How to change your party and party leader in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

By Jesse Lennox February 29, 2024

In Final Fantasy 7: Remake, Cloud was usually alone or with just one or two other companions at a time. Aside from a few instances, mainly combat trails and VR missions, you never had to worry much about party management during the story. In Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, your crew starts out at five and only grows from there.

As was the case in the original and Remake, only three characters can be active in a fight at a time, one of which is the leader. While playing as Cloud is great fun, you will be doing yourself a disservice by not switching the party up and experimenting with different combinations. The game tells you that it can be done, but isn’t as informative on exactly how to do these things as, say, Chadly would be. Here’s how to change your party and set your party leader in Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth.

Recommended Videos

How to change your party and party leader

Square Enix

Changing your party is self-explanatory: You decide which set of three available characters will be the ones to fight in any given battle. The party leader is the character you will control at the start of battle by default, meaning you don’t have to always start as Cloud and rotate to someone else if you prefer playing as them.

Both of these can be changed by pausing the game while out of combat and going into the Combat Settings section. From here, press Square to edit your party by selecting one of your current members and replacing them with one in reserve.

To change your party leader, just hit Triangle on this screen and select one of your three current party members to label them as “Leader.” While you will still run around the world as Cloud (or occasionally other characters depending on context), as soon as a fight begins, you will take control of whomever you have selected to be the leader.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

How-To Guides

Jesse Lennox loves writing, games, and complaining about not having time to write and play games. He knows the names of more…

Gaming

All Card Carnival trials solutions in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

When you reach Costa Del Sol in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, you will quickly realize that Cloud and the crew aren't exactly dressed for a relaxing vacation at the beach. All that leather and black certainly won't be comfortable -- and don't get us started on how much sand is going to get in those boots. Before you can even set foot on the sand to relax by the water, Cloud will need to earn some tickets to get more appropriate beachwear. The only way to earn these tickets is to participate in some team minigames, including the Card Carnival on the docks. This is a twist on the Queen's Blood card game you may have been playing throughout your adventure up until now (or perhaps you've been completely ignoring it). Either way, this game is not your typical match, with specific challenges that are more like puzzles than proper games. They can be rather tricky, so we'll help you play your cards right to beat the initial set of Card Carnival trials and earn that swimsuit.

Gaming

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: all piano sheet music locations and rewards

While there's no shortage of ways to distract yourself while playing Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, one of the most unexpected minigames is the surprisingly deep piano system. In most of the major hub towns you encounter across the expansive world, Cloud can find a piano to sit down at and tickle the keys. You're free to play any song you want in free play, but you can turn this system into a full-on rhythm game, almost like Guitar Hero, by collecting sheet music of some of the game's most iconic tracks. There's even an NPC near each piano who will reward you if you get a high enough rank on each song. Cloud may not be the most expressive in his words, but he can sure play the piano with heart. Here is where you can find all the sheet music and what rewards await if you can master them.
Where to find all sheet music

Sheet music, thankfully, isn't hidden away in chests or has to be purchased for crazy amounts of Gil, but a few do have some hidden requirements. Each new composition is found on a piano in the world and is free to snag once you sit down. Even if you don't feel like playing right then and there, make sure you always at least grab the music to add to your collection so you don't have to backtrack later and get it. There are eight in total to find, and some will only come later in the story, but none are missable once you open up fast travel back to previous areas. This is the natural order you can collect them.
On Our Way
Our first piece of music can be picked up once you hit Chapter 4. During this section, go to the Crow's Nest town in the Junon region, which you can only enter by doing the "When Words Won't Do" side quest. Once you complete this quest and can freely enter the town, hit up the bar and grab this tune.
Tifa's Theme
After a rather exciting cruise to Costa del Sol in Chapter 6, you can add this piece to your collection by making a quick stop at the fancy Royal Crown Hotel.
Barret's Theme
Not much further into the game in Chapter 7 you will visit Barret's old hometown of Corel. The Rock Bottom Bar is waiting with his song.
Cinco de Chocobo
Chapter 9 takes you through the town of Gongaga. Even a town way out in the forest has a piano, which means yet another song to snag.
Two Legs? Nothin' to it
One chapter later, in Chapter 10, you need to do a little exploring in Cosmo Canyon to find your way to the piano, but the icon on your map won't lead you astray.
Aerith's Theme
Perhaps the most iconic song in the entire game, if not the franchise, is hidden behind a completely optional side quest. Once you reach Chapter 11, return to Nibelheim and do the "White-Haired Angel" side quest. It may seem totally irrelevant, but the quest ends with you playing and collecting this song.
Let the Battles Begin!
Once you prove your skills and get an A rank or better on all prior songs, you will get this new one as a reward from the NPC Dorian next to all pianos.
One-Winged Angel
We're not sure if fighting Sephiroth or getting this song is harder. If you want to play this terrifying arrangement, you need to donate all 88 Treasure Trove items to Johnny. This more or less requires you to 100% the entire game
All song rewards
For every song you A rank, Dorian will give you a prize when you talk to him. Here's everything you can get:

Gaming

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth makes one impactful change to Barret’s story

This article contains story spoilers for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

Ahead of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth's launch, fans were buzzing about how the sequel would tackle Aerith's story. The holy healer was a major focus of Square Enix's marketing, making it clear that one of gaming's most iconic moments would be pivotal to the adventure. But for me, I was more curious about how another tragedy would play out: the tale of Barret and Dyne.