Nibelheim Incident

The Nibelheim Incident is a pivotal event in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII where Sephiroth, acclaimed hero of SOLDIER, descends into madness and destroys the village of Nibelheim. The town's destruction marks the beginning of Sephiroth's villainy after he learns of his "true" origins. The incident is frequently depicted in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, and has been subject to numerous retcons, although the basic chain of events has mostly remained the same. The scene has, ultimately, become Sephiroth's iconic scene, and is the reason that in numerous promotional materials Sephiroth is seen surrounded by flames.

The incident takes place between September 22nd and October 1st, 0002 of the Final Fantasy VII timeline.

Cloud's Story
The Nibelheim Incident is first told to the party and player by Cloud when the group stop at Kalm. After leaving his hometown, Cloud joined SOLDIER and eventually became a 1st Class and Sephiroth's partner. The two were dispatched to Nibelheim with two Shinra guards to investigate a Mako Reactor on Mt. Nibel. The two stay the night at the inn when they arrive, and in the morning Sephiroth hires Tifa to guide them up the mountain. During the expedition a rope bridge snaps, and one of the guards is lost in the fall. At the reactor Sephiroth and Cloud enter alone and find a series of tanks with vaguely humanoid monsters inside, submerged in Mako. At the top of the chamber is a sealed door with the name "Jenova" atop it, the name Sephiroth was told belonged to his mother. When Cloud wonders if the monsters are being made in a manner similar to the process of empowering SOLDIER members, Sephiroth flies into a rage and attacks the tanks before storming back to town.

In the abandoned Shinra Mansion where Shinra scientists once worked, Cloud finds Sephiroth in a secret basement full of books and journals on Jenova, who the Shinra scientists Professor Gast and Professor Hojo discovered in a cave far to the north and believed to be a Cetra. Their research lead to the creation of the Jenova Project. Sephiroth orders Cloud to leave him, and he spends three days in the library reading the research notes of Shinra. When Cloud returns, he finds Sephiroth has taken what he has read to believe Jenova is a Cetra that survived after their civilization was abandoned to die by normal humans during an ancient catastrophe. Sephiroth has also come to believe he is Jenova's son, artificially produced from her cells, and therefore the last Cetra. Sephiroth leaves the mansion, telling Cloud he is going to see his mother, and when Cloud leaves the mansion he finds Sephiroth has set the village on fire. As he and Zangan search for survivors, Cloud sees Sephiroth kill two villagers, then stare at him coldly before heading to Mt. Nibel.

Cloud pursues Sephiroth to the reactor and finds Tifa outside, standing over her father's body with Sephiroth's Masamune stuck in his corpse. Tifa grabs the sword and attacks Sephiroth in the reactor, but he easily disarms her and knocks her unconscious, then enters Jenova's chamber. Cloud carries Tifa aside and follows Sephiroth. Sephiroth tears a mechanical image of Jenova from its setting, revealing Jenova herself suspended in animation in a tank. Cloud raises his sword to attack as Sephiroth turns, and it's at this time Cloud ends his story, his memory of what happened during their confrontation hazy.

True Events
After the party arrives at the Whirlwind Maze, Sephiroth projects an illusion of the Nibelheim Incident, showing a black-haired SOLDIER in Cloud's place, and Sephiroth tells Cloud his memories are a lie and this is the true way the incident played out. Cloud refuses to accept these visions, until Sephiroth notes Tifa's hesitation. Eventually, Tifa admits that Sephiroth's words are true, and that Cloud was never at the town. To prove it, Sephiroth shows Cloud the picture taken of the three by the villager, showing the black-haired SOLDIER in Cloud's place. This revelation combined with Sephiroth's mental influence breaks Cloud's mind, and he hands the Black Materia to Sephiroth moments later. Sephiroth calls Meteor and the party flees without Cloud as the crater collapses. Cloud eventually resurfaces at Mideel, and through the intervention of Ultimate Weapon, he and Tifa fall into the Lifestream and into Cloud's Subconscious.

Tifa attempts to repair the damage caused by Cloud's mental complexes, leading into a retelling of the event. The incident as remembered by Tifa involves the black-haired SOLDIER, Zack Fair, in Cloud's place, but otherwise proceeds as Cloud told it until Tifa is attacked by Sephiroth and knocked unconscious. At this time, Cloud's true memories surface, and he reveals he was at the town when it was destroyed - he was one of the Shinra guards who accompanied Zack and Sephiroth, and was the lone guard to survive the climb up Mt. Nibel. Because he pledged to join SOLDIER upon leaving town, Cloud kept his face covered by his helmet and asked Zack not to mention him by name, ashamed to face the town with his failure. With Cloud's true memories restored, he tells Tifa what happened from his perspective.

In the actual incident, Zack and Sephiroth, accompanied by Cloud and another guard, arrived at the town and went to the reactor, and Sephiroth returned to read the research notes in the library just as Cloud originally remembered. After Sephiroth razes the town, Cloud is unconscious outside but regains consciousness to see Zack chase Sephiroth up the mountain. At the reactor, Zack confronts Sephiroth in Jenova's chamber, but is defeated and tossed out. Cloud arrives and picks up Zack's Buster Sword, attacking Sephiroth off his guard and stabbing him in the stomach. Sephiroth is greatly weakened, and Cloud takes the opportunity to return to Tifa and carry her aside. Sephiroth stumbles from Jenova's chamber carrying her severed head, and Cloud follows him to the reactor entrance, a catwalk over a pool of Mako. Cloud attacks Sephiroth again but Sephiroth turns and impales Cloud on the Masamune. Cloud summons unknown strength and uses the sword as a lever, throwing Sephiroth through the air and into the Mako, where he is consumed by the Lifestream.

Aftermath
Weakened by the confrontation, Zack, Tifa and Cloud fall unconscious. Zangan finds the three in the reactor and carries Tifa to safety, but Shinra is already there when he attempts to return for Cloud and Zack and he is forced to flee with Tifa to Midgar. Professor Hojo learns of what Sephiroth has done and puts his "Jenova Reunion Theory" into action, injecting the survivors of the town, including Zack and Cloud, with Sephiroth's cells, turning them into Sephiroth Clones. The town is rebuilt to cover up the incident, with Shinra employees hired to play the part of the townspeople. Shinra seals Sephiroth's records and he is declared missing in action, but many assume him dead.

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-
Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- retells the Nibelheim incident through Zack Fair's eyes. The journey to the reactor with Tifa, Cloud, Zack and Sephiroth are the same as the true events told in Final Fantasy VII, until Zack and Sephiroth arrive at the door to Jenova's chamber. At this time, Genesis Rhapsodos, the game’s antagonist, appears to goad Sephiroth into his break-down, telling him the Jenova Project had two branches, G and S, and that Angeal Hewley and Sephiroth are the two "monsters" created by the project.

As further changes, in Final Fantasy VII Cloud said Sephiroth spent three days reading, but in Crisis Core and subsequent creation materials, it is said he spent a week. While Zack was quickly defeated and ejected from Jenova's chamber in Final Fantasy VII, in Crisis Core Sephiroth first knocks him to a lower platform, where the two have an extended duel before Zack is tossed out. Cloud's impalement and Sephiroth's plunge into the Lifestream also occur in Jenova's chamber instead of the reactor entrance.

Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-
Episodes 12 to 13 of Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII- is a basic retelling of the Nibelheim incident from the point of view of the Player Turk, who is sent to Nibelheim to check on a problem at the reactor.

Called in due to reports of the staff manning the Nibelheim Reactor disappearing, Tseng pilots the Player Turk to the Nibelheim mountains where they were supposed to parachute to the reactor, however, a rogue wind causes them to parachute off course. Forced to traverse the mountainside to reach the reactor, the Player Turk comes across Tifa chasing after her cat. Following the discovery of multiple dragons massing around the reactor, the Player Turk is ordered to fall back to Nibelheim to await further instructions. Taking Tifa with her/him, the ropeway back to town is destroyed by one of the dragons, forcing the pair to traverse the rest of the way on foot. When Sephiroth and his company are sent in to deal with the monsters, the Player Turk recruits Tifa to guide them up the mountain due to the ropeway's destruction. Following the investigation party's return, Sephiroth locks himself away in his room for several days until finally coming out and massacring the town. Leaving to return to the reactor, the Player Turk follows after him, clearing the path along the way for the incoming Shinra forces.

After confronting Sephiroth, the Player Turk is knocked unconscious, coming to when Cloud arrives. As Cloud pursues Sephiroth deeper in the reactor, the Player Turk looks over Tifa until Zangan arrives to take her away. He/she then witnesses Cloud's stand and Sephiroth jumping into the Mako pit and informs Tseng of the events.

When the Shinra clean-up crew arrives at Nibelheim and the reactor, the Player Turk is instructed to help look for survivors in the town, however, upon reaching the town he/she is given new orders by Tseng to enter and check on the laboratory equipment in the basement of the Nibelheim Mansion for Professor Hojo. Entering the mansion, the Player Turk comes across an endless staircase before receiving new orders to liquidate certain documents, after which ghosts and monsters start appearing. Clearing the mansion of monsters, the Player Turk discovers the documents and attempts to read them only to become confused. Continuing on to find the laboratory, Veld arrives and leads the way into the laboratory where they are both trapped in an illusion of the Player Turk's first encounter with AVALANCHE in Sector 8 during their first day on the job, caused by Lost Number. When that proves ineffectual, the Number changes the illusion to that of Kalm's destruction where Veld's wife and daughter were thought to have been killed and Veld was responsible for the incident's coverup. Affected by guilt, Lost Number manages to paralyse Veld, however, Lost Number is defeated by the Player Turk and his illusion vanishes freeing Veld.

As the survivors of Nibelheim are gathered up they are to be shipped into Hojo's laboratory. The Turks are indecisive over the morality of it and are allowed to leave while Veld handles the operation.

Last Order -Final Fantasy VII-
The OVA Last Order -Final Fantasy VII- retells the Nibelheim incident after Sephiroth's attack on the town in flashbacks as Zack Fair and Cloud Strife flee Shinra militia during their escape from Hojo. The OVA was released as a bonus feature with the film Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, but was not dubbed in English for its Western release, only subtitled.

The incident's depiction in Last Order -Final Fantasy VII- takes many liberties with the story; various characters interact in different places, and new scenes are present, for example, Cloud and Zack arrive at the town during its destruction and Cloud volunteers to find survivors while Zack follows Sephiroth and Tifa, and Tifa regains consciousness and speaks to both Zack and Cloud at the reactor. Similar to Crisis Core, Zack and Sephiroth have a longer battle than originally shown, but it takes place inside Jenova's chamber instead of beneath it. Instead of being thrown into the Mako pool, Sephiroth is thrown aside by Cloud and he leaps into the Mako willingly.

Development
According to the Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Omega, during the development of Final Fantasy VII, there were plans to have a non-player character in Nibelheim tell a fabricated version of the Nibelheim incident so as to explain the event to the general public. According to an NPC in the town, Shinra built the Mako Reactor at Mt. Nibel twenty-five years before the start of the game, and five years ago the townspeople ran Shinra out of town and took control of the reactor for themselves. President Shinra dispatched Sephiroth to the town to put down the uprising, and according to official records, he was killed. There would have been an option, however, to tell the NPC the events are not true, although he would not have listened. Another cutscene involved Tifa telling Aeris the true events of the town's destruction, and Aeris agreeing to help Tifa keep them secret from Cloud.

While Nibelheim's destruction was revised for Last Order -Final Fantasy VII-, the staff of Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- decided not to follow in the same lines. Producer of Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Hideki Imaizumi said this regarding the decision, "When we made that feature, we changed the presentation of that event from the original Final Fantasy VII. And the fan response was - well, there was considerable negative feedback in regard to changing a part of the story that they considered integral to the whole lore. So we listened to that and learned from that. And in fact the Nibelheim incident is presented again in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, and we were careful not to make the same decisions that we did in Last Order -Final Fantasy VII-."

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
The Nibelheim incident is briefly alluded to in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Sephiroth's scene of standing among the fires of Nibelheim, and the destruction of the Jenova likeness and her containment inside the reactor, are just a few of the many scenes from the game that are recreated.

In Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete, Sephiroth stabs Cloud with the Masamune and lifts him into the air, paralleling the ending of their battle at the reactor.

Dissidia Final Fantasy
In the first revealed trailer for Dissidia Final Fantasy a plume of fire bursts from the ground and Sephiroth emerges from it preparing to battle the Warrior of Light. The scene of this confrontation is reminiscent of Sephiroth standing among the flames of Nibelheim. This allusion is continued in the game’s intro FMV where the entire villain cast is standing among the fire alongside Sephiroth.

In Sephiroth's EX Burst, Supernova, his opponent is consumed in a wave of fire from an exploding star. As the animation for the attack ends, the camera pans out to reveal Sephiroth standing in front of the fire, similar to his pose in the flames of Nibelheim.

Trivia

 * During Cloud's telling of the incident from his perspective in Final Fantasy VII, Sephiroth is a temporary party member. He cannot take damage, acts of his own accord in battle, and his equipment cannot be removed.
 * While the incident remains hidden to the general public due to the cover-up, a reporter wrote an article - which Zack receives via email in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- - regarding an unknown incident at the location, and also reported the sudden lack of the local spoken accent among the town’s inhabitants, which was previously native to the village and region.