The remake of Final Fantasy 7 was certainly an ambitious project, and the amount of work it has taken is clear in both Final Fantasy 7: Remake and Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth. Of course, where the story goes from here is a mystery after the ending of Final Fantasy 7: Remake. Now, with the release of Rebirth, players can finally learn what lies in store for Cloud and his friends.

While many things have changed, there are some story elements that remain the same. After all, you can't have a full remake of Final Fantasy 7 without the flashback about what happened in Nibelheim five years prior, and that is where Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth begins with its first chapter.

This walkthrough contains spoilers, so players should proceed with caution.

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Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Review

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is an epic-scale adventure with an unforgettable cast of characters that will keep players busy for dozens of hours.

Reach the Crash Site

Once you’ve selected your preferred difficulty, sit back and enjoy the opening of Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth. Even if you played the demo, do not skip any cutscene as there are several that were not in the demo.

Once the cutscenes are finished, move toward the stairs directly ahead of you. The path is pretty linear, so don’t bother trying to explore. You can’t even destroy crates for items during the prologue. Once you are outside of Midgar, jump over the blockage and move toward the Shinra soldiers.

At this point, you will enter combat. You will only have two actions in the prologue: Attack and Combo Charge. Attack the soldiers and then use the Combo Charge whenever it is off cooldown. Once you’ve beaten the reinforcements, another cutscene will trigger and the prologue will end.

Explore Nibelheim

At this point, the first chapter will begin. After the cutscenes end, you will briefly control Sephiroth in a one-sided fight against a monster. Once the next batch of cutscenes is over, you will control Cloud as he explores Nibelheim.

When you interact with the door that lead’s to Cloud’s old house, you’ll have the option to go in or leave. After visiting Cloud’s mom, head toward the ladder that leads to the top of the iconic windmill in the middle of the village to trigger another cutscene.

Across from the windmill is Tifa’s house. You can go inside to get some commentary from Cloud’s companions as he tells the story, especially Tifa griping if you enter her room. If you approach the piano in Tifa's room, you will have the option to play the piano mini-game. Though you can choose to walk away from the piano, the story will only advance if you sit down to play. Regardless of if you actually play something or just mash buttons, the story will progress either way.

There is also a chest containing an Ether in Tifa's parent's bedroom, so make sure to grab that before you leave the house. Approach the Nidhogg Hotel and go inside. Approach the man with the red cape to trigger a cutscene. There is nothing to buy at the inn or at the general store, so head up the stairs and approach Sephiroth to trigger a cutscene.

Follow Tifa

Once you regain control of Cloud, follow Tifa. Make sure to destroy any boxes you encounter along the way, as they will periodically contain useful items like mega-potions. Of course, the pleasent hike comes to an abrupt end as you encounter some monsters on the road. Unlike the previous battle, you will have access to the full combat system of Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth. This includes actions, items, and magic. The enemies you encounter aren't particularly tough, so just take this time to learn the ropes of using abilities and moving around.

Continue following Tifa while fighting any enemies you come across. You will receive various tutorials for mechanics in combat like guarding and locking onto enemies. After the tutorials, you will take point to deal with the monsters. Go in the direction of the blue diamond with the exclamation point while fighting any monsters you see along the way. There is a chest along the path that contains some potions.

After going up a set of stairs, you will see some green materia up on a ledge to the left. To reach it, approach the rock wall and press the circle button to climb up and claim the wind materia. Approach the dead end and then go back down to Tifa. Follow her through the narrow crevice as she leads you to an old Shinra facility. Wait for Sephirtoh to open the door and then go inside.

Go Through the Facility

Head up the stairs and use the elevator. On the next floor, you will encounter a large monster called Screamer. It has a hammer affixed to its arm that it will spin around, making it difficult to attack it without getting hit. Wait for an opening and then attack it to fill the ATB bar. A perfectly timed block will cause Screamer to fall over, giving you time to land some hits and potentially stagger it.

Once the boss is staggered, unleash abilities on it and deal as much damage as possible. If you have enough of the ATB gauge filled, it is possible to take out the majority of Screamer's health while it is staggered. Once Screamer is dead, move onward. Before proceeding, go north toward the rails and jump over them. Go left to find a chest containing ether.

Go up the stairs toward another elevator. When you interact with the terminal, it will inform you that the elevator cannot be used until you clear out the Mako gas. Go past the fence on the right and hold down the L2 to move the vacuum. Keep the vacuum on top of each Mako gas cloud until it disappears. Once you've cleared out all three clouds, the elevator door will open. The elevator leads outside toward another path. Walk across the bridge until a cutscene starts.

Find Another Way to the Reactor

One poorly timed lightning strike later, you will need to find another watch to reach the reactor. After the cutscene, Sephiroth will join the party and participate in battles. Climb up the painted rock walls and grab the purple material that is next to the rest stop. After that, you will get a tutorial on switching between characters in battle. Enter the cave and go towards the large open space below.

Following the cutscene, head north toward the other side of the cave. If you are running low on MP, you can destroy the small Mako shards along the walls to regain MP. When you are outside the cave, climb up the three ledges and the rock wall beyond that. For the most part, the path ahead is linear and easy to follow.

When you come across a spot on the left that lets you go down to a small ledge, go down there and grab the blue materia. Head back up the rock wall to continue onward to the reactor. As you enter an open area, you will be attacked by Zu, which serves as a tutorial for Synergy Skills. Repeatedly hitting Zu with Synergy Skills will allow you to stagger it, making it much easier to damage.

Go up the stairs and go to the left to reach some rocks that can be climbed. At the top of the metal structure is a purple materia. Go right and up several ladders, but before proceeding any further, go to the left and head up the stairs to find a blue materia. From there, go straight toward the ladder on the other side of the platform, but make sure to destroy all the boxes on the left first.

At the top of the ladder you'll come across another locked elevator. Just like earlier, you will need to use the vacuum to clear out the Mako gas. The tricky part is that the vacuum doesn't have enough range to get everything. To get around this, approach the gate and hold down the triangle button to open it. After you've cleared out all the gas clouds, use the elevator.

After you leave the elevator, make sure to go through the open gate directly in front of you and take a right. There will be a chest on the other side of the fence that contains an elixir. Next to the rest station is a ladder that leads to another chest containing another elixir. Use the rest station to heal up your party and then head up the stairs. Make sure to save your game as well, as a boss fight waits on the other side of the gate.

How to Beat Materia Guardian

While this is the first boss fight of the game, it also serves as a tutorial as well. Early on in the fight, you will learn about unblockable attacks that are marked with a red triangle with an exclamation point in it. When you see one of those, move away from the enemy as quickly as possible. You will also get a tutorial on how to attack specific parts of an enemy to either pressure it or shutdown abilities.

For example, if a party member gets grabbed by Materia Guardian, you can target the arm and attack it to not only free them but also pressure it. As you gradually bring down the boss's health, an in-combat cutscene will play as it jumps onto the wall. Use magic and target one of the legs. Doing so allows you to pressure Materia Guardian and bring it back down into melee range. By this point, it won't take much to stagger the boss. Keep damaging the boss until it gets back up.

As Materia Guardian gets low on health, another in-combat cinematic will play. Once the battle continues, open the command menu and use the Double Helix synergy ability. Once the boss is back on the ground again, remain on the offensive and the boss will fall soon after.

Investigate the Reactor

After the cutscene ends, go up the stairs to enter the reactor. Go to the right to find an elevator that leads deeper into the reactor. Follow the path forward to reach a door that has been broken open. Enter the room to trigger a cutscene and then go back out to find the pressure valve. Hold down L2 and R2 until Cloud turns the wheel, let go and then hold down the two buttons again. Repeat this until the main objective updates.

Find Sephiroth

Go back into the room to trigger several cutscenes. Once you regain control of Cloud, head down the stairs and leave the inn. Follow the group of three villagers as they go toward Shinra Manor. Head inside and go left. There is an elevator in this room that leads to the basement. Go across the next room to find Sephiroth in the library, which triggers another cutscene.

Once the cutscenes end, head back to the village. Due to an injury, you won't be able to run. Keep following the path until it gets blocked by flaming rubble. Turn around and go left to find another way to Cloud's house. Go through the nearby burning building and go through the crawl space. Follow the path forward to reach the house and trigger a cutscene. When you regain control over Cloud, hold down either L2 or R2 when they appear on the screen. Repeat this until you trigger a cutscene.

Follow Tifa

Once a lengthy series of cutscenes play out, you will take control of Cloud in the present day. Approach the door to open it and talk to Tifa. Follow her up the stairs to find her up on the balcony. Once that cutscene is over, head back to the room to get some rest. This brings the current chapter to a close.

Materia Locations

If you are looking for a specific materia from this chapter, here are all the ones that we found.

• Green Materia: Up on the ledge near the dead end that Tifa warns you about.
• Purple Materia: Right next to the first rest staiton.
• Blue Materia: On a ledge just before fighting the Zu.
• Purple Materia: On a metal platform shortly after the Zu fight.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

Platform(s)

PlayStation 5

Released

February 29, 2024

Developer(s)

Square Enix

Genre(s)

RPG