7 brilliant boss battles in FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH

You’ll face plenty of threats on your journey around the world of FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH. We celebrate some of our favourite boss fights!

By Duncan Heaney

Tags: Final Fantasy,FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH

There are few things as satisfying as smacking down a difficult boss (in a game obviously - we’re not suggesting you assault any managers).

This is something that FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH excels at. The game is packed full of incredible battles, from snarling monsters to Shinra’s seemingly endless supply of war machines. Today, we wanted to celebrate just a few of our favorites… but first a bit of a disclaimer.

There are some obviously amazing battles in the main story that are truly breathtaking, but not listed here. We haven’t included these because… well, the surprise is part of the fun!

Actually, if we’re being completely honest, this piece should probably be titled ‘7 brilliant boss battles in FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH (that we don’t think are too spoilery to share)’. It’s just not very catchy, is it?

That said, you can’t deny the awesome spectacle of these incredible confrontations:

Materia Guardian

The Materia Guardian is the first boss you face in FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH, and it makes an impression.

This multi-limbed monstrosity stands between Cloud and Sephiroth and their goal in their mission to Nibelheim, during the flashback sequence that opens the game. It’s a thrillingly action-packed fight that forces you to really dig into the combat system and use all the techniques at your disposal.

In our recent deep dive into the Nibelheim flashback in FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH (read that here), the game’s Director Naoki Hamaguchi explained that this is the key to a good ‘first’ boss - it’s a test of everything you’ve learned, and in that respect, the Materia Guardian more than delivers.

But that’s not the only thing that makes this confrontation so memorable. It introduces the Synergy Abilities - it’s the first time you can combine two characters for spectacular attacks. Plus, one of those characters is the game’s antagonist Sephiroth - a genuinely iconic character that you get to control directly!

Add the pulse-pounding soundtrack and it makes for makes for a sweat-inducingly exhilarating bout.

And - again - this is only the first boss in the game!

Midgardsormr

This sinister serpent lurks in the swamps between the Grasslands and Junon. It doesn’t just sit pretty at the top of the food chain - it basically is the food chain.

Step into those murky waters and it’ll gobble you up, so the only chance you have to avoid that grisly fate is to ride through on a chocobo. But even then, you may run into it… or, in the case of Cloud and company, onto it.

The battle with the Midgardsormr is a multi-phase affair of increasing intensity. It’ll start with simple bites and sweeps - powerful, but nothing a good block won’t protect you against. But fight back enough, and you’ll have to contend with brutal lunges, underwater attacks and… oh, did we mention it breathes fire?!

It takes skill, strategy, and teamwork to survive this gauntlet, and even then you get the impression that this frightening fiend might be more than Cloud and his friends can handle…

Terror of the Deep

The Midgardsormr’s not the only moist menace that you’ll have to face in FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH - you’ll also take on the Terror of the Deep.

This ferocious fiend more than lives up to its name. You encounter it in Under Junon, when you rush to the defense of none other than Yuffie Kisaragi - the fan-favorite ninja who later becomes a full member of the team.

It’s an exciting battle - the Terror of the Deep hangs in the air, which encourages you to lean on ranged attacks and magic to take it on. It uses a range of dangerously damp water attacks, the worst of which is ‘Water Cell’, which traps your party in bubbles.

The battle becomes like spinning plates, as you try to damage your foe while keeping your friends in the fight.

It’s a perfect example of why FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH’s boss fights are so strong. It’s fun, fast, strategic and pushes you to play in new ways.

It helps that it’s beautiful too.

Odin

This classic Summon has a big sword and a short attention span. That’s not a good combo for our heroes.

As you expand the world of FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH, you’ll be able to take on mythical Summons in a battle simulator. Win the bout, and your resident cyborg scientist, Chadley, will create special materia that lets you set them loose against your foes.

Each of these fights is a true test of your combat prowess - particularly if you take them on before you discover any Divine Intel in the world to weaken them. You could fill this list with Summon battles alone, but my personal favorite is Odin!

Hitting him with powerful abilities, while avoiding and blocking attacks keeps him on the hook but take too many hits too quickly he'll unleash his powerful Zantetsuken attack. That's the end for you - or at least a restart of the battle simulator.

I greatly appreciate Odin. As someone who can be pretty sloppy when it comes to combat (and, y’know, life in general) this horned horseback rider forced me to really raise my game. And it makes it oh-so-satisfying to beat him.

Tonberry King

FINAL FANTASY fans have long learned to fear tonberries. These slow-moving psychopaths are devilishly dangerous - and boy, do they hold a grudge.

They’re a recurring enemy in the series and appear in many of the games (including most recently The Rising Tide DLC for FINAL FANTASY XVI), but they’re particularly trouser-browning in FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH.

The Tonberry King is possibly the scariest version of all! It has all the hallmarks of this classic enemy: it moves as though in molasses, batters you with ranged attacks that paralyze and can take you out with a single stab of its chef’s knife. But it’s also huge!

There’s an extra wrinkle to deal with too. That’s crown’s not just a fashion statement (although the King makes it look good) - it’s your objective. You’re asked to steal it - something that’s much easier said than done.

So, not only do you have to survive your encounter with this waddling weirdo, you have to get hold of the crown without breaking it. It’s stressful - in the most fun way possible!

Great Malboro

Another classic FINAL FANTASY foe makes a memorable appearance in FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH: the Great Malboro!

This man-eating monster plant has terrifying tendrils, tons of teeth and a serious case of halitosis.

In fact, it’s that Bad Breath that’s the biggest threat in this fight. Get hit by this malodorous miasma and you’ll be hit by a deluge of detrimental status effects that will make you slow, unable to cast magic and more. The Malboro can even turn you into a toad, at which point you’re even more likely to croak.

In short, go in unprepared and you’re in for a tough - and you have to assume - pretty smelly time! We hope you have an iron stomach.

Rude and Elena

When Shinra wants something done right, they send in the professionals.

The Turks are the company’s go-to operatives, doing everything from escorting executives to assassination. No matter how dirty the job, the group will do their best to see that it’s done.

In FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH, there’s a new member of the team: Elena. This new Turk is as formidable as she is petulant, and teamed up with her partner, Rude, a real threat on the battlefield.

Cloud and company encounter the pair a few times throughout the story, notably in the Mythril Mines where they take them on in a pulse-pounding boss fight.

Each of the pair has their own fighting style, which you’ll have to adapt to when you take them on. Rude is calm and collected - he’ll counter your attacks and launch devastating shockwaves that keep you on the move. Elena is a hyperactive force of nature, zipping round the battlefield and out of range of your attacks. But as dangerous as they are, they’re even more deadly when they combine their skills.

What - you thought you were the only ones who could use Synergy Abilities?

Those were just seven of the boss fights in FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH, but it barely scratches the surface of what’s in the game. There are so many incredible battles to experience in the game, from horrifying monsters to Shinra’s many war machines.

And, of course, Sephiroth might have a few surprises up his sleeve too.

You can discover them all in the full game, available now for PS5:

You can also try your hand against both the Materia Guardian and the Terror of the Deep in the free FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH demo:

Get the FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH demo

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