The best Final Fantasy games to play before Rebirth

Can you believe it’s 2024 and… Final fantasy 7 is still a huge entry within the larger Final Fantasy series? It all started in 1997, when Square Enix released the original FF7 on PlayStation 1, complete with 3D graphics. Fast-forward about 27 years and it is now one of the most critically acclaimed video games of all time and has undergone numerous adaptations and spin-offs since its initial release.

Here you will find a brief selection of the available options Final fantasy 7 fans. You can play the original RPG, which has been ported to modern consoles. There’s the gloriously corny CGI movie Advent children, which takes place two years after the events of the original game. Supporting character Zack Fair even has an entire prequel set before the events of Final fantasy 7 which Square Enix has remastered. Other characters like Tifa and Aerith don’t have their own games, but they do have entire novels dedicated to telling their backstories. And none of these examples touch on the various reissues of the original Final fantasy 7 and the associated spin-offs.

Letting go of so much Final fantasy 7 media could cause some kind of… crisis… for fans. The creators haven’t made it clear what is canon and what isn’t, and it has reached overwhelming Marvel levels of complexity. Yet it doesn’t have to be that complicated. With the release of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, this can be a good time to revisit older games in preparation. In this list we give you a spoiler-free overview of which related media can enrich your experience Rebirth based on characters and storylines in the game and what the story is about.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake

Where to play: PlayStation5, PlayStation4

Instead of just updating the graphics, the Square Enix development team opted to use the original Final fantasy 7 as a source of great inspiration and divided it into three different games for a full remake trilogy. The first two titles are Final Fantasy 7 Remake and now Final Fantasy Rebirth. (Square Enix hasn’t released any details about the third installment yet, but… developers say it’s on its way.) Of all the games on this list, Remake is the most important game you should play before diving in Rebirthwhich begins immediately after the events of Remake.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake follows the story of Cloud Strife and his involvement with the Avalanche insurgent group in the city of Midgar. In addition to introducing players to the main cast of characters, you play as in Rebirthit also offers an intimate look at Midgar and the living conditions that result from Shinra’s rule. Rebirth starts right in the middle of the action Remakejust as Cloud and his friends flee the city.

Rebirth doesn’t bother to give players a full summary of who’s who and what you need to know, though you don’t necessarily have to play Remake to enjoy Rebirth. You do get snippets of what happened before, so it’s probably just enough to get a sense of the main players in this world and the team’s larger mission. Still, there are so many emotional beats that will hit harder or make more sense if you play them, and if you really want to save time, you can skip these. Remakethe DLC, Episode break. I personally enjoyed it, but Rebirth does a good job of showing the additional Yuffie backstory.

Final Fantasy 7 (1997)

Image: Square Enix

Where to play: Windows PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4

Final Fantasy 7 Remake deviated from the original story told in Final fantasy 7 in several ways, zooming in on the first part of the game set in Midgar. Rebirth deviates even further from the original story by completely changing the order in which the team visits certain regions and some events. This means that the original version of the game is not necessary to play and enjoy Rebirth. In fact, I would argue Remake both are more important to play to understand Rebirth‘s story and more fun too.

However, playing the original will give you a solid foundation of the characters and world that inspired the entire franchise. These games still share the same main cast of characters and many of the locations featured in games. Additionally, modern ports of the game for consoles like the Nintendo Switch include plenty of quality of life features (you can speed up battles or use combat enhancements) that make it relatively easy to beat without having to sharpen levels or worry about logistics.

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion

Image: Square Enix

Where to play: Windows PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion is a remastered reissue of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7, a prequel from Square Enix that was released on PlayStation Portable about 16 years ago. Both versions of the game tell more or less the same story, following the life of Zack Fair, Cloud’s army friend, and the events that led to the game’s beginnings. Final fantasy 7.

The relationship between Crisis core And Final fantasy 7 can be a bit confusing. Remake And Rebirth are now taking the story in a different direction, so it is unclear whether it is a prequel to the original FF7 or the newer trilogy of games. Square Enix’s site describes it as a prequel to the original gameBut Tetsuya Nomura also said this in an interview that the team was “positioning itself Crisis Core reunion as a prequel” to the entire three-part remake trilogy and that the story is important.

Regardless of where it is in the timeline, you still have to play it. The story shows why Zack plays such an important role in the bigger picture Final fantasy 7 world and reveals much more about his relationship with Cloud. It also provides great insight into Sephiroth’s life before the events of FF7 and that’s important too, because his motivations determine the entire fate of the planet.

My only warning is this: if you’ve only been playing Remake and are oblivious to the main story beats from the original FF7then you might want to stop playing Crisis core. Certain parts may be best experienced with the newer, reimagined story, but it’s always there if you want to dive in.

Other shoutouts

Photo: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Rebirth draws liberally from the cast of characters who appear in the broader context Final fantasy 7 universe. Maybe you meet people and you scratch your head wondering what the heck is going on or where someone is coming from. There’s Glenn Lodbrok, who appears as a character in the now-concluded battle royale spin-off game Final Fantasy 7: The First Soldierand appears in the free-to-play gacha game that collects various stories from different games, Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis. Those craving more Vincent Valentine are in for a treat Lamentation of Cerberus: Final Fantasy 7, but it is not available to play on modern consoles, making it difficult to obtain. You can even brush up on some of your Midgar history by checking out the Final Fantasy 7 Remake cards inside PowerWash Simulator.

And these are all just video games. With other types of media you can go even deeper. Superfans of Tifa Lockhart and Aerith Gainsborough can get a entire novel about them and delve into their full history as characters. Last, but not least, there is Advent children. Personally, I love that movie and all its silly antics, but I’d say stay away if you haven’t played the original and were once blissfully unaware of a certain major plot point, like me.

But ultimately, approaching a game with so much “required reading” can be a bit much, and honestly, it’s just not feasible depending on how much free time you have. Therefore, I wouldn’t put too much pressure on experiencing it all. Start with the stories and gameplay that interest you, and you can go from there. Personally, I recommend my friends to just play Remake, without the DLC. It’s all optional, and sometimes the best Final Fantasy experience is one where all you care about is the vibes.