Summary

• Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth had the difficult task of adapting some of the most important scenes from the original FF7.
• Many of Rebirth's most important story moments deal with the game's numerous timelines, and explaining how different characters interact with them.
• FF7 Rebirth's most important cutscene is a culmination of all that is learned about the timelines before it.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth continues the story right where FF7 Remake left off, and that means there were no guarantees about what major plot points would change and which would stay the same. Given the amount of content included, not every scene is important to the story. While they might add depth to the plot or characters, some scenes could be skipped without worrying about missing information pertinent to future events, or explaining past mysteries.

[Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.]

As the middle section of the Remake trilogy, Rebirth features some of the most important scenes from the original game. However, it also changes the previous plot, just like Remake did. Because of this, there are now many more scenes that are important to the story, especially the ones that deal with alternate timelines or Sephiroth's new goals.

10 Zack & Cloud Arrive In Midgar

A Familiar Entrance

Zack is already an anomaly in Rebirth, having died at the end of Crisis Core as a result of his standoff against Shinra’s army. However, he survives in at least one alternate timeline, and he manages to carry Cloud all the way to Midgar. Once they arrive, Zack stops to see the news feed playing on a screen where a crowd has gathered.

This reveals which timeline Zack is in, because the news feed shows the bodies of the AVALANCHE splinter cell, plus Aerith and Red XIII, being loaded into helicopters. They never made it out of Midgar here, and Zack rescues Aerith himself before Shinra takes her back to Hojo, which leads to him, Aerith, and Cloud staying with Elmyra and Marlene in Sector 5. Overall, it's an early scene with a lot of information regarding the new directions in Rebirth's story.

9 Aerith Asks Red XIII About Her Materia

Materia Mysteries

While in Costa del Sol, Aerith asks Red XIII what color the materia she hides in her hair is. Since it's a clear orb, Red tells her that it doesn't have a color. However, Aerith explains that the materia has only been clear since they left Midgar. Before that point, it was a white color instead of clear. Naturally, she's curious about what happened.

Red goes on to talk about how materia are essentially concentrated bits of the Lifestream, and that they store the memories, emotions, and such of people. This leads to Aerith believing that the Whispers are responsible for her materia losing its white color, lamenting that they've seemingly stolen something precious from her. And this is important to the story because her materia is white when it's capable of using Holy, which seems to imply that the timelines where she doesn't leave Midgar retain access to Holy, and that could be important moving into the third game.

8 Cloud Recaps What Happened In Nibelheim

Unreliable Narrator

Some of the earliest cutscenes in Rebirth include Cloud explaining how Sephiroth went from being a model SOLDIER to burning down an entire village. Playing the original game or Crisis Core provides some information regarding these events. However, those games aren't required to play before Remake and Rebirth. As such, these cutscenes provide a lot of context for the story overall that might otherwise be missed.

These scenes show how Sephiroth used to be somebody others considered a hero. However, while in Nibelheim, he found research documents that explained the nature of his birth and existence, along with the true identity of Jenova. All of this resulted in him not only turning against Shinra, but becoming vengeful towards the general population. Since these moments acted as the catalyst for the events of FF7 overall, they're easily among the most important cutscenes.

7 Cloud its That His Memory Is Missing

Facing The Gaps

During the group's time in Gongaga, Cloud talks with Tifa at the inn. It's a sweet moment that shows their bond, and might be particularly sweet for any Cloud who wants to romance Tifa in FF7 Rebirth. However, it also confirms something that's been hinted at an awful lot even back in Remake: Cloud isn't okay. And this becomes both more important and more obvious as the game progresses.

Cloud's headaches are already a cause for concern, especially when combined with his hallucinations about Sephiroth. But his recollection of Nibelheim is even stranger after Crisis Core Reunion because Zack Fair isn't mentioned at all. In fact, Cloud puts himself in Zack's role when he talks about the incident. He mentions to Tifa that there are pieces of his memory missing, but he doesn't seem aware of his memory being jumbled when it comes to his own identity.

6 Marlene Knows The Future & About Alternate Timelines

Whispers Of The Future

In the timeline where Zack survives, he spends time at Elmyra's house with her and Marlene while watching over Aerith and Cloud in their comas. While at the dinner table, Elmyra mentions that Biggs will keep coming back to give them supplies as long as Marlene is staying there. But Marlene disagrees, saying with certainty that neither Biggs nor anybody else will be returning ever again.

Zack tries to be comforting, but Marlene later shows her ability to know future events again when she tells Zack that Aerith will be killed by a man with long gray hair when she wakes up. This makes Marlene one of multiple FF7 Rebirth characters to interact with timelines. It seems like this will become more important as Sephiroth tries to kick off the Reing, and it also shows how there might be more characters that can see across timelines compared to what's been seen so far.

5 Hojo Appears At The Beach In Costa Del Sol

Hojo's Haunting Presence

This scene might seem a bit out of place, but Hojo drops a few important pieces of lore information. First, he calls the hooded men Cloud's brothers. He also asks Cloud if he heeded the same call, and when Cloud denies this, Hojo says that it was an unconscious decision, then. Additionally, Hojo makes a comment that becomes more important later.

When talking about his specimen – the hooded men – Hojo says that they could only be created as the product of a reunion. Considering Hojo says a lot of lines that can be dismissed as the ramblings of a mad scientist, the importance of this one isn't revealed until Sephiroth also talks about a reunion. And it starts raising questions about how Hojo knows about reunions, how connected reunions are to Jenova cells, and if he has the same goal as Sephiroth.

4 Tifa Has A Near-Death Experience

Brushing Mortality

While in the Gongaga area, Tifa almost drowns and has a near-death experience. However, she witnesses a few interesting pieces of information before she fully loses consciousness. The most important part might be seeing the White Whispers and Black Whispers, and noticing how each type interacts with Sephiroth.

Tifa shares her observations with the rest of the group when she returns, courtesy of the large whale creature that's a protector of the planet. She explains that the White Whispers worked with the whale creature to maintain the proper direction of fate for Gaia. Meanwhile, the Black Whispers work with Sephiroth to put fate on his desired path. It was possible to guess that this was the case given the scenes with Whispers so far, but it becomes important since the difference between them is confirmed.

3 Sephiroth Takes Cloud Between Timelines

A Shift In Time

In an attempt to bring Cloud to his side, Sephiroth shows him the space between timelines. He explains that he's trying to cause a reunion between the timelines, believing that this is the proper course of the planet. He even goes as far as saying that the voice of the planet itself is crying out to be brought together through reuniting timelines.

It's clear that Sephiroth has much more control over timelines than he seemed to in the past.

Contrary to what Sephiroth claims to hear, Cloud points out that the noise they hear is screaming, not the joyful cries that Sephiroth believes them to be. Sephiroth is disappointed that Cloud still fails to see things the same way as he does, but he seems unsurprised that this is the case. Regardless of the outcome, it's clear that Sephiroth has much more control over timelines than he seemed to in the past, which could be dangerous going into the next game.

2 Zack Jumps Between Timelines

Defying Fate

This scene is shown multiple times, specifically every time that Zack would otherwise die. Instead of dying, he jumps into the white void between timelines and ends up in a new one. And given the information about White Whispers from earlier, it looks like the planet itself wants Zack to survive because the White Whispers are around him more often than not.

Since Zack jumps from timeline to timeline, it's only a matter of time until he ends up back in the primary one with Cloud and the crew. And considering this is radically different from the original FF7 story, there's no doubt that it'll end up being important going into the third and final remake title. Like Sephiroth, Zack wants to reunite timelines. However, he's doing it out of love and a desire to protect his friends instead of seeking destruction.

1 Aerith's Fate In The Forgotten City

Aerith's Destiny Hangs In The Balance

This is not only the most anticipated scene, but it's also the most important scene in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: Aerith's death. Except, Aerith's death scene is much more confusing in Rebirth because of the alternate timelines and the way they overlap. Sephiroth seems to need Aerith to pray for Holy and then die, using his power over Whispers to keep Cloud away. But he doesn't explain why he needs her to fulfill this role for his goals.

That's also why it's important to look at how this scene plays out, because Aerith now has two fates. In one timeline, she dies, but in another timeline, Cloud reaches her in time to stop Sephiroth, meaning she lives. And this marks a turning point for Cloud's ability to see between timelines, because he can speak to and interact with Aerith even in the timeline where she dies.

There's a lot of content to sift through in FF7 Rebirth, and that's not even including the content that came before it in FF7 Remake. Rebirth had the heavy task of dealing with the much anticipated scene of Aerith's death, and spending hours beforehand setting up the foundation of how alternate timelines work. Given the way these important scenes add up, Aerith's death is the culmination of the game's most important moments, making it the single most pertinent scene in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.