Midgar

Midgar is the capital city of the world of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. It is the most technologically advanced location ever constructed on The Planet. Built by the Shinra Electric Power Company, Midgar is home to the corporation's main headquarters, which dominates the city skyline. Thanks to its eight Mako Reactors, the city's massive power demands are easily met, but at a cost: the surrounding countryside has become a wasteland. Ruled with an iron fist by the police-state Shinra, and with its dark atmosphere, Midgar easily fits the vision of a dystopian future. It was largely destroyed by Meteor after Sephiroth's defeat.

Design
Construction of the plate, Mako Reactors, and Shinra Headquarters began in 1976, to provide residence for Shinra's growing investment and employment base. Construction of the city would never be fully completed, even after 25 years (as in Crisis Core, city construction has not yet been completed). Construction of the Sector 6 plate was never finished. The eight Sectors of Midgar once had names, but these were abandoned to the use of numbered sectors some point prior to the start of Final Fantasy VII. This plot point seems to have been dropped in subsequent prequels as they are referred to as numbered sectors even in Before Crisis and Crisis Core.

Midgar is a large circular structure divided up between two main layers: the paradise above the plate, and the miserable slums below. The city itself is "floating" above the ground, supported by massive pillars in each sector. Above the plate live the richest and most powerful men in the world who run most of its affairs. Among these are the Shinra executives, the de facto world leader, President Shinra, and the figurehead city leader, Mayor Domino. The upper layer has fine architecture, cobblestone streets, and flawless entertainment, such as theatrical performances of LOVELESS. The city is divided up into nine Sectors. Sectors 1 through 8 all refer to the eight areas around Sector 0, which holds the main headquarters of Shinra. Each Sector has a Mako Reactor.

Being surrounded by walls that block access from the outside and divided up into sectors and layers, Midgar is difficult if not impossible to travel through on foot. The two layers are completely cut-off from each other outside of hidden paths made of various wreckage and junk. Instead, commuters have to use the extensive rail system to go to other parts of the city, all run on Midgar Standard Time, the only known Time Zone. The center of the lower layer is made up of a giant circular rail track, that spirals up to the top of the city. These rail systems are heavily monitored by the city's security system. Those without proper ID are instantly arrested by the Shinra security forces. The upper layer has highways that lead to and from Sector 0.

Shinra's darkest secrets lurk miles underground with an entire hidden city home to their Deepground program. After Meteor hit, the subterranean soldiers would be trapped beneath the surface for three years.

The Slums
Unlike the metropolitan top, the slums are home to bitter poverty. Due to the "pizza" plate hundreds of feet above their head, the people of the slums can go their entire lives without ever once seeing the sky. While the top is designed with cobble-stone paths and fine architecture, the slums represent the severe desperation of its population with buildings ranging from permanent structures like houses and cottages, to crude edifices such as mobile-homes and huts. The homeless have to make do with whatever shelter they can find.

The slums are filled with junk discarded from the Upper Plate and ruins of the days they were still separate towns. Monsters, those that have either escaped from various Shinra Facilities or have crept in from the wild, roam the abandoned areas between the sectors. Crime flourishes in this rough environment, especially due to the lack of law and order. Criminal syndicates, like that under Don Corneo, serve vices of all kinds - and of all preferences. The Wall Market especially is home to nearly every perversion imaginable. Shinra allows such practices to go unregulated thanks to the Don being a valuable informant for terrorist activities based in the slums.

AVALANCHE, led by Barret Wallace and made up of eco-terrorists and mercenaries like Cloud Strife, is an organization out to save the Planet from Shinra's draining of the world's lifeforce. AVALANCHE are a dangerous presence in the city. Largely ignored before, the organization managed to blow up the Sector 1 Reactor, causing one billion gil worth of damage and many deaths. Later attempts on the Sector 5 Reactor were less successful.

Despite the crime and perversion, not all is misery in the slums. Aeris Gainsborough, being a Cetra, was able to grow flowers in the almost impossible climate underneath the plate. Her church in Sector 5 was a sign of hope for the citizens, even beyond her death. A specter of her can still be seen by children who continue to visit the place long after Aeris left Midgar with Cloud and his party.

Tifa Lockhart was also able to scratch out a life with her bar, the 7th Heaven. It functioned as AVALANCHE's main base until Shinra destroyed it and the rest of Sector 7 by dropping a section of plate upon it.

Shinra Headquarters


The Shinra Headquarters dominates the Midgar skyline, being the tallest structure in the entire city. Being in the center, it is the metropolis's heart and soul. Mayor Domino works in the building's upper floors. Although supposedly in control of the city, he is little more than a librarian; President Shinra himself rules the city from the top floor. Executive Reeve Tuesti is in charge of the city's urban development. Only the building's shell remains after being decimated by the Diamond Weapon and Meteor.

Neo Midgar
"Neo Midgar" was President Shinra's idea. His vision was to build it in the legendary Promised Land, and make it an improved model based upon the present design of Midgar. Because the Promised Land was so full of Mako it would not even need to be processed beforehand, it would clearly be a better location for the Shinra company's headquarters. Because of the relocation plans, Sector 7 was not rebuilt after its destruction. After Shinra was destroyed and the Promised Land was proven to be nothing like the company imagined, Neo Midgar was never built.

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-
In Crisis Core, multiple steel girders and the lack of the fortress-like walls around the city perimeter suggest that parts of Midgar are still being constructed at this time. A mail received partway through the game reveals the Shinra Headquarters' completion is scheduled in two years, and the surrounding city in seven.

Midgar serves as the headquarters for Zack Fair and other SOLDIER members. SOLDIER members spend their stand-by time on the 49th floor of the Shinra building. There, they can train, make Materia from discovered Mako Stones, or pick up official Shinra equipment. Zack takes orders from Director Lazard Deusericus two floors above.

During their off-time, Shinra employees go out into the city, seeing sights such as LOVELESS Avenue in Sector 8, or visit friends by using the rail system to travel down to the slums. The Sector 8 square is a short walk away from the Sector 1 train station, which is directly connected to Sector 5.

Zack meets Aerith in the slums after being knocked off the upper plate and falling into her church. He continues to visit the slums to meet with her. Several missions, minigames, and fanclubs for several high ranking SOLDIER members are found in the city as well.

Genesis Rhapsodos sends his army to attack the city and rescue Dr. Hollander. SOLDIER defeats the attack easily, but Hollander is taken by the Genesis Army. When Zack leaves for Nibelheim, the player can no longer return to Midgar other than in brief, completely linear missions.

Final Fantasy VII
Midgar is the the first area visited in Final Fantasy VII and is the location for much of the game's beginning. Cloud Strife, working with AVALANCHE, fights Shinra to protect the Planet during this time. Shinra uses extreme measures to defeat the terrorists by dropping the Plate down onto Sector 7. Aeris is kidnapped, and AVALANCHE is forced to attack the Shinra Building to save her. The invasion fails, and all are imprisoned. Sephiroth appears to return from the dead and murders President Shinra, and after this, the party begins to trail him around the world.

Midgar once again becomes part of the plot when the Sister Ray is moved to the city. The Diamond Weapon ascends out of the sea, and moves down towards Midgar. Now President, Rufus Shinra orders the cannon fired. It destroys the Weapon, but the monster fires back. The Shinra Building's top floors are destroyed. Professor Hojo takes control of the Sister Ray, and prepares to fire it again to help Sephiroth, who is in the Northern Crater. Cloud and his team parachute down into Midgar to defeat him. Along the way, they fight the Shinra executives Scarlet and Heidegger, who are controlling a giant robot known as the Proud Clod. They destroy the machine and possibly kill both of the executives inside. Finally, the party makes their way up to the cannon, where they kill Hojo and all of his hideous mutant forms.

The city can be accessed in disc 2 by finding the Key in Bone Village. However, only the Sector 5 slums and the Wall Market can be explored. Tifa's ultimate weapon, the Premium Heart, can be found inside the "fake" item shop at the Wall Market. As an Easter Egg, Aeris's ghost can be seen in the Sector 5 Church. The party can also purchase a Sneak Ring from a man in the weapons shop.

At the end of Final Fantasy VII, despite Cloud and his party's best attempts to stop the cataclysm, Meteor falls directly over the city. Reeve had prepared for the disaster by moving the entire population of the upper plate into the slums. Nevertheless the intense tornado-like storms generated by the gravity between the Meteor and the Planet tore much of the city to pieces. Aeris's Holy spell failed to stop the falling rock and only with the Lifestream's intervention was Holy able to destroy Meteor and save what remained of the city and its citizens. Midgar was only thirty-one years old by the time it was destroyed.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
After Meteorfall, Midgar is nothing but a sad ruin, uninhabitable despite attempts to rebuild. The Mako leaks created by the reactors that once kept the city running now make living in the ruins impossible. Midgar stands as a crumbling monument to its former glory and to the folly of man's abuse of the Planet, as well as a tribute to the sacrifices made to save the Planet two years before. Most of the citizens have moved to the areas directly around the former capital, constructing a new city called Edge.

The city of Edge is built around the Midgar ruins, and the citizens have largely recovered from the crisis. However, Cloud has not, and leaves Tifa to live in the Sector 5 Church, suffering from Geostigma in solitude. Tifa and Marlene come to investigate Cloud's whereabouts, but one of Sephiroth's remnants, Loz, attacks them. Tifa and Loz fight through the church, and Tifa seems to have the upper hand. However, thanks to Loz's super-speed, he wins the battle.

Later on, once Loz and his brother Yazoo have been defeated, only Kadaj remains. He grabs the remains of his "Mother", Jenova, escapes into Midgar. Cloud chases him on his motorcycle, and they find themselves once again at Aerith's church. Thanks to the purified spring beneath the flowers, Cloud's Geostigma is healed. Kadaj flees, and fuses with Jenova to become Sephiroth.

Cloud and Sephiroth fight through the city. Their battle rains further destruction on the ruined city, and a large chunk of the Shinra Building collapses. Cloud eventually defeats Sephiroth and afterwards, healing rain sent from Aerith falls from the sky, curing the world of Geostigma.

Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-
Midgar once again is home to a battle in Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-. This time, it is between the forces of Deepground and the World Regenesis Organization, the latter of which launched a two-pronged attack from land and air to protect the Planet. The secretive Reactor 0 acts as Deepground's base of operations. Vincent Valentine must infiltrate the Shinra Building's remains to enter Reactor 0 from its only entrance, the President's secret elevator, and also goes through the Train Graveyard. Eventually, Deepground manages to summon the ultimate Weapon, Omega. Vincent Valentine, using the power of Chaos, is able to defeat it before the world is drained of all life.

During the ending of Dirge of Cerberus, water can be seen near the outskirts, and a small amount of vegetation, such as grass and flowers, can be observed growing in the once lifeless desert.

Future
Five hundred years after the end of Final Fantasy VII, Red XIII and his cubs are seen running on the cliffs. They overlook the ruins of Midgar, now overgrown with vegetation. The once-source of pollution and abuse of the natural world now serves an ecosystem for all sorts of life. Part of the Midgar area is covered by a shallow sea. Edge appears to be overtaken by the natural world, as well. Whether or not mankind is still alive at this point is never revealed. However, children's laughter can be heard as the screen fades out, and some smoke can be seen rising out of the ruins.

This scene is shown at the end of Final Fantasy VII and was remade with more advanced visuals for Advent Children.

Sector 4 Train Tunnel

 * Grashtrike x3
 * Grashtrike x4
 * Grashtrike x4 (Back attack)
 * Rocket Launcher x4

Lower Sector 4 Plate - Corridors

 * Chuse Tank x2, Grashtrike x2
 * Chuse Tank x3
 * Chuse Tank x3, Grashtrike x2
 * Grashtrike x4 (Back attack

Lower Sector 4 Plate - Lattice Walkways

 * Blugu x2, Rocket Launcher
 * Blugu x2, Rocket Launcher x2
 * Blugu x3, Chuse Tank (Back attack)
 * Rocket Launcher x3

Sewers

 * Ceasar x3
 * Sahagin x2
 * Sahagin x2, Ceasar
 * Sahagin x3
 * Aps (Boss)

Midgar Highway

 * Motor Ball (Boss)

Grassland

 * Devil Ride x2
 * Kalm Fang, Kalm Fang, Kalm Fang
 * Kalm Fang, Prowler x2 (Back attack)
 * Kalm Fang, Kalm Fang x2
 * Kalm Fang x2, Prowler
 * Kalm Fang x2, Prowler (Ambush)

Dirt

 * Custom Sweeper x2
 * Custom Sweeper x2 (Side attack)
 * Devil Ride
 * Devil Ride x2
 * Kalm Fang, Prowler x2
 * Kalm Fang x2, Devil Ride
 * Diamond Weapon (Boss)

Beach

 * Kalm Fang x2
 * Kalm Fang x2, Prowler
 * Kalm Fang x3
 * Prowler x2, Kalm Fang (Ambush)

Skies

 * Ultimate Weapon (Boss)

Development
In the earliest ideas for the game, Final Fantasy VII was to take place in the real-world New York City. From the original idea, the fictional city of Midgar was born.

According to the Ultimania Omega, in an early draft of the script, Midgar was built by a group of "cultured" people wishing to escape the world below, which was rapidly running out of Mako energy. This early version of the script described Midgar as "a misshapen city built in the sky, covered in iron plates and the stench of sewage".

Itadaki Street Series
Midgar has appeared as a board in both "Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Special" and "Itadaki Street Mobile".

Second Life
The graphic metaverses of Second Life feature a number of Midgar and Final Fantasy VII related role playing sims, each with diverse communities. Though all of them are unofficial, some communities strive to maintain the stories and visions created by Square Enix, while others are only loosely based on the game and its brands.

Etymology
Midgard is one of the nine plains, or worlds, in old Norse mythology, of which Midgar bares many similarities. Firstly, Midgard is considered to be cut off from the other realms by, in some versions, a great sea, followed by an endless desert. Midgar is encircled by a desert wasteland. Tales also exist of Ymir, the king of the jötunn (frost giants), who was slain by the gods, and Midgard was crafted from his body, and it is his life that sustains those that dwell within. This bares resemblance to Mako energy and the Lifestream powering the city.

The great serpent Jörmungandr/Miðgarðsormr is also said to swim in the ocean of Midgard, preventing travelers from crossing into higher or lower realms. This parallels the Midgar Zolom the party must avoid in order to escape the Midgar area.

Midgard translates to "middle world" or "middle earth" (the origin of Tolkien's Middle-earth), reflecting its status as world that is both literal and figuratively in the middle of the eight realms. Midgar can also be considered a mid-level town, in terms of standard of living; people are seen in far more comfortable towns (e.g. Kalm, Rocket Town, Junon etc) and yet there are some in far worse conditions (Corel, Gongaga).

Finally, during Ragnarok (The Final Battle/End of the Worlds) Midgard will be destroyed, and a new world is to emerge in its stead. This is similar to Meteorfall and the construction of Edge.

Trivia

 * Midgar is often seen only at night. Gameplay in Final Fantasy VII, Before Crisis, and Crisis Core all keep the city in the dark while the player is above the plate. It is only when they are in the slums that sunlight can be seen trickling through the metal structure. Also, the Midgar area of the Final Fantasy VII World Map is always in night time.
 * A giant Midgar model was shown at the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete press screening party in the Sony Building in Tokyo. It is similar to the model of Midgar found on Floor 65 of Shinra Headquarters in Final Fantasy VII. It even features an incomplete Sector 6 plate, which was still under construction during the events of Final Fantasy VII.
 * One of the rooms from the Online Lobby in Dissidia Final Fantasy is named Midgar.

Midgar Мидгар