Strange and Mundane Details in Nibelheim (Final Fantasy VII Rebirth)

Welcome back all you big boy SOLDIERS,  to another episode of Video Game World Tours. A series where we slow down  and soaks in a game's environment. Today we're looking at Cloud's hometown  from Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Nibelheim. Specifically, Nibelheim in the past, just before  Sephiroth's mild oopsie-daisy. Eventually you do return here in the present day, and I'll  be sure to do a comparison when I reach that part. But for now, let's take in this  quaint backwoods town as it is at this mo

ment. I have to say, the increase of scope from the PS1  game is impressive. What was a single screen is expanded to all of this. I knew they nailed the  industrial vibes of Midgar in Remake, but I was curious if they could pull off the more homely  locations in the next game. Sure enough, they did. I wanna take note of every  little detail they added, just to see how much love the  developers put into this world. From the front gate all the way to the town  center is completely new. In the orig

inal game, the front gate is connected to the town center.  But in Rebirth, there's all this new space. Starting at the entrance, we have a few  new houses. Through here is a pretty big open space. A lot to notice in this  spot. Some chickens, dogs in cages, a tool shed. Even more chickens,  by god there are a LOT of chickens. But where do they keep the chickens? I'm no  chicken guy, but I have a feeling most people don't let them roam around a big open area like  this with no fence to stop them

from walking out. I don't see a chicken coop, pen... anything.  Maybe they live in this building? Hard to say. I was looking at the area beyond this little fence  and wished I could go over. But then I remembered you can climb over a lot of stuff in this game.  Gonna take a while to get used to that mechanic. Uh... I don't know what I expected  to find over here. Moving on. Let's head up the stairs to the next level  of town. Huh, there's some colorful clothes hanging up here. You know, I notic

ed something  like this while recording footage for the Remake tour. There was a clothes stand in Midgar selling  bright and colorful clothes just like the ones hanging up here. But when you look at all the  NPCs hanging around, most of them are wearing super desaturated clothing. It's a trope you see  in a lot of media, you kinda want non-important characters to kinda fade into the background. It's  not like they're completely invisible or anything, but they're boring enough to keep you  focuse

d on the characters that matter. And I think it's funny that these colorful  clothes exist. It's like the person who textured these shirts didn't get the memo that  most NPCs in the game wear relatively unassuming outfits. Though there are some that are a  bit more colorful, so I'll give them a pass. I like this guy. He spends all day just hopping  back and forth over this fence. And there's a chest right there. This is obviously to reinforce  the idea that you can climb over some terrain. And w

hat's funny, is that it actually worked! When  I came by here, I saw the chest first. Because vaulting over objects wasn't an option in the  first game, I didn't even consider it here to reach that chest. I mentally took a note to keep  an eye out for future paths that'd lead me there. But a second later, I saw the guy jump the fence.  And it reminded me that I could do that myself. It kinda seems corny to have this  guy's sole purpose be to remind the player that they can hop over short  terrai

n obstacles, but hey, it works. Here we are, the town center. Oh man, this  really does look how this image feels. It's stunning. I guess we'll just go around  and look at all the buildings we can. This hotel is where Cloud and Sephiroth stay  during their mission. Very rustic in here, super welcoming. Behind the counter is  a poster that reads "Marvel at the Ruby Red Sunset. Corel's unique red rocks." A little  sneak peak of things to come later in the game. "I love green," what is that? A book

? The super  bright pink and green caught my eye, but I can't make out what it's supposed to be. If you saw  this cover on a store shelf, would you buy it? A fire extinguisher in the back corner, hidden  behind a table. That can't be up to code. Oh my gosh, Cloud is a strong  guy. Well, I knew he was strong, but I didn't think his normal stride could  whip a big-ass chair around like that. Rooms upstairs are nice enough. The beds look  comfy. Oh my god, I wish we could have seen Sephiroth sleepi

ng in one of these. There's no way  he could have fit without curling up into a ball. The clock isn't working. I'll have to  lodge a complaint with the front desk. And I just realized, this hotel only  has one room for guests. I guess they probably don't get a lot of visitors  considering how far out this town is. Next door is the general store. Ugh, this is  beautiful. I mentioned how bare the Sector 7 item shop was in Remake, and it's like they  saw that video from me a couple weeks ago and to

ok that to heart. This is a real shop.  The front counter's got some... stuff. Wait, how did they get behind it? Well there's  a little gate for them to walk through, but a stool with a lamp on top is in  front of it. Does that mean they have to hop the counter every time? Those  poor kids look too short to do that. Books, some crystals. A bunch of kitchenware. Nothing too  fancy, but it'll get the job done. And some more bowls here... okay I  guess this is just the bowl store. Around the corner

is Zangan leading the town  in their daily calisthenics class. I've been reading the Traces of Two Pasts book, and part  of it covers Tifa's life in Nibelheim after Cloud leaves. She eventually meets Zangan and he  convinces a lot of town members to participate in daily stretches and exercises. It's awesome to be  able to see it with my own eyes, the master in his element. It's also funny to see everyone struggle  to maintain their balance during some of these. Right down here is a sneaky littl

e  hidden path. At the end of it is a cat sanctuary. There was one of these  in Midgar too. I wonder if every town in this world has a secret area where cats  congregate and plan their evil deeds. The next house is... Cloud's mom's  house! You can choose to visit her, but it's only a cutscene. You don't  get to walk around it unfortunately. And Cloud doesn't want to go back in,  so I guess we're not allowed to tour it. Next is... ah, we'll come back to this. The town hall. I honestly remember no

thing  about this from the PS1 game. I don't even remember if there was a town hall or not. Hold  on, I'll actually go back and check if there is a town hall in that game. Nothing  that looks like this building on the outside. And no interiors like it either.  Huh, this is a completely new addition. Nice and big in here. Oh wow, a  lot of clutter. You love to see it. A photography magazine... "We love cats and  dogs." Yeah everyone does in this world. A Shrina terminal. Considering  they're so c

lose to the reactor, I'm sure this is useful for reporting  data about it back to Shinra, or maybe for employees of the company  to use when they're in town. A completely empty picture frame. This  game has no shortage of cute little pictures and artwork to decorate rooms,  but it's funny this one is just empty. Ugh, I wish I could go behind  the counter here. Wait a minute, did they do it again? Is there no way to get  back there without climbing over? There's no door in the back... There are s

ome tiny  gaps where this long desk reaches the wall, but I doubt they'd force employees  to squeeze through such a narrow space. I wonder if we'll be seeing this weird  design oversight in a lot of the later towns. Got a back room here. Hmm, anything  to talk about? Some more big chairs to play around with. Don't mind if I do. That briefcase is huge... isn't it? I feel like  the scale is slightly off if this is supposed to be a normal briefcase. But maybe it's not  supposed to be, maybe this is

a jumbo briefcase. And finally... Tifa's house. She lives  here with her dad Brian. Cute little place they have set up for themselves. Aww  there's a picture of the two. Adorable. A cat tower for Fluffy. Also some food out over here. Unfortunately she ran out  again, she's always doing that. Those cabinet doors behind that chair, I don't think you'd be able to open them very  well, kinda weird it's packed so tightly. Hmm... not much else interesting  downstairs here. What about upstairs? This i

s Brian's room. Two beds,  presumably one for a guest staying in. Does that nightstand look weird to you? It  feels like it should have drawers or something, but there's just an open gap at the top, and  solid wood below it. Bizarre piece of furniture. He's got a cowboy hat. And I remember seeing one downstairs. He has himself  a nice little collection. Now... let's take a peek at Tifa's room.  Definitely feels a bit more lively in here. A lot of colors to make it feel like it's not just  a hote

l room. This feels like it was decorated by a person with a personality. She really did  lean into that cowboy aesthetic. Cowboy hat, as you'd expect. Boots. A poster  about chocobo riding lessons. This one that just says "Cowboy's Place. Good whiskey,  gambling, dancing, beer." Interesting poster. Some of those crystals from the shop earlier. And  pictures taped to the wall. You can't get that close with the in-game photo mode, so I'll  zoom it in in post. Are these interesting? Aww, she has a

little Moogle plush.  I wonder if you can buy one of these in real life. If they don't sell these, they  should get on that. They'd go like hot cakes. Huh, this rug design is kinda interesting.  There's a chocobo there, but I don't know what to make of the rest of the pattern. Is it  supposed to mean something or just look cool? And of course, her piano. I shouldn't be surprised they went all out  for this. They gave you all these controls so you can freestyle to your heart's content. AND  they

added pieces that you can presumably collect across the game world. It's like a little rhythm  game with you playing along. I'm not a piano guy, but if I was, I have a feeling I'd  be spending a lot of time here when I should be saving the planet or something.  I'll still play the pieces I find though. So that's Tifa's place. And unfortunately  our last stop in Nibelheim. Well, inside Nibelheim. Just on the  outskirts of town is Shinra Manor. Bro, why is this place so spooky? This feels  straigh

t outta Scooby Doo or something. Lotta clutter around here. And a ton of stuff to kick up. I don't think I'll  ever get tired of doing this. I'm pretty sure they tweaked the layout compared  to the original. The elevator to the basement is in this room, where in the original, I THINK it  was on the right side of the second floor. I'm pretty sure it was. But I might be stupid. Well  I am stupid, but that's unrelated to whether I'm right or wrong here. In this flashback  you don't get to go up the

re. I'm sure when you return in the present day, you will though.  Looking forward to exploring the second floor. Nice and spacious room here. Even more stuff  to throw around. Wait a minute, there's a ton of candles lit. It's implied that Sephiroth has  been the only one hanging around here recently, but he's been cooped up in the basement  reading books. Maybe the manor still has a butler that keeps up with the candles. He's  got a lot to keep track of if that's the case. Let's take the elevat

or  down and see what awaits us. This is a BIG ole cavern. I played remake,  so I KNOW you're gonna fight a boss in here when you return. Or at least a handful of  enemies. That game primed me to think that when I see big empty rooms like this. I would  say I'll check back in my follow up tour of the game to confirm whether or not there is  a fight in here, but there's no point. I am literally 100% sure it's gonna happen. I've  never been more sure of anything in my life. Torn back? Turn back? T

hat letter  after the T is weird. And turn back from what? There's no door on this  wall that you could even go through. What's all this though? Ooh, I have a more risky prediction. These  bright lights here draw you to the gate and this valve. I'm gonna predict that when you  return here, you have to turn the valve and that'll do something which releases monsters  to fight. That's what the "turn back" is for, it's to warn you that you'll be attacked.  And maybe turning the valve opens the door

to Vincent's room. I'll definitely maybe comment on  that in my follow-up video if I remember probably. Oh, Vincent's room! Right through there is  where Vincent is getting his beauty sleep. Turn B. Okay, the decal is cut off  by the door. And there's a little bit of "Back" poking through  the rock layer. Games are big, alright? It's easy for developers to miss  stuff like this sometimes. It's fineeee. Just let me in to see Vincent now. I'll be good, I  promise. Ugh, guess we'll have to free him

later. And finally, the little lab at the end.  All kinds of tests went down in here. Huh, two tubes. I wonder who these were for? It's not too dingy. I could appreciate hanging  out in here. Sephiroth definitely can, he's been reading everything in here. Just look at him  down there, nose buried in old Shinra documents. I have to say, they've set a high bar for  future towns in the game. They knocked Nibelheim out of the park here and I can't wait  to see what the other locations look like. Wh

o knows what little world details are hiding,  just waiting to be found later in the game? Check out either of these videos up next.  I don't know how many more tours I'm gonna put out on this game, but there's gonna  be at least one. It might be a bit as I play through the game though so  get subscribed to see it when it comes out. Hopefully you enjoy some of the  other videos I put out in the mean time. Thanks for watching and see you next time.