“FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH (FF7 Rebirth)” is scheduled to be released on February 29th. This work is positioned as the second work in a trilogy project to remake the original version of “Final Fantasy Vll'' released in 1997.
With the remake, every element that expresses the worldview has been detailed. So, what kind of social situation and culture can we get a glimpse of from the fine details of the previous work, FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE (FF7 Remake)?ThereThe situation is more graphic and frightening than the original version.
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This article contains about half delusion, but I would like to thank you for your understanding as “There is a fabrication that makes you imagine the expansion of the world view in that way.''AlsoContains many spoilers for FF7 Remake. Especially in the second half, there is content that is recommended after clearing the game. please note.
Social conditions revealed from the upper and lower slums of Plate
First of all, let me introduce the point, “How can we understand the social situation in Midgar?''
In the original version, the main characters such as Cloud and Aerith tended to be shown in close-up, and we didn't get to see much about their social situations. However, in FF7 Remake, by focusing on each nameless person, various aspects of Midgar emerge.
◆Doesn't being a Shinra employee mean you're wealthy?
After Avalanche successfully blows up the Mako Reactor, there is a scene where they board a train and meet a Shinra employee.
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This scene was trivial in the original version. However, even though the Shinra employees in FF7 Remake only appear briefly, they have become characters that give us an idea of Midgar's complex social situation.
The basic understanding of the social situation in the original board was that in Midgar, the economic disparity between the upper and lower levels of the plate was overwhelmingly widening. So, if he could become an employee of Shinra, which controls Midgar, wouldn't that be a stepping stone to becoming wealthy? That's what I think.
However, just like everyone in Avalanche, the Shinra employees on the train also come down to the slum station below the plate. Surprisingly, they also live in slums. What do you mean? In the original version, it was still low-polygon and cartoon-like, so it was a depiction that could be ignored, but in “FF7 Remake'' it leaves a strange impression.
Monsters live in the slums, and the environment is certainly terrible. Even if you get a job at Shinra, it seems like you have no choice but to live below the plate.If you get a job at a top company, would you continue to live in a place with the worst security and environment? You'll be moving soon.
They talk about the “Shinra Spirit'' with great authority, so I wonder if they were inspired by the company's name value and corporate philosophy and ended up signing a contract with a fairly low wage when they got hired. Otherwise, there is no explanation as to why they are living in slums.In fact, employees are saying, “I want to move up to the plate, but I can't do it with this salary.''
In the real world, living in a slum area depends on the area, but even if you work, you can only earn around 1,000 yen a day. If you convert it into a monthly salary, it will be approximately 20,000 to 30,000 yen. If you imagine such a reality, it is no wonder that if you are hired by a large company like Shinra, you will be excited even if the pay is low. You're probably making more money than other slum dwellers.
However, are there people like Shinra employees who work for companies that dominate the world but live in the slums below the plate? Next, we will consider the reasons for this.
◆The upper echelons of the plate are apparently not wealthy either.
When I was playing the original version, I imagined that the people living in the upper floors of the Plate were all people who lived in tower apartments or high-class residential areas. However, after playing FF7 Remake, it seems that unfortunately this is not the case.
In the original version, only the Ichiban Mako Reactor, 8th Avenue, and the Shinra Building headquarters were depicted as the environment on the upper layer of the plate. In addition to these, in “FF7 Remake'', you can see the city in the opening movie, and an event has been added that takes you to the upper level of the 7th Avenue plate.
Looking at the upper layer of the 7th Avenue plate, it appears that they cannot be called wealthy. Shinra's employees are living in quarters, but it doesn't seem like they have a flashy lifestyle. It can be said that this is a middle class life.
In one event you will enter one of the houses. There, there was a person lying on a bed and connected to medical equipment.
After gathering information, it appears that he was a worker at the Mako Reactor. However, he was left bedridden due to an accident at work. That means,This life is somehow earned by people working in incredibly dangerous jobs.that's what you'll see.
Further, if you look around the residential area, you will also see a signboard recruiting Shinra soldiers. Is the Shinra Company thinking of recruiting soldiers from people who belong to the middle class rather than from the slums?
While the Shinra employees mentioned above live in slums but work at the headquarters,This gives us a glimpse of the possibility that the upper middle class residents are involved in dangerous jobs such as Mako Reactor workers and Shinra soldiers..
There are people in the slums with anti-establishment ideas like Avalanche, so they cannot be employed as soldiers or in jobs related to mako reactors. However, since they probably have the same ambition to break out of the slums and rise up in the ranks, we employ them at low wages to take advantage of that gap in their minds.
On the other hand, people who have become middle-class as Shinra affiliates are more likely to be obedient to the headquarters, and are therefore easier to employ as soldiers or Mako reactor workers. I think this kind of social situation is becoming clearer.
◆It wouldn't be strange if there were people at Shinra headquarters who thought it was okay to cooperate with Avalanche.
As the story progresses, the plate on Seventh Avenue is dropped, and the middle class to the poor are wiped out all at once. The Shinra Company's official statement says that it was Avalanche's work, but if you are a reasonably literate person, you might think, “Maybe the Shinra Company dropped the plate…?”
As you progress to the scene where Cloud and his friends invade the Shinra Building, you will meet employees who will be helping you behind the scenes. But why would he help a dangerous terrorist?
As mentioned above, some of Shinra's employees come from slums, so they are naturally aware of the lives of the poor. Even if you are able to move up through the ranks and move up to the upper echelons of the plate, you will be stuck in the middle class at most, and depending on the situation, you can get the sense that you may be cut off by the company's circumstances, like 7th Avenue, who had their plate dropped. There will be.
Faced with such a reality, it is not surprising that one or two employees are implicitly considering rebellion.