At the end of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Square Enix made it perfectly clear that whatever lay in store for our band of adventures would be significantly different from the original game. Now that we finally have our hands on the second installment in the Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, we can confirm that there are numerous differences between it and the '97 classic. From entirely new combat systems, a plethora of added minigames, and some fairly big character alterations, Square Enix has added plenty of new features that make the latest entry feel fresh.

Below we cover all the biggest changes made to the original Final Fantasy 7 in Rebirth. We'll start with the least spoiler-filled changes before giving you a big, bolded warning and digging into the juicy stuff. That said, if you're trying to go into the game with as little information as possible, we recommend you give this a read after playing.

New materia

Like previous Final Fantasy 7 entries, materia--orbs of solidified lifestream that grant the wielder unique powers--come in five different forms. Green materia is most common, and offers the user both offensive and defensive spells. Yellow materia contains additional battle commands, purple provides stat boosts, blue augments whatever materia is attached to it, and red grants the user the ability to summon gods and creatures that can help turn the tide of battle. However, while this all seems familiar, Rebirth adds a few new materia to the mix.