What can be said about Final Fantasy 7, that has not already been said? Very little, if anything. One of the most influential games ever made, this game pretty kicked open the door for the RPG market outside of Japan. Like any good RPG, Final Fantasy 7 takes place in a constructed world, and it is this world that I wish to analyze.
The Planet
The world of Final Fantasy 7, referred in game simply as the Planet, is a united world, undivided by nations of any sort. There has not been a war for over ten years. There are no governments anywhere to tell the citizens what to do, what to think, and what to say. There are also no taxes (there is no evidence for it), so every coin earned by the people, stays with the people. The markets are absolutely free, and there is very little, if anything, that stops a merchant from just opening up a box of wares, setting up a table, and calling it a store. It's a libertarian Utopia.
But it's hell. There may be no governments, but there is still a power that rules over the world. This power is the Shinra Electric Power Company. Yes, you've read that right. A private enterprise that specializes in providing people with electricity rules the world. How?
The Shinra used to be a weapons manufacture company that, one day, discovered a new power source. Far more reliable than oil or coal, and loads more plentiful, this power source could be extracted from anywhere, manufactured, and then provide the people with cheap, steady, and reliable electricity. This power source is Mako. The problem? Mako is pretty much what keeps the planet together.
To be more precise, Mako is condensed spirit energy, extracted from the Lifestream, which is kind of like the blood of the planet. I want you to imagine a race of parasites that live on your skin. These parasites, for a long time, have been living in peace with you, maybe not with each other. One day, a few individuals discover your blood, and then discover that they can turn your blood into electricity via a process that requires them to extract your blood with tubes. They start sticking these tubes right into your skin, extracting your blood continuously. The parts of your body near the tubes become scabby, bruised, and somewhat infected. That is what Shinra is doing to the Planet.
The people? They live. Some live considerably better than others. Not all corners of the planet have Mako reactors, which allows for many places to retain their natural look. But Midgar, the de facto capital of the world, is a hellish place to be. The city is divided into two parts. The more affluent part is located upon a giant metal plate built hundreds of feet above ground. It contains cobblestone streets, fine architecture, and the city's eight Mako reactors supply the city with much needed electricity, making life there easy. The part below the plate...
But it's hell. There may be no governments, but there is still a power that rules over the world. This power is the Shinra Electric Power Company. Yes, you've read that right. A private enterprise that specializes in providing people with electricity rules the world. How?
The Shinra used to be a weapons manufacture company that, one day, discovered a new power source. Far more reliable than oil or coal, and loads more plentiful, this power source could be extracted from anywhere, manufactured, and then provide the people with cheap, steady, and reliable electricity. This power source is Mako. The problem? Mako is pretty much what keeps the planet together.
To be more precise, Mako is condensed spirit energy, extracted from the Lifestream, which is kind of like the blood of the planet. I want you to imagine a race of parasites that live on your skin. These parasites, for a long time, have been living in peace with you, maybe not with each other. One day, a few individuals discover your blood, and then discover that they can turn your blood into electricity via a process that requires them to extract your blood with tubes. They start sticking these tubes right into your skin, extracting your blood continuously. The parts of your body near the tubes become scabby, bruised, and somewhat infected. That is what Shinra is doing to the Planet.
The people? They live. Some live considerably better than others. Not all corners of the planet have Mako reactors, which allows for many places to retain their natural look. But Midgar, the de facto capital of the world, is a hellish place to be. The city is divided into two parts. The more affluent part is located upon a giant metal plate built hundreds of feet above ground. It contains cobblestone streets, fine architecture, and the city's eight Mako reactors supply the city with much needed electricity, making life there easy. The part below the plate...
Not pictured: A safe place to raise a family.
Pictured: A shanty town that is home to hundreds of people, including children
Below the plate of Midgar, below the affluence, lay the less fortunate. Here in the slums of Midgar lay those forgotten by the elite, the ones discarded by the market that had no need for them. The slums never see the sunshine, for the plate blocks out the sky. Pollution is rampant, crime is everywhere, and there is little escape. There are a lucky few that dream of leaving the slums, to go up above and escape this hell on earth, but the truth is that most people that end up here, stay here. But why would anyone stay here? Well, I will just let this in game quote explain it:
"Maybe it's cuz they ain't got no money. Or maybe it's cuz they love their land, no matter how polluted it gets."-Barret Wallace, when asked why wouldn't the people in the slums simply move out of the slums.
This is one of the more economically diverse slums in Midgar. That structure in the middle houses a pair of stores that sell medicines and necessities, while the wrecked bus sells a few low grade weapons. Free Market for the win! (sarcasm)
There is a part of the Midgar slums, of course, that is more affluent and more economically stable. That place is called Wall Market.
This is but a small corner of Wall Market. In this photo: A restaurant, a boutique, a Materia (orbs that give one the ability to use magic) store, a pharmacy, a diner, and a hotel. The path going right leads to a brothel, and the path going up leads to a crime lord's mansion.
Aside from Midgar, what else is there? There's also the harbor city of Junon, which may as well be called Little Midgar by the Sea, since the two cities are extremely similar. Like Midgar, Junon also has a poorer area located directly beneath the more affluent part. The poorer area is also heavily polluted, not very productive, and overall unsafe.
Across the sea is Costa del Sol, a resort town that houses a beautiful beach, very nice hotels, and serves a good deal of tropical drinks. A top notch tourist resort, it is.
Across the mountains from Costa del Sol lays the Gold Saucer, the world's finest amusement park. Built in the middle of a desert, on top of several golden plates located miles above ground, this is THE place for family fun. To enter it, you just have to pass through the town of North Corel.
Child: Mommy, why do all these people live in tents and rubble?
Mother: Because fuck the poor. Come on, son. We'll miss the cable car to the Gold Saucer.
Do you see the pattern here? In the Planet, the world can be divided between two people: the haves and have nots. There are people who have money, and people who don't. And the people that don't have money have NOTHING. They have no opportunities, no power, no rights, no hope. If you have money, you can buy yourself a God damn villa by the beach. If you don't have money, you learn to call a fucking sewer pipe home. This, ladies and gentlemen, is what a society with zero safety nets looks like.
Final Fantasy 7 was released in 1997. That was sixteen years ago, as of this writing. When it was released, it was seen as a dark, gritty game that brought gaming to a whole new level. Ever since, several games have tried to copy the elements that made this game so good: a brooding hero, a complex plot, a very unique world, top notch graphics, etc. But few games can come close to what Final Fantasy 7 has accomplished completely by accident: it's still relevant. The realities of 1997 (social inequality, the destructive nature of capitalism, environmentalism) are still around today. Final Fantasy 7 touched in 1997, sixteen years ago, several topics that are still hot button to this day. Sixteen years, ladies and gentlemen.
And there are people out there that WANT to live in a world like the Planet! They WANT a world with no social safety nets! They want a world of haves and have nots, they want a world where everything, even the police, is handled by private corporations. These people do not know what it's like to live with nothing. That's why a good many of them refer to the have nots as "soon to haves". But such a term is merely a masking term, to hide the very fact that they don't have what others have: money. And in a society where money is the key to everything, even safety, to not have it is more than a disadvantage, it's a death mark.
And that's the world of Final Fantasy 7. A world where having money is the one difference between living in a villa and living in a sewer pipe. Want to live on this world? Be my guest. I'd rather live in the world of Final Fantasy 8, but that's something I'll cover in my next entry.
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