Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is the second installment of a planned trilogy designed to fully remake the 1997 classic JRPG for modern audiences. However, the story makes deviations from its original source material. Here are all the biggest story changes in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.
The Gi Created the Black Materia
The Black Materia depicted in the original Final Fantasy VII is an ancient magical orb capable of summing meteor, a space-faring rock strong enough to destroy planets. While little is known of its origins, the destructive powers are revealed in a mural when the party pays a visit to the Temple of the Ancients.
In Rebirth, the Black Materia is reimagined with an origin story. It was created by an undead tribe known as the Gi that haunt the tunnels beneath Cosmo Canyon. In a new sequence, Gi Nattak, the leader of the tribe, takes you to his village, where it is revealed that the Gi have been living in purgatory for centuries.
Your spirit is created by the Lifestream and returns to it upon death. This is how the world of Final Fantasy VII works. Sadly, though, the Gi are not born of the Lifestream. It is never explained where they came from originally, but they cannot return to the Lifestream and are trapped as ghosts for all eternity. In an effort to release them from their curse, the Gi made a material that turns black “with pain and spite.”
They planned to summon a meteor that would obliterate themselves and the planet that held them hostage. This is because the state of nothing would be better than an eternity of undeath.
Prior to the Gi having the ability to use the Black Materia, the Cetra, Aerith’s ancestors, stole it and locked it away in the Temple of the Ancients. Gi Nattak asks Cloud and friends to retrieve the Black Materia for him, and while they agree to the request, they do so only to keep it away from Sephiroth and the Gi.
New Character Introductions
Rebirth introduces Vincent Valentine, Yuffie Kisaragi, Cait Sith, and Cid Highwind to the party. If you played the original, Cait Sith’s appearance is exactly the same in the remake.
However, Yuffie is not discovered randomly strolling the world’s forest. Rather, she appears washed up on the beach at Junon Harbour, with her early moments replacing the CPR scenes with Pricilla from the original game. Yuffie goes to Junon to assassinate Rufus Shinra, and her attempt to do so happens during the military parade.
Cid is met in a new location this time. In the original, he is recruited from his home in Rocket Town in which a disagreement with Shinra turns into an escape. However, the party never visits Rocket Town in Rebirth. Rather, Cid is depicted as a pilot-for-hire. Cid initially serves as a fast-travel system, summoned at Gongaga airfield with a smoke signal, and flying you from location to location in the Tiny Bronco.
Later on, he allies with the party after revealing he once met Aerith’s biological mother, Ifalna. Sad to learn that she passed away, Cid heavily desires to help Aerith.
Vincent still remains locked in the Shinra Mansion basement, but this time you meet him when the party is looking for a computer terminal that reveals the location of the Temple of the Ancients. When the group stumbles across Hojo’s lab equipment, he steps in to stop them by transforming into the werewolf-like monster known as Galian Beast, his Limit Break in the original game. Upon defeat, Vincent is convinced to tag along with the party because of his past association with Shinra and Sephiroth.
Larger Cast of Characters
Rebirth has a larger cast of characters in comparison to the original Final Fantasy VII, including returning characters from Remake as well as some fresh faces. Minor characters, like Beck and the bandits, serve as recurring bosses. In addition, Materia expert Chadley has a larger role than ever before in strengthening the party.
New additions such as Mia, an intel gatherer, and Broden a hotelier, make their debut. These characters develop the setting, bringing lore that was once obscure to the forefront to make the story feel more alive.
Deeper Romance Scenes
In comparison to the original four date scenes in classic Final Fantasy VII, Rebirth covers up to six different date scenes. Players can now experience the Gold Saucer date scenes with Vincent, Cid, Cait Sith, and Red XIII (simultaneously).
None of the scenes are romantic, but they lend a bit of extra depth to the characters. Choosing any of these options may leave Tifa or Aerith feeling neglected.
Events Occur In A Different Order
To make the story more linear, Rebirth rearranges key scenes from the original game. For one, the party encounters Cid early in Gongaga, rather than later in Rocket Town. Cloud turns on Tifa in Gongaga rather than later in Mideel. Although the canonical events in each of these places play out in a similar way, the order affects the pacing of Rebirth.
The way the scenes are rearranged helps ensure that Rebirth has enough going on to justify itself as a standalone title rather than merely part of a whole big picture.
Cloud Tries To Murder Tifa
Throughout Rebirth, visions of Sephiroth attempt to convince Cloud that Tifa is an imposter. This comes to a head at Gongaga Reactor where a tormented Cloud lashes out at Tifa under the pretense that she is a manifestation of Jenova. He tries to kill her, but Tifa manages to dodge and escape his sword.
Although Tifa survives the attack from Cloud, she falls into the reactor’s lake of liquid mako. She is then swallowed whole by a Weapon, one of the protectors of the planet shaped like a whale. While trapped inside, she watches it as it swims through the Lifestream.
During her journey, she experiences visions from the past, including memories of her childhood with Cloud when she made him promise to save her. This sounds very similar to the sequence from the classic game, but it takes place much later when Cloud recovers in Mideel. The sequence concludes with Tifa observing a vision of Sephiroth guiding Cloud away from her. This serves as a foreshadowing of the villain’s grip over her friend.
Aerith Knows Her Fate
In the original Final Fantasy VII, Aerith has no clue about the death that awaits her at the Forgotten Capital. But in Remake, it is suggested that Aerith is able to see the future. Rebirth continues to reinforce this approach, revealing that Red XIII is capable of seeing the future as well. Yet, since they leave Midgar, Aerith and Red XIII have lost their ability to see the path ahead.
The answer behind this sudden blockage is rooted in Aerith’s White Materia. In the original game, the special orb was used to summon Holy, a protective magic capable of defending the entire planet. In Rebirth, Red XIII explains how materia is the formation of knowledge and memories, and so it appears as though the White Materia is a vessel for Aerith’s foresight ability. Presumably, Red XIII could tap into these visions. Yet, the issue is that during the events of Rebirth, the White Materia is no longer white–it’s empty, colorless, and loses its power to call Holy.
These memories were taken by the Whispers. Last year, it was confirmed by Square Enix that every time Aerith was touched by them in Remake, they took away another memory. By the time the Harbinger was defeated, every one of her future memories had been stolen, leaving her with nothing.
In the final chapter of Rebirth, Cloud is taken to a new reality in which he discovers an alternate version of Aerith who has her own White Materia. She speaks to him by saying “Whatever happens, don’t blame yourself.” This proves Aerith knows of her own fate thanks to her materia. She presents her orb to Cloud, sending him back to his reality, letting him reunite with Aerith with a working White Materia, these future memories, and the ability to call Holy.
More Filler
To explore the characters, relationships, and the world itself with deeper detail, the story of Rebirth contains additional filler. Once optional tasks have become requirements to progress the story. There are infinitesimal side quests, crafting challenges, and Queen’s Blood championships–all of which are dense with lore and conflict. Completing the side quests also progresses the lore compendium that players can check at any time.
These more obscure concepts in the worldbuilding of Final Fantasy VII used to be nothing more than in-game signs and brief mentions in dialogue.
At certain moments, though, the concentration of filler is frustrating. It occasionally slows the story to a screeching halt, forcing players to endure many tasks while the fate of the planet is at stake. In other moments, the filler adds depth to the world of Final Fantasy VII. It shows players just how much each person’s lives are affected by the anger of Sephiroth and the greed of Shinra.
Sephiroth Wants To Conquer The Entire Multiverse
In the original game, Sephiroth’s plan was to absorb the Lifestream and ascend to godhood. Although he seems set on the same intention with the Remake trilogy, it is revealed in Rebirth that his master plan involves conquering the multiverse using Reunion.
Reunion isn’t new for Final Fantasy VII fans, but in the original, it refers to the reunion of Jenova’s cells. In Rebirth, it refers to Sephiroth orchestrating the convergence of many different realities. This process is known as homecoming, and when it begins he says their joining is a confluence of emotions and worlds.
Since Sephiroth also desires the Black Materia, it seems obvious that the mass destruction of one world but multiple is on his agenda.
Zack and Aerith Remain Alive
Aerith gets killed by Sephiroth at the Forgotten Capital during the events of the original Final Fantasy VII. But the final cutscene implies that her spirit lives on in the Lifestream, and she can protect the planet from meteor.
This idea remains in Rebirth, but it presents itself in a different way. Aerith is still impaled with Sephiroth’s sword, yet her spiritual form continues and directly communicates with Cloud.
Sadly though, the rest of the party remains unaware of her presence. During the final cutscene, Aerith makes a promise to Cloud that she will stop the meteor, which acknowledges the original game’s finale.
Although Aerith’s fate is only a slight deviation from the way things play out in the original version, Zack’s reality is quite different. In the original, he dies. Yet, the creation of multiple realities throughout the Remake trilogy lets viewers know that Zack lives on in various worlds of the multiverse. You can see various different versions of Zack across Rebirth in worlds that are separate from the ‘main’ reality that heroes live in.
At the conclusion of the game, the version of Zack we see fighting during the concluding battle ponders on something that Sephiroth told him, which is that worlds unite and part. He wonders if this means worlds can reunite for a second time. This implies that Zack’s reality will unite with a world in which he can live happily with alternate versions of Cloud and Aerith, as the ones in his reality appear terminally ill.
Glenn Lodbrok and the Wutai War
It is briefly established in the original Final Fantasy VII that Yuffie’s home of Wutai was at war with Shinra at one point. The remake trilogy expands on this, and it has become a notable secondary plot point in Rebirth. There is currently a cease-fire agreement between the two factions, but Glenn Lodbrok (introduced in Final Fantasy VII The First Soldier) who defected from SOLDIER to the Wutai, attempts to instill war again, destroying Midgar and Shinra.
In a public address, he claims that Shinra massacred soldiers of the Wutai, in a situation that he purposely orchestrated to increase tensions, and places false blame on the emergence of the Weapons on the company.
During the finale, it is revealed that Glen is under the control of Sephiroth, and the attempts to reignite the war between Shinra and Wutai serve as a ploy to distract Rufus. Sephiroth never bluntly reveals why he is going about this, but he says “our promised land will become a reality.” Based on this, it remains logical to assume that he is attempting to divert the attention of Rufus away from his goal of discovering the Promised Land. This location was sought after by Sephiroth during the original Final Fantasy VII where he could absorb mass concentrations of Mako energy necessary to cast Meteor and use the Black Materia.
President Shinra hoped to discover the Black Materia and use the energy to construct Neo Midgar. Fans are aware that the Rebirth version of Rufus wants to complete his father’s work, and it’s sensible that this version of Sephiroth still wants the energy. Therefore, if Rufus is distracted by the Wutai war, then Sephiroth can more easily get to the Promised Land before him.
