Manuel is a passionate, driven, and techsavvy AV technician, 
Final Fantasy VII is widely considered to be one of the greatest video games of all time. Despite being released in 1997, fans of the game still feel a strong connection to it, and with every new generation of consoles, there is a call for a remake of the game.
What makes this game so popular? In my opinion, there are two reasons. Firstly, the complexity of the storyline, which includes eco-terrorism, global corporatocracy, an alien threat, a love triangle, and perhaps the most memorable villain in video game history – Sephiroth. This brings me to the second reason – Final Fantasy VII had an excellent cast of villains, which helped the player become invested in the game.
Along with Sephiroth, there were five other major villainous forces in FFVII, as well as a host of other lackeys and antagonists.
At the beginning of FFVII, the main enemy of the party is President Shinra. He is the head of Shinra Corp, a company that began life as a weapons manufacturer and later became a provider of energy through their Mako energy project. President Shinra is an incredibly greedy man, not content with the corporatocracy he has built, he also wants to find The Promised Land, a place brimming with Mako energy. Mako energy, while beneficial, is produced through the conversion of the Lifestream, which is the life force of the planet. This means that Shinra’s company is essentially killing the planet. President Shinra dies relatively early in the game, killed by Sephiroth’s sword.
President Shinra is succeeded by his son Rufus, who runs the company in a somewhat different way, using fear instead of money to control people. However, he maintains the same goal as his father.
At the head of the Mako research is Professor Hojo. Hojo conducts a series of what many people would consider immoral scientific experiments and enjoys “playing God”. He is directly responsible for the birth of Sephiroth, the game’s primary villain, and is also to blame for Cloud’s identity crisis.
Like most governments, Shinra had an intelligence agency called The Turks. The Turks are a shady organization who try, and often succeed, in kidnapping Aerith from the party. While you can rescue Aerith, The Turks seem to appear around every corner to provide resistance against your team of fighters.
The main villain, though, is undoubtedly Sephiroth. Sephiroth worked as a SOLDIER for Shinra before realizing that he was the result of a scientific experiment. He mistakenly believes himself to be a demigod, as he is born of Jenova’s cells (more on that later). The most villainous act Sephiroth commits is the killing of Aerith, one of the game’s main characters. This was a groundbreaking plot twist as far as video games were concerned at that time and is part of the reason why FFVII is so unforgettable. Sephiroth also uses his immense powers to summon a comet that could destroy the world.
In many ways, the true evil force in the game is Jenova. Jenova is an alien entity that came to the world thousands of years before the game and tricked the Cetra people, infecting them with a disease that almost wiped them all out. While its motives for doing this are not entirely clear, it is likely that Jenova wanted to destroy all living beings so that it could leech off the Lifestream of the world. However, Jenova was sealed off (it’s not reported by whom, but perhaps the last surviving Cetra managed it) where it was trapped for two thousand years.
It was later discovered by Shinra that Jenova was among the Cetras and had the potential to lead them to The Promised Land. Professor Hojo utilized cells from Jenova in numerous experiments, one of which was the creation of Sephiroth.
After Sephiroth killed President Shinra, he began a search to reunite all the components of Jenova that had been separated. At this point, Jenova was in total control of Sephiroth, who was just doing his “mother’s” bidding.
Naturally, at the end of the game, good triumphed over evil, and Sephiroth and Jenova were defeated. But were they killed? Judging by Advent Children, a film sequel to FFVII, Jenova is still alive and has the ability to bring Sephiroth back to life.
Manuel Marino is a seasoned Senior Producer, Music Composer, and Artist with over a decade of experience. He specializes in branded entertainment across various mediums, including video games, films, and advertising campaigns. With 20+ years as a game music composer, Manuel has worked on numerous platforms, creating diverse orchestral soundtracks. HIRE ME
