Mako Reactor 1

Mako Reactor 1 is a location in Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VII Remake, and the first location of both games. It is one of the eight mako reactors built by the Shinra Electric Power Company to power the city of Midgar, appropriately found in-between Sector 1 and Sector 8.
Mako Reactor 1 was the first mako reactor built for the city of Midgar. Notably, it reactor was also first bombing target of the Avalanche cell led by Barret Wallace. Barret led a team comprising himself, Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie Rasberry, as well as the hired mercenary, Cloud Strife.
==History==
===Before Final Fantasy VII===
Mako Reactor 1 was complete around 1972-73 the third and fourth year of the construction of Midgar. It was the second reactor constructed in Midgar after Mako Reactor 0 (which was constructed at the center of Midgar in Sector 0, and around four years after the first mako reactor, the Nibel Reactor, was built in 1968. Mako Reactor 1 was built around the same time the perimeter of Midgar had finished construction. The reactor predates the existence of both the plateside city and the slums, and after Mako Reactor 1 was built, more and more ground was levelled to allow for the construction of Mako Reactors 2 through 8, which were finished four years later in 1976.
In the Prologue in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-, Zack Fair's training in the Virtual Reality System begins with him taking Train MK 93 II as it is re-routed to the Sector 1 Station near Mako Reactor 1.
===Original continuity===
In "No. 1 Reactor Bombing" in Final Fantasy VII, on December 9 0007, Barret's Avalanche cell attacked the reactor. His team, including himself, Biggs, Wedge, Jessie, and the hired mercenary Cloud, entered using a captured train to break into the reactor grounds, which were defended by Shinra guards. After fighting their way down to mako storage and preparing to place charges, Cloud had a brief flashback to the incident in Nibelheim and suffered a psychic disturbance. Before the charges were pulled, the robot Guard Scorpion attacked, and was defeated by Cloud and Barret before they and the rest to Avalanche made their way back out before the reactor exploded.
The explosion causes massive destruction with unknown numbers of civilian casualties. Cloud and Avalanche scattered to regroup at the train heading for the Sector 7 slums. The reactor remained closed, and in "Mako Cannon Rampage", when Shinra placed the Sister Ray cannon within Midgar, seven reactors charged up its blast, Mako Reactor 1 still out of commission.
===Remake continuity===
In "The Destruction of Mako Reactor 1" in Final Fantasy VII Remake in December 0007, Barret Wallace's cell of Avalanche infiltrated the reactor with their hired mercenary, Cloud Strife, who would escort them through fighting off the defenses while the group focused on planting the reactor bomb. Though Wedge and Jessie were enthusiastic about Cloud's participation, Biggs was more reserved, and Barret was outright hostile.
Barret continued to hold suspicions Cloud would double-cross them; upon entering the reactor grounds, when Cloud was slow to recall how to navigate the reactor, Barret threatened to part ways with him there and complete the mission without him, until Cloud came to. Meanwhile, Avalanche were being recorded by security cameras, President Shinra and Heidegger watching them intently.
When Barret and Cloud reached mako storage, Cloud glimpsed a black feather, implying the presence of Sephiroth, before planting and arming the bomb. and the two fought Scorpion Sentinel. The fallout from its destruction triggered the bomb to activate. The bomb detonated successfully to shut down the reactors, but President Shinra and Heidegger arranged for Shinra mechanical weapons to wreak more havoc and cause a larger explosion. The destruction caused multiple explosions and ongoing fires, and Shinra Emergency Operations Center issued a disaster warning throughout Sector 1 and Sector 8. Avalanche were horrified by the impact of the explosion, and Jessie believed her bomb had been more powerful than she intended due to a calculation error on her part.
==Geography==
===Overview===
As with the other eight identical mako reactors of Midgar, Mako Reactor 1 is an immense construct 600m in diameter, situated on the perimeter of Midgar, that towers over most buildings in the city. Outside Mako Reactor 1 is a train platform, the Mako Reactor 1 Station reached by a set of stairs, a walled-off area just north of the station, and a walkway connecting Sector 1 and Sector 8 entered in the walled-off area. The utility access is reached through a walkway connecting Sector 1 and Sector 8.
The reactor mostly uses automated labor and security to prevent intelligence leaks and minimize mako poisoning. Its layout is identical to Mako Reactor 5, which is also located in Midgar.
The entrance to the reactor is a set of rooms filled with machinery leading to an elevator, which travels down to a series of vast rooms and piping. Ladders can be traversed to eventually lead down to the core of the reactor. The interior of Mako Reactor 1 in the original Final Fantasy VII has a brown-ish tint, though this is less apparent in Final Fantasy VII Remake.
===Mako Reactor 1 Station===
====Platform====
The Mako Reactor 1 Station platform comprises a stone platform alongside the railway track, with metal gates on the lefthand side, and the sign "1-0b" painted on the wall. At the fair end of the platform on the left is the exit onto the station. Notably, the platform is the first area the player visits in Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VII Remake.
====Station interior====
At the end of the platform is the entrance to the Mako Reactor 1 Station. Inside, train schedules are listed and vending machines and poster ads are seen in corners and walls, respectively. These posters include ads for an apple juice named "Banora White", a purse named with the tag "Elegance", a "Hair Tonic" for scalp care promising "astonishingly radiant & spiky hair", a camera named "7" with Shinra-X sensor technology, a music gallery named "Air", LOVELESS, the third book in a series titled The Adventures of Stamp, and posters both for the Shinra Electric Power Company and Shinra Construction.
Additionally, vending machines for mineral water of the brand "Clear Icicle" and for an energy drink named "Redlord" with a logo shaped like a bomb are found along the walls. Trains to Sector 5 are also seen across displays, as well as a map of the trainline routes, and ticket stations are seen past the barrier at the entry. Near the back are stairs to an upper level, which is still under construction, as evident with the presence of construction materials and lack of proper lighting.
====Upper station area====
The upper station area above the station is where Cloud joined up with the members of Avalanche. It is a wide, stone building with a gale roof and four turbines on each corner. It is situated atop a stone wall overlooking the railway, and adjacent to the wall surrounding the Sector 1 plate.
In the surrounding area is a path north towards a stone wall in front of the restricted reactor grounds. Along the wall are posters for Shinra Construction, with graffiti all across them. A locked door, with "RESTRICTED AREA" above it, marks the way forward.
===Reactor grounds===
The reactor grounds comprise a walled-off storage area reached from station. Throughout the grounds, a few small metal structures across a stone floor are located within the wall surrounding the compound. Around the dimly lit structures are metal pipes and metal framing.
Above some metal framing is a screen, showing the words "INTRUDER", "WARNING", and four Kanji characters. In the center of the area is a narrow building resembling a bunker at its front with a large clock tower at its top. A winding series of areas follow, and construction equipment can be seen scattered everywhere.
The storage area leads to a short yet tall hallway leads to a switch, which opens up into the walkway outside the reactor.
===Reactor walkway===
The walkway outside the reactor, also referred to as the gate passageway, is used to access Mako Reactor 1. It comprises a metal walkway connecting Sector 1 and Sector 8, and a path in the middle leading directly to the Mako Reactor 1. The walkway is suspended above a vast abyss over the lower area of the city.
===Interior===
The interior is the entrance to the reactorfrom the walkway. It is a set of joined rooms with terminals, and the doors between the room are locked until their codes are deciphered. At the northeast-most location, an elevator leads down to the lower areas of the reactor, stopping first at utility access.
===Utility access===
The utility access is an expansive room with a large structure leading down toward mako storage. The room has dark brick walls along with the metal pipes typical of the rest of the reactor.
An armory is located at the bottom floor of the room, along with a hallway leading to mako storage. Along the walls of the armory are many inactive sweeper units. Atop the main structure of the room is a small, round tower atop it that can be climbed using ladders (though it contains nothing of interest).
===Mako storage===
The mako storage area is the site of the core. Pipes, ranging from large to immense, and fans, which regulate temperature, fill the walls of the large storage area. Large circular vents, located on the level of the penultimately highest platform, direct the smoke emitted by mako upwards, which can be seen outside as a huge cluster of smoke emanating from the top of the reactor building.
====Scaffolding====
The scaffolding is located in the large area above mako storage, and lines the walls of the large core area, while thick sheets are laid on the some parts of the railing. Hung on the lower part of the railings are small rectangular electric lamps emitting white light. Long wires messily run on the surface of most areas of the platforms and are held down by red duct tape. The scaffolding platforms are held by thin yet strong wires from the ceiling and is also connected to the wall structure to prevent them from swaying.
Extreme caution is indicated on the scaffolding, as mako is pumped directly below the platforms, making the area unsafe. The highest platform is located south of the large core area, and is accessed from the lowest level of the utility access (from the sweeper units area). From here, a series of ladders and platforms connect to the lower scaffolding that leads down to a ladder at the bottom of the core.
====Core====
The core is located at the Mako Storage, where Cloud and Barret fight the Scorpion Sentinel (named Guard Scorpion in the original) and set the bomb. The core itself is surrounded by mako, and heavy machinery, with a single walkway connecting two platforms suspended above the mako. A ladder leads down to the first platform, and the second has the core itself, a large, tubular structure built into a wall and a set of pipes leading to a valve at the bottom.
==Gameplay==
===Final Fantasy VII===
*No. 1 Reactor Bombing
Known as the "No. 1 Reactor", the reactor is the first dungeon in the game and appears during its first chapter, "No. 1 Reactor Bombing," in which the player controls Cloud and Barret.
Along the way to reach the core, MP, Guard Hound, Mono Drive, and 1st Ray enemies are fought. At the end, a battle with the Guard Scorpion takes place. The player must then flee the reactor, and the location cannot be revisited.
===Final Fantasy VII Remake===
*The Destruction of Mako Reactor 1
Mako Reactor 1 is visited in the opening chapter, "The Destruction of Mako Reactor 1". Cloud Strife is controlled for the majority of these quests, but Barret Wallace also joins from the quest "Breach Security" onwards.
The quests play out much like those in the original Final Fantasy VII, but are longer: the group must infiltrate the reactor to plant the bomb, fight the Scorpion Sentinel, and flee in "Escape from the Reactor". Along the way, the group fight guard dogs, Monodrives, security officers, Sentry Rays, Sweepers, and shock troopers.
The primary difference from the original Final Fantasy VII is that the Mako Reactor 1 map comprises a larger area, including the station outside the facility. In the original game, the station outside and the grounds leading into the reactor are instead part of the Sector 1 field.
==Other appearances==
===Final Fantasy VII demo===
The Mako Reactor 1 bombing mission is the setting for the two PlayStation demos of Final Fantasy VII. Two versions of the demo exist, often differentiated by the third playable character: Aeris or Tifa. The Aeris demo is of earlier build and still has many changes from the final version. The Tifa demo is closer to the playable segment in the full game. In the final game of course, neither girl is playable, and only Cloud and Barret are in the player's party. Both demos end when AVALANCHE escapes the exploding reactor.
===Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade===
===Final Fantasy Record Keeper===
Mako Reactor No. 1 is the first dungeon available whose completion unlocks Mako Reactor No. 5 in the Final Fantasy VII realm.
===Final Fantasy Brave Exvius===
==Behind the scenes==
When developing Final Fantasy VII, there was an unspoken rule that the developers could not go home until they had created a smooth transition from the opening cutscene to the battle at Mako Reactor 1 Station. As a result, the station reappeared in Motomu Toriyama's dreams often. When remaking it for Final Fantasy VII Remake, the steam ffrom the locomotive was used as a transition leading to when the player takes control.
During "No. 1 Reactor Bombing" in Final Fantasy VII Cloud has a moment where he breaks down and hears a voice that says, "This isn't just a reactor". In a scene that was scrapped from the final version of the game, Cloud would have had a conversation with Sephiroth where the latter would have explained what Mako Reactors really are. The "This isn't just a reactor" memory is a remnant of this deleted scene.
The PC port had a bug that occurred intermittently to crash the game at the start of the game as the train pulls into the station and an Avalanche member kicks a soldier. QA reported this bug as the port was being finalized, and all the programmers were scrambling to reprogram and debug it.Fenlon 2017
When designing the Mako Reactor 1 Station, scenario coordinator Manami Oishi thought hard about the map names to think of practical directions for commuters on their way to work.
FFVII PG Bombing Mission.png|Early Mako Reactor 1 Station in Final Fantasy VII: Perfect Guide.
Sector 1 train station artwork for FFVII Remake.png|Mako Reactor 1 Station artwork for Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Mako Reactor 1 exterior artwork for Final Fantasy VII Remake.png|Exterior artwork for Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Mako Reactor 1 artwork 2 for Final Fantasy VII Remake.png|Interior artwork for Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Mako Reactor 1 doors artwork for FFVII Remake.png|Interior artwork for Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Mako Reactor 1 interior artwork for FFVII Remake.png|Interior artwork for Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Mako Reactor 1 details artwork for FFVII Remake.png|Interior artwork for Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Mako Reactor Core artwork for FFVII Remake.png|Reactor core for Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Sector-1-Reactor-Station-Artwork-FFVIIR.png|Train station artwork exterior for Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Sector 1 Reactor Train Station artwork for FFVII Remake.jpg|Train station interior artwork for Final Fantasy VII Remake.
==Citations==
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ru:Реактор Сектора 1
Category:Locations in Final Fantasy VII
Category:Locations in Final Fantasy VII Remake