Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthtakes the “unknown adventure” teased at the very end of 2020’s Final Fantasy 7 Remake to new heights. You’ll explore a huge amount of the game’s world beyond Midgar’s steel sky. Everything in this game is Remake dialed up to 11.

Whether you’ve just finished a replay of the trilogy’s first chapter or it’s been a long time since you met Cloud and company beneath the steel sky, these tips should help you ahead on your way. Get ready for one of the most massive role-playing games that Square Enix has ever delivered. It’s a behemoth of a game.

Chadley and the CHAD Module in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

Chat Up Chadley

We’ll start with something you’ll deal with from the moment you hit theGrasslands, the first of Final Fantasy 7’s sprawlingopen regions. After a bit of a trek to the swamp,the game will point you toward Bill’s Chocobo Ranch.

While you’re there,Chadley, the cyborg kid from FF7 Remake, will hit up Cloud for another partnership. We recommend that youget started with Chadley’s questsimmediately. Take some time to scope out theCombat Simulator, which will reward you for completing bouts.

Ward Shift Mastery Weapon Upgrade in FF7 Rebirth

Chadley serves as FF7 Rebirth’sprimary source of open region quests, so the sooner you get started with his tasks, the more fun you’ll have while exploring Gaia.

Weapon Upgrades For The Win

Weapon upgradesworkdifferently than they did in Remake. Whereas in Remake, players interact with something not unlike a miniature FFX Sphere Grid,each weapon gains stats and various other perks as it levels up, meaning you no longer need to pick and choose.

Here’s the thing:it can be easy to miss the Weapon Upgrade slotswhen you’re equipping Materia or peering at the weapons themselves. Make sure you’ve seen what you may equip them with before you go bludgeoning baddies with it.

FF7 Rebirth screen for Tifa’s Folio featuring Leaping Strikes

Look forWeapon Upgrades that suit your play style. There’s no right or wrong way to hook them up.

O Folio, Where Art Thou?

Replacing Remake’s Weapon Upgrade screen,Folios utilize your hard-earned SPas a form of level-up currency. It is here thatRebirth’s many Synergy skillsare unlocked. You’ll also earn plenty else, includingpermanent stat boostsandAP-based elemental attacks.

These elemental attacks deal less damage than their Materia counterparts,but they allow characters access to weaker versions of every element. This is a huge deal, so verify you snag them whenever you can.

Velociwing enemy in the FF7 Rebirth Nibelheim area

In addition to traditionally-earned SP,there are books for each characterwhich confer further SP for Folios. You’ll find them predominantly viaside quests.

Don’t Obsess Over Assess

Here’s somethingyoumightnot have remembered even in Final Fantasy 7 Remake.We reckon plenty of players will know this, but it bears repeating just in case.You don’t need to cast Assess againevery time you need to see an enemy’s information.

Just once suffices permanently. With thePlayStation 5 DualSensecontroller, simplytap the touchpad at any time during battlesto see all the data you have already acquired. If your memory is razor-sharp, you might never need this, but frankly, ours isn’t.

Fire and Ice Materia in Chadley’s creation screen in FF7 Rebirth

Live In A Materia World

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth hastons more Materia than its predecessor, and we’d be hard-pressed to name more than a handful that aren’t worth using. It can be hard to determinewhich Materia to use inyour limited slots per piece of equipment.

Keep an eye out forlinked Materia slots. By equipping Materia that confers various bonusessuch aselemental attacks and defense, higher-tier spells, and more,your party will be so much mightier.Linked slots are a little rarer than non-linked, but seize them for all they’re worth.

Chadley appearing on Cloud’s CHAD Module in FF7 REbirth

We’ve had a great time with Materia that lets party membersuse abilities and spells on their own. If you’ve got nothing against constantly switching the character you’re controlling, you won’t get much use out of it,but it can be a real timesaver.

Prioritize Those Protorelics

There’s along-running optional questlinein Rebirth involvingProtorelics. You’ll findone in each of the game’s open regions, and if you’re going to do only one piece of Chadley’s Intel missions,make sure you don’t skip these.

Not only do the Protorelic side quests provideriveting stories and some quirky gameplay, but they’re tied together by something the Final Fantasy franchise has celebrated for decades.

Cloud, Aerith, and Tifa dressed as Shinra soldiers in Upper Junon in FF7 REbirth

Go For The Gold In Junon

During Rebirth’s lengthy fourth chapter, players will experience the game’s modern spin onthe classic FF7’s Junon parade mini-game. As one would expect from the Remake trilogy’s massive expansion efforts,the new version is far more in-depth.

You’ll first be tasked with findingat least five squadsthroughout Junon. That said,you should search for all ten. Afterward, we recommendadjusting your squad lineup such that all three portions of the parade are at max (three-star) challenge.

Queen’s Blood match against Virgil in FF7 Rebirth

Doing so, and performing splendidly, nets youbig prizesafterward. That said,you will restart right before the first portionevery time you retry it. And unless you’reamazingat this, youwillneed to restart a few times.

First Blood Before The Big Event

Moving right along, the game’s fifth chapter features aQueen’s Blood tournament.Queen’s Blood is thecard game in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and you’re introduced to it right near the start of Chapter 2.You don’t have to win the tournament, which will be a relief if you’re just not feeling Queen’s Blood.

That said,you’ll get the best rewards for doing so, and we happen to think the cutscenes involved are a real treat in their own regard. But if you want to win,you’ll want to start playingbeforeyou board that boat.

Titan’s difficulty rankings in the FF7 Rebirth combat simulator

In particular, theMidgardsormr cardyou’ll get for beating every opponent prior to the event can seriously turn the tide.

Successful Summoning

Chadley lets youbattle and obtain summons in each regionvia the Combat Simulator. Buttaking them on at maximum strengthis generally a bad idea until a little later on.If you’re around the game’s recommended level, beating them is - while possible - quite difficult.

FindingSummon ShrinesthroughDivine Intelprovides you witheasier variants of the battle. You’ll still acquire the summon, and you can attempt to tackle the mythical beasts at their peak performance later on.

Tifa riding the in Costa del Sol in FF7 Rebirth

Each shrine you complete also grants your summonsnew powers, so it’s a good idea to locate them even if you plan on going at things full force.

Keep Tabs On Towns

There areseveral hub townsin Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, each a reimagining of a location in the original. These include Kalm, Junon, Costa del Sol, and beyond.You’ll find myriad side quests here, but you might want to check backlater in the game.

Not only can youswing by again at anytime to finish anything you missed, which is plenty helpful. You willsometimes find fresh content as well, so if you’re aiming to complete as much of the game as you can,pay repeat visits.

Scour The Surface

While you’re adventuring,make sure you’re riding your Chocoboat least once through every part of the map. You can still enjoy hoofing it often if you prefer, but at minimum,keep an eye out for little gatherings of rabbits.

These furry pals arealways nearby when treasure can be located in the groundby way of your Chocobo’s keen nose. The treasures range from run-of-the-mill consumable items tounique key itemslike the PLAY ARTS figurines.

Out of all of Rebirth’s side content, this one is the easiest to miss.