Summary
There were a lot of great changes made to the gameplay inFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth. For example, the injection of Synergies made players have to think about who would pair well in battle. Every playable teammate could link with another and their attacks differed.
Another greatgameplay change inFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthwas the boss battles. They are even more epic than they were inFinal Fantasy 7 Remakeand especially the original game on PS1. Some of them are quite hard too, for a few reasons. Let’s get to those reasons now and rank thehardestFF7 Rebirthboss fightsout. There will be spoilers.
Updated on May 29, 2025, by Mehrdad Khayyat:The number of main campaigns and optional bosses in Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth is just enormous, and even a flawless round could take a lot of time, let alone dying time and time again to a single boss.
But that’s just how things work in this game. Dying is not a failure but rather a chance to learn the attack patterns of the bosses and find the correct counters to them. But the problem is some of these bosses require more dedication and near-perfect reaction time before they can be beaten.
10Midgardsormr
A Tough Starting Boss
The Midgardsormr is a giant snake that was an optional boss in the original game. Players had to find a Chocobo to cross the marsh and avoid the Midgar Zolom, which was the monster’s original name.
The Midgardsormr is a mandatory boss fight inFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and while easier than the original game, it’s still challenging. The hardest part about this encounter is that the Midgardsormr can take a party member out, reducing the number of teammates without a way to revive them. Also, avoiding its strikes from below can be tricky.
9Dyne
Barret Is Alone For This One
Every party member in the original game got their own moment to shine, andthat included Barret. It was when the party hiked through the Corel region wherein Barret had to face his past with his hometown and with Dyne.
The remade boss fight with Dyne inFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthis a lot more brutal. It plays out like aMetal Gear Solidboss fight as there are tons of cover spaces for Barret to hide behind and get the drop on Dyne. The battle becomes trickier when those barriers get removed and Dyne goes full Akira on Barret.
8Odin
A Rider Of Death With Devastating Ultimate Attack
Earlier in the battle, Odin might not feel like a big deal for the players, but all his glory is due to his lethal ultimate attack that kills all members of the team instantly, and it cannot be dodged or countered in any way, but it can be delayed!
To delay Odin’s ultimate move or fully prevent it from happening, players must avoid taking consecutive damage from the brutal horse rider. And that’s when the art of dodging comes into play. Those who are good at dodging, will not find this boss difficult, but players that struggle to reduce the amount of damage taken, may have to begin the fight with revival earrings.
7Custom Valkyrie
The Gang Gets Grounded
Toward the end ofFinal Fantasy 7 Remake, Cloud, Tifa, and Barret had to face the Valkyrie, which was a flying robot. That robot returns inFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthwith a new model, Custom Valkyrie, appearing in the Corel region. It wasn’t that hard of a fight in the last game because Barret was there for long-range support.
InFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth, playersonly have Cloud, Red 13, and Aerith. While the latter does have long-range capabilities with her normal attacks, she’s not that strong. Custom Valkyrie is just a hard one to hit with the team provided.
6Forgotten Specimen
Tricky Resistances
The Forgotten Specimen was also an optional boss in the originalFinal Fantasy 7, which led to unlockingVincent as a party member. The Shinra Mansion overall has been redone to better suit the narrative’s needs.
The tricky part about this boss is that the Forgotten Specimen has three forms. It has its complete side wherein all damage will affect it. Then it will start to morph into its blue phase, negating physical damage. Finally, the red version negates magic damage and is the easiest of the two split phases to deal with. Instructing the party to not use physical damage during the blue phase can be taxing and requires patience.
5Gi Nattak
A Ruthless Manifestation With Tricky Abilities
Gi Nattak is one of those bosses who doesn’t let the player stand still for the shortest amount of time. The boss comes with a combination of deadly melee and ranged attacks, and he can also move around in the blink of an eye by some sort of teleporting, which makes it crucial for the player to be perfect with their movement.
Having only Red XIII and Barret on the team to deal with Gi Nattak is also another reason why it is quite difficult to beat him. What makes things even worse is the fact that Gi Nattak enables a timer when the player drains 75% of his health. So, the player must unleash their true abilities and attack a bit recklessly at the final fourth of the battle, because if the timer hits zero, the battle will be lost, and the player moves back to square one!
4Galian Beast
Vincent Is A Beast
Vincent is a boss during the Shinra Mansion episode as well. In the PS1 classic, once players unlock his coffin, he joins right away. However, Vincent is still holding onto his status as one of The Turks inFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth, so he takes his guard duty seriously.
That’s when he transforms into the Galian Beast, which was aLimit Break in the originalFinal Fantasy 7. Even though this monster is huge, it’s incredibly fast and hits hard too. Vincent is going full Hulk in this boss battle and does not pull any punches.
3Rufus (Gold Saucer)
His Counter Skills Are Unmatched
Chapter 8 is when the party first enters Gold Saucer. They return in Chapter 12 and compete in a tournament to get the Keystone from Dio. This leads the party into a boss encounter with Elena andRude of The Turks, resulting in the toughest Turks fight in the game.
Right after that, Rufus enters the arena and players have to face him solo with Cloud. Rufus is an incredibly powerful character because of his long-distance shotgun blasts and counterattacks. To win, players have to master their countermeasure skills, which they may have slacked on up to this point.
2Sephiroth Reborn
Collaborating Between Multiple Zones
Sephiroth Reborn is the final boss of the game, and final bosses should rightfully be the most challenging. The most difficult part about this fight is not knowing a thing before diving in. Players are told to prep their party before Cloud sees Aerith on the alter in The Forgotten City, which then prompts the Jenova fight and thenseveral Sephiroth fights.
The parties keep splitting, and balancing the teams with the right Materia is tasking. Even if one looked up the right party, it would still be a slog through multiple fights on multiple battlefields trying to take Sephiroth down once again.
1Gilgamesh
Don’t Let His Slapstick Comedy Fool You
While the originalFinal Fantasy 7was filled with tons of optional bosses,Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthonly really has one: Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh first appeared inFinal Fantasy 5, andhe has been an on-again-off-again boss in the series.
To fight him, players have to go through over a dozen quests just to make it to his island. Once there, players will have to fight for their lives as this out-of-time samurai is a master of weapons. From hard-hitting axes to nimble blades, Gilgamesh knows how to take a party down despite his goofy exterior and his strikes rarely miss. Get prepped with lots of magic and items.
