Every FF7 Rebirth Protorelic Questline, Ranked

Protorelic quests are a big part of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth‘s side content, but they’re definitely not all equal in quality. These side objectives task Cloud and company with tracking down pieces of armor associated with Gilgamesh, a recurring Final Fantasy character who started out as an FF5 villain. Completing every quest can be rewarding, but the road there is often rocky.

Every region in FF7 Rebirth has its own unique Phenomenon Intel locations, and chasing these down leads to the unique encounters that earn pieces of the protorelic. Unlike other standard map features, from Expedition Intel that leads to lifesprings or Excavation Intel that provides buried treasures, Phenomenon Intel is associated with different gameplay features in each region. Some of these employ memorable mechanics and narrative elements, while others might prove more tiring than exciting.

7
Corel’s Protorelic Quest Has Too Much Filler

Chapters 8 & 12

Hunting down Protorelics in the Corel desert seems like it could be an exciting follow-up to the minigames at the gold saucer, as the Phenomenon Intel of the region involves everything from a giant that rises from beneath the sands to the perfect creatures known as Cactuars. In practice, unfortunately, Corel’s Protorelic quest turns out to be an exercise in patience. Any sense of mystery that might be found in the desert is quickly wasted on repetitive tasks, and the goofy little fellow named Kid G doesn’t exactly enhance any sense of atmosphere.

Getting each Protorelic in Corel requires the party to head to one location, then another, then back to the first again without much reason for the ping-ponging, making for far more pointless trips than the other Phenomenon Intel quests require. Fighting the Cactuars also isn’t all that engaging, but it’s not so boring as to be unforgivable. Adding insult to injury, however, the quest stops halfway through and requires a return trip to Corel to complete, which just feels unsatisfying for anyone who spent time on it the first go-around.

6
Nibel’s Protorelic Quest Isn’t Very Interesting

Chapter 11

Nibel’s Protorelic quest has the same disappointing sense of feeling somewhat like padding, although it is at least a slimmer package of padding overall. It’s ultimately a lot of slowly following hooded figures, which doesn’t exactly make for exciting FF7 Rebirth gameplay. If a bit of extra Hojo content and some fight opportunities sound worthwhile, there’s that, but for the most part, there isn’t much to get out of the Nibel questline aside from the Protorelic itself.

5
The Grasslands Protorelic Quest Gets The Job Done

Chapter 2

The Grasslands Protorelic quest gets the hunt off to a decent but awkward start, bringing back the bumbling criminals from FF7 Remake to bandy the Protorelic around the region. As a series of fights, it’s perfectly functional, but the charm of the criminals that was used in moderation in Remake starts to wear off before the quest is over. It’s also easy to stumble into their dens in the wrong order while working out the sense of the open world, which can make it feel like a bit too much of accidental backtracking.

4
Gongaga’s Protorelic Quest Is Efficient And Fun

Chapter 9

The Gongaga Protorelic quest isn’t one of the most innovative in FF7 Rebirth, but it’s consistently fun and efficient, especially after the much slower pace of Corel. A Shinra training module challenges the party on a series of simulated fights, and the lack of extra padding makes it easy to appreciate the combat. Although they don’t get to do too much, the Turks are also always nice to see, and piecing together the narrative component is engaging and gives a bit more of a look into the way that Shinra operates.

3
The Meridian Ocean Has The Protorelic Climax

Chapter 12

The Protorelic quest found in the Meridian Ocean is the final gauntlet of challenges, and it takes that status seriously. This one gets down to business with a series of major FF7 Rebirth boss fights, which feels appropriately climactic and makes for consistently exciting gameplay. It doesn’t necessarily have the layer of storytelling or innovation that could propel it to the top, but it’s a good send-off to the series of side quests and features the proper appearance of Gilgamesh that everything prior is leading up to.

2
Cosmo Canyon’s Protorelic Quest Is Emotional

Chapter 10

Cosmo Canyon brings a full-fledged minigame to the table, but that’s actually not its main point of attraction. The game ultimately fails to live up to Fort Condor, taking a somewhat similar concept but gearing the strategy more toward menu-based prep than interesting tactical positioning and deployment. From a narrative standpoint, however, it’s the one Protorelic quest that feels like a truly meaningful addition to the story.

Reminisced scenes in the Cosmo Canyon quest fill in some new pieces of Wedge’s story, and getting a bigger focus on this Avalanche member helps flesh out Barret and Tifa more as well. It’s a touching tribute that actually carries some emotional weight, working as an effective incentive to soldier through the attached minigame. If the story pieces were combined with Fort Condor instead, it would be a slam dunk for the best Protorelic quest in FF7 Rebirth.

1
Junon’s Protorelic Quest Has The Best Minigame

Chapter 4

Discovering the Phenomenon Intel of Junon requires diving into the Fort Condor minigame, which makes its return from the FF7 Remake INTERmission DLC. The learning curve might be a bit steep for those who didn’t play this extra Yuffie adventure — and for a lot of people, this may very well be the least favorite — but mastery can be truly fun and rewarding. Although Fort Condor isn’t as sensational as the thrills of Queen’s Blood, it’s a robust and interesting game that can be enjoyed without even thinking about the Protorelic reward.

Junon’s Protorelic quest also gets a huge charm point in the form of low-poly models for Cloud, Tifa, and Barret that appear in the world of the game. It’s a nice throwback to their original FF7 appearances, even if aggressive lighting leaves them weirdly washed out. Whether this is motivation enough to tackle the further challenge of Fort Condor games on Hard is debatable, but mastering them on the standard difficulty is enough to nab the Protorelic in Junon, and the experience of getting there is the best that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth protorelic quests have to offer.