The Destruction of Mako Reactor 1

Chapter 1: The Destruction of Mako Reactor 1 is the first chapter in Final Fantasy VII Remake, taking place in Mako Reactor 1. The chapter comprises the events at the beginning of the game, as Cloud Strife is hired to help Avalanche, a group led by Barret Wallace, to destroy the Mako Reactor 1, ran by the Shinra Electric Power Company. The two must reach the core to destroy the reactor, and then flee before the bomb detonates.
This sequence is the subject of the entirety of the playable portion of Final Fantasy VII Remake Demo.
Completing the chapter will unlock the bronze trophy Onetime Gig.
==Story==
A black crow flies into Midgar, as people admire the nighttime mako reactors. A flower peddler, who is observing a shiny light emanating from a pipe, realizes something is wrong as she runs away from an alleyway. She bumps into a man and drops a few flowers, and tries to pick them back up. Another man steps on one and she looks at the dead flower.
A train approaches Mako Reactor 1 with a blond-haired man riding on top. The train pulls in at the station with the Shinra security guards on watch duty. A guard realizes something is wrong as he aims his gun at the train looking for intruders. Biggs chokes him, with Jessie knocking him unconscious. Wedge and Barret jump off the train, with the latter giving Biggs, Jessie, and Wedge the signal to move ahead. He tells the blond mercenary to get moving as well, who puts his buster sword behind his back. Two Shinra soldiers arrive as Barret directs the merc to fight them. The merc continues to draw the soldiers' attention inside the station so that Barret and the others can get past.
Outside the station the merc finds Jessie and Biggs trying to unlock a gate into the reactor. Jessie praises the merc while wondering if he is part of their group now. Biggs says the merc's name is Cloud Strife and that he isn't a SOLDIER anymore, but is a professional compared to them. Wedge gives Cloud a thumbs up, but Cloud tells him this is a one time deal; once they are done with the mission, he is done. Wedge doesn't think anyone would do such crazy thing just for money. Jessie unlocks the gate and she and Biggs head in. Barret tells Wedge to get moving and tells Cloud he better be worth the money. Cloud continues to draw Shinra's attention while Barret and the others advance. Near the entrance of the reactor, Barret tells Wedge to secure an escape route while the others will infiltrate the reactor.
Once inside, Barret comments on how SOLDIER members attack on command and make good guard dogs. He asks Cloud how to get to the bridge above mako storage, since Cloud used to work for Shinra and has seen a few reactors. Cloud does not answer, enraging Barret who compares him to Stamp, wondering if Cloud is a loyal dog to the company. Cloud experiences a headache as Barret claims they can do the mission with or without him. Cloud explains each reactor's layout depends on when it was built, as Biggs unlocks the gate into the reactor. When Cloud heads inside a group of soldiers locks him inside. Cloud defeats them and reopens the door so that Barret, Biggs and Jessie can get through. Biggs stays behind, while Jessie opens another door that leads to the elevator by entering the password provided by someone she knows. Jessie tells Cloud to press the elevator button, and asks him about Tifa and if they are close. Cloud flashes back to a young Tifa asking if Cloud is ignoring her. Just as Cloud is about to answer, the elevator door opens, with Barret pushing Cloud and Jessie aside and heads in. 
As the trio rides the elevator, Heidegger and President Shinra make note of their presence, watching them through security cameras. They recognize Avalanche as the group that made an attempt on the president's life recently. Unaware they are being observed, Barret explains to Cloud and Jessie how the reactor is sucking up mako, the lifeblood of the planet. He claims to hear the planet yelling in pain, with Cloud telling him to "get help". Barret gets mad with the elevator stopping. Cloud tells Barret to worry about the planet and save the screaming for later.
The group arrives at Utility Access where Barret says their lives are on the line now, and that if Cloud makes a false move, he will kill him. Jessie says there are places a sword can't reach and tells Cloud to keep an eye on Barret. Cloud sighs, lamenting that he should've asked for more money. Cloud and Barret team up and get past the laser security system thanks to Jessie. Barret asks how old Cloud is, but the latter is confused and answers that he was a First Class SOLDIER. Barret mocks Cloud by saying that he is a one-year-old. Jessie tells Cloud to set the bomb at the core as she stays behind. Barret and Cloud reach the bottom where Barret tells Cloud to do the honors and prove to be the man Tifa said he was. Cloud grabs the bomb and places it on the reactor core, but suffers a headache and spots black feather drop on the floor, which disappears. Cloud tells Barret that he is fine and asks about the timer. He can set it to twenty or thirty minutes. Once the timer is set, Cloud is about to activate it before he realizes that something is about to attack them. Barret accuses Cloud of betraying him as the Scorpion Sentinel arrives. The two defeat it, and the robot explodes and activates the timer.
As Cloud and Barret escape, a pipe falls and destroys the walkway, separating Cloud and Barret and dropping rubble on Jessie's leg, trapping her. Cloud hangs on from the pipe and rescues her. Barret tells Jessie and Cloud to meet up at the entrance that leads to the reactor core. Once united, Barret tells Jessie to move on ahead as he and Cloud defeat the Shinra forces trying to stop the group from leaving. Cloud and Barret make it to the elevator in time before the bomb detonates.
The bomb disables the reactor. However, from orders by President Shinra, the reactor's Sentry Rays and sweepers fire on the core further, causing more devastation and a far greater explosion. Barret feels the explosion during the elevator ride. Jessie opens a door as she and others begin to run, but again are hit by falling debris. Cloud helps her up as they continue to run. The bridge to the mako storage collapses, but Cloud makes it back up before it falls. Jessie praises him as they catch up with the others. As Avalanche flees the scene, the explosion causes massive destruction and power goes out in the entire sector of the city.
==Quests==
*Enter the Reactor Grounds
*Infiltrate the Reactor
*Follow Barret
*Breach Security
*Reach Mako Storage
*Follow Jessie
*Set the Charge
*Escape from the Reactor
*Rendezvous with Barret
*Sprint to Safety
"The Destruction of Mako Reactor 1" comprises ten quests, all of which take place in Mako Reactor 1. The player controls Cloud Strife for the majority of these quests, but Barret Wallace joins from the quest "Breach Security" and onwards. The quests all pertain to destroying and fleeing Mako Reactor 1, and are generally linear quests with combat encounters. At the end of "Set the Charge", a boss battle takes place against Scorpion Sentinel.
The chapter does not contain any sidequests.
Category:Chapters in Final Fantasy VII Remake