The Final Fantasy 7 Remake is one of the most ambitious remakes in video game history, completely re-imagining the iconic JRPG after two decades of advancement. Of course, with all that time comes a whole generation of players that have never experienced Final Fantasy 7.

Like most Final Fantasy games, Final Fantasy 7 Remake has a massive world filled with tons of lore and history. Keep in mind this is simply the first part of the remake, and will only explore a small slice of the overall experience.

Still, there’s plenty to dive into and it’s best to have some basis on the world before jumping in. Here’s everything players might need to know about the world of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake.

The City of Midgar in Final Fantasy 7 Remake

The first part of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake takes place in the technological metropolis of Midgar. The city runs on Mako Energy, which is all-powerful electrical energy harnessed from the planet’s own energy. This has allowed Midgar to flourish and pushed the Shinra Electric Power Company to power as one of the world’s superpowers. The company has become a monopoly, controlling the world’s energy source while also acting as a governing power. Mako gives the world of Final Fantasy 7 many of the technological advancements you’d see on Earth. Citizens have cell phones, electricity, television, cars, etc. Of course, the news and information are entirely controlled by Shinra.

While Midgar does seem like a metropolis, there’s actually a much darker story behind the city. The city is divided into two halves by a series of massive plates. On top of the plate live the rich and powerful, with all the amenities needed. Meanwhile, those that can’t afford it live in the slums below the plate, where they have to struggle for food and survival. This builds the basis of Final Fantasy 7’s dystopic world. Midgar is separated into eight massive sectors, all connected by various highways and roads. The immediate area around Midgar is a desolate wasteland created by the draining of Mako energy from the planet.

The entirety of the first part of the remake will take place within Midgar, as well as the massive Shinra building at the city’s center. In the original game, the Midgar section accounted for roughly 10 hours, but the first part of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake greatly expands on the scope and scale of the city.

Shinra, the War With Wutai, and SOLDIER

Shinra and Midgar basically make up the center of the planet Gaia, also referred to as simply The Planet. Shinra has sought to expand its sphere of influence for years, which resulted in the Wutai War years before the start of Final Fantasy 7. The staunchly independent nation of Wutai lies to the West of Midgar, and is inspired by Japanese aesthetics and culture.

The war ended in Wutai’s defeat and turned the nation into a tourist trap that allowed Shinra to make even more money (Gil). Shinra’s victory was assured by a group of supersoldiers known as SOLDIER. These fighters have been infused with Mako energy and experimented on by Shinra’s scientists, imbuing them with unnatural powers. The most famous SOLDIER is Sephiroth, the hero who single-handedly turned the tide of the Wutai War. Sephiroth turned against the company, however, and he’s the main villain of Final Fantasy 7, with the first part of the Remake introducing his character much earlier than the original.

Shinra’s military is mostly made up of foot soldiers and machines, but SOLDIER forms the backbone that Shinra sends out when they need to muscle things. Wutai was the last real opposing force to Shinra, so now opposition takes the form of underground resistance groups called Avalanche. At the start of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake Cloud, a former SOLDIER joins up with an Avalanche cell for a strike on one of Shinra’s Mako reactors.

The Ancients and The Turks

A big part of the lore of Final Fantasy 7 involves a group of people known as the Cetra or the Ancients. The Cetra are a race of people that look identical to humans, and at the start of Final Fantasy 7, they’re mostly extinct. The race was highly religious and went on pilgrimages to find the “promised land.” They served as the planet’s caretakers and cultivators of life until an alien life form called Jenova landed on the planet and wiped nearly all of them out.

Fast forward to the start of Final Fantasy 7, and Shinra hopes to find the Promised Land of the Cetra in order to find even more Mako energy to harvest. This loops in Shinra’s elite intelligence agency known as The Turks. The group uses intelligence gathering, intimidation, and whatever else they need in order to pursue the interests of Shinra. The Turks are known for their iconic navy blue suits, and each member is a skilled fighter. The Turks seek to put an end to Avalanche, and throughout Final Fantasy 7 they play a major role, especially as antagonists to the main party.

The Outside World and the Lifestream

While Midgar is massive on its own, there’s an entire world outside of the city’s walls. The rest of the world is mostly made up of smaller cities and settlements, although there are some larger areas, like the theme park The Golden Saucer.

There are three major continents on Gaia; the Eastern, Western, and Northern Continent. Midgar and a few other locations are on the Eastern continent, while the Western Continent houses The Golden Saucer, Cosmo Canyon, the cole-mining town of Corel, and more. Meanwhile, the Northern Continent is a cold and snowy area that only has a few towns. There are large stretches of land in-between cities, and most people don’t venture outside as the wilderness is filled with monsters and beasts.

It’s important to note that in Final Fantasy 7 the world of Gaia is a living organism in and of itself. The planet has a will of its own, and a power known as the Lifestream flows through it. As humans and creatures die they return to the lifestream, which in turn, creates new life. As Avalanche believes, Shinra’s harnessing of Mako is injuring the planet and taking a toll on the Lifestream itself.

It remains to be seen how many parts the Final Fantasy 7 Remake will end up being, but later releases will focus more on the larger world and explore more locations.

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