No. 1 Reactor Bombing[1] is the first chapter in Final Fantasy VII, part of the first act, "Banner of Revolution". Cloud Strife is hired to help AVALANCHE, a group led by Barret Wallace, destroy the Shinra Electric Power Company's No. 1 Reactor. Their goal is to plant a bomb in the reactor's core and flee.
Walkthrough[]
Infiltrating No. 1 Reactor[]
The mission begins in Sector 1 at the Platform, commencing immediately after the opening movie finishes. Control is given to an ex-SOLDIER.
When entering the Platform, the cast exit off the train to Sector 1 and knock down two troops. Heading north in this scene ensues the first battle of the game as two MP soldiers run towards the player, both of which can be defeated in a single hit. After this battle, the player can take an exit on the left to enter the Sector 1 Station area. Two Potion items can be picked up here from the guards.
After this, Cloud enters from the Sector 1 Station from the bottom-left of the screen. Here, other members of AVALANCHE will be standing around before running towards the exit. After a conversation, the player gets to name the Ex-SOLDIER, which defaults to "Cloud". Another member of AVALANCHE will then run on screen, the second playable character who can then be named, defaulting to "Barret". After the North Gate is open, a small scene occurs and the character automatically runs into the Sector 1 area.
In this area, the player must run right, up, and then to the left of the screen where they will find the exit to a walkway outside the No. 1 Reactor. The door on the far is inaccessible, but the door at the top of the screen leads into the No. 1 Reactor. The area is two straight pathways in a T-formation. Next to the door to Sector 8 is "N-8th" is written on the wall next to this door.
When the player first enters the outside walkway, Wedge waits at the door to Sector 8 to secure the escape passage. The mission then proceeds inside Mako Reactor 1.
Reaching the core[]
After reaching the No. 1 Reactor, Cloud and Barret begin at the entrance. Here, the player must interact with Biggs to decipher the code of the first door, and then with Jessie to open the second door and the elevator. After this, the elevator must be activated to the main staircase. Dialogue with Barret will initiate until the elevator reaches its destination.
Following this, the player must descend down through the main staircase to reach the piping. Along the way, the player will encounter a variety of enemies in random encounters with MP, 1st Ray, Grunt, or Mono Drive. These enemies are straightforward and can be defeated in one or two hits. After reaching the piping, the player must interact with the ladder to descend down further. A Potion can be picked up in the upper piping before descending down to the lower piping. The Sweeper, can be fought as an encounter here; this enemy is more durable and can take multiple hits, meaning that it is best to defeat its accompanying enemies before focusing against it. It can be defeated with a Bolt from Cloud. Alternatively, the player can run from most random encounters by holding page up and page down to progress through the game faster, and the EXP, AP, and gil gained from random encounters is almost never necessary to defeat bosses.
Destroying the reactor[]
Eventually, the player will reach a walkway towards the core. Along the walkway, a Restore Materia can be picked up. At a core, a short scene commences, and the Guard Scorpion boss battle commences. It is weak to Cloud's Bolt spells and the idea is to not attack when it raises its tail.
Once defeated, a timer initiates. The player must run back and ascend up the Reactor to the exit before the ten minutes expire, at which point the Reactor will explode. Though the player can still fight random encounters, it may be easier to run away if time is low. Along the way, Jessie will be found caught in the pipes; she needs to be rescued along the way or the player will be unable to escape. Upon escaping the Reactor, the next quest commences in Sector 8.
Escaping No. 1 Reactor[]
The player returns to the walkway just outside the reactor after planting the bomb inside. Upon reaching the area outside the reactor, the player meets up with Wedge, and a cutscene plays. The characters run from the reactor out to Sector 8.
Rendezvous at Sector 8 station[]
After the reactor has been escaped, a short scene plays as Barret leaves Cloud, telling him to rendezvous at the Sector 8 train station. For this, the player must follow a linear path up the stairs to LOVELESS Avenue. Here, Cloud meets "Flower Girl". After interacting with her, in order to purchase a flower, the following dialog options must be chosen:
| Dialog | Required response | |
|---|---|---|
| PS | PC/PS4 | |
| Flower Girl: "What happened?" | "Nothing...hey, listen..." | "Nothing...hey..." |
| Cloud: "............" | "Don't see many flowers around here" | |
| Flower Girl: "Oh, these? Do you like them? They're only 1 gil." | Buy one | |
After choosing correctly and not rejecting her, Cloud will obtain a flower. This can be useful for date mechanics involving either Tifa or Barret in 7th Heaven later on.
After this, continue to head down through the fountain area. A Potion is found southwest of the fountain, and a few NPCs can be interacted with to learn more. Once done, head south through the area to the bridge.
When on the bridge, two soldiers will confront Cloud. There are now two options: fight them or run. If the player chooses to fight them, two MPs are then fought, while if not, they will simply run after Cloud. After this, Cloud will then be confronted by three MPs, which the player can choose again to run from or fight. Finally, Cloud will be confronted by more guards, and if choosing to fight, Cloud will fight a two-sided battle with two MPs in front and one behind.
After this, regardless of whether the choice was selected to fight them or not, Cloud will then jump down to the train below.
Train to Sector 7[]
After arriving on the train, a few scenes commence, following which Cloud can interact with the members of AVALANCHE. Talking to Jessie will show Cloud a model of Midgar. Once this is done, the player can talk to members of AVALANCHE again, but talking to Barret will progress the story. After dialogue is exchanged between them, a cutscene commences.
The next chapter, "At the Hideout in the Slums", takes place in the Sector 7 Slums.