When Joshua got the FF7 disc, it was already late at night on the first day of release.
In order to allow more players to play the game as soon as possible, the store clerks at retail stores and department stores hardly took any breaks to serve customers.
It was precisely because of this that Joshua had the opportunity to buy Final Fantasy 7 on the first day, although his progress was slightly slower than other players.
He couldn't wait to play the game as soon as he got the disc, staying up all night to progress the storyline beyond the trial version.
After the explosion at the Mako Reactor No. 1, the media under the control of Shinra Corporation shifted all the blame to the Avalanche organization.
As the leader of the Avalanche branch, Barrett was naturally furious and denounced Shinra for their shamelessness.
But soon, he devised a new plan, which was to prepare to blow up Mako Reactor No. 5 again.
"If you say we're criminals, then we'll show you just how bad we can be and break all the rules," he declared.
As the protagonist, Cloud, seemed hesitant to join the plan to blow up Mako Reactor No. 5 this time.
But Tifa, Cloud's childhood friend, stepped forward.
"Cloud, if you're willing to help us, I'm willing to fulfill our promise," Tifa said shyly.
Though Tifa didn't explicitly state what promise she was referring to, Joshua understood after seeing her reaction in the game.
This made him smile knowingly.
He liked this kind of sweet plot, appearing at just the right moment, much better than the melodramatic plots seen in movies and TV shows.
And Cloud naturally understood as well. Since it was Tifa's personal request, he didn't refuse but actively participated in the plan to destroy Mako Reactor No. 5.
During this period, there were some small interactive plotlines, but they weren't particularly important.
Next, Cloud, Barrett, and Tifa prepared to take the subway to the upper sector together.
However, there was a sudden unexpected event this time; it seemed that they were discovered by Shinra, who immediately dispatched drones to intercept the protagonist's group.
The plot tension rose once again.
Joshua immediately focused his attention and immersed himself in the battle.
After a fierce battle, they reached the core of the Mako Reactor once again, just like last time.
But this time, Cloud seemed to experience some kind of hallucination, as if a terrifying voice was urging him to commit heinous acts.
However, Cloud quickly regained his composure, seemingly accustomed to these occasional hallucinations and didn't take them too seriously.
Although Cloud didn't think much of it, Joshua was curious.
He understood that every detail in this game was purposefully included, but for now, he couldn't discern the purpose and could only patiently wait for the plot to unfold.
Mako Reactor No. 5 was successfully detonated again, and Barrett was obviously pleased, preparing to celebrate with his comrades.
However, just as they were about to leave, a boss robot from Shinra appeared suddenly.
It was a giant mechanical boss the size of a three-story building, imposing just to look at.
Joshua also felt his heart racing at this moment.
But this boss didn't attack immediately; instead, a voice from a senior Shinra executive sounded through the boss.
The executive mocked Cloud and his companions, ridiculing them as ants futilely attempting to accomplish nothing, as the explosion of a mere Mako Reactor couldn't harm Midgar.
Destroying one, they could always build another. But in return, Avalanche would shoulder all the blame and face the consequences, ultimately leading to their downfall.
Barrett, with his hot temper, couldn't stand these words and interrupted the executive's speech, initiating a battle with the boss.
Protagonist Cloud and heroine Tifa also joined the battle.
The battle ended in victory, but Cloud accidentally fell from a great height due to being too engrossed in the fight.
Joshua's heart skipped a beat; was the protagonist going to die?
Surely not, the plot wouldn't be so dire. If the protagonist died, how would the story progress?
As he pondered, he saw a text dialogue on the black screen, slightly easing his tension. It seemed Cloud hadn't died.
But as the screen gradually brightened, Joshua noticed that they were in some kind of church, and Cloud had fallen into a large bed of soft flowers, saving him from death.
Of course, this explanation seemed far-fetched, but it didn't matter.
What surprised Joshua was that the flower girl who appeared at the beginning of the plot appeared again.
Another female lead had emerged.
He had already learned some details from the official website.
Any character introduced with an image was undoubtedly a standard protagonist.
This flower girl was obviously one of the protagonists' group.
When Cloud woke up and saw the person in front of him, there was a moment of silence.
Then came an unexpected group of guests.
They claimed to be the Turks, a special intelligence organization loyal to Shinra. This time, they seemed to be interested not in Cloud, but in the flower girl beside him.
The flower girl had a clever idea and said to Cloud that if he helped her drive away these people, she would be willing to go on a date with him.
As the protagonist, Cloud naturally showed disdain for the idea of a date.
But as the controller, Joshua decisively agreed.
How could he miss the opportunity to go on a date with a beautiful girl, even if she was just a virtual character?
After defeating the Turks, the flower girl formally introduced herself.
Her name was Aerith, a very nice name.
Joshua immediately liked the name and the flower girl.
Of course, his affection for Tifa remained unchanged.
He liked them both.
At this point, Cloud learned from Aerith that they were in the underground Sector 5 of Midgar.
Aerith was an ordinary resident living here.
But Cloud understood that anyone targeted by a special intelligence organization couldn't be an ordinary person.
But since Aerith didn't say, he didn't press the matter.
Aerith seemed to have a good impression of Cloud, but she seemed more interested in Cloud's identity.
She mentioned knowing someone who was also a Shinra soldier, dressed similarly to Cloud, named Zack.
But Cloud was unfamiliar with this name.
This segment of the story was a relatively calm transitional plot.
But it effectively relieved the tension built up from the continuous battles before.
The balance of tension and relaxation was masterfully controlled, making it comfortable for players to continue playing without feeling overly fatigued, allowing them to remain focused on the game.