SOLDIER

SOLDIER is the elite fighting force of the Shinra Electric Power Company in the Final Fantasy VII universe. Its members are advanced super-soldiers with superhuman strength, speed, and agility. Much stronger than the Shinra Peacekeeping Troops and the Turks, Shinra deploys SOLDIER for special missions that require the greatest use of strength.
==Overview==
SOLDIER members are divided in three classes: 1st Class, 2nd Class, and 3rd Class. 1st Class SOLDIERs deploy for the most important (and usually most dangerous) missions, while 2nd and 3rd Classes mostly assist Shinra Troops or 1st Class SOLDIERs, or are in charge of less important missions. New units are recruited as 3rd Class and the best are promoted to 2nd Class, and only distinguished 2nd Class SOLDIERs reach 1st Class.
1st Class SOLDIERs are given special privileges, such as the use of personal items, clothing, and equipment, as well as the right to deny orders assuming any responsibilities from their decisions. According to the Crisis Core Complete Guide SOLDIERs in and of themselves are Shinra industrial secrets, and to prevent information from leaking outside company walls, it is difficult for SOLDIER members to retire, and even if they are allowed to quit Shinra, the company will monitor their subsequent actions. Even if people believe they have evaded surveillance, Shinra will follow them for the remainder of their lives, and, in a worst case scenario, the company will have them killed.
Children around the planet dream of joining SOLDIER and becoming 1st Class like the hero Sephiroth. To further boost the organization's popularity, and for use as a propaganda tool, Shinra has created fan clubs for many of the 1st Class SOLDIERs.
SOLDIER operatives are easily recognizable by the "glow" their eyes take after being enhanced by mako. According to President Shinra in the Final Fantasy VII Remake, the mako infusion process SOLDIER candidates undergo greatly reduces their lifespan due to accelerating cellular degradation, claiming it being their leading cause of death. Though such information is classified, President Shinra states all SOLDIERs know the truth. Its for this reason many have stated that being a SOLDIER isn't a job, for "once a SOLDIER, always a SOLDIER" as some have said. Once the degradation sets in, the SOLDIER becomes little more than a wandering husk, moaning and groaning in pain, as they traverse the land with no thought to their own well-being. Independent doctors who treat such patients merely believe that the SOLDIERS are suffering from mako poisoning, due to the infusion process that enhanced them but those who have been treated by Professor Hojo using Jenova cells, degraded at a much faster rate and became extensions of Sephiroth himself. 
==Notable members==
*Sephiroth: Known as Shinra's greatest SOLDIER who wields the Masamune with ease, moves incredibly fast, has unbelievable strength, and is deployed to only the most dangerous and important assignments. He abandons SOLDIER and Shinra upon discovering the experiments that created him.
*Genesis Rhapsodos: A 1st Class SOLDIER who envies Sephiroth's fame and status and wishes to surpass him. Genesis abandons Shinra, taking with him many other SOLDIER members to create an army of "Genesis copies". He wields the rapier and uses powerful magic that can hinder even Sephiroth.
*Angeal Hewley: A noble and honorable 1st Class SOLDIER who puts his dreams and honor above all. He is best friends with Genesis and Sephiroth and forced to choose between his SOLDIER honor and his friendship. He wields the Buster Sword as well as the classic SOLDIER broadsword and also fights hand-to-hand with ease.
*Zack Fair: Angeal's dedicated follower and friend. Zack knows little at first of the dark secrets behind Shinra. At the start of Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Zack is a 2nd Class SOLDIER member, and is eventually promoted to 1st. He obtains the Buster Sword from Angeal and is subject to Professor Hojo's experiments following the Nibelheim Incident.
*Kunsel: A 2nd Class SOLDIER member who is best friends with Zack. He is a helpful source of information, and seems to know more than anyone about the workings of Shinra and the actions of other SOLDIER members.
*Luxiere: A 2nd Class SOLDIER member who looks up to Zack as an idol, even suggesting he should take over control of SOLDIER.
*Goulde Aarde: A 2nd Class SOLDIER who went missing before Meteor. He eventually moved to Nibelheim, where he is in charge of the town's security. He only appears in Final Fantasy VII The Kids Are Alright: A Turks Side Story.
*Roche: A reckless 3rd Class SOLDIER member who pursues Cloud in Sector 7, who loves bikes and speed.
*Broden: A former SOLDIER member, now an innkeeper in Kalm.
*Nero the Sable and Weiss the Immaculate: The two brothers show up at the end of Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- wearing 1st Class SOLDIER outfits, but despite Deepground being part of SOLDIER, it is unknown whether they are truly members because their belts have a different symbol.
*Essai and Sebastian: Two members of SOLDIER appearing in Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-. Fuhito experiments on them and they must be eliminated with some help from Zack. A scene on the DMW in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- for Tseng shows him and Zack walking up to a memorial for the two near Modeoheim; both their swords are stuck into the ground, crossing over each other.
*Recall Missions 3rd Class SOLDIER: Zack first encounters this SOLDIER being berated by his superior and he considers quitting. With some support (and a lot of help) from Zack he finds his courage to stay and even rises in rank.
*Spy-Hunting 2nd Class SOLDIER: This SOLDIER spends most of his time in the streets of Midgar hunting for Wutai spies who seek to strike back against Shinra in the wake of the Wutai War. He gains tips from an unknown source and shares the information with Zack, who helps him capture the spies and rout their bases.
*Restrictors: Four specially picked members of SOLDIER trained through the methods of Deepground who comprise the confidential 14th Unit, Lost Force. They were generals who enacted the orders of President Shinra and maintained rigid order among Deepground.
*13th Unit Ragnarok: Once SOLDIER's most decorated and strongest force, hailed as the strongest in the world. Discovering the experiments and purpose of Deepground, they reacted in revulsion and were wiped out by the Lost Force.
*Glenn Lodbrok, Lucia Lin, and Matt Winsord: Three members of the P0 SOLDIER class. The P0 or "passive"-type class was an early model of SOLDIER, later replaced by enhanced "active"-type SOLDIERs. Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis includes an adaptation of The First Soldier, which follows the trio as they work alongside a young Sephiroth.
==Profile==
===Equipment===
SOLDIER members are equipped with a set of combat fatigues colored to distinguish rank, though the highest ranking members forgo this formality. The SOLDIER outfits are composed of sleeveless turtle-neck sweaters or full body suits, and baggy pants with leather accents that hold their armor and weapon in place when not in use. In Final Fantasy VII they are blue for 3rd Class, red for 2nd Class, and purple for 1st Class. Members wear body armor on the chest, head, and shoulders, and wield wide two-handed swords along with several types of materia and extra weapons, depending on class. They also wear a belt with the logo as the buckle.
In Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, SOLDIER members have slightly different uniforms. 1st Class traditionally wears black (although Sephiroth and Genesis modify their uniforms by wearing long coats, Genesis's being red), and do not wear the helmets other SOLDIER members wear. Unlike 2nd and 3rd Class, 1st Class SOLDIER members are given the privilege to choose whether to wear their own clothes instead of standard 1st Class uniforms. 2nd Class wears a purple uniform, and 3rd Class wears light blue uniforms. Their chest armor has disappeared, and the only torso-covering they have over their sleeveless turtle-necks is a leather belt-like wrapping with a new version of the SOLDIER logo embedded on the front that covers the lower stomach.
Zack Fair wears neither red nor purple but rather a dark blue, nor does he wear a helmet. The "SOLDIER Sword" is a longsword with a curved guard and a small SOLDIER logo engraved in the middle. It is the default weapon for 3rd and 2nd Class members, but most known 1st Classes use their own swords.
Although members of SOLDIER are shown to use swords, in Final Fantasy VII the SOLDIER enemies look as if they are wielding lances (although this could be a graphical limitation, as they are depicted with swords in concept art ).
In Final Fantasy VII Remake, the SOLDIER uniform now covers the entire body (including the face, with a black mask over their nose and mouth) and has a more "military" aspect to it. Roche has a red Shinra model motorcycle, and more SOLDIER operatives later drive green variants of this bike model on the Midgar Expressway. Cloud mentions that all SOLDIER members train riding motorbikes. 
SOLDIER 1ST FF7.png|SOLDIER, 1st Class (original).
SOLDIER 2ND FF7.png|SOLDIER, 2nd Class (original).
SOLDIER 3RD FF7.png|SOLDIER, 3rd Class (original).
3-C SOLDIER Operator from FFVII Remake render.png|3-C SOLDIER Operator (remake)
Angeal Hewley from Crisis Core Reunion promo render.png|Angeal Hewley: SOLDIER, 1st Class, in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-.
SOLDIER-ccvii-2nd.png|Model of 2nd Class SOLDIER from Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-.
SOLDIER-ccvii-3rd.png|Model of 3rd Class SOLDIER from Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-.
Roche FFVII Remake render.png|Roche, 3rd Class, from Final Fantasy VII Remake.
===Techniques===
In Final Fantasy VII, Cloud and his party encounter all three ranks of SOLDIER as enemies, who engage them with the following:
* 3rd Class SOLDIERs are armed with a flying sickle and equipped with Sleepel Materia as well as level 2 Bolt and Ice Materia.
* 2nd Class SOLDIERs use no Materia, but employ a technique known as the Sword of Doom that combines a physical attack with a Braver-like move.
* 1st Class SOLDIERs also employ the Sword of Doom technique, and are equipped with Silence Materia.
It is likely that SOLDIER equipment is situational. According to Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- SOLDIER members acquire Materia on missions, and get new equipment from the company through a hatch on the SOLDIER Floor.
1st Class privileges informally include the use of personal equipment, the use of rationed supplies outside of missions, and the right to veto orders. 1st Class SOLDIER members also have the option to fuse materia to obtain more powerful magic and abilities.
Regardless of rank, due to their treatment, genetic reinforcement, and Mako infusion, all SOLDIERs can use gathered external mako that accumulates in their bodies, which is shown in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- to be a catalyst for Materia Fusion and used for unleashing Limit Breaks. This power is measured in a statistic called SOLDIER Points.
Final Fantasy VII and Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- present wildly different versions of how SOLDIER is organized and how they are equipped. It is possible that with the loss of personnel, including their four most powerful members, Shinra has reorganized SOLDIER. The uniforms and standard equipment could have been changed, explaining the differences, and with the weaker and more abundant members, SOLDIER becomes less of an elite operative based organization, but more of a force that serves as elite guards and shock troops. The lack of any notable SOLDIER members in Final Fantasy VII who still serve Shinra could be evidence of this.
In Final Fantasy VII Remake, there are still prominent SOLDIERs, such as Roche and Kunsel, serving Shinra during the second Avalanche conflict. The party also meets 3rd Class SOLDIERs protecting the Shinra Building. They can use magic in the form of Thunder, Blizzard and Sleep, as well two special attacks: Plunge (a Braver-like move) and Vacuum Wave (a projectile akin to Flying Sickle in the original game). They are agile enough to completely dodge physical attacks, nullifying its damage.
==Story==
===Creation===
30 years before the beginning of Final Fantasy VII, President Shinra approved of Project: 0, a program to create an elite fighting force by selecting candidates from the best of the best within the Shinra Security Forces using VR war games. At approximately the same time the Jenova Project was initiated to produce a human-Cetra hybrid using the cells from Jenova (mistaken to be a Cetra) and Mako Energy from the planet.
Roughly eight years later Project: 0 concluded, producing the first generation of SOLDIERs, believed to be the pinnacle of natural human ability. Simultaneously the Jenova Project resulted in the birth of Sephiroth, a child who, while not having the powers of a Cetra as originally intended, was nonetheless gifted with exceptional abilities. Shinra recognized his potential and a method was planned to mass produce more fighters of his type.
Using similar processes, Shinra exposed promising warriors to raw mako, giving their eyes a characteristic glow and granting them heightened physical abilities and improved affinity with materia. Though still eclipsed by Sephiroth, the new warriors, dubbed active-model SOLDIERs, gained powers far surpassing those of any normal combatant. Within a few years the original unmodified generation, dubbed passive-model SOLDIERs and given the P0 Class designation, were considered obsolete and expendable.
Although the Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Omega posits that Sephiroth was "the first to be a SOLDIER", the timeline suggests various elements of SOLDIER were already in place before his birth, such as Deepground that originally existed as a medical facility for SOLDIER, and the same Ultimania Omega that labeled Sephiroth as the "first to be SOLDIER" also mentions Shinra having deployed SOLDIER before the Jenova Project (whose members were showered in mako to strengthen them). Other official material, such as Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary Ultimania File 2: Scenario, posits that SOLDIER was introduced in the Wutai War. Final Fantasy VII The First Soldier and Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis clarify that there were two competing projects within the SOLDIER program, with Project: 0 producing a generation of SOLDIERs that, while considered the pinnacle of pure human strength, would be made obsolete by the scientifically enhanced SOLDIERs produced under Hojo's direction, with Sephiroth being the first.
===Avalanche===
During the battles with the first Avalanche in Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-, data on SOLDIER operatives is stolen. Fuhito, expanding on the SOLDIER idea, creates his own brand of super soldiers, the Ravens, who are without will and mere mindless killing machines. Using the SOLDIER data, Avalanche predicts SOLDIER movements and captures several members to transform into Ravens. SOLDIER never successfully defeats Avalanche with most of the battles being fought by the Turks.
===Mass desertion===
Headed by the SOLDIER Union Executive, Lazard Deusericus, at the time of Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, SOLDIER acts from the Floor 49 of the Shinra Building that contains a training room, briefing room, and lounge area for off-duty members. Materia fusion is available for its members, as the room where materia is made from crystallized mako stones is also on the SOLDIER Floor.
Many 2nd and 3rd Class SOLDIERs disappear along with 1st class SOLDIER Genesis Rhapsodos. Shortly after Angeal Hewley, also product of the Jenova Project like Sephiroth and Genesis, leaves the organization. Angeal was the SOLDIER's emotional heart, acting as a mentor to the younger members inspiring them to hold on to their "SOLDIER honor." Once the two are gone, Zack Fair, Angeal's protégé, is promoted to 1st Class and takes up Angeal's role as the heart of SOLDIER. Later Lazard defects to join Genesis in causing chaos across the planet.
Zack and Sephiroth are sent to Nibelheim to fix the local mako reactor, and during the mission a series of events results in Sephiroth denouncing his humanity and destroying the town. After Sephiroth defeats Zack, a young Shinra guard, Cloud Strife, hurls him into the mako pit below the reactor. Professor Hojo takes Zack and Cloud and the rest of Nibelheim's survivors (except for Tifa, who was rescued by Zangan before Shinra arrived) as test subjects in the next round of experiments in the Jenova Project. Though Zack later escapes, taking a mako-poisoned Cloud with him, the Shinra army guns him down before he reaches his destination.
===The fall of SOLDIER===
In Final Fantasy VII, while SOLDIER itself plays an important role, actual members are few and far between. This could be attributed to the loss of personnel after the mass desertion, the disappearance of the director of SOLDIER, and the loss of SOLDIER's four most prominent members. The appearances of SOLDIER members are limited to the 3rd Class members guarding the Shinra Science Department area on floors 68 and 69 of the Shinra Building, 2nd Class members stationed in Junon after Meteor is summoned, and 1st Class members guarding the Sister Ray in Midgar.
In Final Fantasy VII Remake, Professor Hojo reveals that "G Type" SOLDIERs are still around, suggesting that not all of them succumbed to the degradation of their bodies, or possibly alluding to the Deepground SOLDIER operatives, particularly the Tsviets, who were infused with Genesis's purified cells after his return.
Cloud claims to have been a member, but this is a false memory created by the psychological damage Hojo's experiments caused him, subsequent Sephiroth Cell infusions quite possibly transferring Zack's experiences onto his psyche through their link shared via Jenova, as well as the trauma experienced from his hometown's destruction and subsequent death of his friend, Zack. Even though Cloud was never a member of SOLDIER, he becomes strong enough to be mistaken for a 1st Class member. Due to the effects of being a test subject, Cloud's eyes have the "glow" that makes people believe he is a former member.
After Shinra collapses SOLDIER seems to have fallen with it. However, during the events of Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-, Vincent Valentine encounters remnants of SOLDIER hiding out in the Shinra Mansion and the Midgar ruins.
==Deepground==
Deepground is a top-secret military and experimentation group that started as a medical division to attend to wounded SOLDIERs, and later became an experimentation ground for more extreme experiments involving the subjects of the Jenova Project. Located beneath Midgar in Sector 0, its existence is known only to President Shinra, as well as executives Scarlet, Heidegger, and Professor Hojo.
In contrast to the SOLDIER program, different Deepground soldiers are subjected to different experiments for their creation, rather than the set procedure that produces normal SOLDIER members. Their attire is different, bearing the original SOLDIER logo from Final Fantasy VII, while normal SOLDIER members use a new logo in the Compilation.
==Other appearances==
===Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII===
Lightning can equip the SOLDIER 1st Class uniform as part of "Final Fantasy legacy" equippable garbs. Lightning is thus the only female ever depicted wearing the SOLDIER uniform in any official media.
===Final Fantasy Record Keeper===
SOLDIER 3rd class appears as an enemy.
===Final Fantasy Artniks===
A member of SOLDIER appears as a character card.
CCFF7 Soldier F Artniks.png|A Rank N SOLDIER 3rd Class card.
===Final Fantasy Trading Card Game===
Lightning's SOLDIER garb from Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII and a SOLDIER 3rd Class from Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- appear with Fire-elemental cards.
Lightning5 PR TCG.png|Trading card of Lightning's SOLDIER garb.
4-010C.jpg|Trading card of SOLDIER 3rd Class.
==Non-Final Fantasy guest appearances==
===Kingdom Hearts series===
SOLDIER is alluded to through Cloud and Zack. Cloud's journal entry mentions him as a SOLDIER, and Zack features the SOLDIER logo on his sword and belt. The sword he wields is based on the sword he uses in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- before he receives the Buster Sword, which is the standard issue weapon in SOLDIER.
==Behind the scenes==
===Scrapped story ideas===
Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Omega reveals details of the early ideas the development team had for SOLDIER. SOLDIER were originally intended as warriors bathed in mako energy who could use magic. In the early drafts SOLDIER was used to suppress oppression against the construction of mako reactors. The planet's original history told of a war between two nations that dragged on due to the countries being equally strong, which was when SOLDIER was formed.
Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Omega sheds some light in the SOLDIER's tough screening program: selected from the army or civilian population, the candidates had to undergo many examinations. Finally, at the training facility, in addition to training the candidates were exposed to mako energy and only a handful graduated. Many became physically and mentally ill and dropped out, but this was concealed by disguising the loss in an extraordinary number of accidental deaths and suicides. Some people, though, managed to escape.
The SOLDIER operatives who were sent to the war were an elite few, and the guerilla warfare shifted the advantage to the nation on Shinra's side. SOLDIER's activities were broadcast in detail and the people began to view SOLDIER as heroes. After the war SOLDIER turned towards "maintaining the peace," which included the suppression of rebel elements. At this time people viewed the government as worthless; they trusted only Shinra to protect them. This was how the government fell under Shinra's power.
Exposure to mako energy had more visible symptoms in the early story drafts: Those bathed in mako would gain superhuman strength, and their dormant "Jenova" element would become easier to awaken. However, as the energy would run out the subject would suffer mental damage, such as rapid weakness, anxiety, fear, and loneliness. Shinra was aware of Mako's addictiveness and that overexposure would turn people into monsters, yet the company would continue infusing SOLDIER members with mako.
Many of these original ideas were not used in the game.
===Miscellanea===
Though Sephiroth wears unique attire in the final game, tn early character drafts, he is depicted using the default SOLDIER turtleneck sweater and baggy pants under his coat.
SOLDIER has only been seen with male operatives. It is not known if SOLDIER in its entirety is male orientated, but Deepground, which began as a medical division of SOLDIER, has several female members. In Final Fantasy VII, Cloud and Aerith joke about the Turks pursuing her to recruit her for SOLDIER.
In Junon during Final Fantasy VII the player can talk to an old man in the top floor of a shop who remarks he used to be in SOLDIER. It is unknown what rank or member he was, but later in the game he starts to wear a cape, similar to Sephiroth-clones, stating that he got a sudden urge to dress that way. This hints at SOLDIER members being given Jenova cells as well as mako infusion. In Final Fantasy VII Remake, the kids in the Sector 5 slums mention that the ill robed man that has wandered there used to be a SOLDIER.
The concept of SOLDIER is similar to the Magitek Knights of Final Fantasy VI: both require candidates to have genetic infusions (mako for SOLDIER and magitek for the Magitek Knights) that will enhance their combat capabilities, and the main protagonists are initially believed to be of their ranks. The main antagonists of both games were the progenitors of their respective classes, being born from genetic experiments to create a person with superhuman powers. In Final Fantasy VII Remake, SOLDIERs being the result of human experimentation was contested for ratings purposes, but the developers pushed for this plot point to be kept in.
==Merchandise==
A SOLDIER logo keyring was released as Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- merchandise.
==Gallery==
BC SOLDIER 1.jpg|SOLDIER in Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-.
BC SOLDIER Raven 1.jpg|Corrupted SOLDIER in Before Crisis.
ZackSOLDIERs.jpg|Zack and SOLDIER troops in Before Crisis.
SOLDIER 3rd Class.JPG|Artwork of SOLDIER 3rd Class from Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-.
SOLDIER 3rd Class from Final Fantasy VII Remake.png|Artwork of SOLDIER 3rd Class from Final Fantasy VII Remake.
SOLDIER loading screen from FFVII Remake.jpg|Loading screen from Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Ever Crisis P0 SOLDIER Loading Screen.png|Loading screen from Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis describing the P0 SOLDIER class.
==Etymology==
==Notes==
==Citations==
de:SOLDAT
es:SOLDADO
it:SOLDIER
pt-br:SOLDIER
ru:СОЛДАТ
Category:Organizations in Final Fantasy VII
Category:Organizations in Final Fantasy VII Remake
Category:Organizations in Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-
Category:Organizations in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-
Category:Organizations in Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-