Cosmo Canyon

There’s another overly complicated minigame waiting for Cloud and company in Cosmo Canyon. To earn the Protorelic this time, you’ll need to complete Gears & Gambit minigames.

There's a lot of impressive detail to be found in , and sometimes it's the smallest inclusions that end up proving the most impressive. Although can be content to fill out some of its content with meaningless tasks reminiscent of many modern open-world games, venturing into its cities, trying out minigames, and buckling in for the main narrative ride consistently impresses with the level of bespoke content. Some of these highlights will show up in every playthrough, but other things can be shockingly easy to miss.

Getting to go on a date at the Gold Saucer is an exciting moment in , but this iconic event doesn't get to properly play out on the first trip to the amusement park. From a narrative standpoint, it's probably a good thing that Cloud's break time is interrupted, as the sequence running from Costa del Sol to the Gold Saucer has quite a lot of downtime for an intense plot. All the same, it's hard not to spend a lot of time wondering when there is another chance to go on a Gold Saucer date.

has all kinds of crucial interactions between characters peppered across the story, but there's one essential piece that can easily get passed over in a playthrough. As an expansion and modification of the original story, one of the main things that does with its vastly extended runtime is offer more memorable moments involving Cloud and his party. Although some can be minor or even questionable additions, others flesh out emotional beats and deep relationships in meaningful ways that help make the game a worthy successor.

Protorelic quests might not seem like critical content to play in , but there's one in particular that's well worth completing. As unique objectives that make up a part of the World Intel checklists found throughout the game, Protorelic quests task Cloud and company with tracking down pieces of ancient armor. Although this can lead to unlocking a powerful summon and gear late in the game, anyone uninterested in committing to the long haul could easily decide to ignore all the quests in favor of focusing on the main story.

has an open world that's perfect for the inclusion of many side quests and extra activities. While some of these activities are just for fun, others reveal lore about the game's world. The rewards for these extra activities also vary, but one specific chain of quests has a pretty powerful final reward once the entire quest chain is completed.

Shortly before launch, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth director Naoki Hamaguchi confused many fans of the series by explaining that the development team made two versions of each side quest all because of Red XIII. We didn't know why at the time, as we weren't aware of the voice change that Red XIII goes through a little ways into the game itself, first hinted at in Under Junon and then again in Costa del Sol.

In the days that followed after the launch of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, some of the staff at Square Enix talked about the challenges that went into creating a massive project that could live up to players' expectations. Despite Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth releasing nearly four years after Final Fantasy 7 Remake, the developers expressed the concerns they had about putting it together.

Though is known as the game that popularized perhaps the most widely-known mount, the Chocobo, actually has multiple modes of traversal in the expansive open-world RPG. In addition to a wide array of different Chocobo types that are obtainable — including flying Chocobos — there are also other modern vehicles people can obtain throughout the game.

With such a large world with many open-world locations, it's no wonder that has quite a few collectibles to hunt down, including piano sheet music. Unlike some collectibles, the piano music sheets have a purpose; once one is collected, you can play that song with a guide. These sheets are scattered across the map, and collecting them all is a challenging task.

's biggest change to Red XIII might seem jarring, but there's a perfectly good reason for it. The second chapter in the remake trilogy makes a lot of changes to the original 's story, not least of which are the changes to its characters. Although Red XIII debuted near the end of, he's playable for the first time in . The sequel also delves more deeply into the Shinra lab rat-dog's backstory, just as the equivalent section of the original does.

The release of the highly awaited prompted a whole new load of questions, including if this is the last game in the trilogy. The title follows the release of both and and continues the journey of Cloud Strife and his companions, who have now left the city of Midgar behind and are setting off across the larger and more complex planet of Gaia, to which they have a tremendous responsibility.

After breaking out of the confined spaces of Midgar in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, a lot of new opportunities and mechanics have been introduced. Along with some standard open-world activities, collecting tons of resources as you travel will be a constant. Icons for all sorts of rocks, plants, and beast parts are needed to transmute new items. Zinc Ore is no different, but it is required for some great accessories you probably want to make early. If you need this precious rock but don’t know where to start looking, hop on your chocobo, and we’ll lead you right to it.

Cosmo Canyon introduces a flying chocobo to make traversing this vast region just a little easier. And while flying around is pretty simple when it comes to exploration, completing the Glide De Choco minigame is a whole lot harder. There are techniques the game really doesn’t explain required to complete these three challenges, and we’re aiming to get the best score possible. If you want to get some valuable rewards, you’ll want to fly through every single ring in all three training courses.

The lead writer for , Kazushige Nojima, has kindly asked fans to stop suggesting who developer Square Enix kills off in the new entry in the remake series. is the second title and will follow the group led by Cloud Strife immediately after the events that took place during and the collapse of the Sector 7 plate. In the new game, players will venture beyond the boundaries of Midgar and explore an open-world map, visiting iconic locations such as Costa del Sol and Cosmo Canyon.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has won the Most Wanted Game category at the Golden Joystick Awards 2023 powered by Intel. 

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has two versions of each quest due to Square Enix's desire to include a story detail from the original JRPG.

A long-hidden detail in has been commented on by the game director, revealing an adorable secret. The first entry in the remake series was released back in early 2020 and covered the first portion of the game, set entirely within the city of Midgar. As such, the game’s final moments see the group led by Cloud Strife leaving Midgar after a gruesome and fate-changing fight with Sephiroth.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's director, Naoki Hamaguchi, has revealed that there are two versions of every quest in the game to accommodate Red XIII's personality change after visiting Cosmo Canyon.

By Ash Parrish, a reporter who has covered the business, culture, and communities of video games for seven years. Previously, she worked at Kotaku.

It hasn’t even been a week, and Square Enix is already spoiling us with new outfits and side stories. It’s no secret that the game is aiming for some of that summer cash with the release of a beach-themed event so late into the fall. We’ll take it, though, as the rewards are too good to pass up, and the thought of Tifa and Red XIII in summer beach gear is every hardcore fan’s dream. There are also some cool modes that have been added, so if you’re looking for more gameplay, there’s still something there for you.