Nibel Reactor

Nibel Reactor is a mako reactor on top of Mt. Nibel owned by the Shinra Electric Power Company, and was particularly infamous for its role in the Nibelheim Incident that resulted in Sephiroth losing his sanity. It is visited in Final Fantasy VII in a flashback and during the party's route through Mt. Nibel to reach Rocket Town, and is seen in Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-, Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, Last Order -Final Fantasy VII-, and Final Fantasy VII remake project.

History[]

Before Final Fantasy VII[]

Five years prior to the events of Final Fantasy VII (depicted in Final Fantasy VII during "The Tragedy of Five Years Ago", in Crisis Core during chapter 8, in Rebirth in "Fall of a Hero", and other media), Sephiroth, Zack Fair, and several Shinra troops—including Cloud Strife—were sent to Nibelheim to investigate the local reactor. After Tifa Lockhart guided them through the mountain, she was forbidden entry due to not being affiliated with Shinra. Inside was a sealed chamber with the text "Jenova" above the door. Sephiroth deduced the reactor was malfunctioning due to a broken section in the mako purification tanks, as Professor Hojo had placed several makonoids—human test subjects mutated into monsters by the mako—in the tanks.

Troubled by the idea that he could have been created by the same process as the beings in the tanks, as well as Shinra defector Genesis Rhapsodos explaining that Sephiroth was "Shinra's perfect monster", Sephiroth returned to Nibelheim to investigate.^[1] For several sleepless days he stayed in Shinra Manor's basement to read on the Jenova Project. Sephiroth was driven mad by the findings and razed Nibelheim before returning to Mt. Nibel to claim Jenova's remains.

JenovaDoll-ffvii-fmv — Sephiroth reveals Jenova.

Tifa chased after him with a newfound hatred for SOLDIER and Shinra, but was easily cut down. Zack battled Sephiroth, but was defeated. Cloud, having followed Zack and Tifa, defeated Sephiroth and flung him into the lifestream below the reactor. The collapsed Zack and Cloud were claimed by Shinra and used as test subjects, but before Shinra's arrival Tifa's teacher, Zangan, took Tifa away to Midgar to recover.

Original continuity[]

During the events of Final Fantasy VII in "Unnatural Hometown", Cloud Strife and his party crossed Mt. Nibel during their worldwide pursuit of Sephiroth, but Jenova had been moved away from the Nibel Reactor. At some point, Shinra collected a blue Huge Materia from the Nibel Reactor, and loaded it up loaded it up in the Shinra No. 26 rocket.^{[note 1]}

Remake continuity[]

During "The Long Shadow of Shinra" in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie visited Nibel Reactor on a quest to gain clearance for Cait Sith to use the terminal in Shinra Manor. They were looking for Moroha Murasaki, the Deputy Commissioner of the Shinra forces overseeing the mako poisoning clinic in Nibelheim. They found him dead, alongside numerous Wutaian ninjas and other Shinra security officers, deducting that Wutai had attacked the reactor despite the nation's supposed ceasefire deal with Shinra. The sight of carnage upset the party, Yuffie because she is a ninja from Wutai and had not been told of any such mission; and Tifa and Cloud experienced flashbacks to the events at the reactor five years prior. The party nabbed Murasaki's keycard and headed back down the mountain.

Geography[]

Located atop Mt. Nibel and reached by a long bridge, the Nibel Reactor is a relatively small and difficult-to-reach mako reactor. With heavy use of cogs, chains, and valves, the reactor appears more outdated than Midgar's reactors (such as Mako Reactor 1), though it is unique in containing the pods with several makonoids inside and the Jenova containment chamber.

The Nibel Reactor is one of the few draws of Nibelheim (along with Shinra Manor), as it is noted that a reactor outside Midgar usually denotes that is the town's only attraction.^[2]

Gameplay[]

Final Fantasy VII[]

Nibel Reactor interior in Final Fantasy VII.

Main article: Mt. Nibel (Final Fantasy VII field)

The Nibel Reactor is visited twice in Final Fantasy VII. The first time is during the chapter "The Tragedy of Five Years Ago", where the young Cloud passes through in a party with Sephiroth to investigate the reactor. A few key story scenes occur in the reactor, but there is little of gameplay relevance, and the battles here are inconsequential.

The second time the reactor is visited is in "Unnatural Hometown", where it has little story relevance and is an entirely optional visit. Here, the party must pass through Mt. Nibel in pursuit of Sephiroth, but can stop at the reactor on the way. The enemies encountered are somewhat more varied, though many enemy types reappear from the flashback.

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-[]

The Nibel Reactor is visited very briefly in chapter 8, in a much smaller capacity than in Final Fantasy VII. In it, Zack and Sephiroth first explore the reactor for a cutscene, and Zack later confronts Sephiroth there. The reactor is where Zack fights Sephiroth at the climax of the chapter.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth[]

The Nibel Reactor is visited in chapter 1, "Fall of a Hero", during Cloud's recollection of the Nibelheim Incident, and in chapter 11, "The Long Shadow of Shinra".

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Musical themes[]

"Mako Reactor" from Final Fantasy VII

"Mako Reactor" (魔晄炉, Makō Ro?), the typical theme inside of reactors, plays when inside it during both the flashback and the present day.

In Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, "Pipes and Steel (from LAST ORDER FFVII)" plays.

Other appearances[]

Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade[]

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