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Reno to Cloud in the church at the Sector 5 Slums
Reno is a prominent member of the Turks who appears in the Final Fantasy VII series. His first appearance is in Final Fantasy VII, and he has since appeared in almost every media of the compilation: Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-, Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. He also appears in Final Fantasy VII Remake where has has a more prominent role and an added boss battle. He is often accompanied by fellow Turk and partner, Rude, and the two are implied to be friends despite their contrasting personalities.
Profile
Appearance
Original artwork.
Reno has a lanky physique, turquoise eyes and unkempt red hair terminating in a long ponytail (though the ponytail is absent during Before Crisis and the first half of Crisis Core). He has two symmetrical red scar shaped marks on his cheekbones. He wears goggles pushed up onto his forehead, an unbuttoned suit jacket, and an untucked dress shirt.
Reno's red tattoos under his eyes are not visible on his original in-game character models, but appear in every depiction of the character, including his original artwork by Tetsuya Nomura, his Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII- portrait, in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and in Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Personality
Reno is cocky, cynical, and somewhat lazy. He has a penchant for gossip. Despite his appearance and attitude, he is regarded as a prominent worker; while second in command, he takes his job with pride. He has a rebellious temperament and his actions can be sadistic, contrasting his laid back personality.
Reno and Rude primarily serve as the comic relief in Advent Children, exemplified by cartoon violence. Reno's design overhaul for the film eliminates the somewhat sly and shady air he had in the original game. He still acts in a sly manner, but is far more lighthearted and playful.
In Final Fantasy VII Remake, Reno's depiction as a combination between his original Final Fantasy VII incarnation and Advent Children, being arrogant and confident in his abilities, while also showing a child-like demeanor and impatience, especially toward Cloud following their duel. He is a competent and professional individual, especially in battle.
Reno possesses a distinct speech pattern in Japanese, speaking in a drawling, slangy manner, and ending most of his sentences with zo to (ぞ, と), yo to (よ, と), or simply to (と). Tifa receives a phone call near the beginning of Advent Children, and, although the caller's voice is not heard, the audience understands it is from Reno, as Tifa jokingly replies, "Oboeteru, zo to" ("I remember you, yo"; "Yeah, I remember you" in the English dub). Speech patterns such as Reno's are impossible to translate directly into English and can only be approximated by attempting to capture the same "feeling" as the original, which the game's English translation and the movie did not attempt to do.
Abilities and rank
Reno wields an electro-mag rod in battle, a nightstick with a taser on one end. Reno is left-handed; even if he is occasionally seen holding his weapon in his right hand in promotional images, he only ever uses it left-handed in any media he has been depicted in. He can project magical pyramid-shaped traps that disable his opponents (although he only does that in one battle). Reno is a competent helicopter pilot.
In Final Fantasy VII Remake, Reno has lightning reflexes and speed, able to dart around and outmaneuver his opponents. He can concentrate energy on the tip of his electro-mag rod to shoot projectiles. He can combine his skills with Rude for an especially powerful blow.
In Before Crisis, Reno is considered third in the Turks' ranking, Tseng being second, and Veld first. After Veld's leaving, Tseng took up Veld's position as the Turks' leader, bumping Reno up to second in command. The Turks are the black ops and intel department of the Shinra Electric Power Company that controls the planet with their monopoly on mako energy.
Story
Combating Avalanche
Reno's portrait in Before Crisis.
Discovering that the eco-terrorist group Avalanche is intent on destroying the Sector 8 mako reactor, Reno is sent in to support the Player Turk of Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-. After saving them from several Avalanche soldiers, he sends the Player Turk into the reactor to prevent Avalanche from detonating their bomb. While guarding the entrance, Reno encounters Shears, the second in command of Avalanche, for the first time in combat. The Player Turk, who has prevented the bombing, returns to find Reno defeated and then loses to Shears as well. Reno and the Player Turk overpower the Avalanche lackeys that were there to finish the job and are ordered to withdraw to Junon where President Shinra is to hold a news conference. After hearing Avalanche's plans for an assassination, Tseng sends Reno and the Player Turk to protect the President.
While the pair reaches the President before the attack, the army standing guard prove ineffective against Avalanche's soldiers, who secure the President's hotel. As Reno stays with the President, the Player Turk clears the building before the President insists on leaving for the conference in spite of the danger. An Avalanche member throws a bomb at the President on their way to the conference room, missing him but separating Reno from the President and the Player Turk. Reno leaves to deal with the bomber. Later, just as Reno returns to help the Player Turk, the building's power is cut. Reno stays to guard the President, while the Player Turk is sent to turn the power back on. The scientist who is behind Avalanche's activities, Fuhito, arrives, but before Reno can fight him, the Player Turk returns. Reno asks them to act as a distraction so he can escape with the President. Fuhito defeats the Player Turk and it is revealed Avalanche has hijacked the Mako Cannon. As Reno returns the President to his quarters, the President sends Reno to liberate the cannon.
Elfe confronts the Player Turk.
With Avalanche intending to use the Mako Cannon to destroy Midgar as a message to Shinra, Reno leads a portion of Shinra troops against Avalanche's street forces as the Player Turk enters the cannon facility from an underground passageway. The Player Turk defeats the troops underground and, with the help of the First Class SOLDIER member Sephiroth from Shinra's elite military division, forces one of the three leaders of Avalanche, Elfe, to flee. Reno defeats the Avalanche street forces, but is the sole survivor.
With President Shinra dedicating SOLDIER to deal with Avalanche, the Turks are sent to locate new SOLDIER candidates. Reno, Rude and the Player Turk go on a "worldwide cruise" in search of potential fighters and after their final stop in Costa del Sol, the three return to the boat to transport said candidates to Midgar. Reno applauds the Player Turk's efforts, and tells them to keep working hard to surpass him. He heads to his room to take a nap, leaving Rude and the Player Turk to guard the candidates.
Reno, as seen in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-.
Following the theft of confidential documents from the 45th floor of the Shinra Building, Reno and Rude are sent to guard the room and search for clues to the missing files. An intruder sets off the alarm and sabotages the building's security system, meaning the Turks must defend themselves against it. While Shuriken (Female) looks into the sabotage, Reno and Rude continue their investigation. When Reno notices a bearded man in a lab coat watching them from the shadows, the pair chases after him, concluding the man had stolen the documents.
Reno and Rude split up to continue the pursuit. Reno jumps onto the elevator roof, but the access door is locked. He takes the stairs and clears out the floor of several malfunctioning security robots. He gets the elevator passcodes from the members of SOLDIER he comes across, but by the time he unlocks the elevator, the suspect has escaped the building. Veld calls and informs Reno that he is to pause the investigation and help stop the malfunctioning security robots, which have escaped onto the streets of Midgar and begun attacking civilians.
On the streets of Sector 8, Reno wipes out the robots in his assigned area and makes his way to LOVELESS Avenue, where he finds Cissnei cornered by two Genesis Copies. Tseng arrives to assist, along with newly promoted First Class SOLDIER Zack Fair, but Cissnei defeats the clones on her own. Reno, annoyed that SOLDIER always takes the spotlight, informs Zack that Sector 8 is the Turks' jurisdiction.
Continuing his hunt for rogue robots, Reno again spots the man in the lab coat. He calls Veld and asks for authorization to pursue the man, but Veld wonders if Reno is only after flashy jobs. Reno claims he only wants to finish his job for everyone's safety, and gains Veld's permission. Joined by Rude, they chase the man into the sewer system where robots that seem to take orders from the scientist attack them. Cornering the man, they discover he is Professor Hollander who used to work for Shinra, but two Genesis Copies appear from a hidden passage and Hollander escapes. Veld orders Reno and Rude to return to Sector 8 as SOLDIER has taken over the investigation of the stolen documents.
After a few months of usual missions, Reno and the Player Turk grow curious over Rude's unexplained disappearances after work. The Player Turk discovers he has been going on dates with a woman named Chelsea. Reno follows Rude to one of his dates to see the pair for himself. He notices Chelsea attempting to place a bug on Rude's phone while he uses the bathroom, but she ends up not following through. Reno follows her and discovers she is working with Avalanche. She claims to her superiors that she was unable to place a wire tap on Rude's phone, despite Reno noting she had plenty of time to do so. The next day, as Rude heads to another date, Reno tells him of his girlfriend's affiliations, but Rude already knew. The next day, the Player Turk and Reno find Rude alone at the Christmas tree in town. The Player Turk delivers a message from Chelsea to Rude of her having fallen in love with him but feeling too guilty for lying to continue dating him. Rude tries to hide his grief, but can't fool Reno, who suggests the three of them put this in the past and head back to Turks Headquarters.
Meanwhile, President Shinra is growing impatient to destroy Avalanche. Reno is ordered to gather information on Fuhito's new Ravens troops. The Player Turk is to gather new Turk candidates, to which Reno admits he is looking forward to the prospect of making new friends. After Veld is fired from his position as the head of the Turks, all the Turks are unhappy with working under Heidegger who deploys the majority of the Turks to Junon, as there have been reports of Avalanche movements there. Due to Heidegger's lack of communication, the Turks find themselves overwhelmed and confused. Reno makes his way to the airport, angry that Heidegger allowed so many casualties to happen. He runs into more Avalanche troops, and flees. After Veld blackmails President Shinra for his position back, he takes control of the situation. Reno retakes the airport control tower before calling the Player Turk and wishing them luck on their end.
Conflict with Shinra
After the Nibelheim Incident, Reno is called in to help gather survivors and bring them to Professor Hojo. He believes the work to be dirty even for a Turk, and refuses to take part.
Reno is among the four Turks sent to fight Avalanche at the Corel Reactor where Fuhito starts the countdown for the bomb placed within. The five, joined by Rufus Shinra, almost make it out, but the Player Turk is knocked into the depths of the reactor. Reno discovers them in critical condition and the Player Turk enters a four-year coma during which Shinra hunts the fugitives Zack and Cloud, two former members of Shinra's military who ended up becoming Professor Hojo's test subjects. Reno and the other Turks attempt a Priority-S retrieval mission, but fail to acquire Zack and Cloud before the Shinra military ambushes them. When the Player Turk awakes from their coma, Reno and Tseng inform them that Veld is still missing and that they have orders to kill him.
The Player Turk returns to work and heads to Cosmo Canyon with Reno for their first mission back to search for an elusive beast with a fiery tail for Professor Hojo, but Tseng asked Reno to visit somewhere first. The two go to speak with the elder Bugenhagen, who tells them Veld has also visited him, but he does not know his current whereabouts. Reno and the Player Turk leave and run into Avalanche Ravens. Reno stops the Player Turk from attacking as he doesn't want to harm any bystanders, instead suggesting the two lure the Ravens out into the mountains where they split up. After Reno beats the Ravens, he rejoins the Player Turk and finds they have subdued the beast they were sent to capture. Reno prepares to take it back to Shinra, but the Player Turk stops him and asks for the beast, Nanaki, to be spared, as he has an important ritual to partake in the next day. Reno agrees, as he can tell Nanaki is innocent.
Scarlet captures Veld who is taken to Midgar to be executed. Reno and the rest of the Turks agree to put their lives on the line by defying Shinra and saving Veld. Tseng strikes a deal with the President's son Rufus, discerns Veld's location, and enlists Reno and Rude to help him rescue their former chief. While Reno, Tseng and Rude free Veld, the Player Turk commandeers a helicopter to chase after Avalanche before they use the support materia to summon Zirconiade, the ultimate summon Fuhito was after since the start in his bid to destroy all mankind. Eventually Reno, Tseng, Rude, Veld and an awakened Elfe make their escape, but are cornered by the Shinra military.
Confronted with the offer that the Turks would be spared from capture and execution if Veld and Elfe are killed, Tseng turns his gun on the pair and pretends to kill them, horrifying Reno who wasn't privy to the deception. As Tseng leaves with Veld and Elfe's bodies, Reno helps the remaining Turks still fighting Zirconiade. He arrives just in time to witness the shockwave emitted from Zirconiade's destruction as it obliterates the construct on which the Turks were standing. Reno is devastated as he watches his comrades get caught in the explosion.
Afterward, Reno is one of Rufus's escorts as he interrupts the Shinra meeting on the fate of the Turks. After Rufus saves the Turks from being disbanded, he talks to the three remaining members—Reno, Rude, and Tseng—and asks for their loyalty to him in return. Tseng declares a new age for the remaining Turks, and the three are alerted of intruders in Mako Reactor 1.
Original continuity
Fighting the second incarnation of Avalanche
Reno comes to the Sector 5 slums church with soldiers to capture Aerith, who escapes with Cloud. He later sets up the bombs to blow up the Sector 7 pillar before being temporarily incapacitated from fighting Cloud, Barret, and Tifa.
Reno and the other Turks continue to pursue Cloud's group after they left Midgar to track down Sephiroth and stop him from destroying the planet with Meteor. Reno confronts Cloud's party outside of Gongaga with Rude to settle the score, but once again has to back down. Despite this rivalry, he is not beyond teaming up with Cloud and the others in Wutai, where both parties have a bone to pick with Don Corneo, the crimelord who who has taken Elena and Yuffie hostage. Despite company orders for Reno and Rude to track down Cloud and his group, Reno ignores the order because he is still on his day off. Reno and Rude can also be found observing the Sunken Gelnika.
Reno is encountered one last time when the Turks are in the Midgar subway tunnels after Diamond Weapon's raid on the city and Professor Hojo and other company executives have gone rogue. Reno says he is "not really up for" fighting, even though he and the others were ordered to terminate Cloud and his party; if the parties teamed up in Wutai, Cloud has the option of not fighting the Turks. Even if Avalanche does fight the Turks, they depart after the battle and are not seen again.
In Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII- it is revealed that during Meteorfall Reno oversees the evacuation of Sector 4 while Rude clears Sector 2 and Elena clears Sector 3. Moving to clear Sector 5 together with Tseng, the four are met by the previous Turks and Veld returning to assist in the evacuation of the citizens.
Geostigma crisis
Reno.
In Final Fantasy VII The Kids Are Alright: A Turks Side Story, it is revealed that Reno has spent the last two years residing in Healen Lodge alongside his colleagues and Rufus Shinra. He and Rude spend most of their time in the new city of Edge, building a monument of Meteor in the city center. They are tasked to track down Fabio Braun after he steals Geostigma medication from Healen Lodge, but mistakenly ransack Evan Townshend's home.
Rufus and the Turks later find out that Evan's mother, Annette, had once been the late President's secretary and mistress, and that Evan is one his illegitimate sons. Reno and Rude capture Evan and Kyrie and take them to Healen Lodge. Reno is excited about the meeting between two half-brothers, Evan and Rufus, but the meeting is interrupted when Fabio and his two partners-in-crime, Keough and Doyle, attack the lodge in an attempt to rescue Thropp. Evan bargains with the Turks for the thieves' freedom, and after threatening Rufus, the criminals are let go. Unlike the rest of his colleagues, Reno comes to take a liking to Evan and his partner, Kyrie.
Rufus sends the Turks on a mission to find Jenova. Much to Reno's disappointment, however, Tseng orders him to stay behind and finish the monument, instead taking Elena along for their mission while Rude is sent to Midgar's Sector 8 to repair a helicopter. Fabio and Keough attack Rude and attempt to steal the helicopter, but are killed.
Reno and Rude retrieve Evan in the Junon Area and take him to Under Junon to reunite with Kyrie. Tseng decides to use Evan and Kyrie in their search for Jenova, but the pair attempts to get away as they want nothing to do with the Turks after learning of Fabio's death. Reno scolds Elena after she recklessly shoots Evan in the shoulder, and as Evan gives up hope on ever finding his mother, Reno offers to get him to Nibelheim by helicopter. Tseng and Elena agree to take him and Kyrie while Reno and Rude stay in Junon and wait contact from their former colleagues.
Left behind, Reno and Rude run into Doyle and Leslie who are looking for Evan. They explain that Fabio tried to steal the helicopter because Dr. Drake told him there was something about Evan that needed urgent checking, and he'd refused to just ask for the helicopter because he blamed Shinra for his parents' deaths. Reno and Rude decide to try and find Evan, taking Doyle and Leslie along.
They arrive in Icicle Lodge and help their colleagues chase after Kadaj, a mysterious boy who is also looking for Jenova. While tracking him, Tseng orders his subordinates to open fire, but they hesitate in fear Evan might be struck. Kadaj finds Jenova in Evan's hands and attempts to grab it, but Evan kicks it into the lifestream, prompting Kadaj to jump in after it.
Later, in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Reno flies the Shinra helicopter over the North Crater where the Turks are in search of Jenova's head. He escapes when Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz interrupt their investigation, and Tseng and Elena are left behind. Reno attacks Cloud when he first arrives at the Healen Lodge, although this seems halfhearted; Reno possesses no true hostility towards his former enemies after Reeve Tuesti pardoned him for the destruction of Sector 7. Reno and Rude later find Cloud and Tifa unconscious in Aerith's church and bring them to 7th Heaven to recover and keep an eye on them.
Reno and Rude travel to Edge, where Loz and Yazoo are attempting to topple the monument in the center of the city in their search for Jenova. They dissuade the two remnants, but Kadaj calls Bahamut SIN to destroy the monument anyway. Reno escapes the blast with a pair of children, who are still under Jenova's influence, before engaging Yazoo in hand-to-hand combat.
After Cloud begins pursuing the remnants down the highway, Reno and Rude attempt to provide air support via helicopter, only to fail miserably. After Tseng and Elena pick them up, Reno sets an ambush near the opening of a tunnel with Rude. As soon as Cloud rushes by on his motorcycle, Reno drops a bomb. Loz, Yazoo, Rude, and Reno are all caught in the explosion, but survive. Afterward, Reno and Rude accompany the surviving members of Shinra, witnessing Rufus's Geostigma being healed.
Kyrie later calls Reno to invite Rufus to a belated birthday get-together for Evan.[3]
Remake continuity
Reno clashes with Cloud in the church.
Reno arrives to kidnap Aerith from her church, but finds her with Cloud who fights Reno to protect her. Reno orders the soldiers in his command to not hurt Aerith, telling them not to aim at her. Invisible ghosts and Aerith stop Cloud from killing him after he triumphs, and Reno develops a grudge against him. Cloud and Aerith escape through the roof while the ghosts secure their exit, and Reno alerts for his partner, Rude, to pursue Aerith instead.
Reno and Rude come to Sector 7 to separate the plate from the supporting pillar to crush the Avalanche hideout in the slums. Reno broadcasts a mock message that implicates Avalanche itself for the act of terror. Reno spots Cloud at the pillar, and makes him his target, but Rude hinders Reno#'s efforts after Tifa joins Cloud. Rude joins Reno in fighting this cell of Avalanche, but the two are defeated and Reno is knocked unconscious. Rude separates the plate and escapes with Reno on a Shinra medical helicopter before the plate falls.
An injured Reno in Shinra Building.
When Cloud, Barret and Tifa infiltrate the Shinra Building to rescue Aerith, Reno, Rude and Tseng spend time in the Turks' office when call comes in from Rufus. Reno and Rude's helicopter downs an Avalanche HQ helicopter that was sent to extract Barret's group, and drops Rufus off to the roof of the Shinra Building where he duels Cloud. After losing, Reno and Rude's helicopter takes him away.
Gameplay
Final Fantasy VII
Reno can be fought four times, but only two to three of these fights are set. The fight in Gelnika is optional. The fight at Midgar's Sector 8 can be optional if the player finished the Wutai side quest.
Final Fantasy VII Remake
Reno is fought twice: once in the church at the Sector 5 Slums right after Cloud meets Aerith again, and again at the Sector 7 Slums tower, alongside Rude. He is fast and uses lightning attacks. In the second encounter, he may trap the player's party inside pyramids and team up with Rude for a joint attack that is especially powerful.
Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-
Reno is fought in the Training Mode.
Other appearances
Reno has made appearances in the following canon works:
- Last Order -Final Fantasy VII-.
- Final Fantasy VII G-Bike as an assist character.
He has made appearances in the following series games:
- Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia as a playable character.
- Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call as an enemy.
- Pictlogica Final Fantasy as a player character.
- Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade as an ally and a summonable Legend.
- Final Fantasy Artniks as a series of cards.
- Final Fantasy Record Keeper as a playable character.
- Final Fantasy World Wide Words.
- Final Fantasy Trading Card Game as a series of cards.
Behind the scenes
During production of Advent Children, the film's staff were constantly tweaking Reno's movements and clothing to properly convey his attitude and personality, as he is a more energetic and excitable character compared to the rest of the cast. Director Tetsuya Nomura had a clear vision of how Reno should sound, and when he explained it to voice director Yoji Shimizu, Shimizu contacted Keiji Fujiwara, who had precisely the voice Nomura wanted. As Fujiwara recorded his lines, his mouth was video taped and superimposed on footage of Reno to make him feel closer to the character. Fujiwara and the film staff both noted there was a lot of pressure to make Reno look and sound good due to his popularity from the original game.[citation needed]
Voice
Reno is voiced by Keiji Fujiwara in Japanese. He shares his Japanese voice actor with Izana Kunagiri from Final Fantasy Type-0 as well as Ardyn Izunia from Final Fantasy XV, Ciggma Khint from Bravely Default and Axel/Lea from the Kingdom Hearts series. Fujiwara passed away at the age of 55 on April 12, 2020, two days after the release of Final Fantasy VII Remake, due to cancer.[4]
Reno is voiced in English by Quinton Flynn, who also voiced Isaaru from Final Fantasy X and Axel/Lea from the Kingdom Hearts series. Reno shares many similarities with the character Axel/Lea; they both have spiky red hair, facial markings near the eyes, similar personalities and the same voice actors in the English, French, Spanish, German, and Japanese versions of their games.
Merchandise
Reno is the only minor character from Final Fantasy VII to have a Play Arts figure.
Gallery
Etymology
Reno's name is depicted as "Leno" in early Japanese publications, such as Final Fantasy VII Official Establishment File[1], which include name romanizations. Leno is a Latin word meaning "pimp" or "seducer".
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Final Fantasy VII Official Establishment File, p.56
- ↑ Final Fantasy VII Remake Ultimania p.052
- ↑ The epilogue of Final Fantasy VII The Kids Are Alright: A Turks Side Story
- ↑ Keiji Fujiwara, Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts voice actor, has died (Accessed: April 16, 2020) at Shacknews