Summary

• FF7 Rebirth has less missable content than the original FF7, but some scenes can't be seen in one playthrough.
• The game adjusts side quests to maintain immersion, even when completed out of order.
• Red XIII's quests showcase the most significant alterations in the game, reflecting his personality shift.

Getting a complete story experience in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth can take a long time, but the process tends to feel fairly straightforward in most regards. From a linear main story to checklists for side content, there isn't much about FF7 Rebirth that leaves potential for confusion, especially when compared to the less straightforward approach of the original FF7. Even after 100%ing a playthrough, however, it's actually impossible to have seen every scene that the game has to offer in one go at the story.

One inherent challenge of making a game as big as FF7 Rebirth is balancing the narrative momentum with something approaching open-world design, where past areas filled with content can be revisited after progressing the plot. Although most side content tends to be minor enough that playing through it makes sense at virtually any point in the story, keeping everything unchanged can lead to immersion-breaking moments that seemingly ping NPCs between locations or ignore consequences of the story. FF7 Rebirth actually has an answer to this problem, even if most people who play the game might never get to realize it.

FF7 Rebirth Changes Quests When They Happen Out Of Order

Making The Chronology Work Requires Extra Scenes

The sweeping events of FF7 Rebirth can make it easy to forget that most of the world is unaware of what's truly happening, and returning to an early-game location like Kalm is a reminder that not all that much has changed. At the same time, no place is completely sheltered from the shifting tides, and FF7 Rebirth addresses this in a cool way. In the small number of situations where a side quest stops making sense when embarking on it later than intended, the game adjusts characters or dialogue to make it fall into place without changing the core content.

One example of this phenomenon throughout lies in the objectives handed to the party by Kyrie, an impetuous grifter who made her debut in FF7 Remake's Midgar slums. She pops up repeatedly in FF7 Rebirth to beg Cloud's help in dealing with mercenary requests that she's gotten in over her head with, a series of tribulations that ultimately finds its own resolution.

Since Kyrie's forward progress mimics the party's, however, some side quest scenes wouldn't make sense if done out of order, which FF7 Rebirth circumvents through the addition of a Moogle plushie wearing her signature cap. She's rigged it up to play audio telling the party what to do, taking care of her necessary role without having to mysteriously teleport her around the world. It's an idea that's as smart as it is cute, and it's the kind of detail that helps the fantastical world of Gaia feel real.

The Grasslands Are Full Of FF7 Rebirth Quest Changes

Kyrie Doesn't Receive The Only Tweaks

Another change in the Grasslands area can be found in "Where the Wind Blows," a side quest involving the innkeeper Broden. Broden can be found again later in the story in a position that would keep him from returning to Kalm, so involving him in the quest if completed later would be entirely chronologically incompatible. Like Kyrie, his presence will be substituted if necessary. His side story is interesting, so it's best to do this one in the right order if possible, but it can be interesting to check out the alternative on a repeat playthrough.

"Flowers From the Hill" is yet another example of this phenomenon when returning to the Grasslands. This quest involves the young siblings Chloe and Billy, who help their grandfather Chocobo Bill run the Chocobo Farm in the area. Once again, story progression ends up leaving this location comparatively understaffed later on, and doing it out of order reflects this.

Red XIII Has The Biggest FF7 Rebirth Alterations

Red XIII's Personality Shift Is Reflected In Side Quests

The largest chunk of content that can be affected lies in Red XIII's quests, which shift to accommodate a change in how the party member presents his personality after visiting Cosmo Canyon. Like in the original game, Red XIII is affecting a certain demeanor with the hopes of gaining the party's respect, and dropping that facade opens up a different side to his personality. Leaving his quests unchanged probably wouldn't have generated much complaint, so putting in the work to include two different versions with altered dialogue and performances is one instance of FF7 Rebirth going above and beyond.

The chicken-wrangling quest in Gongaga is one instance that changes quite a bit if completed after Cosmo Canyon, so it can be a fun one to save.

If any FF7 Rebirth side content is worth seeing from both perspectives, it's probably the Red XIII examples, as the revised versions offer further insight into the personality of a significant FF7 Rebirth character. It's still not essential for game completion, as the long path to 100%ing won't be affected by it, but there's little reason not to explore Red XIII's other scenes if playing through the game more than once.

Depending on how the final game in the FF7 Remake trilogy is designed, it could end up having a real challenge replicating the consistency of FF7 Rebirth's chronology. The last segment of the original game allows the party to fly around the world freely in the Highwind and revisit key locations like Midgar, which could open up more complexity in how players approach side content. FF7 Rebirth manages the expansion in scale from Remake with surprising confidence, however, so there's enough reason to hope that the series can pull off that next step well.

At any rate, it's interesting to see that FF7 Rebirth's selection of content isn't quite as straightforward as it appears. It's also a minor throwback to the more cryptic elements and extensive missable content of the original FF7, where it was possible to see the credits roll without ever even recruiting Yuffie or Vincent. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth makes it possible to check off every side quest in the course of one run, but when it comes to experiencing every possible version of them, some extra time is ultimately required.