From the introduction:
Ah, Final Fantasy. Are you ready to go on a quest through an idyllic countryside dotted with rustic villages to slay monsters, protect the crystals, and save the world?
Too bad.
The world is a place where money is power, and no one has more money than the corporation known as the Shinra Electric Company. Even possessing their own military, they developed their wealth thanks to Mako Reactor technology. This can supply vast amounts of electricity by draining lifeforce out of the planet, gradually creating a barren wasteland in the process. Unfortunately, they're powerful enough that this probably isn't going to change any time soon, and instead they'll just keep getting richer. However, Shinra is only one piece of the puzzle. They have a bizarre, headless, female looking creature in a tank, there's a bunch of people with numbers tattooed on them mumbling about a reunion, and there are reports of a strange figure in a black cloak heading somewhere...