Not a fan of flashbacks? Not a problem.
To some it was a highlight of the game, a revelation in the story. To others it was an overlong interactive cutscene, time wasted when we could be levelling up.
The Nibelheim flashback is an iconic moment in the original Final Fantasy 7, but not everyone appreciated it.
Those in the former camp will be looking forward its retelling in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, which drops today.
If you’re in the latter camp, though, you’ll probably want it out of the way so you can get back to levelling up and hunting those trophies.
Story isn’t important for everyone. Plus, it was in the demo, so many have already played it.
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So, can you skip it? Let’s take a closer look at Chapter 1’s Nibelheim flashback.
How to skip Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Chapter 1’s Nibelheim flashback
The Nibelheim flashback, as it was in the original, is a huge part of the game’s backstory.
It’s when (spoiler ahead) Sephiroth learns the truth of his creation and slips into evil and madness, burning the small town of Nibelheim and its inhabitants to the ground.
A dark moment, but players only interested in levelling up their stats weren’t fans because this section had no impact on their numbers.
Jump to the retelling in today’s Rebirth, and players have another reason for wanting to skip it – they’ve already played it in the free demo. So, can we skip it?
In your playthrough of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, you can skip Chapter 1’s Nibelheim flashback mission only if you’ve already played it in the demo.
In order to make this option available, you’ll need to head to the “Bonuses” section from the main menu. Once there, scan the PS5 hard drive to prove you’ve completed it on the demo. You should now receive a notification to say the mission is skippable!
We’ll flag here that you’ll still need to do the tutorial parts of the mission, and the ending with Sephiroth isn’t skippable either. But you won’t need to play through the reactor segment again.
Check out the video from YouTuber RustyGamer, who walks you through the skipping process, below:
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