Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth opens with a flashback to Nibelheim that depicts Sephiroth’s descent into madness, but this scene was featured in a demo for the game released before launch. If you played it there, you can skip it in the full game.
However, once you reach the demo scene in the main game of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, you’ll find yourself wondering how exactly you’re supposed to skip it. There isn’t an option in the menu, and you’re still forced to walk around Nibelheim like in the demo. So, how do you skip the opening Nibelheim chapter in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth?
How to Skip the Nibelheim Flashback in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
While the game says you can skip the Nibelheim segment with a completed demo save file, this isn’t entirely accurate. You can only skip the combat segments with Cloud and Sephiroth leading to the reactor. You still have to play the opening section of Nibelheim where Cloud visits Tifa’s house and explores the village.
After setting off with Sephiroth and Tifa, you’ll experience the game’s opening credits. Once you reach the first enemy, a cutscene will play. Normally, you’d play through Cloud’s combat tutorial here, but a message will pop up telling you that you can finally skip this part of the game thanks to your demo save file.
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This won’t skip the entire Nibelheim flashback, however. It’ll send you straight back to the village at night so you can experience Nibelheim’s destruction at the hands of Sephiroth. After Cloud limps through the flaming ruins of his hometown, you’ll be free to continue Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth where the demo would’ve normally ended.
Make sure you don’t skip those cutscenes, though, even if you’ve already watched them in the demo. There are some new additions only present in the full game, so you’ll miss out on some stuff if you skip to the next part.
It’s frustrating to have to play through the slow Nibelheim intro again after going through it in the demo so soon before launch, but it’s really not that long in the grand scheme of things since you can skip the combat sections. On the bright side, the open world of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is waiting for you on the other side of the Nibelheim flashback.
