"When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end, The goddess descends from the sky, Wings of light and dark spread afar, She guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting."

—LOVELESS

Minerva (ミネルヴァ, Mineruva^?) is a character from Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-. Although her exact nature is not known in detail, it appears she is related to the planet Gaia's consciousness.

NatureEdit

Minerva's origin and purpose have been a source of confusion for fans because the Lifestream is typically represented as having no singular consciousness. Minerva is never described directly, but she is inferred to be a goddess because of her name and because of her interaction with Genesis Rhapsodos. The Shinra corporation detects her as "an incredibly strong summon signal", but she leaves behind no Materia. She is fought in an optional mission where she forms out of Lifestream, fights Zack, and disappears with no explanation.

The Crisis Core Complete Guide, an official guidebook to the game released only in Japan, elaborates upon Minerva's nature. She is interpreted to be the goddess mentioned in LOVELESS, but in terms of substance she is similar to a summon. The purpose behind her actions is to follow the intentions of the Lifestream.^[1]

As quoted by Crisis Core's development team "Minerva's facial expressions are meant to be hints to the Lifestream's judgment, such as 'Genesis has not yet completed his duty as a SOLDIER' and 'Genesis still has much left to learn'."^[1]

StoryEdit

"There is no hate, only joy, For you are beloved by the goddess, Hero of the dawn, Healer of worlds, Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul. Pride is lost, wings stripped away, the end is nigh."

—LOVELESS

An avid fan and studier of LOVELESS, Genesis Rhapsodos believes the object the three heroes are searching for in the text, the Gift of the Goddess, could cure his degradation. Genesis attempts to recreate the conditions of LOVELESS in order to come to the Gift. After fighting Zack Fair, Genesis comes to the realization that the "Pride of a SOLDIER" is the Gift of the Goddess.

When Zack defeats Genesis in the Banora Underground, Minerva shows herself to Genesis in a vision in the Lifestream. Looking into his soul and seeing his unselfish desire and will to "complete his duty as a SOLDIER" she revives him as a reflection of the Lifestream's will.^[1]

BattleEdit

Main article: Minerva (Boss)

When a new set of caverns, known as the Great Cavern of Wonders, is uncovered near the North Crater by Shinra, expedition teams from Shinra, Wutai, and Genesis all race to investigate. Zack Fair, who had been dispatched numerous times to the caverns to quell problems in the interest of Shinra, eventually discovers a way deeper into the caverns. The cave depths eventually become too dangerous for anyone other than Zack, who is ordered to investigate further due to the presence of a strange energy that causes monsters to become stronger and more vicious, as well as to cause machines to take on biological properties and attack their users.

Awaiting near the end of the caverns is Minerva in full battle armor, appearing as the strongest superboss in the game.

GalleryEdit

Concept art by Tetsuya Nomura.

Concept art of Minerva using Judgement Arrow.

The Goddess Statue.

Trading card.

TriviaEdit

• A goddess-like statue holding an orb is placed in the Banora Underground where the light breaks through the cave ceiling. The Crisis Core Complete Guide states the statue was part of Genesis's plan to re-enact LOVELESS. This statue shatters after Minerva's meeting with Genesis.
• The aspect of the Minerva statue is different in the English and Japanese versions of the game.

ReferencesEdit