Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is the mid-point of the remake trilogy. This means the developers had to make hard choices about what story elements and content would be cut and what would be left for the final entry or removed entirely.
Those who have finished Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth can attest to how much content the game has. Almost all of the content from Final Fantasy 7’s first disc is here, alongside a ton of new characters and quests to complete.
That being said, there are times when the developers could have prioritized more mainline content over sidequests. This applies to both gameplay and story, as there are a lot of things that could have been done better.
These are the elements of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth that were either undercooked and needed expansion or are parts of the original game that should have been incorporated into the remake trilogy.
10. Cid and Vincent not being playable (despite their prominence)
It made sense for Red XIII not to be playable in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, considering he’s introduced at the end of the game.
What’s baffling is why Cid and Vincent aren’t playable in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. When the announcement was made that they wouldn’t be party members, many assumed that they would have diminished roles in the story, with their storylines being saved for the third entry in the franchise.
The opposite is true, however, as they’re both major characters in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, appearing at the midway point and being present throughout the main story as well as different prominent sidequests.
Making Cid and Vincent playable in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth would have brought the gang from the original game back together, but instead, we have these two hanger-ons throughout the story, who should have been given a starring role.
They certainly deserved more screen time than Cait Sith did, especially when you consider how popular Vincent is with the fanbase.
9. Cutting Rocket Town & Bone Village
Not only is Cid not playable in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, but his backstory and central location also didn’t make it in.
In Final Fantasy 7, after Nibelheim, the player visits Rocket Town, which is home to the Shinra rocket ship. It’s here where Cid is first encountered, and we learn of his broken dream, as he was meant to pilot the rocket, but shut it down at the last second to save the life of an engineer.
Rocket Town is hugely important to Cid’s backstory and will play a major role in the third game, so it’s a huge shame that it was cut from this game.
To a lesser extent, we also have the absence of Bone Village. While not a major location in the original Final Fantasy 7, it’s a place primed for a digging minigame and would have gelled perfectly with the new Chocobo treasure-hunting mechanics in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.
8. Cutting major enemies and bosses from Final Fantasy 7
While Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth brought most of the bosses from the original game back, there were a few that didn’t make the cut. These include the Heavy Tank, which is a triceratops/tank hybrid, and the Ghirofelgo enemy from the Shinra Mansion.
There’s a chance that the Heavy Tank enemy could appear in the final game, as the Shinra Corporation or Don Coreno could dump it on the party during a new boss segment. Things don’t look as hot for Ghirofelgo, as we’re done with the Shinra Mansion, barring some contrived reason we need to return in the third game.
7. Not exploring the KOTR/Jenova fan theory
One of the most popular Final Fantasy 7 fan theories regards the Knights of the Round summon and Jenova. Fans speculate that the heroes among the Cetra that defeated Jenova in the past were transformed by the Planet into the Knights of the Round summon so they could stop her again if she returned.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth was the perfect opportunity to make this fan theory canon, as we learn a ton about the Cetra during the Temple of the Ancients sequence. Yet, it’s not explored or hinted at. Instead, the Gi Tribe, a minor group from Final Fantasy 7, is given way more backstory.
6. Toning down Cait Sith’s betrayal and kidnapping Marlene
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth did the impossible — it made Cait Sith likable. He spent decades being one of the most loathed characters in the game, but his story arc and voice actor’s performance in the remake trilogy have redeemed him.
The problem is that the developers went a little too far in making him nice, as in the storyline from Final Fantasy 7, where he kidnaps Barret’s daughter, Marlene.
Cait Sith used this to force the group to take him with them they visit the Temple of the Ancients, showing how callous he can be, but it has been removed, likely to make him more likable.
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The removal of Marlene’s kidnapping has taken some of the edge off the character and watered down his redemption storyline. Cait Sith organizing the kidnapping of a child was supposed to show that he’s willing to use all of the Shinra scumbag tactics, and we watch as he goes to the light side throughout the story. His replacement betrayal, where he gives the Keystone to the Turks, doesn’t quite hold the same weight.
5. Diminishing Sephiroth’s power in the prologue
You only get to use Sephiroth in your party during a few battles in Final Fantasy 7, but he leaves a huge impression. Any monster that attacks you during the Nibelheim flashback gets utterly annihilated by Sephiroth, either due to his overwhelming strength or his access to high-level spells.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth also gives you control over Sephiroth during the Nibelheim flashback… and he’s a total wimp by comparison. The mighty Sephiroth of Final Fantasy 7 has been replaced with just another character, and the feeling of having a legendary warrior on your side is gone.
4. The Turks VR missions missed a chance to use Before Crisis characters
One of the sidequests in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth involves finding old VR training machines used by the Turks. You need to complete the battles in these simulators to finish the mission.
This would have been a perfect opportunity to reference Before Crisis, the Japan-exclusive prequel game that starred the Turks. Before Crisis featured the group fighting the original incarnation of Avalanche, who were much stronger than the current incarnation of the group.
The VR machines could have featured battles with the likes of the squad from that game, Fuhtio after he had absorbed Zirconiade’s power and turned into a monster, or Elfe, who is one of the few characters ever to fight Sephiroth on equal footing.
Instead, it was just fights against the same opponents we’d been fighting all game. What a waste.
3. Saving Biggs and doing nothing with him
Final Fantasy 7 Remake ended with the reveal that things were going to be different from now on. The characters had defied their fates and were free to form a new destiny.
This was encapsulated by the fact that Biggs was still alive. In Final Fantasy 7, he was killed alongside the other Avalanche members when the Sector 7 Plate fell. But, in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, he survived and was seen recovering from his wounds at the end of the game.
So, the developers must have had big plans for him in the next game, right?
Not really. It turns out that Biggs is still alive in the doomed timeline with Zack. He then proceeds not to blow up a Reactor, and then he’s killed by Shinra troops again. Why bring him back and then not do anything with him?
2. Bringing back Glen Lodbrok and doing nothing with him
If you’re one of the many, many people who didn’t read Final Fantasy 7: The First Soldier, or aren’t currently playing Final Fantasy 7: Ever Crisis, then you’ll be baffled by the mysterious black-robed man who keeps visiting Rufus Shinra.
This character is Glen Lodbrok, an early member of SOLDIER who defected from Shinra and was killed. He was also close with Sephiroth during his early years and accompanied him on many missions.
Including Glen in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth was strange to begin with, as he’s only important in mobile games that a lot of the fanbase isn’t familiar with. His appearance is made even more redundant by the revelation that it’s not actually Glen — it’s just a puppet body being controlled by Sephiroth.
The original Glen’s connection to Sephiroth could have been used to introduce all kinds of interesting lore about both character’s backstories, as well as new info about the Shinra Corporation. Instead, he’s just a strange bit of fanservice that goes nowhere.
1. Not using Zack’s fighting style from Crisis Core
By far, the biggest missed opportunity in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is not using the fighting style from Crisis Core for the Zack sections.
Square Enix literally remastered Crisis Core ahead of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s release, so fans have plenty of opportunities to familiarize themselves with his slot machine-based DMW system.
This would have been the ultimate moment of fanservice. Longtime fans of the franchise would have freaked out upon hearing the “Activating Combat Mode” sting and seeing the reels spinning, except with all new attacks and visuals planned for them.
Instead, Zack has a new fighting style that is nowhere near as interesting. This at least tracks with his role, as like Biggs, he is also an unexpected survivor of the events of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, yet his role in the story was nowhere near as exciting as fans had hoped.
