Final Fantasy VII and its various spin-offs and extended media have gotten difficult to keep track of over the years. These days, each numbered Final Fantasy seems like an extended universe in its own right. Final Fantasy XV got a whole movie and anime mini-series before it was even out, both of which factored heavily into the main story. Final Fantasy 7 wasn’t like that when it originally came out in 1997, but it became an extended universe with multiple spin-off games, a movie, and now a Remake trilogy that factors those stories into the plot in significant ways. That is true of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, which is launching on February 29. There’s a spin-off you probably didn’t play that you should brush up on before diving in: Final Fantasy 7: The First Soldier and its Ever Crisis chapters.

We won’t get too in the weeds about how The First Soldier factors into Rebirth’s story, but if you don’t remember the game, it was an ill-fated battle royale that ran from 2021 to 2023. It was set several years before the events of FF7, and had SOLDIER candidates fighting against each other in a simulation. The game is now gone, but it lives on in Final Fantasy 7: Ever Crisis, the mobile and PC gacha game that retells the events of Final Fantasy 7’s various spin-offs.

The First Soldier chapters are an original story following characters featured in the battle royale game. Its main cast includes SOLDIER recruits Glenn, Matt, Lucia, and a young version of series antagonist Sephiroth. Without diving into spoilers, we can confirm that the events of the First Soldier chapters do tie into Rebirth, and seem like they will have a ripple effect into the third game Square Enix is working on to complete the Remake trilogy.

If you’re trying to get caught up before Rebirth launches, the simplest thing to do is watch the First Soldier chapters on YouTube or find a summary of the events online. When it became clear during my Rebirth playthrough that Ever Crisis and First Soldier were factoring into things, I watched YouTuber Sector 6’s recaps of the first five chapters to acquaint myself with the material. As of right now, the story is incomplete, as Ever Crisis’ chapters are still rolling out. But there is enough for you to get a sense of how the events of Ever Crisis’ First Soldier chapters would lead to things that unfold in Rebirth.

After you brush up on your Final Fantasy 7 lore, be sure to clear your PlayStation 5’s hard drive space and read up on our combat tips so you’ll be ready for Rebirth when it launches on February 29.