Midgar

Midgar
Final Fantasy location
A panoramic view of Midgar as seen in 1997's Final Fantasy VII.
First appearanceFinal Fantasy VII (1997)
Created byYoshinori Kitase
Yusuke Naora
GenreRole-playing video game
In-universe information
TypeCorpocratic city-state
RulerShinra Electric Power Company
LocationGaia
CharactersCloud Strife
Barret Wallace
Tifa Lockhart
Aerith Gainsborough
Sephiroth

Midgar (Japanese: ミッドガル, Hepburn: Middogaru) is a fictional city from the Final Fantasy media franchise. It first appears in the 1997 video game Final Fantasy VII, and is depicted as a bustling metropolis built, occupied, and controlled by the megacorporation Shinra Electric Power Company (神羅電気動力株式会社, Shinra Denki Dōryoku Kabushiki gaisha). The city is powered by electricity drawn from reactors which run on Mako (魔晄, "magic light"), the processed form of spiritual energy extracted by Shinra from beneath the surface of the planet on which the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII takes place. Shinra's activities drain the world of its life force, the "Lifestream", threatening the existence of all life as the planet weakens. In spin-offs of the game, the city spanned a town named Edge (エッジ, Ejji).

Midgar is a major aspect of the metaseries' industrial or post-industrial science fiction milieu with recurring appearances in related media, and is the centerpiece of Final Fantasy VII Remake. Midgar is considered to be one of the most memorable aspects of the original Final Fantasy VII, and has been well received by critics and the video game community for its cyberpunk aesthetic and dystopian setting. Midgar is featured prominently in discussions about Final Fantasy VII's themes of class conflict and environmentalism.