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If you’re aFinal Fantasyfan, you’ve likely at least heard of Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children. Even if you aren’t, there’s still a decent shot. The CG sequel film arrived with tremendous enthusiasm from the RPG community, with a 2005 Japanese launch followed by international debuts in 2006. An extended version called Advent Children Complete popped up a few years later.
But none of this means you’ve actuallyseenAdvent Children, and even if you have, you might need a refresher course on its complex storyline. From the Geostigma illness to the return of Sephiroth, we’ve got you covered.
Geostigma In A Changing World
Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children isset two years after the climactic events of the original Final Fantasy 7. Having narrowly escaped obliteration fromMeteor, the ‘Ultimate Destructive Magic’summoned by Sephiroth,humanity has begun to rebuild.
As for FF7’s main cast, the party has mostly gone their separate ways, withCloud Strife and Tifa Lockhart having co-founded Strife Delivery Serviceand everyone else handling their own Post-Crisis affairs.
But all is not well. Amysterious and dangerous illnessis sweeping across the world. The illness,Geostigma, is the result of thealien lifeform and major FF7 antagonist Jenova’s taint of the Lifestream.
No cure has been found, and even Cloud has contracted Geostigma. Wracked with guilt over hisinability to save the lives of Aerith Gainsborough and Zack Fair, Cloud has also fallen into a deep depression.
It’s worth noting that the Cloud Strife of the original Final Fantasy 7 isfar less of a glum downer for the vast majority of the gamethan he was commonly thought to have been for many years. The memes got out of control, basically.
Rather, this personality shift is largely confined to Advent Children, and he is able toput the past aside and find happinessby the end of the film.
Rufus And The Remnants
Meanwhile,Rufus Shinra, son of the murdered President Shinra and inheritor to the position thereafter, is revealed to have survived his supposed demise toward the conclusion of Final Fantasy 7. Rufus hopes to strike a partnership deal with Cloud after the emergence ofthe Remnants, a trio of young men named Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo.
Rufus’ efforts are in vain, but Cloud, having been attacked by the Remnants, is certainly on high alert. Rufus is soon kidnapped by Kadaj, while Yazookidnaps Geostigma-afflicted childrento bring to the City of the Ancients.
It’s during this villainous quest to gather the diseased children - who have been lured to their captors via the lie that they’ll be cured - thatTifa battles Loz at the Sector 5 Church.
Although she loses the fight, it’s a spectacle to behold, andsurely a shining moment for Tifain a film otherwise devoted in large part to Cloud’s heroic swordplay!
The Remnants, who are incomplete clones of Sephiroth, are on a dark mission toacquire the head of their ‘mother’, the slain Jenova, all in a bid to tap into her cellular structure andrevive Sephiroth. The children point them in the direction ofa city called Edge, a new settlement built near theruins of Midgar.
Second Reunion
Cloud teams up withVincent Valentinetorescue the childrenfrom the City of the Ancients, but not beforeAerith’s ghost appears before him, scolding him for assigning himself any blame for her death. Arriving in Edge, Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoofalsely deducethat Jenova’s head is buried beneatha massive monument built in remembrance of Meteorfall.
The children are cruelly used to surround the Meteorfall Monument so that the Remnants can destroy it via the summoning ofa powerful manifestation of Bahamut known as Bahamut SIN.
Cloud, Tifa, Barret, and the other former members of Avalanche defeat Bahamut SIN after a perilous battle, but the creature has already destroyed the Meteorfall Monument - and the Remnants havenotfound Jenova’s head.
The’Second Reunion'- the plan to reunite with Jenova’s will and revive Sephiroth - isn’t going so well for them. But surely, the headissomewhere in Edge. Indeed,Rufus dramatically reveals that Jenova’s head has been hidden inside a box beneath his cloakall along. Defiantly, he tosses the box through a window in the tall structure he’s being held within.
The Destined Duel
Kadaj manages to recover Rufus' box, but is confronted by Cloud. Our spiky-haired hero may have turned down Rufus' initial partnership request, but there’s no reason he can’tally with Reno and Rude of the Turks to battle Loz and Yazoo. The pair is bested while Kadaj makes a mad dash to escape and complete the Second Reunion plan.
Alas for him,Aerith’s ghost manages to bring forth a healing spell from the Lifestreamand cure Cloud of his Geostigma, restoring him to good health both physically and emotionally. Kadaj is soon brought down. Yet even as he falls,Kadaj is able to draw what remains of his ‘mother’ into himself.
Sephiroth is reborn, and he’s predictably giddy about it. With a new plan to take the injured planet, Gaia, toanother world someplace within the cosmosand rule there instead, Sephiroth’s still got some unfinished business to resolve against his nemesis, Cloud.
The fight is, of course, as flashy and daring as Square Enix could possibly envision it, butSephiroth gains the upper hand.
Cloud, however, is not down for the count. With some very timelycheering-on from Aerith’s and Zack’s spirits(thus providing a full-circle arc to Cloud’s guilt regarding their deaths), he rises with enough energy to kill Sephiroth - perhaps once and for all.
Bitter to the end,Sephiroth insists he will never be a memory, either foretelling a future return or at least trying to spook Cloud into some degree of paranoia.
A Gift Of The Ancients
There’s no longer a malevolent force to prevent Aerith from casting a spell within the Lifestream, whichheals the world’s population of Geostigma. Gaia is saved from becoming Sephiroth’s personal space shuttle, humanity is saved from painful extinction, and it looks like things are going to be just fine.
But Yazoo and Loz are revealed to still be among the living. Sacrificing themselvesin an explosion, intending to kill Cloudas a final act of revenge, it seems like it’s time for a terribly bittersweet ending to the story of Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children.
Thankfully, Aerith and Zack grant Cloud the greatest gift of all -a return to the land of the living.Now, Cloud can live a better life, steeped in a happier outlook for his future. He reunites with Tifa and the others, and the story closes on an optimistic note.
Never A Memory
We’ve summed up the events of Advent Children, and hopefully, we’ve done a decent enough job of it. But there’s still something of an elephant-sized chocobo in the room here.The Sephiroth we meet in Final Fantasy 7 Remakeis clearly aware of future events from within the original game’s continuity, and Remake never tells us why.
While presently unconfirmed, there’s a pretty good chance thatthis Sephiroth is a manifestation of the Sephiroth from that original continuity.If this is the case, his ominous claim to never be a memory has been proven accurate.
Is Sephiroth manipulating the events of Remake by way of a form of time travel? His desire for Avalanche to destroy the Whispers, beings whoseek to retain the continuity, suggests it’s all some master scheme on his part. As we finish writing this article, the launch ofFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthis on the horizon. Maybe Rebirth will have an answer for us all.
We’ll be sure to update this if we find out!
