Well it happened everyone, Final Fantasy 7 Remake is real, it happened, it came out and lots of us are already playing and some of us are even done and dusted with the reimagined story. If you’re here, you’re probably looking for a story summary of Final Fantasy 7 Remake either because you’ve beaten the game and just want to fill in some blanks you might have missed, or you’re curious about how the remake’s story plays out. Either way we got you covered.
Spoiler warning: Let us warn you that obviously, this post is going to contain spoilers and we’re going to be going over all 18 chapters in Final Fantasy 7 Remake in great detail. This is your last chance to turn away before we start.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Story Summary
Chapter 1 – The Destruction of Mako Reactor 1
The story begins with a mercenary and ex-SOLDIER named Cloud who has been hired by a group known as Avalanche to disrupt the operations of the Shinra Electric Power Company. Avalanche is an eco-terrorist group that opposes anyone who seeks gains at the expense of the planet.
In the case of Shinra, they are extracting a vital resource known as Mako which is believed to be the “blood” of the planet that they all live on. Barret, Avalanche’s leader, has hired Cloud to join him and his team to blow up Mako Reactor 1, and deal a blow to Shinra.
Barret and Cloud are joined by Jessie, Biggs and Wedge, trusted members of Barret’s Avalanche cell of fighters.
Barret is extremely passionate, and is initially distrustful of Cloud. Cloud is an ex-SOLDIER, and SOLDIERs go through a rigorous training process which alters their physical qualities. Shinra controls the city of Midgar, where they all reside, and has a hand in everything that goes on including the military. Effectively the city of Midgar is run by the President of Shinra, despite it technically having its own elected officials.
Although there is light resistance the operation goes well up until the point where a massive Shinra mech, the Scorpion Sentinel appears. Barret and Cloud, the most capable fighters, work together to bring it down. They plant the bomb developed by Jesse, Avalanche’s demolitions expert, and they flee the Mako Reactor before it blows up.
The explosion is a bit too powerful, though, (at least from the perspective of Avalanche) as the explosion causes panic in the civilian area around Mako Reactor 1. Unbeknownst to Avalanche, Shinra may have had a hand in making the explosion look worse than it actually was.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Story Summary
Chapter 2 – Fateful Encounters
When Avalanche arrives topside, they are greeted to a panicked populace and destruction and fires everywhere. Their intent is to disrupt Shinra, not harm civilians in any way.
The group splits up to evade being caught and vow to meet back up in the Sector 7 Slums, the location of their hideout and where Cloud’s best friend (and Avalanche member) Tifa lives.
Cloud also breaks off but struggles with painful visions that he can’t explain. He sees the burning of a town, and images of a man named Sephiroth, taunting him. Sephiroth was a war hero that had supposedly died, but Cloud feels something in him deep down that makes him very, very scared of this visions.
Cloud snaps out of it and eventually runs into a flower girl named Aerith who is under attack from some mysterious, ghastly force known as a Whisper that seemingly no one else can see except her and Cloud. Cloud scares them away for a moment and the two share a conversation.
It’s cut short as Shinra forces and more whispers arrive, and the two split up. Cloud eventually evades Shinra and ducks onto a train headed for Sector 7.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Story Summary
Chapter 3 – Home Sweet Slum
Cloud the rest of Avalanche all arrive safely at their home in the Sector 7 Slums, a place that exists below the massive plates of Midgar proper. No natural sunlight can reach the Slums because of the city above them, so artificial sun lamps create day and night effects here.
Cloud eventually meets back up with Tifa, his childhood best friend who initially hooked him up with doing merc work for Avalanche as a way to get Cloud some Gil (money) and get back on his feet after the two reunited shortly before the events of the game.
Tifa and Avalanche are unfortunately a bit short on the originally agreed upon price. Tifa sets Cloud up with a place to crash, and convinces him to help her help the people of Sector 7 to make up some of the rest of the Gil she owes and also get his name out there for future work.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Story Summary
Chapter 4 – Mad Dash
Upon learning that Cloud is here to stay, at least for the moment, Jessie invites him to help her with a secret mission. She wants to infiltrate a Shinra warehouse in Sector 7 Midgar topside (the plate above them) in order to steal supplies for a new bomb she’s working on that should lead to a more controlled explosion that isn’t as destructive and only targets the Mako Reactor.
Cloud agrees to help and the two travel alongside Biggs and Wedge to pull off the job. The three Avalanche members first make a stop at Jessie’s home to steal her father’s Shinra ID Card to gain access to the warehouse.
Her father used to be an employee of Shinra but has been incapacitated due to Mako poisoning, an unfortunate reality of working with such a dangerous substance. Cloud breaks into the house to steal the card while Jessie’s mother is distracted cooking for the other three.
They then head for the warehouse but are met with heavy resistance after being discovered. Biggs, Wedge and Cloud buy Jessie enough time to get what she needs and to the surprise of the group, Avalanche HQ arrives in time to help them escape. The cell that Barret operates is not a favorite of the overall Avalanche movement.
The group parachutes down from Sector 7 back to the slums and the mission is a success. They all look towards their next target, Mako Reactor Number 5.
Barret still does not trust Cloud, and learns that he is not wanted on the next mission. That is, at least, until the Whispers show up again.
The Whispers can now be seen by all of Avalanche and while they don’t really attack any of them, they swirl around and cause a lot of confusion. Jessie is injured and is unable to participate in the Mako Reactor 5 mission. Barret begrudgingly invites Cloud to the mission and they are now joined by Tifa as well.
Tifa privately expresses doubts about the mission and appears exhausted from the violence and death which Cloud can sense.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Story Summary
Chapter 5 – Dogged Pursuit
Barret, Tifa and Cloud board on a train headed for Sector 5. They unfortunately can’t ride the whole way, though, as security catches onto their presence and have to de-board earlier than they had hoped.
Barret and Tifa accounted for this and use the tunnels to navigate their way towards their goal. They are aided by coded messages through a Shinra mascot graffitied onto various walls and surfaces.
They meet Shinra security resistance of course, but eventually find the secret passageway that they were searching for which will lead them to Sector 5.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Story Summary
Chapter 6 – Light the Way
The group has now found their way into the maintenance area of the Sector 4 plate and are close to Mako Reactor 5.
This area is suspended high above the ground below near the sun lamps that provide the artificial light for the slums.
In order to get around, they need to divert power around to various lifts which will give them access to previously unreachable areas. This disrupts the sun lamps and the light they are giving off, but it’s not of any concern to the three of them. They have more important things to worry about at Mako Reactor 5.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Story Summary
Chapter 7 – A Trap is Sprung
As you may guess from the chapter title, things go awry for Cloud, Barret and Tifa. The group do finally make it to the core of Mako Reactor 5, but what they did not realize is that they were being led into a trap by Heidegger, a high ranking Shinra official that controls the military and President Shinra himself, a greedy executive that effectively controls all of Midgar.
Their progress through the Reactor has been televised to the public and Shinra’s propaganda has exposed them as the perpetrators of the first bombing and labeled them as dangerous terrorists that seek to cause chaos and destruction.
Heidegger has seized control of their bomb, and funnels the group into an area where they will be forced to fight the latest in Shinra mechanized weaponry, the Airbuster.
The Airbuster is still not completely ready though, and the group manages to find a way to hack into its production line, and partially disable some of its weapons, giving them a fighting chance.
They confront the Airbuster and come out on top, and the explosive does go off, destroying the reactor as planned. However, in the ensuing escape, Cloud is separated from the group and crash lands in a church.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Story Summary
Chapter 8 – Budding Bodyguard
Cloud gets up and is greeted by none other than Aerith, the flower girl from earlier. The two, especially Aerith, are happy to see each other again but the reunion is cut short by the arrival of Reno, a Turk.
The Turks are an elite force within Shinra that works out in the field to identify people with potential to become Soldiers, and also carry out black ops-style missions. They have an interest in Aerith, but refuse to outright kidnap her for reasons that are unknown at the moment.
Reno, a cocky Turk himself, challenges Cloud to a battle. Reno is defeated and Cloud and Aerith make a break for it. The two are pursued but Reno eventually calls off the pursuit. Aerith “contracts” Cloud to be her bodyguard for the day and the two take a stroll over to the Sector 6 slums, where Aerith is from.
Aerith enjoys life in the slums and in general, tries to keep a positive attitude. She likes being a flower girl, helping the orphans in town, and spending time with her mother.
A second Turk by the name of Rude also tries to convince Aerith to leave with him to go to Shinra but Cloud is also able to drive him away as well.
The two spend the day together. They help people around town, get to know each other, and overall have a nice time together. Aerith invites him to have dinner cooked by her mother Elmyra, and stay the night at her home in her guest room before heading back to Sector 7. Cloud agrees.
Aerith’s mother appears friendly enough, but when alone with Cloud she politely asks Cloud to leave while Aerith is sleeping and not to speak to Aerith ever again, realizing that he’s a SOLDIER. Although harsh, there appears to be a past there with Aerith, SOLDIERs, and just Shinra in general, as clearly evidenced by Reno’s interest in her earlier. Elmyra’s request seems to be coming out of a place of concern for Aerith and not necessarily disdain for Cloud personally. Cloud agrees to sneak out and never talk to Aerith again.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Story Summary
Chapter 9 – The Town That Never Sleeps
Cloud tries to avoid Aerith but fails. Aerith doesn’t seem to care about what her mother thinks and accompanies Cloud back to Sector 7 in the middle of the night.
She shows him a shortcut and the two spend more time together. Aerith and Cloud both open up to each other and appear to have a hard time saying goodbye. Before Cloud leaves though, to both their surprise, Tifa appears in evening gown on the back of a Chocobo cart headed towards Sector 6’s Wall Market, the red light district of the Sector 6 slums. She doesn’t have much time to explain but she’s on the way to see Don Corneo, a mob boss that controls Wall Market.
It appears something is wrong, so Cloud and Aerith pursue the cart and head for Wall Market. There’s no way to just waltz right into Don Corneo’s home though and pair need a plan to get in. Tifa is sneaking in by being a potential “bride” that Corneo regularly goes through.
Aerith convinces Cloud to allow her to try to employ the same tactic, and Cloud reluctantly agrees despite the danger as there appears to be little other way since Corneo is holed up tight in his mansion.
The two visit the various leaders of Wall Market to try and get their much needed stamp of approval for Aerith to be one of Don Corneo’s girls. Only one agrees to help, a massage parlor owner known as Madame M but they have to enter a Colosseum tournament and win on her behalf to get the Gil needed to pay for the service that is required to get Aerith up to Corneo’s tastes.
The two agree and enter the Colosseum tournament. They have to go up against a gauntlet of tough challengers, including a demonic house owned by Don Corneo but they do come out on top and Madame M returns the favor by giving Aerith a makeover and a beautiful dress.
But that’s not all. The third leader, Andrea Rhodea, has taken an interest in Cloud after his performance in the Coliseum. He agrees to give Cloud a makeover too, free of charge as long as Cloud agrees to dance at his club, the Honeybee Inn.
Cloud is obviously reluctant, but Aerith convinces him since if Cloud can get in also, not only can he help keep everyone safe, but it would increase their chances of being picked and getting private time with Don Corneo.
So Cloud and Aerith, both dolled up, finally gain access to the interior of Don Corneo’s mansion much to the surprise of Tifa who is already there. To the surprise of Tifa and Aerith, Corneo picks Cloud to be his bride. Tifa and Aerith were originally to be left for the other men in the mansion, but the pair team up to fight their way to Cloud thanks to the help of a guard turned ally name Leslie and join Cloud in confronting Corneo.
The reason Tifa wanted to reach Don Corneo, we learn, is that he apparently has worked with Shinra, and has knowledge about their operation against Avalanche. After some arm twisting, Corneo gives up what he knows: that Shinra is planning on dropping the entire Sector 7 plate onto to the Sector 7 slums, killing unspeakable amounts of civilians but also crushing a large majority of Avalanche’s forces at the same time.
Corneo though has led the trio into a trap and right after revealing Shinra’s plan, he drops them into the sewers underneath Wall Market.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Story Summary
Chapter 10 – Rough Waters
After being dropped into the sewer Tifa, Aerith, and Cloud are greeted by a fearsome monster known as Abzu which they defeat.
Tifa is incredibly stressed and panicked about the news she has just learned and desperately wants to get back to Sector 7 to warn everyone else, to which Aerith and Cloud of course agree to help with.
They begin the long journey out of the dangerous sewer system. While fighting monsters along the way Tifa and Aerith get to know each other more (they had just met for the first time in Corneo’s mansion) and the three dream a little about life can be like after this is all over.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Story Summary
Chapter 11 – Haunted
Although they emerge from the sewers, the trio isn’t out of the woods yet. They must now cross through an old Train Graveyard that is rumored to be haunted.
It doesn’t take long before they realize, yes it is indeed haunted, and mischievous ghosts prowl the area that they must get through to get to Sector 7 in the shortest amount of time possible.
It is here that we get a sense of Aerith’s special connection to living, and in this case, even formerly living things. Aerith senses a scared child that just wants to play, but not all the ghosts are friendly here. The trio fight their way through the haunted Train Graveyard and eventually find the exist with some help from the friendly spirit that Aerith felt.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Story Summary
Chapter 12 – Fight for Survival
The group finally gets back to Sector 7 and the battle is already on. Avalanche and of course Biggs, Jessie and Barret are defending the Sector 7 support pillar from a relentless Shinra attack. Shinra is spinning it the other way, that Avalanche is working with a rival nation known as Wutai to take down the support pillar.
None of that matters as Cloud and Tifa rush up the pillar to help their friends. Aerith meanwhile is sent away to help get Barret’s daughter, Marlene to safety and warn the rest of the slums to flee along with Wedge.
On the tower, sadly, Biggs and Jessie have already suffered grave wounds fighting Shinra. Jessie appears to have passed on while Biggs is trying to hang on, but ultimately their fate is unknown as Cloud and Tifa are forced to press on to save the support tower.
They reach the top where Barret already is and the three fight both Reno and Rude who are under orders from the leading Turk, Tseng, to take down the support pillar.
While the fight is raging on Aerith and Wedge succeed in warning most of the slums. Wedge focuses on getting more people to safety while Aerith runs to find Marlene.
Aerith find Marlene but is trapped by Tseng. Aerith cuts a deal with Tseng. If Tseng allows Aerith to bring Marlene somewhere safe, Aerith will agree to go with him to Shinra. Tseng agrees to this deal.
Back at the support tower, while Reno and Rude are defeated and are forced to retreat, they are still able to start the process of bringing down the support tower, a process that Tifa, Cloud and Barret can’t reverse.
The trio are forced to flee as the support pillar comes down along with the entire Sector 7 plate, which appears to have fallen on Wedge.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Story Summary
Chapter 13 – A Broken World
The three emerge from the rubble, alive. While Avalanche’s efforts saved many lives, many lives were still taken. Barret is devastated thinking he has lost Marlene, but Cloud and Tifa tell him that Aerith might have saved her. Cloud believes that if she went anywhere, it was likely to her home.
The three go to Sector 6 and learn about what happened. Marlene is safe and sound with Elmyra, but Aerith has been taken by Shinra. Elmyra also finally reveals the truth about Aerith and why Shinra is so interested in her.
Aerith is the last of an old race known as the Ancients. The Ancients were rumored to have had such a knowledge of the nature of Mako that they were able to use it to facilitate their transfer to a fabled promised land. President Shinra has become obsessed with this legend, and it is what fuels his pursuit of more Mako.
Elmyra is Aerith’s adoptive mother, and Aerith along with her birth mother spent her youth in a lab controlled by Shinra researcher Hojo. Her mother, dying, eventually escaped and brought Aerith to Sector 6 where Elmyra took her on as her own at the request of Aerith’s birth mother.
Shinra tracked Aerith down eventually, but President Shinra believes that the secrets of the Ancients can’t be forced out of Aerith. And, being the last known living Ancient, they want to treat her with care. Thus, Shinra has never forcibly taken Aerith for all these years since, but have attempted to pressure her to come willingly which they were finally able to do.
Cloud, Tifa, and Barret decide they are going to return the favor to Aerith and bust her out. First, they return to Sector 7 to search for surviving Avalanche members.
They are only able to locate Wedge, who is knocked out, but alive. Just as they are about to rescue him though, the ground crumbles beneath them and they fall into a hidden underground lab.
The lab further shows the extent of Shinra’s experiments with Mako, and they run up against terrible abominations of aggressive life that are now loose after the collapse of the plate.
The three of them eventually link up, fight their way out, and rescue Wedge, but what they saw reaffirms the need to rescue Aerith as quickly as possible.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Story Summary
Chapter 14 – In Search of Hope
Tifa, Cloud, and Barret search for a way to get back to topside onto the plate, not easy considering their status as terrorists. They decide that the only lead they have is Don Corneo, so they head towards his mansion.
Believing to be in the bad graces of Shinra now after revealing their plans to Avalanche, Corneo has fled into a hideout in the sewers. Leslie, the former guard that helped Cloud and co. before, agrees to help them get topside if they agree to help Leslie find Corneo in the sewers.
They learn that Leslie has an axe to grind with him. Corneo selected Leslie’s fiance to be his wife, and after one night with her, discarded her and she has been missing ever since. They agree to help and it isn’t too long before they find Corneo’s hideout.
Leslie wants to be alone to kill Corneo when they arrive, and it proves to be a mistake as Corneo is able to turn the tables on him and flee. However, Corneo reveals President Shinra’s plan to build a new Midgar, fueled by Mako that will fulfill the legend of the Ancient’s Promised Land.
While Leslie didn’t get his revenge, he still agrees to help the group get topside by giving them grappling hooks that will allow them to scale up. In return, the group offers Leslie hope that his fiance could still be alive and to not give up searching for her.
They part ways and Cloud, Tifa, and Barret head topside to invade Shinra HQ and bust Aerith out.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Story Summary
Chapter 15 – The Day Midgar Stood Still
The trio make their way through a crumbling sector 7. They brave dangerous heights, and fight various Shinra mechs that push them to their limit but they are eventually able to clear a path to the Shinra Building.
As they get higher, they are able to see the extent of the wreckage that the dropping of the plate caused, and it fuels their resolve even more.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Story Summary
Chapter 16 – The Belly of the Beast
The group arrives at Shinra HQ and aside from some light resistance from security in the parking garage, to their surprise security in the building proper is quite light. They are able to hack their way into access to the higher floors and continue their ascent to Hojo’s Lab.
Getting access to the higher floors involves pretending to be a part of a tour where they learn more about Shinra, their goals, and their interest in the Ancients.
They realize that the reason they were so easily able to navigate through the public areas of the building is because they were receiving assistance from the mayor of Shinra himself who is an Avalanche collaborator.
Midgar’s Mayor Domino is just a figurehead, as the true power in Midgar resides with President Shinra, and this resentment has led to him helping Avalanche. The trio accept his help and receive guidance on how they can reach Hojo’s lab, just a few floors above them.
As the group gets closer to Hojo’s lab, Cloud struggles more with his visions.
They infiltrate the lab and confront Hojo, a sadistic researcher who revels in conducting twisted experiments. Not the type of person you want to leave Aerith with.
They are able to break Aerith out along with another friendly captive, a talking dog-like beast called Red XIII, and force Hojo into fleeing. Red XIII is able to offer valuable insight on what is going on around the lab, can hold his own in battle, and is just very sage-like in general.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Story Summary
Chapter 17 – Deliverance from Chaos
Together again, Aerith reveals that while she does have blood of the Ancients running through her, and that Shinra is interested in her, she doesn’t really feel all that special. She doesn’t know anything about the Promised Land, how to get there, or any other secrets of the Ancients.
The group attempts to escape but eventually find their way into the central chamber of Hojo’s lab where they are confronted with a massive exhibit: an alien-looking headless lifeform that appears to be connected to all the other created life in the lab which is known as Jenova. As they approach, Cloud has his most painful vision yet, and calls out to the lifeform as Mother for some reason.
Chaos in the lab forces the group to get split up and Hojo leads them into a trap, where they must face a gauntlet of Hojo’s worse abominations to link back up together. They see the full extent Hojo’s work with Jenova and the twisted experiments it has conducted using Jenova’s DNA.
They finally escape the lab and head to the rooftop where they will be extracted by Avalanche thanks to Wedge who organized the rescue.
However, on the way to the rooftop they pass by President Shinra’s office and the president is hanging from the ledge of the roof about to fall off. Likely due to something involving Sephiroth. Barret is tempted to let him fall, but ultimately decides to rescue him.
President Shinra repays the favor by pulling a gun on Barret and lecturing him on how futile his efforts are, but Sephiroth crashes the party and kills President Shinra, piercing him with his massive katana and stabbing Barret as well. Cloud tries to pursue Sephiroth but he gets away.
Sephiroth leaves and when the group checks on Barret, miraculously he’s okay, the whispers have prevented his death. They continue to guide the characters down a specific, preordained path whether the heroes like it or not.
Their escape ride is thwarted by Rufus Shinra, vice president of Shinra. Cloud holds the line and fights the very capable Rufus and his pet beast Darkstar while Aerith, Barret and Red XIII escape.
In the midst of all this chaos, the whispers pull Wedge away and his fate his unknown and Rufus leaves to fight another day.
Everyone is able to eventually escape the building with vehicles stolen from Shinra and one last chase ensues on the Midgar highways. Cloud and co. are able to defeat final Shinra mech standing in between them and freedom.
It just leaves one more big problem: Sephiroth.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Story Summary
Chapter 18 – Destiny’s Crossroads
The true nature of the whispers are finally pieced together. They have been funneling all of the characters down a path that will lead to a preordained outcome. Neither of them want to feel like their own future, or fate isn’t in their hands.
Sephiroth, who is eager for a future that sees a purging calamity brought down on the planet like what happened to the Ancients long ago, invites them to try and change their fate. He rips open the fabric of space and time, and awaits their challenge.
Behind them whispers have engulfed all of Midgar, and everyone agrees to engage in one final battle to finally regain control of their future and break free of the grasp of the whispers that are trying to control them.
On the other end of the portal, they fight Whisper Harbinger, an arbiter of fate of some kind and in a long battle which includes a showdown with the powerful Whisper Bahamut, they are able to defeat Whisper Harbinger and reclaim control of their fate.
Sephiroth isn’t going to let them off that easy, and Cloud isn’t going to let Sephiroth just run amok anymore.
The two engage in a battle and over the course of the epic fight, Cloud is joined by his party to defeat Sephiroth, at least for now.
The battle with Sephiroth isn’t fully over, and there’s still more story that will play out, but for now everyone still standing is safe, in control of their future again and standing on the outskirts of a Midgar that is free of whispers.
Before the credits roll however, we see that Biggs has survived the collapse of the Sector 7 plate and is resting in the Sector 6 slum orphanage. More noteworthy though is a vision, or a flashback of sorts of Cloud and Zack.
We see Zack fighting off a group of Shinra at some point in the past and carrying an injured Cloud to safety. While walking with the group at the very end of the game, Aerith senses Zack’s presence. This is a mystery that is going to have to sit on the back burner until the next game. The fate of Jessie and Wedge is also still unknown but at least with the information we have now, it appears like they might not have made it.
That does it for our story summary of Final Fantasy 7 Remake. For more of our personal thoughts about what is going on at the end of the game check out our post on the ending explained.
For more tips, tricks and FAQs answered definitely make sure to check out our Final Fantasy 7 Remake wiki guide and read our fully scored review.
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