While the Final Fantasy series is home to all kinds of interesting concepts, one that is both intriguing and important to the overall plot isFinal Fantasy 7’sMako.The mysterious energy sourceis one of the major driving forces of the entire game, making it one of the most important aspects of any Final Fantasy game.

Thanks to how beloved Final Fantasy 7 has become, and the remake series being in full swing, the importance of Mako is sure to only be highlighted again and again. Whether it’sproviding energy that destroys the planet, making awful people as rich as possible, or aiding in terrible experiments, there is a lot to know about Mako.

Mako, The Blood Of The Planet

Mako Quick Facts:

While Mako may just seem like some kind of mystical energy source to some, it’s actually so much more than that.Mako is the very lifestream of the planetconcentrated into a liquid state that can then be harnessed by greedy humans. Being a key component to the lives of the people across the world of Final Fantasy 7,Mako is necessary for energy, materia, and the planet.

Before Mako can be harnessed,it starts out as a flowing essence that contains the spirits of the people of the planet,particularly those who’ve died. This means that Mako in its earliest form isnothing more than the spirit of the dead, acting as the very blood of the planet.

The lifestream works like a cycle;it confers life and when life ends, it returns back to the lifestream in order to continue the cycle forever. Somehow, theShinra Electric Power Company found a way to harness the lifestreamand treat it in order to morph it into Mako.

Following the environmental themes of Final Fantasy 7,the lifestream and Mako itself are both direct parallels to real-world issues. As the globe continues using natural resources,the danger of overuse comes into question.

The Dangers Of Mako

Mako may be a form of energy based on the very life of the planet, butthat doesn’t mean that the essence is safe. On the contrary,Mako actually seems to be incredibly dangerousfor most ordinary people to come into direct contact with.

One of the most widely known side effects of Mako is Mako poisoning, something that can eventually result in the death of the person who’s been exposed. A sad example of Mako poisoning can be seen in Final Fantasy 7 Remake with Jesse’s father. Somehow,he’d been exposed to Mako at work, resulting in him falling into a comawith little prospect of waking up.

At the same time,the supremely well-dressed Cloud Strife himselfhas demonstrated the dangers of Mako poisoning numerous times throughout the collected story of Final Fantasy 7. Most notably, during the events of Final Fantasy 7,Cloud actually falls into the lifestreamand is left in a catatonic state when he’s eventually found by his friends.

Shinra’s Goldmine

The Shinra Electric Power Company set up their very own goldmine when they discovered how to harness the lifestream. Thevarious Mako reactors that they’ve set up extract the lifestream from the planet, andit is eventually condensed into the glowing green substance that flows throughout Midgar.

Shinra was also able to turn the substance into materiain order to further their profits even more. The trouble with Shinra’s use of the lifestream is that it is abusive to the planet, with many people believing thatthe planet itself is dyingas Shinra continues to extract the lifestream.

Sadly, Shinra doesn’t seem all that concerned with the potentially dying planet when their use of the lifestream will allow them to be one of the most powerful forces on the planet. They were able to additionallyharness the power of Mako for use in various weaponsand devices.

They even built a massive Mako cannon that they eventually used to combat massive creatures, something that likely only continued to wound the planet even further. It is all of this endangering of the planet that caused Avalanche to take the fight to Shinra in the hopes of saving the planet before too much damage is done.

Horrifying Experiments

All the trouble that Shinra caused wasn’t just wreaking havoc across the planet. Some of the most horrific aspects of Shinra and Mako itself were the horrific experiments that the company would put people through. One of theside effects of exposure to Mako was a genetic mutation, making it the perfect substance to aid in the creation of what are more or less super soldiers.

The most heavily experimented on peopleare those within the SOLDIER program, a program in which the various members have glowing eyes thanks to their exposure to Mako. When paired with Jenova cells, Mako was capable of having massive changes in the average person,granting them superior abilities if they were capable of withstanding the process.

Sephiroth is yet another example of a member of SOLDIER who was heavily experimented on with Mako. The substance is incredibly dangerous as it also hasthe ability to completely corrupt what it comes into contact with, creating complete and utter monsters.

Thanks to the horrendous ambition of the likes of Professor Gast, some potentialSOLDIER members were turned into what are called Makonoids. While important to the everyday life of the peopleacross the Final Fantasy 7 compilation,Mako presents a serious danger to not only humanity but the planet itself.