10 Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Moments That Are Completely Different From The Original

The original Final Fantasy VII is one of the most beloved games of all time, one that has inspired thousands of developers to reconsider how video games can tell a story, and have spiky-haired, belt-covered characters save the world.

It's been two years since Final Fantasy VII Rebirth was released, capturing the magic of the original game while making massive changes to its story and presentation. For that reason, so many iconic areas in the game feel both familiar yet entirely new, offering a completely different experience for fans who have played through the original countless times.

Whether these come in the form of significant lore changes, adding new depth to previously small and insignificant areas, or thankfully improving certain minigames, it's hard to deny that Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is not only its own unique experience. At times, I'd go as far as to argue it's almost a superior version of Final Fantasy VII's story, as the world and its characters finally have the personality they were always supposed to.

Here are 10 moments in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth that feel completely different from the original game.

10 Visiting Gongaga

"Me? Gongaga"

What was once an almost optional section of the original game, Gongaga was revamped into a central location for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, providing pivotal scenes between Sephiroth and Aerith's connection to the ancients, and of course, a chicken collection minigame.

It also reintroduced the former Turk member Cissnei, giving us closure on where her character ended up after the events of Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core.

In the original game, Gongaga was an optional area that players could visit to acquire the Titan materia and witness some interesting scenes with the Turks. But ultimately, it was entirely skippable unless you were aiming for a completionist playthrough. Rebirth saw to fix this, making sure that Aerith's connection to Zack could be focused on more here. The game would also focus on the ruins of the Mako Reactor found at the center of the village, turning a small bit of worldbuilding into a full-blown set piece in its remake.

Frustrating Chocobo navigation aside, this is a welcome change to the game that makes its existence feel vital to Final Fantasy 7's story.

9 The Nibelheim Flashback

A Reimagining of Gaming's Most Iconic Scenes

The Nibelheim flashback in Final Fantasy VII is perhaps one of the most iconic moments in any video game. This seminal part in the story is where Cloud recounts his supposed first-hand witnessing of Sephiroth's turn to madness, and how the white-haired villain burned down Cloud and Tifa's hometown.

Impressively, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth opens in this flashback, charming you with a suspiciously upbeat version of Cloud and a sarcastic, wisecracking Sephiroth. Both characters here are also shown to be uncharacteristically sympathetic to those around them, caring about the lives of the accompanying Shinra grunts and the townsfolk. Of course, we do get some of that neat ludo narrative dissonance this time around, as Sephiroth is light-years ahead of Cloud's weaker self (foreshadowing the future reveal that it's not Cloud we're following here).

What makes Rebirth's retelling of events even more unique from the original is how much warmer Nibelheim comes across in this version. In the original, there's this foreboding tension underlying your entire experience in the town. In Rebirth, there's a playfulness with Cloud's bubbly personality and your party interjecting to ask questions about the events unfolding. There's even light humor upon meeting Tifa's martial arts master, Zangan.

The extra encounters with the townsfolk and getting to explore the surrounding area go a long way in making Sephiroth's eventual fall all the more hard-hitting, and actually make Shinra's occupation later on much more upsetting.

8 Staying at the Golden Saucer

A Theme Park Worth Visiting

The Golden Saucer is an enjoyable set piece in the original Final Fantasy 7, introducing Cloud and the party to the suspicious Cait Sith, while also playing host to several fun minigames you can spend hours completing. Rebirth captures the essence of this location, heightening its grandiosity and building on its spectacle.

Visiting iconic locations like the Chocobo Races, the Musclehead Colosseum, and the Haunted Mansion feel like their ideas have become properly realized. Of course, your visits to the Golden Saucer always go awry. Rebirth introduces a more graphic sequence showcasing Dyne's murder spree at the saucer. The new version also sets up Barret's innocence earlier on, unlike the original where it's ambiguous if Barret really is the culprit behind the murders, removing some tension in the mystery.

On your second trip, you'll get to experience a more fleshed-out first date experience depending on which companion you have the most affinity with. In most playthroughs of the original, it's likely for most players to go on a date with Aerith. In the Remake, it's a bit easier to find ways to build that affinity without altering an entire playthrough. Of course, this night goes awry with an extended sequence that sees the party have an intense battle with Shinra forces following Cait Sith's betrayal, which is focused on far more than it was in the original as well.

7 Corel Prison & Facing Off Against Dyne

Giving Dyne & Barret's Encounter A Heart-Wrenching Finale

Corel Prison is an unfortunate town located underneath the Golden Saucer, riddled with poverty and the sick pervert, Solemn Gus. After a suspicious murder mystery unfolds behind the scenes, placing Barret as the main suspect, the party is given a day to uncover the real culprit or be turned in to Shinra.

The sequence in the original game shows the bleak cost the Golden Saucer is having on the land, highlighting the juxtaposition between the thrills and highs of the theme park compared to the squalor people are suffering right underneath it. In the Remake, things are still somewhat bleak in this environment, but there is some semblance of community formed here. We also have far more introductions with the seedy Solemn Gus, for better or for worse.

However, Rebirth makes a significant change in this section with how it handles Dyne. In many ways, the new version of Dyne redeems the character, as he chooses to die while saving the party from Shinra. The game also allows Dyne to find hope knowing his daughter Marlene is alive, giving him a far happier ending than the darker, more upsetting story told in the original.

This entire chapter adds plenty more depth to the area and its characters, which goes on to make it one of the more heart-wrenching sequences in the game, and provides a strong bookend for Barret's most emotional moment in Final Fantasy VII.

6 The Holiday Getaway of Costa Del Sol

A Resort Worth Exploring

Costa Del Sol is the definition of a stopgap in the original Final Fantasy VII, offering little to nothing to the game's story and is effectively just an area you pass through after the events from Junon.

Thankfully, in Rebirth, you'll get to spend some time basking in the sun, enjoying some unique minigames with your companions, and helping Johnny turn his hotel into a one-of-a-kind retreat. There's also the introduction of a boss fight against Hojo and Shinra goons, which makes your visiting the area feel important, and like the location has a reason to be included in the game.

While it still retains its function as a breather before future intense story moments in Corel, it's one that feels earned and helps flesh out Cloud's connection to his party organically. I'll admit, not every minigame is a win here (Red XIII's miniball game feels like a prank by the developers to make a worse Rocket League), but it's an enjoyable setpiece that allows the game to breathe for a short while.

5 Cosmo Canyon / The Gi

A Revamp of One of Final Fantasy 7's Most Mysterious Factions

The Gi are a mysterious supernatural group that often threatens the people of Cosmo Canyon. In the original Final Fantasy 7, this group is a mostly unimportant collective of ghosts whose impact is limited to Red XIII's backstory. Rebirth sought to correct this, choosing to connect the Gi to the Cetra and to make them the creators of the Black Materia.

As we come to learn, the Gi are a group of undead spirits who can't join the Lifestream as they weren't born from it. As they can't join the Lifestream, they are forever cursed to live in restless purgatory. Their solution to this was to turn a materia black with their "pain and spite", and use it to summon a meteor that would both destroy the planet and themselves. Aerith's ancestors would steal this destructive materia and lock it away in the Temple of the Ancients, providing a much-appreciated explanation for the materia's existence and connection to the Ancients.

This entire section of the game is also impressively revamped to establish the Gi as a truly demonic and paranormal entity that would wreak havoc on the land if they were able to escape from their prison. In my opinion, it's one of the best changes Rebirth makes in ensuring everything in the game exists for a reason and is connected to our hero's journey to defeat Sephiroth.

4 Dolphin Minigame (AKA Junon)

No Annoying CPR Minigame! (Have Fall Guys With Frogs Instead)

In my experience, there is no section I dread more than the brief period your party spends in Junon. The town itself is fairly uneventful, but as you stumble onto the docks and fight off Bottomswell (Or Terror of the Deep in Rebirth), you'll then be prompted to perform CPR on a child who almost drowns during the encounter. No lie, this minigame is one of the most insufferable moments in the entire Final Fantasy franchise for me, and sits right next to Final Fantasy X's Chocobo Racing.

Thankfully, the developers weren't too cruel like they were in Remake by having us redo the switch minigame, and instead removed the CPR minigame from the game. Even better, the following dolphin minigame to climb to upper Junon has also been changed to a fun racing game, which is far more enjoyable than the previous, more convoluted approach.

In saying that, the area does feature a frustrating Fall Guys-esque challenge, which sees you turned into a frog that needs to survive falling off a platform. Thankfully, this is just optional (unless you're a completionist or want to build your connection to Tifa), but by just removing these original minigames makes Junon a far less dreaded location on replays.

3 Tifa and Cloud's Relationship

Silencing Shipping Wars for Good

I must admit, Rebirth has made me a Cloud x Tifa believer. In the original, Tifa comes across as a bit of a pushover towards Cloud, making her connection to him come across as fairly superficial and one-sided. It doesn't help that the original also places an emphasis on his connection with Aerith, which makes Tifa seem like an unfortunate casualty of that relationship.

Thankfully, Rebirth goes to great lengths to flesh out Tifa's character, not only adding more chemistry with Cloud, but also building a stronger friendship with Aerith. In Rebirth, the game cleverly emphasizes Cloud and Tifa's history more, and adds some important moral ambiguity towards her character and how she withholds important information from him about the Nibelheim incident.

We're also shown multiple times that their relationship is strained, with Tifa trying hard to rebuild their connection, while Cloud is almost physically unable to make it work. It makes dedicating time during your playthrough to work on your relationship with her all the more rewarding and sincere, proving that there is a spark between them and that both are mutually interested in making it work.

It's a welcome change that makes Tifa's involvement in the game feel all the more important and adds more weight to moments where Cloud's dubious past catches up to him, placing her in the uncomfortable position of lying to protect him from the traumatic truth.

2 Fighting the Midgar Zolom

Neutering A Once Terrifying Boss

The Midgar Zolom (Or Midgardsormr) is likely a name that sends shivers down most of our spines, thanks to its terrifying presence in the original game. Unfortunately, its impact in the remake has mostly been neutered as it's now a mandatory boss at the end of chapter 2, instead of a difficult encounter you have to avoid.

The boss in Rebirth is a bit tough for new players, who may still be figuring out the combat system, but it's a far cry from its immense strength in the original. Even worse, the fight ends with Sephiroth turning up to kill the large snake, launching it into the air so it impales on the tree. Now, instead of the dread of stumbling across this long-dead Midgar Zolom with the wonder of how Sephiroth potentially killed it, you're directly shown, in an almost comical fashion, how he made light work of it.

It's a rough defanging of a once-terrifying boss who terrified players long into their playthrough, even if they were more than capable of defeating it. The sheer anxiety of seeing its silhouette speed towards you as you cross the water is still etched in our brains, and it's a shame that the remake neuters the experience to give Sephiroth unnecessary style points.

1 Temple of Ancients

A Climactic Finale

The Temple of Ancients section of Final Fantasy VII has been majorly altered in Rebirth. Not only does the temple serve as the final location of the game, but it's also now under siege from Shinra as you make your way into the core to retrieve the Black Materia.

Exploring the Temple has also been changed from a mostly desolate and empty experience to a maze-like dungeon, filled with convoluted, physics-defying architecture. It's a mostly welcome change, as the spectacle here is unlike anything else in the game, and helps to heighten this descent into hell you're taking before the epic showdown with Sephiroth waiting for you.

As the party retrieves the Black Materia, Sephiroth once again takes control of Cloud in an effort to have him deliver the world-ending orb of doom to him. Aerith, however, takes it and flees, forcing you to play through a gut-wrenching sequence while you pursue her for it.

The entire sequence here has been remade to serve as the climactic set piece for the game, bringing together Aerith's connection to the Lifestream and the other multiverses as she prepares for her inevitable death. It's also here that Zack's storyline collides with the main story, as your entire party fights off Jenova and Sephiroth through an intense multi-stage final boss battle.

This entire spectacle ends as you expect, but Rebirth still takes you on an incredible journey that tugs at your heart all the same.