Final Fantasy VII Rebirth: The story so far explained

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is a sequel to Final Fantasy VII Remake, a remake of the treasured1997 PlayStation game. In remaking this beloved classic, Square Enix has turned Final Fantasy VII's story into a trilogy of games, with Rebirth serving as the second installment.

The story of Final Fantasy VII is an amazing one. But it can also be a bit confusing.

It's been nearly four years since Final Fantasy VII Remake was released so it's quite understandable if you're a bit lost or have forgotten a bit of what has happened in the story so far. Or maybe you plan on Final Fantasy VII Rebirth being your first entry into the trilogy.

Regardless of how you're approaching this new release, here's a quick refresher of the story so far.

As a quick top-level explanation, Final Fantasy VII follows the adventures of Cloud Strive, a mercenary who joins an eco-terrorist organization in an attempt to stop the world-controlling megacorporation, Shinra, from exploiting the planet's life essence as an energy source. A former member of Shinra's military organization, SOLDIER, Cloud soon learns of the return of a mysterious superhuman entity known as Sephiroth. What ensues is a thrilling adventure as Cloud and his party members embark on a journey to save the world.

Final Fantasy VII Remake was a fairly large game, but surprisingly, it only covered a very small portion of the original Final Fantasy VII's story. Square Enix somehow managed to extract a 30-40 story from what is essentially the very beginning of the original game. But storywise, there was a lot thrown at us in Final Fantasy VII Remake.

Although Square Enix does include a brief recap of Final Fantasy VII Remake in Rebirth, it's so barebones. It may jog a few memories for those who played the first game, but if Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is your starting point, you'll almost certainly be lost.

Instead, I'd recommend watching the video below. The 45-minute video provides a detailed overview of everything that happened in Final Fantasy VII Remake from beginning to end without spoiling what's to come.

I'd still recommend playing Final Fantasy VII Remake, but this video should provide you with all of the core story details you need to understand the adventure to come in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth launches on February 29th, exclusively for PlayStation 5. Check out our review here!