FF7 Rebirth

Chapter 1: Fall of a Hero Walkthrough

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Chapter 1

A walkthrough for Chapter 1: Fall of a Hero in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth (FF7 Rebirth). Read on for a detailed guide of Chapter 1, including item locations, rewards, bosses, as well as useful tips for completing this chapter!

◄ Previous Chapter Next Chapter ▶
- Chapter 2
A New Journey Begins

Chapter 1: Fall of a Hero Walkthrough

Chapter 1 Main Objectives
1 Interlude: Rescue
2 Exploring Nibelheim
3 Investigating the Nibel Mako Reactor
Boss Battle: Materia Guardian
4 Searching for Sephiroth in Shinra Manor
5 Tifa Comes Calling

Click on any of the links above to jump to the section!

Interlude: Rescue Walkthrough

Objectives
1 Go through the facility and follow the path until you reach an open area with a couple of soldiers. Here you will have to defeat all the soldiers in the area and save Aerith and Red XIII.

Nibelheim Walkthrough

Objectives
1 After getting off the truck, a battle will immediately start against a couple of Disgorgon. Use Sephiroth to deal with the remaining enemy to progress.
2 Home Sweet Home
Once the cutscene ends, you'll arrive in Nibelheim. Take control of Cloud and make your way to The Old Water Tower to trigger the first flashback.
3 Next, head over to the Strife Residence and choose to tell the party about your visit. This triggers a flashback showing Cloud and his mother.
3 Finally, head on over to the Lockhart Residence. Enter and explore to appease the party. Head over to Tifa's Room and interact with the piano to try out a basic Piano Minigame.
4 To wrap up your exploration, head over to the Nidhogg Inn opposite the Lockhart and Strife Residences. Speak to the Mysterious Man at the 1st Floor to meet Zangan.
5 Finally, head up to the 2nd Floor of the hotel to speak to Sephiroth. This will trigger a cutscene that skips over to the next day.
6 Once you meet Tifa, follow her lead until you encounter a group of Insectoid Chimera. Defeat them to complete this segment of Chapter 1.

Option to Skip the Mako Reactor Investigation if You Played the Demo

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth - Choose to Skip the Village

For players who managed to complete FF7 Rebirth's Demo Part 1, the option to skip the Mako Reactor investigation will pop up after you defeat the Insectoid Chimeras. Skipping advances you to the Shinra Manor segment where you have to find Sephiroth inside.

How to Skip Chapter 1

Investigating the Mako Reactor Walkthrough

Objectives
1 Happy Trails
After dealing with the Insectoid Chimeras, resume following Tifa up the slope, dealing with any monsters you encounter along the way.
2 Clear the Way
Eventually, you will run encounter a broken bridge that halts your progress. Turn around and head back to Tifa so she can show you a different route.
FF7 Rebirth - Wind MateriaWind Materia: Obtained from one of the ledges to your right before passing through the crack.
3
Pass through the crack and rejoin the group. Follow them and enter the abandoned Shinra Facility. Head upstairs then use the elevator to progress.
FF7 Rebirth - Level Boost MateriaLevel Boost Materia: Before going to the elevator, turn right at the top of the stairs to obtain this Materia on top of a small step ladder.
4 After exiting the elevator, you will encounter a Screamer. Defeat it and continue upwards.
5
Unlock the Elevator
Once upstairs, the next elevator will be locked due to a Mako Gas contamination. Get rid of all of the Mako Gas by draggin the Purifier behind the gate over each Gas cloud. Once you remove all the Mako Gas, the elevator doors should open automatically.
Tip: You can hold down R2 to move a little bit quicker than the default move speed while dragging the Purifier.
6 Cross the Bridge
As soon as you exit the Shinra Facility, keep progressing through the area until you reach the bridge leading to the Mako Reactor. Cross it to trigger a cutscene where the bridge breaks.
7 Upon arriving at the opposite shore (near the foot of the Mako Reactor), take control of Cloud and use the yellow ledges to climb up the cliff. There will be a Bench nearby where you can rest to recover your HP and MP.
FF7 Rebirth - HP Up MateriaHP Up Materia: Pick up this Materia next to the Bench before fighting the nearby enemies.
8 After resting, Sephiroth will join your party as a playable character. Make your way through the tunnel system and defeat enemies along the way.
FF7 Rebirth - Empowerment MateriaEmpowerment Materia: As soon as you leave the Gunnthra River Basin, head to the open area to find this materia on the ground.
FF7 Rebirth - Spare Change MateriaSpare Change Materia: After following the path up, turn around at the top to find this materia on one of the ledges.
9 Once you arrive at the ravine, defeat the enemies before using the narrow wooden plans to cross the gap.
FF7 Rebirth - Magnify MateriaMagnify Materia: After crossing the gap using the wooden planks, go down the ledge to your left. At the bottom you will find this materia on the ground
10 Past the ravine will be a large arena where a Zu spawns. Use Cloud and Sephiroth's Synergy Skills to defeat it and advance through the area.
FF7 Rebirth - Precision Defense Focus MateriaPrecision Defense Focus Materia: After defeating the Zu, head up the newly unlocked area. You will find this materia on top of a metal platform.
FF7 Rebirth - Auto-Cast MateriaAuto-Cast Materia: After climbing the stairs, you will find this materia on top of some wooden pallets.
11 Once you reach the upper levels of the area, you will be faced with another Mako Gas puzzle. Use the Purifier to suck up all the Mako Gas clouds to reactivate the elevator.
FF7 Rebirth - Comet MateriaComet Materia: Before using the elevator, turn around and go to a small platform with a stack of Shinra Boxes. Break them to reveal this materia hiding behind the stack.
12 The elevator will deposit you into the upper levels of the facility where you will face the level boss. Use the nearby Bench to recover your HP and MP before heading inside gate to fight the Materia Guardian.
▶︎ How to Beat the Materia Guardian
13 The Mission Continues
Once the Materia Guardian is dealt with, head inside the reactor with Sephiroth. Use the elevator to go deeper into the reactor. After exiting the elevator, go to your right and enter the metal gate.
14 Climb down the stairs and continue moving forward until the cutscene triggers. Once the cutscene ends, go outside and turn off the valve. You'll have to press and hold the L2 and R2 buttons multiple times to complete this objective.
15 Return to Sephiroth and watch the cutscene that plays.

Searching for Sephiroth Walkthrough

Objectives
1 After watching the cutscene, you will be taken back to the Nidhogg Hotel in Nibelheim. Go downstairs and talk to Mayor Zander at the 1st Floor of the Hotel.
2 To Shinra Manor
Head outside and follow the crowd as they make their way to Shinra Manor.
3
Searching for Sephiroth
Upon entering Shinra Manor, turn left until you reach the elevator. Use it to reach the Basement of the manor.
4 Exit the elevator to arrive at the Underground Cavern. Continue heading north and approach Sephiroth to trigger a cutscene.
5 Once the cutscene ends, you will wake up just outside of the manor. As everything bursts in flames, make your way back to the village.
6 Follow the path through the wreckage and turn left. The path will be blocked by fallen debris, so you'll have to turn around and look for another path. Enter the house ahead that was previously blocked to continue.
7 Here you will have to pass through a small opening that will lead you to the water tower. Head towards the Strife Residence to look for your mother.
8 Another cutscene will play, this time ending with you flat on the ground. Press and hold the L2 and R2 buttons as prompted to crawl towards Sephiroth and complete the flashback chapter.

Tifa Comes Calling Walkthrough

Objectives
1 Once Cloud finishes recounting what happened in Nibelheim, head out of the room to find Tifa waiting at the door.
2 Late-Night Talk
Follow Tifa to the roof of the inn. Midway through this a cutscene will trigger showing Sephiroth.
3 Get Some Rest
After shaking off the apparition, continue to the roof and talk to Tifa. After the two of you argue, return to your room and speak Barret. This completes Chapter 2 as you turn in for the night.

Chapter 1 Boss Strategy Guide

How to Beat the Materia Guardian

Materia Guardian
Location Chapter Unlocked
Mt. Nibel, Northern Ridge Fall of a Hero
Weaknesses Lesser Resistances
FF7 Rebirth - FireFire
None
Greater Resistances Immunities
None
FF7 Rebirth - Proportional DamageProportional Damage
FF7 Rebirth - BerserkBerserk
FF7 Rebirth - SlowSlow
FF7 Rebirth - SilenceSilence
FF7 Rebirth - SleepSleep
FF7 Rebirth - StopStop
FF7 Rebirth - StoneStone
FF7 Rebirth - PetrifyPetrify
FF7 Rebirth - Morphable ItemsMorphable Items
Absorbed Elements When Triggered
None
None
Pressure Conditions
Evading its capture attemps or freeing captured allies will pressure it. Destroying its legs while it is on the ceiling will also pressure it.

The Materia Guardian can be encountered at the Appraisal Drilling Site - 2F of Mt. Nibel in Chapter 1 - Fall of a Hero. It is a main story boss that you need to defeat in order to reach the Nibel Mako Reactor.

Materia Guardian Boss Fight Tips

  • Target the legs when it goes to the ceiling
  • Spam abilities to to quickly build up pressure
  • Use Double Helix to bring it down in Phase 3

How to Beat Materia Guardian

Chapter 1 Maps and Obtainable Items

Maps

List of Maps
Nibelheim Mt. Nibel Mako Measurement Facility - 1F
Mako Measurement Facility - 2F Heliport Gunnthra River Falls
Gnipahellir Ravine Northern Ridge Bluff Appraisal Drilling Site - 1F
Appraisal Drilling Site - 2F Mako Reactor - 1F Mako Reactor - Core
Shinra Manor Underground Cavern -

Obtainable Items

Nibelheim (Part 1)
Mega Potion x2 Ether x1 -
Mt. Nibel
Mixed Hi-Potion x2
Magic MateriaWind
-
Mako Measurement Facility
Support MateriaLevel Boost
Ether x1 -
Heliport
Elixir x1 - -
Gunnthra River Basin
Complete MateriaHP Up
- -
Gnipahellir Ravine
Magic MateriaEmpowerment
Command MateriaSpare Change
-
Northern Ridge Bluff
Support MateriaMagnify
Mega Potion x1
Complete MateriaPrecision Defense Focus
Appraisal Drilling Site
Support MateriaAuto-Cast
Magic MateriaComet
Elixir x2
Mako Reactor
There are no items in this area.
Nibelheim (Part 2)
There are no items in this area.

This list does not include the items that you get from destroying the wooden crates.

Materia List and How to Get All Materia

FF7 Rebirth Related Guides

Story Walkthrough Banner
Story Walkthrough

All Story Chapters
Chapter 1 Fall of a Hero
Chapter 2 A New Journey Begins
Chapter 3 Deeper into Darkness
Chapter 4 Dawn of a New Era
Chapter 5 Blood in the Water
Chapter 6 Fool's Paradise
Chapter 7 Those Left Behind
Chapter 8 All That Glitters
Chapter 9 The Planet Stirs
Chapter 10 Watcher of the Vale
Chapter 11 The Long Shadow of Shinra
Chapter 12 A Golden Key
Chapter 13 Where Angels Fear to Tread
Chapter 14 End of the World
How Long to Beat? Game Length
Post-Game Content and How to Get 100% Clear

Author

    Walkthrough Menu

    All rights reserved