Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth weakly attempts to bridge the events of FF7: The First Soldier and FF7: Ever Crisis into the narrative. Rather than be a true push to feature elements of those games’ stories, the character of Glenn Lodbrok is oddly shoehorned in. This is only partially surprising, as the FF7: Remake games have pulled from less popular portions of the Compilation Of Final Fantasy 7, such as The Kids Are Alright: A Turk Side Story.

FF7: Remake had few references and at least tried to ease in cameo appearances. Kyrie Canaan and Leslie Kyle felt like they actually belonged within Midgar and had a place in the story. However, FF7: Rebirth has less onboarding or setups, making a character like Glenn feel like an afterthought. However, this may be what Square Enix wants, as characters have different roles in the multiverse.

FF7: The First Soldier Was Shut Down In 2023

You Can No Longer Access Glenn’s Original Title

Given standard production schedules, FF7: Rebirth, FF7: The First Soldier, and FF7: Ever Crisis were likely developed around the same time. The creation of Glenn Lodbrok was planned for multiple games and potentially by several teams at Square Enix. The intention was likely that super fans of Final Fantasy would play all three simultaneously.

Glenn first appeared in FF7: The First Soldier opening movie and mostly served as an in-game NPC. For the most part, players took control of their own custom character. It might have been the mobile platform, persistent online aspects, or the fatigue of following the Fortnite battle royale trend, but FF7: The First Soldier shuttered after just over a year of service.

Glenn’s story was at least expanded in FF7: Ever Crisis through specific “The First Soldier” chapters. It reveals that he was a prototype SOLDIER who is given all the training but isn’t exposed to any Mako. However, due to tensions, Glenn eventually left Shinra and took part in the uprising that displaced Godo Kisaragi as the leader of Wutai. Before Glenn could take a seat of power, Rufus Shinra seemingly assassinated him.

Glenn Lodbrok Isn’t Properly Introduced In FF7 Rebirth

Either You Already Know Him Or Not

Glenn suddenly reappears in the fourth chapter of FF7: Rebirth, Dawn of an New Era. While Glenn is named and shown to have been betrayed by Rufus, no other context is given about their relationship. He is dressed in black robes, identical to the thralls of Sephiroth. Glenn waltzes into Rufus’ office and urges him to continue the manufactured war between Shinra and Wutai.

Glenn shows up a few more times to ignite chaos, including sending agents to the Nibel Reactor and continuing to mock Rufus. But, in one of the final stingers after the ending in FF7: Rebirth, it is revealed that this wasn’t the real Glenn Lodbrok at all - just another goon under Sephiroth’s control.

While this might have been a shocking reveal for FF7: Ever Crisis players, it is confusing and lackluster for the average consumer. Not everyone wants to dive into a mobile gacha game to understand the full-priced RPG they just bought. Glenn should have felt fully incorporated into Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth rather than a callback to another title. As for now, it is unknown if he will appear in part three and have meaning to the cameo.