When a villain does a deed so horrible that the only acceptable fate for him/her is a cruel, painful death, there is an element of catharsis in seeing such a thing come to pass. Of course, in a video game, the player might feel cheated that he/she wasn't the one to deal that finishing blow. After all, the point of a video game is to be an interactive experience! But of course, in an RPG, though the story is second to gameplay, the story is STILL one of the most important parts of the game. So, if you're going to take something away from the player for the sake of story, it damn well better be good. Well, that's today's moment: Sephiroth kills President Shinra.
To summarize: President Shinra used every moment of screen time he had to drill it to the player that he was a jackass. When AVALANCHE blew up two of his Mako Reactors, costing him millions in damages, he chose to destroy an entire section of his city, causing billions of Gil in damage and killing thousands. When this happened, Shinra stood in his office, watching the carnage unfold as classical music played on the radio. Shinra was THE bad guy for the first five-six hours of the game, and when the player assaults the Shinra Inc HQ, he/she is just ITCHING to give Shinra a whooping. But, after some events come to pass, the player finds that Shinra had already been killed by Sephiroth.
Now, why is this moment so significant? Simply put, the game's main conflict (defeating Sephiroth) starts HERE. After the player manages to rescue Aeris from Shinra's clutches, he/she is captured by Shinra's special agents, the Turks. The characters are then locked away, but something happens. During the night, a mysterious force had infiltrated the Shinra building, killing everyone but the player characters and one insignificant executive of Shinra Inc. A trail of blood leads up to President Shinra's office, where the player finds a sword stuck to the man's back.
The man who had been the main antagonist had just been offed by someone whom the player has yet to see, but whose strength and barbarity has been shown off wordlessly. The player sees dozens of dead bodies on every floor, a trail of blood leading to a dead man, and Shinra's security system has been thoroughly replaced by several monstrosities of dubious origin. The first time player has no idea what's going on, but he/she knows that the game isn't going to be the same from that point onward.
Of course, there's no denying that it is immensely satisfying to see President Shinra slumped over with a sword on his back; the only problem is that it's not Cloud's sword. Perhaps Barret's bullets would have been far more poetic? Who knows? But it's Sephiroth who got that killing blow. It's probable Shinra never even saw it coming.
But if killing President Shinra was an experience denied to the player, why is this moment on this list instead of in one for the Worst Moments in FF7? I mainly give two reasons. First, it's an amazing way to transition one villain to the other. What I mean is that this moment makes it clear that there's a new enemy the player has to watch out for; one strong enough and evil enough to kill EVERYONE in his path. It also brilliantly foreshadows just how ruthless Sephiroth really is, and what his end goal is.
The second reason? It's the fact that this is the grand finale of what I like to call the "Midgar arc." Everything from the first mission in the game to THIS has been part of one giant story arc, of a mega metropolis bathed in neon lights, floating above slums filled with the poor, the destitute, the hungry. It was the story of five individuals fighting one giant corporation with all the money and power in the world, and of one mercenary who got hired to help this ragtag bunch of misfits. It was the perfect 90's anti-establishment story; of gray and black morality, of oppulence and decadence intertwined, of pollution of the world and human soul.
That story ended with a sword through the back. The man responsible for the killing of thousands in the name of profit, killed by the man who wishes to see the world burn. In the end, President Shinra was a man whose power came from his money: he was the richest man on the Planet; he had his own private army. But the world's most powerful man is no greater a threat to a living god (or at least someone who aims to become a god) than the world's most powerful termite.
One villain killed by the main villain of the game. The second best moment of Final Fantasy 7.
To summarize: President Shinra used every moment of screen time he had to drill it to the player that he was a jackass. When AVALANCHE blew up two of his Mako Reactors, costing him millions in damages, he chose to destroy an entire section of his city, causing billions of Gil in damage and killing thousands. When this happened, Shinra stood in his office, watching the carnage unfold as classical music played on the radio. Shinra was THE bad guy for the first five-six hours of the game, and when the player assaults the Shinra Inc HQ, he/she is just ITCHING to give Shinra a whooping. But, after some events come to pass, the player finds that Shinra had already been killed by Sephiroth.
Now, why is this moment so significant? Simply put, the game's main conflict (defeating Sephiroth) starts HERE. After the player manages to rescue Aeris from Shinra's clutches, he/she is captured by Shinra's special agents, the Turks. The characters are then locked away, but something happens. During the night, a mysterious force had infiltrated the Shinra building, killing everyone but the player characters and one insignificant executive of Shinra Inc. A trail of blood leads up to President Shinra's office, where the player finds a sword stuck to the man's back.
The man who had been the main antagonist had just been offed by someone whom the player has yet to see, but whose strength and barbarity has been shown off wordlessly. The player sees dozens of dead bodies on every floor, a trail of blood leading to a dead man, and Shinra's security system has been thoroughly replaced by several monstrosities of dubious origin. The first time player has no idea what's going on, but he/she knows that the game isn't going to be the same from that point onward.
Of course, there's no denying that it is immensely satisfying to see President Shinra slumped over with a sword on his back; the only problem is that it's not Cloud's sword. Perhaps Barret's bullets would have been far more poetic? Who knows? But it's Sephiroth who got that killing blow. It's probable Shinra never even saw it coming.
But if killing President Shinra was an experience denied to the player, why is this moment on this list instead of in one for the Worst Moments in FF7? I mainly give two reasons. First, it's an amazing way to transition one villain to the other. What I mean is that this moment makes it clear that there's a new enemy the player has to watch out for; one strong enough and evil enough to kill EVERYONE in his path. It also brilliantly foreshadows just how ruthless Sephiroth really is, and what his end goal is.
The second reason? It's the fact that this is the grand finale of what I like to call the "Midgar arc." Everything from the first mission in the game to THIS has been part of one giant story arc, of a mega metropolis bathed in neon lights, floating above slums filled with the poor, the destitute, the hungry. It was the story of five individuals fighting one giant corporation with all the money and power in the world, and of one mercenary who got hired to help this ragtag bunch of misfits. It was the perfect 90's anti-establishment story; of gray and black morality, of oppulence and decadence intertwined, of pollution of the world and human soul.
That story ended with a sword through the back. The man responsible for the killing of thousands in the name of profit, killed by the man who wishes to see the world burn. In the end, President Shinra was a man whose power came from his money: he was the richest man on the Planet; he had his own private army. But the world's most powerful man is no greater a threat to a living god (or at least someone who aims to become a god) than the world's most powerful termite.
One villain killed by the main villain of the game. The second best moment of Final Fantasy 7.
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