The opening mission of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, the so called Bombing Mission, has always been a somewhat controversial moment in the original game's history. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, the remake of Final Fantasy 7 makes some significant changes which lessen the dramatic and moral impacts of the actions of Cloud, Barrett, and the rest of the gang. Some fans are glad for this change, as it paints the heroes in a more... heroic light, but others think that it cheapens the severity of the situation and is more of a cop out than anything.
For those unaware, in Final Fantasy 7 Remake's Bombing Mission, Cloud joins up with a group called AVALANCHE to destroy a Mako Reactor in the city of Midgar. These Mako Reactors are the source of nearly all energy used by Midgar, but are believed by some to have a negative impact on the planet. The members of AVALANCHE hold this belief as well, that Mako is actually the planet's life force, and that the company which owns the reactors, Shinra, is ultimately killing the planet by siphoning this energy out. Cloud and his team infiltrate the reactor in an attempt to plant a bomb to destroy it, a mission with varying degrees of success depending on which version is played.
AVALANCHE in the original Final Fantasy 7
In the original Final Fantasy 7, the mission goes mostly as planned. AVALANCHE infiltrates the Shinra Mako Reactor with the help of Cloud, plants the bomb, and after a boss fight with the Scorpion Sentinel, escapes within the allotted time allowing the bomb to destroy the reactor. What is occasionally brought up about this scenario is the huge number of lives that the protagonists of the game took, whether they were Shinra guards or innocent people. Beyond that, they likely negatively affected the lives of many that relied on the Mako Energy for their well-being.
Ultimately, AVALANCHE is a terrorist group, and that can be difficult for fans of the oh so popular entry of the Final Fantasy franchise to reconcile. These so-called heroes infiltrated this reactor, killed countless guards, planted a bomb, and killed many more in the resulting explosion. The actions of Cloud and Barrett could be viewed as detestable by some, but that simply puts into perspective how serious the problem of using Mako as energy really is. Barrett and the rest of AVALANCHE rationalize the lives they take because they believe that what they are doing is the right thing regardless.
AVALANCHE in Final Fantasy 7 Remake
The AVALANCHE found in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake follows the same principles and is willing to make the same sacrifices, but there is one key difference in how everything plays out. After planting the bomb and escaping from the reactor, it defects and the explosion causes barely any damage to the reactor. It is in fact by command of someone at Shinra that their many robots destroy the reactor and cause the explosion. This means that Cloud, Barrett, and the rest of AVALANCHE didn't actually kill anyone, Shinra did, but does that make their actions any better?
Ultimately, they still intended to destroy the reactor and, in turn, kill all those people; the fact that they failed doesn't justify their actions in any way. Most probably, this will come up as a story element later on that will play an important role, or it is possible that Shinra wanted the people to think that AVALANCHE destroyed the reactor to turn public opinion against them. In the end, though, this change seems unnecessary at worst and doesn't really belittle the severity of AVALANCHE's actions and philosophy in any way. Still, retcons that cheapen the impact of major events can be quite disappointing.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake releases April 10th exclusively for PS4