Guide

The trail on Mount Nibel–feared by the locals as a mountain that
cannot be crossed alive–is convoluted, and a guide who knows the land well is needed in order to climb it. In Chapter 8 Tifa is selected to
be the guide. This was due to the recommendation of the Turks, who had investigated the Nibel mako reactor prior to the arrival of Zack’s
team.

Science Department

Shinra’s world-class department, responsible for many inventions and
research in the scientific and technological fields. Their major
inventions include the technology for utilizing mako energy and the
method for creating SOLDIER. The current head of the department is
Hojo, a man who will use any means to satisfy his scientific curiosity, which has lead to
a high number of inhumane experiments being preformed. And although he has been demoted during the game, Hollander also belongs to the
Science Department.

Science Department Leadership Struggle

A event which took place around [ μ ] -εуλ 1980 after the disappearance of Gast, the former top of the Science Department, where Hojo and Hollander vied for leadership of the Science Department. Ultimately the deciding factor was the success of Hojo’s Project S versus Hollander’s Project G being deemed a failure, and Hojo took his place as the head of the department. Defeated, Hollander was demoted.

Gast Laboratory

The laboratory that Gast – once the top of the Science Department – used to be part of, that produced the greatest results in the Science Department at that time. Hojo – who was also with the Science Department – appeared to envy Gast’s genius. Perhaps due to this, Hojo ridicules the research at the Gast Laboratory where Jenova was mistakenly believed to be an Ancient, and Scene 04-15 he describes it an “unenlightened era”.

Gast Faremis

Aerith’s father, and a genius scientist famed for research into the
Ancients. From [ μ ] -εуλ 1970 to 1980, he took the post as head of
the Science Department at Shinra, and proposed the Jenova Project with the aim of recreating an Ancient using Jenova, a specimen found underground. However, as the project was under way he realized that Jenova was not an Ancient, and racked with guilt over his misguided research he deserted Shinra. After that he settles in the Icicle Lodge with Ifalna, who escaped with him, and she gives birth to Aerith.
However, 20 days later, he was shot and killed trying to defend his
wife and daughter as Hojo tried to take them away.

We’re all coming back here alive

A line Zack says to the rookie SOLDIER operatives in Scene 05-10. Zack seems to have often used lines similar to this, and in “BC”
during the assault on AVALANCHE in the Icicle Lodge, he tells the
SOLDIER operatives and troops accompanying him “we’re all coming back alive.”

Exchange in the Capsules

Zack and Cloud were kept in mako capsules as part of the Sephiroth
Copy experiment. It is not shown in this game, but in “FFVII” it is
shown shown that they communicated by scratching messages into the
glass of the capsules, and planned an escape.

Turtle Paradise

A pub, the name of which Zack gives as a proposal for the name of the
bar in Scene 07-04. In “FFVII” is appears in the town of Wutai, as a
pub serving Wutai cuisine and local liquors. It is a chain of pubs
nationwide, with the head store in Wutai, and it also offers goods via
mail-order. During “FFVII” Reno, Rude and Elena of the Turks visit it
on their leave, and they run a poster campaign where anyone who finds
the 6 “Turtle Paradise News” posters found in Midgar, Cosmo Canyon,
etc. receives a lavish gift.

Photographer

The photographer who accompanies Zack’s team on their investigation
of the Nibel mako reactor and takes their picture in Chapter 8.
Although what happens to him after taking the photo isn’t seen in this
game, in “FFVII” he is killed by Sephiroth when he burnt down
Nibelheim.

Gun Bull Head ID Names

In Chapter 9, the ID names of the reconnaissance Gun Bull Heads
deployed in the Nibel Plains are displayed when using the sniper
rifle. The names being used are those of blitzball players who
appeared in “FFX”, and you can see the names of Biggs and Wedge,
popular “FF” series side-characters.

Meteorological Agency

An organization which forecasts the weather using state-of-the-art
technology. As it is under Shinra administration, any information
incriminating for Shinra is concealed, such as withholding that Bombs
were the cause of the rise in water temperature at Costa del Sol.

Pose

The pose Zack taught one of the troops who accompanied him on the
investigation of the Nibelhiem mako reactor. The pose involves placing
the right hand on the hip, standing with the left leg slightly apart
and the chest out. It seems to be the standard pose for SOLDIER who,
as objects of adoration for the people, must remain constantly aware
of the gaze of others.

Blond-Haired Man

A man who leaked the email addresses of SOLDIER operatives and
information regarding treasures to Godo, Yuffie’s father, after the
Wutai War.

Both Lazard, who held a grudge against Shinra and knew the personal information of SOLDIER operatives, and Rufus, who has close ties to the AVALANCHE based in Wutai, match this description, but the truth is unclear.

Cloud’s Skill with Greatswords

As a regular member of the Shinra Army, Cloud’s standard armament in
this game is an automatic rifle, but as demonstrated in Scene 08-19
where he impaled Sephiroth with the Buster Sword he is adept at
wielding greatswords. He appears to have had some grounding in using
swords, and there is also a scene in “BC” where he fights back against
an elite AVALANCHE unit with a large sword.

Cloud’s Motion Sickness

As shown in Chapter 6 where he gets sick from riding the helicopter,
Cloud is very susceptible to motion sickness. Although not shown in
this game, according to the depiction in “FFVII” he was also sick
during the truck journey to Nibelheim.

In “FFVII” it was cured when he mistakenly believed himself to be a SOLDIER 1st Class, but it resurfaced after he regained his true self, and he felt ill when riding on the airship, the submarine, and the rides at the Gold Saucer. However, judging from the fact that he is running a delivery business on motorbike in “AC” his resistance to motion sickness seems to have improved somewhat. He also shares a strange sense of solidarity with Yuffie, a fellow sufferer of motion sickness.

Cloud’s Mother

Cloud’s mother who lives in Nibelheim. Her specialty dish is stew.
She is often seen worrying about her son, about how his life in Midgar
is going and if he has found a girlfriend. She died during the
Nibelheim Incident caused by Sephiroth.

One Black Wing

The wing which Genesis has on his left shoulder in this game, and
which Sephiroth has on his right shoulder in “FFVII” and “AC”. The
mechanism behind sprouting the wings remains unexplained. According to the development staff, the wings were made black based on the notion of good and evil.

Black Suit

Cissnei’s pen name within the Zack fan club. She posts rare
information that only someone close to Zack would know. Her reasons
for joining the fan club seem to stem from her personal feelings,
rather than as part of her duties as one of the Turks.

Black Materia

The materia needed to activate the ultimate black magic “Meteor”, and
the counterpart to the White Materia. Due to its incredible power, the
Ancients transformed the materia into a temple and made it so no one
would be able to leave with it. In “FFVII” Sephiroth sought this
materia, and Cloud’s group attempted to stop him, but in the end
Sephiroth obtained it and cast Meteor.

Portable Terminal

Portable terminals, which come equipped with telephone, e-mail, and
mission access functions. Shinra personnel, such as SOLDIER and Turks
operatives, are issued them by the company. After the Jenova War,
although Shinra itself is gone, the radio antenna bases are utilised
and in “DC” and “AC” the portable terminals are still in use.
Incidentally, “FFVII” featured the ‘PHS’, a similar device to the
portable terminals.

Combat Diary

A diary written by Dio, owner of the Gold Saucer, detailing his fiercest battles. During this game it is still being written, but around the start of “FFVII” he seems to have finished writing it, and it is offered as a prize to those who master the Battle Square.

Gelnika

The airship that bombed Banora in Scene 02-16. A transport ship of
the same name appears in “FFVII”, but this is a next generation model
of the Gelnika which appeared in this game, and there are some minor
differences such as the placement of the engine.

Mission to Capture Research Samples

The mission issued by Shinra to capture the research samples (Zack
and Cloud) that escaped from the Shinra Manor, shown in scenes
corresponding to Chapter 9 and beyond in this game. Not only were the
escaped samples subjects from top-secret research that Hojo was
involved with, but Zack and Cloud also know the truth behind the
Nibelheim Incident, and so the Turks were also brought on to the
mission in addition to the Shinra Army. The details about the actions
of the Turks not shown in this game are revealed in “BC”.

Research Data

The vast amounts of research data stored in the basement of the
Shinra Manor. Reports on the Project S experiments that took place in
the manor have been collected and bound and are stored there.

Sephiroth learnt of his birth by reading this data and was driven mad.
Also, although it cannot be seen in this game, research data for other
projects besides Project S are also kept in the manor, such as the
reports on the experiments conducted on the survivors of the errant
bombing of Kalm and the compiled disks of the research on Omega.

Zack the Puppy

Angeal’s nickname for Zack, though Zack himself was unaware of it.
The origin behind it is said to have been because Zack has zero
attention span and is restless like a little puppy. Angeal spoke about
this nickname to the people close to him, such as Genesis and his
mother Gillian.

Date in the Park

In Scene 04-10, Zack and Aerith have a date in Green Park in the
sector 6 slum. An identical situation is seen in “FFVII” as well,
which features a scene of Cloud and Aerith on a date in the same park.

Joint Training

Joint training that the Public Safety Department challenged the
SOLDIER Department to. The training consists of actual combat between the SOLDIER Department and the Public Safety, and in the game they are treated as missions. Despite the Public Safety Department investing a large budget into this training, all 6 end in victory for the SOLDIER Department.

Orphanage

An orphan housing facility run by Shinra as part of their charity
work. But in actuality, the children are put through harsh training
with the goal of cultivating future candidates for the Turks and
SOLDIER. Cissnei is also from this facility, and after enduring the
brutal training she was hired by the Turks. In Missions No. 205~210,
“Orphans Escaping”, children from this orphanage have escaped.