One of the most mysterious moments that happened in is the Ni♎belheim Incident, when Sephiroth lost his mind and murdered a bunch of innocent people, before meeting his end within the Nibel Reactor.
The reason this scene is so mysterious is that it has been shown in several different ways in different Final Fantasy titles. It doesn't help that some of the viewpoints of the Nibelheim Incident come from unreliable narrators, like Cloud. Square Enix has kept the details of the Nibelheim Incident purposely unclear in order to maintain the mystique surrounding the event, and we're likely to see another interpretation of it in the Final Fantasy VII Remake series, so ♓it's time to break down the four different versions of the what happened on th🎃at fateful day.
Final Fantasy VII
A team composed of Cloud, Sephiroth, and several Shinra infantrymen is dispatched to the town of Nibelheim, as the local ♒Mako Reactor was attr✃acting monsters. They are led through the mountains by Tifa Lockhart, who has been training with a wandering martial artist named Zangan. Once they arrive at the reactor, they discover the makonoids – humans who were transformed into monsters after being submerged in mako tanks. A door in the reactor has the name Jenova written on it and Sephiroth claims that this was also his mother's name.
The group return to Nibelheim and Sephiroth locks himself away in the Shinra Mansion, where records of old scientific experiments are kept. Sephiroth finds the records left by Professor Gast, who had discovered the body of the alien monstrosity known as Jenova and misidentified it as a member of the Cetra, who were a race of magic-users with the power to lead humanity to the 🦄"Promis🍌ed Land." Sephiroth comes to believe that he is the last Ancient and that regular humans were responsible for the destruction of the Cetra race.
Cloud discovers that Sephiroth believes he is one of the Cetra and has gone mad. Sephiroth burns Nibelheim to the ground and slaughters the townsfolk. Sephiroth departs from the town and heads back to th🃏e Nibel Reactoꦫr. The only survivors of this incident are Cloud, Tifa, and Zangan, all of whom head to the reactor.
Tifa discovers the body of her slain father in the reactor. Enraged, she tries to attack Sephiroth and is swiftly cut down. Sephiroth enters the Jenova chamber and finds the corp﷽se of Jenova in a tank. Cloud pursues Sephiroth and his memories of the event end there.
It's later revealed that Cloud was one of the infantrymen sent on the mission and that another person named Zack (a member of SOLDIER) was in attendance. It turns out that Cloud has believed himself to be Zack in his memories, due to the mako poisoning he received. Once Cloud'⛎s memories are restored, we learn that Zack tried to stop Sephiroth but was swiftly defeated. Cloud managed to wound Sephiroth using the Buster Sword and he returned to the injured Tifa's side. The wounded Sephiroth emerged from the chamber with Jenvova's head in tow and stabbed Cloud with the Masamune, but Cloud managed to fling Sephiroth into the reactor, sending him into the Lifestream.
Cloud and Zack were nabbed by Professor Hojo and taken to the Shinr♐a Mansion to be experimented on, while Zangan managed to find Tiജfa just in time and brought her to Midgar.
Crisis Core
Crisis Core is told from Zack's perspective and we learn more about what happened before the Nibelheim Incident. Wꦺhen Sephiroth and Zack entered the Nibel Reactor, th💯ey encountered Genesis – a former member of SOLDIER who was also implanted with Jenova cells from a young age. Genesis is responsible for causing Sephiroth to look into his own past within the Shinra Mansion, leading to his downfall.
In Zack's version of events, we don't see Zangan. What we do see is an abbreviated version of the Nibelheim Incident, with the major expansion involving Zack's battle with Sephiroth. In Final Fantasy VII, Zack is instantly defeated by Sephiroth, but in Crisis Core, Zack has a huge three-stage boss battle against Sephiroth, whereℱ he is eventually overwhelmed.
Before Crisis
Before Crisis is 𝓡told from🏅 the perspective of the Turks, with the main character dispatched to the Nibel Reactor to deal with the monsters that are gathering there. They discover a white cat, which belongs to Tifa. The monsters prove to be too much for the Turks, so they retreat to Nibelheim. The Turks are led through the mountains by Tifa.
Once Sephiroth destroys Nibelheim, the main character attempts to stop him, but they are swiftly defeated. One of the Turks is present when Cloud battles Sephiroth, but Sephiroth chooses to jump into the reactor, as he wishes to learn more about the Lifestream. Unable to stop Sephiroth, the Turks take care of Tifa until Zangan takes her away. Zangan ཧonly found them because Tifa's cat led him there.
Last Order
Last Order was a short OVA that was released alongside Advent Children outside of Japan. The movie ties into Before Crisis and it shows the Turks pursuing Cloud and 🔯Zack years after the Nibelheim Incident, but there are flashbacks showing a new viewpoint of the event.
Cloud, Zack, and Zangan are present at the same time in Nibelheim when it's set ablaze and they disc♛uss 🌺their next move. Zack battles Sephiroth among the giant pipes within the Jenova chamber, but he is swiftly defeated. Cloud takes up the Buster Sword and runs Sephiroth through while he is distracted. Sephiroth runs Cloud through with the Masamune but is shocked by his resilience. Sephiroth willingly jumps into the reactor, while a Turk secretly watches on. Zangan secures Tifa outside and manages to flee before the Shinra troops arrive to claim Cloud and Zack.
Final Fantasy VII Remake will be released for PlayStation 4 on April 1✱0, 2020.