Rocket Town

Rocket Town is a town in the Rocket Launch Pad Area in Final Fantasy VII built around the launch site of the Shinra No. 26 rocket, part of Shinra Electric Power Company's space program. Cid Highwind lives and works here. The town also features in Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII- prequel.
== History ==
=== Before Final Fantasy VII ===
Several years ago, Rocket Town was bustling with scientists preparing for the launch of the world's first rocket launch to outer space on the rocket Shinra No. 26. During this time, everyone in the sparsely-populated town was a mechanic. Cid Highwind was chosen to be the pilot, and another Shinra employee who dreamt of being a pilot for the rocket felt robbed, leading him to become a spy for Wutai until he was apprehended by Zack Fair.
After Shera, one of the engineers working on the rocket, noticed a leak in one of the oxygen tanks, she stayed behind to fix it while the rocket was about to launch. This forced Cid to abort the launch, crashing and damaging the rocket. Shinra abandoned the space project and Cid would blame the failure of his dreams on Shera and so treated her poorly. The scientists and mechanics on the project established a settlement nearby, their determination and hopes of the project undeterred for its revival, and chose Cid as the town's representative.
During Episode 15 of Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-, AVALANCHE sabotaged the rocket's engines, and Rufus Shinra, the vice president of Shinra, recommended the Space Program's cancellation, with the support of the entire Shinra Executive Staff.
=== Final Fantasy VII ===
Years later, during "A Sleeping Village Dreaming of Outer Space" in Final Fantasy VII, Cloud Strife and his party came to Rocket Town in search of Sephiroth. They met with Cid and leared Rufus Shinra, now president of the company, had come to Rocket Town. This filled Cid with hope the space program would be restarted, but Rufus only wants Cid's airplane, the Tiny Bronco. Cid betrayed Shinra and fought his boss Palmer along with Cloud and the party. The group used the Tiny Bronco to escape, but it was damaged, and after crashing in the sea can only be used as a crude boat.
When Sephiroth unleashed the Meteor onto the planet, in "Toward the Sea of Stars", Shinra planned to use the No. 26 rocket to launch the Huge Materia right into Meteor to destroy it. The plan was opposed by the Cloud and the party, as well as the town's residents, and Cloud instead sought to obtain the Huge Materia to fight Sephiroth themselves, leading them to fighting the Turk Rude and enter the rocket's control room. Palmer gleefully told them over radio the rocket is sent to automatic launch, and launches the party into outer space with the rocket.
The party evacuated on an escape pod and Shinra No. 26 crashes into Meteor and creates a blinding explosion, but the Meteor was unaffected. Rocket Town was then left without its landmark.
== Geography ==
Rocket Town is located to the northwest on Gaia's western continent. It is mostly surrounded by forest, but is not located too far from the ocean.
Rocket Town resembles an English countryside town in its aesthetic. With a few houses around a town square, a pub, an inn known as "Shanghai Inn", and a couple stores, the town is sparsely populated, and the launch site for the rocket is by far the biggest point of interest of the otherwise unremarkable town.
== Society ==
Rocket Town is sparsely populated and its entire population leading to the launch of the No. 26 rocket were mechanics building it. Some of these mechanics were big weapons hobbyists, leading to the weapon store being a place collecting antique guns. After the rocket launch was cancelled, the townspeople led a mostly quiet life, with some staring at the rocket and hanging onto the dream of seeing it launch; when it finally did, their lives were upended and many were miserable thereafter.
== Gameplay ==
=== Final Fantasy VII ===
Rocket Town is first visited during the chapter "A Sleeping Village Dreaming of Outer Space". In it, the party recruits Cid for the first time, learns the history of the town, before battling Palmer. The chapter ends with the party obtaining the Tiny Bronco for world map transport thereafter. During this visit, the party can obtain the Yoshiyuki weapon for Cid.
The party return to the town much later in the game for the chapter "Toward the Sea of Stars", on the hunt for Huge Materia. This time, they must fight their way to get onboard the rocket, battling Turks:Rude again, and with the right password entry, can obtain a Huge Materia. This visit allows the player to obtain Cid's Venus Gospel. If Cid is not in the party when entering the rocket, he will forcibly enter it.
=== Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII- ===
== Musical themes ==
The background music that plays in Rocket Town is "The Oppressed" .
When visited on disc 2 after Meteor is summoned, "From The Edge of Despair" plays.
== Other appearances ==
=== Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade ===
=== Final Fantasy Record Keeper ===
== Behind the scenes ==
When first speaking to Cid he will tell the party that the Shinra No. 26 tilts a little more every day. However, in the flashback, during the transition between the rocket tilting and present day, the rocket does not appear to have moved at all.
== Gallery ==
Rocket town rocket.png|Rocket Launching Pad.
Rocket town rocket2.png|Access Platform.
Rocket Town shop.png|Item Store.
Rocket Town shop2.png|Weapons Store.
Rocket Town inn.png|Shanghai Inn 1f..
Rocket town cids house.png|Cid's House.
TinyBronco-ffvii-fmv-fly.png|Rocket Town in an FMV.
BCRocketLaunchControl.jpg|Rocket launch control in Before Crisis.
== Notes ==
=== Annotations ===
=== Citations ===
de:Rocket Town
vi:Rocket Town
Category:Locations in Final Fantasy VII
Category:Towns
Category:Locations in Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-