kneeled down, praying. Cloud began to go out of control again. He took his sword and was about to kill Aeris, when he got a hold of himself, not knowing why has no longer responsible by his actions. At the end, Cloud got a hold of himself, refusing to kill Aeris.

http://www.mygadgetbag.com/Portals/0/Aeris%20Death.jpg

But Sephiroth appeared, and pierced her with his long sword, killing her in front of everyone. Before he left, he told Cloud that he was a puppet.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/86/Final_Fantasy_VII_-_Cloud%27s_Farewell_To_Aeris.jpg

Cloud didn't understand the meaning of his words, but blamed himself for Aeris' death. He swore to chase down Sephiroth to avenge Aeris' death, and to find out what exactly did he mean when he called him a "puppet". The others were with him.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Daikarin on 2006-07-24 10:33 ]</font>

[Daikarin]

(SPOILERS)

http://www.ffhybrid.net/ff7/images/towns/northern_crater.jpg

The team came to know that Sephiroth resides in the "Northern Crater", the place where Meteor last hit Earth, long ago, and where the lifestream is STILL healing the earth today, since it was a terrible impact. So they decide to go there to finish him off once and for all. Sephiroth also invited Cloud to join his "Reunion", which they also didn't understand. Nevertheless, they set off to the crater, to finish him off.

They also learn more about the true nature of the Lifestream. It is composed of the souls of every living being who dies. After death, one's soul merges with the lifestream.

Once they arrive in the crater, they discover that the Shinra is also around, not knowing why. Inside the crater, they see all kinds of eerie black figures who can't barely speak. They ultimately find Sephiroth, and kill him, taking away the black materia. But they have been tricked: That Sephiroth they were chasing was just a clone. One of the many clones that exist, and that were summoned to that crater to what the real Sephiroth calls the "Reunion".

Cloud entrusts the Black Materia to one of his friends, in case he gets mad again. In the meantime, Cloud has visions of Sephiroths clones, telling him that he never made it to SOLDIER. Cloud doesn't want to believe it, being brainwashed by Hojo, so Sephiroth laughs at how he denies to see the truth. Cloud slowly, slowly begins to get crazy, not knowing what the truth is anymore.

The team meet with Shinra, deep inside the Northern Crater. They both find a strange capsule, possibly not man-made, where Sephiroth's real body resides. The Shinra and Cloud's team talk about what's happening, and Hojo, which was there, explains about how Sephiroth was created, and how he created Cloud too, as a clone of Sephiroth. But Cloud believes that all his memories are false, which is not true. Sephiroth twists Cloud's mind, making him believe that like himself, Cloud was created artificially in a laboratory and that his memories with Tifa are a lie.

Cloud turns over to Tifa to ask if Sephiroth is talking the truth, and since she knew it was partially right, she asked Cloud to give her time to think about what to say. Cloud took this as if she knew all along that Sephiroth was telling the truth.

Cloud loses it. The friend to whom he entrusted the Black Materia appears on the scene, claiming that Cloud called him. (Instead it was Sephiroth who tricked him) Cloud asks his friend to hand him over the Black Materia right now, and his friend asks if he was feeling allright.

http://www.ffshrine.org/ff7/fmvshots-d2/04-cloud,-sephiroth-and-the-black-materia/00001.jpg
http://www.ffshrine.org/ff7/fmvshots-d2/04-cloud,-sephiroth-and-the-black-materia/00002.jpg
http://www.ffshrine.org/ff7/fmvshots-d2/04-cloud,-sephiroth-and-the-black-materia/00008.jpg

Having gone crazy, Cloud quickly puts the Black Materia inside Sephiroth's capsule, like he was telling him to. The real Sephiroth, being fused with the Black Materia, awakes, and begins to leave the capsule his body was in, making the whole Northern Crater tremble. Both the Shinra and Cloud's friends decide to quickly leave the Crater, not knowing what would happen, since everything was tumbling down. They couldn't find Cloud, and they had no time, so they quickly left in Cid's ship, the "Highwind".

http://simon.deobald.org/ff7/weapon/ultima2.jpg

As the real Sephiroth awoke, so did those monsters called "Weapon", as if to counter-measure it. The Weapons were all set free around the world, aiming to destroy Sephiroth, Meteor, and the Shinra. They were also killing innocent people, so Cloud's friends decided to fight them, even if Cloud wasn't around.

http://www.ffshrine.org/ff7/fmvshots-d2/07-tifa-shows-barrett-meteor/00007.jpg

Meanwhile, Meteor was already summoned and perfectly visible in the sky. Shinra sent off Cid's original rocket, loaded with explosives and destructive materia to destroy it, but it wasn't enough. The meteor still aproached the planet, and the end was close.

http://gry.gery.pl/rt211screeny/429/min_meteor.jpg

After fighting some Weapons, they learn that Cloud was found in a little town called "Mideel", where the Lifestream sometimes gushes out of the Earth. They also find out that Cloud's mind's a mess, being unable to talk. Cloud was a retarded on a wheel-chair, and the Doctors say that it could have also been because he had been in contact with the Lifestream too much. Tifa decides she wants to stay with Cloud, and take care of him until the end.

http://www.ffshrine.org/ff7/fmvshots-d2/18-tifa,-cloud-and-the-lifestream/00005.jpg
http://www.ffshrine.org/ff7/fmvshots-d2/18-tifa,-cloud-and-the-lifestream/00008.jpg

The others respect that and set off to fight Weapons. At one time, one of the Weapon attacks Mideel - Tifa quickly took Cloud's wheelchair out of the clinic, but the ground beneath the town begins to crack, and both plunge into the depths of the Lifestream that was beneath the town's soil.

http://www.ffshrine.org/ff7/fmvshots-d2/18-tifa,-cloud-and-the-lifestream/00015.jpg

Inside, Tifa wakes up in a strange place with Cloud - A collection of places like Nibelheim, Midgar, etc. Was she in Cloud's memory? She quickly talked with Cloud to finally tell him what really happened - That he wasn't created by Hojo, he really was in Nibelheim with her at their youths, and that Sephiroth tricked him.

Cloud understands, finally feels sane again, as both emerge out of the Lifestream. Cloud reunites with the rest of his friends, and they all settle to destroy Sephiroth. But they learn that Hojo was trying to help his "Son" Sephiroth, so they decide to storm Midgar, and Shinra's HQ, to stop him.

http://eyesonff.com/ff7/images/vincent2.jpg

Along the way, they meet the last party member, Vincent Valentine. An ex-Shinra employee who was in love with Sephiroth's mother, Lucrecia, and who was submitted to horrible experiments by Hojo. He joined Cloud and friends to help kill Hojo and Sephiroth.

http://www.ffshrine.org/ff7/fmvshots-d2/35-parachuting-into-midgar/00006.jpg

They parachute themselves straightly to Shinra building. Meanwhile, a WEAPON also attacks Midgar. In the fight, the Shinra HQ is destroyed, and its president Rufus, apparently killed. After defeating it, and killing Hojo, the group decides to head out to the Northern Crater to finish Sephiroth once and for all. Sephiroth was also in the Northern Crater because "Holy" was also there, the magic to counter Meteor. Sephiroth was there sealing Holy, preventing it from being used against Meteor.

http://www.geocities.com/ffviilovetriangle/LastNi12.jpg

Before they all go, Tifa reveals her feelings for Cloud, and everyone thinks about their reasons for fighting.

They fight their way through all the monsters that lurk in the Northern Crater, until they come face-to-face with Jenova herself, in her most evolved form. They fight and kill it, and then face Sephiroth, who has also evolved into some kind of a mutant. Everyone teams up and after a long fight, Sephiroth is finally destroyed.

http://www.ffshrine.org/ff7/fmvshots-d3/04-ending/00073.jpg

The Northern crater succumbs to the effects of the powerful fight, and everyone decides it's best to leave.

http://www.ffshrine.org/ff7/fmvshots-d3/04-ending/00055.jpg
http://www.ffshrine.org/ff7/fmvshots-d3/04-ending/00061.jpg
http://www.ffshrine.org/ff7/fmvshots-d3/04-ending/00101.jpg

Meteor was just about to crash into Earth, more precisely into Midgar, when Holy is released - A wave of energy goes to the encounter of Meteor just as it was about to crash, shielding it from Earth.

http://www.ffshrine.org/ff7/fmvshots-d3/04-ending/00114.jpg
http://www.ffshrine.org/ff7/fmvshots-d3/04-ending/00122.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Realm/4610/images/ff7_end_meteor.jpg

But it apparently wasn't enough, Meteor was still too powerful, and it seemed like the planet would be destroyed. But right at that moment, Lifestream arose from the Earth, and rushed out to where Meteor was, to help Holy in shielding Earth from it.

http://www.ffshrine.org/ff7/fmvshots-d3/04-ending/00167.jpg
http://www.ffshrine.org/ff7/fmvshots-d3/04-ending/00168.jpg
http://www.ffshrine.org/ff7/fmvshots-d3/04-ending/00169.jpg

Holy joined forces with the Lifestream, and blew Meteor up, saving the planet.

http://www.ffshrine.org/ff7/fmvshots-d3/04-ending/00191.jpg

Advent Children begins two years after the destruction of Meteor.

For a more detailed version of the events, categorized by their date, click here (http://www.ffcompendium.com/h/ff7story.shtml).

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Daikarin on 2006-07-24 10:34 ]</font>

[Shadowpawn]

Bored much?

[Daikarin]

Yeah, really.

[Calibur]

On 2006-07-21 10:29, -memoru- wrote:
Wasn't Lucrecia also with Hojo? That's why Vincent was all mad and stuff, cuz Lucrecia and Hojo were both lab partners and something; and she ends up being with Hojo. >_> That's what i gathered from it anyway. And yes i've played/done everything in that game, so i didn't miss anything.


Your correct in a few of them but If you play Dirge of Cerberus, you will get a lot more background info about those three...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=yfIGoRklXIs
(Dirge US commercial/trailer)

[HUnewearl_Meira]

In verity, Final Fantasy 7: The Advent Children is saved from mediocrity entirely by its thoroughly entertaining action sequences. It bears the classic signs of a bad fan fiction:


Understanding of the story's world is assumed, and therefore, no attempt is made to explain it.
The plot seems to exist for no other reason better than ressurecting the villain so the hero can fight him again.


All it's missing is a Mary Sue to romance with Sephiroth or Cloud.