Final Fantasy 7: Behind Jenova's Origins Revealed

Final Fantasy 7: Jenova's Origins Revealed

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Jenova is one of the most important characters in the Final Fantasy 7 story, yet its abilities and origins are sometimes confused.

In the Final Fantasy 7 series, Jenova is an extraterrestrials species. Jenova is a key opponent, and research on its cells has given birth to a slew of other foes, including Sephiroth.

In Final Fantasy 7, Jenova is frequently referred to as "she," however Ifalna refers to him as "he" (or "it" in the PC version). Jenova has a feminine form and is known as Sephiroth's "mother." The Cetra refers to it as "heaven's black harbinger" or "calamity from the heavens" or "crisis from the sky" (sora kara Kita yakusai? lit. disaster from the sky).

The remarkable backstory of Final Fantasy 7 is one of the RPG's most memorable aspects, yet because of the extensive background and history, it's difficult to recall all of the minor nuances. This is especially true of Jenova, a strong antagonistic presence in Final Fantasy 7 and the party responsible for much the whole plot. Despite its significance, the lore surrounding Jenova is intricate and was not well explored in the original game.

Jenova's crucial feature is easy to overlook; it takes several different shapes throughout the plot, making it difficult to distinguish what is Jenova and what is not. While Jenova is commonly referred to be a character in the Final Fantasy 7 universe, it is not a character in the classic sense. Jenova has no character arc, no lines other than when it is employed by Sephiroth, and no motivation other than to destroy everything. It's a very enigmatic and unsettling monster that lurks in the shadows throughout Final Fantasy 7.

What happens to Jenova in Final Fantasy 7?

The body appears to break free from containment in the original, however, in Final Fantasy VII Remake, Jenova's body is kidnapped by two Sephiroth-clones, one of whom changes into Jenova Dreamweaver and dies, while the other clone flees with Jenova's body. When Cloud interacts with the clones, he perceives them to be Sephiroth.

Who is the mother of Sephiroth in Final Fantasy 7?

In Final Fantasy VII, Jenova is frequently referred to as "she," however Ifalna refers to him as "he". Jenova has a feminine shape and is thought to be Sephiroth's "mother."

The Cetra And Jenova

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Jenova crash-landed on the planet thousands of years before the main story of Final Fantasy 7 begins and waged war against the Cetra, often known as the Ancients. The Cetra are famed for their strong connection to the planet, and they battled bravely against Jenova, but the "calamity from the skies" had a few tricks up its sleeve and had allegedly been in the business of killing planets for eons.

Jenova has the unusual ability to inject its own DNA into other hosts, causing them to mutate into aggressive monsters. The entire objective of Jenova's existence is to destroy planets, and while its origin is unknown, it appears that the alien travels from planet to planet, destroying whatever it encounters.

Who are the Cetra in the Final Fantasy 7 remakes?

Former SOLDIER teams up with an Avalanche cell to attack one of Shinra's Mako reactors at the outset of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake Cloud. A large part of Final Fantasy 7's lore revolves upon a group of humans known as the Cetra, or Ancients.

It nearly wiped off the planet and the Cetra totally, but the remaining Ancients (aided by Shiva) were able to capture Jenova and hide it in the North Crater, which had been created as a result of its violent arrival. While the Cetra were essentially wiped off, with the exception of a few surviving individuals, Jenova was kept at bay for a few thousand years. Humans began to take rule the globe in place of the Cetra.

The Jenova Mission

Shinra became a powerful force many years after Jenova's fight with the Cetra by using mako energy from the planet as fuel. The Cetra were practically relegated to legends at that point. Shinra, on the other hand, began breaking the planet apart in search of a "promised place" with endless access to mako after learning that the Cetra believed in it. Jenova has arrived.

Professor Gast and Professor Hojo discovered the dormant Jenova while excavating the North Crater. They decided that Jenova must be one of the Cetra because they didn't have much else to go on. The Jenova Project was founded in an attempt to produce a Cetra/human hybrid. Professor Hojo and Professor Hollander were in charge of Projects S and G, respectively, to determine who could build the most effective hybrid.

Sephiroth was created by Professor Hojo's experiments, whereas Genesis and Angeal were created by Professor Hollander. Many Jenova hybrids have a single wing for unexplained reasons, which inspired Sephiroth's theme song, "One-Winged Angel."

Project S eventually led to the creation of SOLDIER, a program in which young males were injected with Jenova cells and flooded with mako energy. SOLDIER specimens were generally sturdy, trustworthy, and stable. At the same time, Hollander's Project G evolved into Deepground, which used brutal experiments to develop less complex hybrids.

Hojo's Jenova Experiments and the Birth of Sephiroth

Some fans believe Hojo is the genuine villain of Final Fantasy 7, and it's easy to understand why. He's a textbook example of a mad scientist. Hojo was the one who used Jenova's cells to make Sephiroth, but his Jenova research didn't end there. In the end, he's also responsible for the development of a slew of additional abominations. He also told Sephiroth that Jenova was his mother when it came to his true paternity.

Sephiroth's craziness was caused entirely by Hojo's intense investigation into the Jenova Project, paired with the effect of Jenova itself. Sephiroth would not have become the renowned villain he is today if it weren't for Jenova. Jenova assisted Sephiroth in merging with the Earth's Lifestream, and as a result, he believes the world is his birthright and that he must complete what Jenova began. Because of the bad translation in the original game, the details of Sephiroth and Jenova's connection are a little hazy.

Hojo formed Sephiroth while he was still a fetus by injecting Jenova cells into him. Lucrecia Crescent, an Ancient, was Sephiroth's true mother, which Hojo always kept hidden from him. Sephiroth refers to Jenova as his mother on multiple occasions, and he appears to be unrelated to Lucrecia. Sephiroth was by far the most successful Jenova hybrid, and Hojo was never able to duplicate it, but the story would be entirely different if he hadn't experimented with Jenova cells.

From the North Crater to Nibelheim during Hollander and Hojo's trials, to the Shinra headquarters, Jenova has been all over Midgar's map. Sephiroth even went so far as to kidnap Jenova's head while leaving the rest of her body behind, so the alien has been put through the wringer.

According to Hojo's Reunion Theory, all of Jenova's cells and bodily parts, including those in Cloud and Sephiroth, want to be reunited with one another. This has some interesting tale implications and provides a unique relationship between all of the specimens injected with Jenova cells.

Jenova Comes in a Variety of Shapes

When gamers think about Jenova, they generally think of the humanoid being confined in a glass cylinder and surrounded by something resembling external organs. That image of Jenova is by far the most unnerving and intriguing since it never moves; this image of Jenova is always immobile.

But that isn't Jenova's sole form. Jenova is a shapeshifter, and this is one of its most important skills. When Sephiroth appears in the game, it is usually Jenova who is under Sephiroth's influence. Throughout the game, the player confronts Jenova in several incarnations, including Jenova-BIRTH, Jenova-DEATH, Jenova-SYNTHESIS, and the Jenova Dreamweaver boss from Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Because so little is known about Jenova's true nature and how it all works, knowing that Sephiroth is truly Jenova for the majority of the story is weird. It's also unusual to consider facing the same creature many times, even if in completely different forms, but that's part of what makes Jenova the backbone of Final Fantasy 7.

It takes some investigation to completely comprehend what Jenova is and where it originated from, and many questions about the malignant creature remain unsolved. Many of those questions are unlikely to be answered, which is why Jenova is so intriguing. It's frightening, strange, and innovative, and it plays an interesting function in the plot. Everything in Final Fantasy 7 revolves on a character that never acts independently during the game, yet players are aware of what the real Jenova is capable of, making every meeting unforgettable.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake is now available on PS4.

H/S: Final Fantasy Fandom, GR