Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunionputs players in the very unusual position of working alongside the evil Shinra Electric Power Company, rather than working against them, which is what fans ofFinal Fantasy 7will be much more used to. Protagonist Zack Fair is part of SOLDIER, a military faction on Shinra’s payroll, andCrisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunionbegins right in the middle of some of his training at Shinra HQ. While the headquarters serves as a hub area, plenty of other familiar Shinra locations are visited throughout the game, including the imposing mako reactors, which are towering power plants that Shinra uses to dominate the world’s power supply.
While it is known predominantly as an electricity supplier, it’s no secret that this barely scratches the surface of Shinra’s overarching ambition. Dabbling in everything from space travel to top-secret scientific experiments, Shinra also possesses a large military army made up of troops, aspecial investigative unit known as the Turks, and a sophisticated, intelligent, and genetically-modified squad of fighters known as SOLDIER. In order to finance all of this, Shinra uses huge mako reactors, situated all over the world, to harvest mako supplies, which is the world’s primary source of energy.
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Mako Reactors Serve a Key Purpose
WithinFinal Fantasy 7’s universe, the world of Gaia has an ethereal substance flowing under its surface, known as the Lifestream. Sometime before events inFF7, Shinra discovered that this Lifestream could be extracted from the Earth and transformed into energy, known as mako. In order to accomplish this, Shinra built several huge mako reactors all over the world, giving it unprecedented access to the most efficient source of energy on the earth.
The bulk of these reactors are situated in the City of Midgar, which serves as the base of Shinra’s operations. A total of nine reactors can be found here, eight of which are situated in individual sectors, and the other deep underground. Other locations known to have a reactor include Gongaga, Fort Condor, and Nibel, while there is even an underwater reactor located in Junon. Wherever these reactors sprout up, plants and wildlife quickly die, causing several environmentalists to rise up and take action. Theeco-terrorist group AVALANCHEis the most notable of these groups.
Gamers who have played through either the originalFinal Fantasy 7or its 2020Remakewill recall traveling inside a couple of these reactors while Cloud is working with AVALANCHE, and taking them down from the inside. Large, steel mazes full of bridges and pipes, traversing these reactors is an extremely dangerous activity. Making matters worse is the fact that Shinra deploys several high-tech security measures when intruders are detected, and Cloud and his friends have had to battle some imposing enemies within these structures including the tutorial Scorpion boss, as well as theimposing Airbuster boss.
These mako reactors are often seen as a symbol of Shinra’s dominance over the world. The mako drawn from them is used for a variety of different things, including making materia, and also in some ofShinra’s mysterious experiments. AVALANCHE’s actions in blowing up two of the reactors has dire consequences for some of Midgar’s population living in the immediate vicinity. However, blowing up or shutting down these reactors is generally seen as a necessary step in order to wrestle control of the planet back from Shinra.
Crisis Core Final Fantasy 7 Reunionis out now for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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