There are loads of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth characters for you to meet in part two of this remake trilogy. From familiar friends such as Cloud, Tifa, and Barret to new faces such as Elena and Bugenhagen, we’re here to give you a rundown on everyone we know you’ll encounter soon enough.
While you wait for the Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth release date, why not take a look at why the latest trailer for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth featured the party dead? The game is likely to make it onto our best PS5 games list when it comes out, so you will want to jump into the remake trilogy while you read on and get a debrief of what to expect from the game’s characters.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth characters
The Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth characters we can expect to see in the second part of the remake trilogy are:
- Cloud Strife
- Zack Fair
- Tifa Lockhart
- Aerith Gainsborough
- Barret Wallace
- Red XIII
- Yuffie Kisaragi
- Cait Sith
- Bugenhagen
- Vincent Valentine
- Cid Highwind
- Sephiroth
- Jenova
- Elena
- Rude
- Rino
- Rufus Shinra
- Dio
- Hooded Man
Cloud Strife
Everyone knows Cloud. Whether you’ve played a Final Fantasy or not, this spiky blond chap with a massive sword is iconic in the video game world, and for good reason. He’s the handsome hero of Final Fantasy 7 who has a mysterious background as a SOLDIER and a love of being aloof.
In Rebirth you can expect to learn more about his backstory, watch him open up to his teammates, and, of course, slay many a baddie on the plains of Gaia.
Zack Fair
If you’re desperate to avoid original Final Fantasy VII spoilers, I’d recommend not reading anything about Zack Fair, however, read on if you want to know more about this Shinra Soldier. Zack got his own remaster last year with Crisis Core: FF7 Reunion and we highly recommend you play that to learn about his full background and even some bits and pieces about how Sephiroth became the way he is.
Square Enix has now confirmed Zack is alive in Rebirth, and in the release date announcement trailer, you can see him giving Cloud a piggyback through the Midgar slums. We’re currently unsure if Zack will be a playable character, if the game features multiple timelines, or if he’ll feature in his own DLC chapter. However, his alive status does lead us to question whether he may show up at an opportune time to save the love of his life from being shish kebabed by Sephiroth at the end of this part.
Tifa Lockhart
My pick for the best love interest in Final Fantasy 7, Tifa is Cloud’s childhood friend from Nibelheim and a member of the eco-terrorist group Avalanche. She’s a prominent playable character in part one of the remake and you can expect her to feature just as much in Rebirth.
Aerith Gainsborough
Aerith is another potential love interest for Cloud and a very integral part of the story to come. As the last remaining Cetra, an ancient race that can speak with the planet, she has a history with Shinra’s dodgy public security group, the Turks, as she’s seen as a valuable research tool.
Spoilers for the original FF7: Aerith has one of the most well-known deaths in video game history at the hands of Sephiroth. As of now, it’s unclear as to whether Rebirth will follow the OG’s story, but if so, you made need to keep a box of tissues handy.
Barret Wallace
Other faces you’ll remember from FF7R part one are Barret Wallace and his daughter Marlene. Much like Tifa and Aerith, Barret is actually a potential ‘love interest’ in the original Final Fantasy 7 and a member of Avalanche.
Spoilers for the original FF7: If Rebirth follows the original’s story you can expect to learn all about how Barret came to hate Shinra, why he has a gun for an arm, and take part in a solo battle between him and Marlene’s birth father under the Gold Saucer.
Red XIII
The Summer Game Fest trailer gave us a big clue about elements from the original that will return in Rebirth, and Red XIII’s hometown of Cosmo Canyon is a definite feature. This certified good boy is set to be a playable team member in Rebirth as well, after his unplayable appearance in part one.
Spoilers for the original FF7: If our trip to Cosmo Canyon is anything like in the OG, we’ll get to fight ghosts of Red’s past in the caves below the canyon and shed a tear over his father who was turned to stone.
Yuffie Kisaragi
The best Final Fantasy character of all time and I won’t hear any other opinions on this. Yuffie is the main character in the Intermission DLC and features in the Summer Game Fest trailer alongside Cloud and co. She was an optional character in the original game, so we don’t think you’ll hear much more about her past until the final part of the remake.
Spoilers for the Intermission DLC: Yuffie’s partner Sonon dies at the end of Intermission after fighting enemies from Dirge of Cerberus and it’s absolutely heartbreaking. Her interactions with DoC characters are interesting and mean the story may branch drastically from the original to accommodate these new characters.
Cait Sith
Square Enix finally revealed the anthropomorphic moogle-riding cat will be a playable character during the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth release date trailer. You get a quick glimpse of Cait Sith as Cloud asks if he may know where to find Sephiroth before the trailer quickly moves on to show him fighting a monster with and without his fat moogle pal. A few seconds later you get to see Cait Sith and Aerith complete a team attack where the moogle plush shoots a large pink beam out of its mouth.
Spoilers for the original FF7: now that we know Rebirth ends after a certain character’s untimely death, you can expect to see Cait Sith deceive the party as they learn of his involvement with Shinra. However, if the story follows the original closely, you should also get to see this adorable little chap redeem himself in a tear-jerking manner.
Bugenhagen
An older gentleman who loves a good chortle, Bugenhagen is a human man who Red XIII affectionately calls Grandfather. As an elder of Cosmo Canyon, Bugenhagen is incredibly wise and acts as somewhat of a spiritual guide to the party for the rest of the game and even fills them in on more about the Cetra.
Vincent Valentine
Despite only seeing his back and hearing a single line of dialogue, myself and many others are very excited about the soft reveal of Vincent Valentine. Square Enix is yet to say whether or not he’ll be a playable character, or if he’ll only accompany the team much like Red XIII did in part one, but there’s a substantial chunk of the story remaining after first meeting him, so I’m hoping we get to see him in action.
If Rebirth follows the story of the original, you should encounter Vincent not long after acquiring Cait Sith at the Gold Saucer. However, as he’s an optional character in the OG, Square Enix may change the way you meet him, or how soon he joins the party.
Cid Highwind
While we’re yet to see Cid Highwind, I’m fairly certain this chain-smoking, smart-talking, space enthusiast will appear in Rebirth. As Square Enix has revealed the endpoint for the game, we know that Cid appears much earlier in the original. Not long after you first encounter Vincent in the OG, you head to Rocket Town and meet Cid, who then becomes an unlikely member of the team.
Much like Vincent, we’re on the fence as to whether or not Cid will be a playable character. He could easily fit into a role similar to Red XIII in part one, but this does feel like a shame when there are still many places to visit with him as part of the gang.
Sephiroth
The primary antagonist in Final Fantasy 7 and a man with the most gorgeous gray locks we’ve ever seen. You can expect him to pop up frequently throughout Rebirth, though you may fight Jenova in his stead after most encounters with him. He should also be a playable during the Kalm flashback sequence, allowing you to see his true devastating power.
Jenova
Oh boy is it hard to explain Jenova without getting into deep spoiler territory… You fight this bizarre creature in the Shinra building during part one and she shows up once again in the Summer Game Fest trailer aboard a boat from Junon to Costa del Sol.
Spoilers for the original FF7: Sephiroth believes Jenova is his mother and we should see him come to this realization during the Kalm flashback sequence in Rebirth.
Elena
Elena is the newest member of the Turks and we’re shown a boss battle with her during the Summer Game Fest trailer. She’s relatively inexperienced in her role and could be considered a little bumbling at times.
Rude
Another member of the Turks, Rude is a smooth operator and is almost always seen with his trademark sunglasses and pal Reno. A cute easter egg we love about Rude is that he has a secret crush on Tifa and will refuse to attack her in most battles unless absolutely necessary.
Reno
Rude’s best bud and colleague, Reno is a red-haired firecracker that attacks with a shock rod. Unlike Elena and Rude, we haven’t seen Reno in a trailer just yet, however, we’re almost 100% certain you’ll see this chap on your trip to Junon or when you take a trip to Gongaga.
Rufus Shinra
Shinra’s new president appears in the Rebirth release date trailer, where you can see him leading the parade in Junon and ordering someone to fire the Sister Ray’s canon. He appears again towards the end of the trailer as the mysterious hooded man skulks away from the parade into a dark alley.
We expect other important Shinra staff, such as Heidegger, Scarlet, Reeve, Hojo, and Palmer to make appearances in Rebirth as well. In the original game, the team doesn’t battle against Rufus again after the fight in Midgar, but who knows how he’ll appear in Rebirth?
Dio
Dio makes a blink-and-you-miss-it appearance in the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth release date trailer and is wearing much more clothes than we’re used to from the OG. This eccentric fella is the owner of the Gold Saucer amusement park who mistakenly thinks Cloud and Co. are murderous criminals. He eventually sees the error of his ways and gifts you with the buggy you can see for a moment at the start of the trailer.
Hooded Man
Square Enix has yet to confirm who exactly this hooded man is, but that doesn’t stop the internet from speculating. My favorite theory is that he’s Glenn Lodbrok from Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis and The First Soldier, his appearance matches up to how you first see him in Ever Crisis, but a few people believe the facial hair doesn’t match up.
Other rumors suggest that it’s Cid Highwind, which makes very little sense to me, Reeve, the man who controls Cait Sith’s body, or Genesis, the main antagonist from Crisis Core. However, until we see more of this mystery man, all we can do is speculate.
Well, that’s it for our list of every Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth character. We know that even more heroes and villains are sure to pop up in the coming months so keep an eye on this guide. Until then, here are the best PS5 RPG games and if you want to get a taste of the franchise, read our Final Fantasy 16 review to see why the latest entry earned a 10 out of 10 score.