How to easily beat Jenova Emergent in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

Before you attempt to beat Jenova Emergent in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, you will have to go through a gauntlet of grisly, otherworldly foes, thanks to Professor Hojo. This is going to feel familiar to people who played the original game because they are once again on a boat and are harassed by Jenova. However, this boat is far more luxurious and comfortable compared to the Shinra transport in the PlayStation version of the title.

Nonetheless, you will still have to overcome the repulsive Jenova Emergent before you can get off the boat and relax in Costa Del Sol. We’ll go over the weaknesses, important attacks, and anything else you need to know before tackling this powerful foe.

Disclaimer: Features spoilers for one of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s bosses.

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Tips to easily beat Jenova Emergent in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

1) Phase 1 of Jenova Emergent

This is the Assess screen for Jenova Emergent (Image via Square Enix)

Just when you think you can get your hands on Sephiroth, he vanishes, leaving Jenova Emergent in Final Fantasy 7 as the next boss. Before this was a lengthy gauntlet of annoying foes, but nothing like the power of Jenova. As it is with many of the encounters with this enemy, it has no weaknesses. It’s also immune to several status ailments, but it doesn’t absorb anything, at least.

To pressure Jenova Emergent in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, simply deal lots of damage to it. This will trigger some of its body parts to become targetable. Destroying those will quickly increase the stagger meter, making it easier to pummel this dangerous boss. It has 43,990 HP, so it’s going to take a little while to defeat.

One of its most common attacks is Pestilential Reckoning, which looks like a poisonous cloud that spurts out from in front of it in a wave. This can also Mute characters, making it far more dangerous than enemies like Terror of the Deep in Chapter 4 of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.

Since Jenova Emergent has no particular elemental weaknesses or strengths of note, hammer on it with your most powerful attacks, regardless of who you are controlling. It will also occasionally use Vengeance, which is a thin laser beam that will damage and briefly knock up anyone it hits.

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2) Phase 2 of Jenova Emergent

Target the extra limbs when they pop up (Image via Square Enix)

The first body part to show up is the head, and it did for me around 90% HP or so. I interrupted a Vengeance with Braver, and it immediately Pressured the boss. Luckily, the body parts appeared to be very weak. Cloud put it away almost immediately with Triple Slash and nearly filled the stagger bar.

After crippling the head, it can also use Retribution, which is a series of purple lasers that fire from the main body. Naturally, when you stagger it, go all in - any Synergy, Limit Break, or powerful attacks you’ve got stored up. If you want to adjust your Folio in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth to unlock specific moves, you can do so before this fight begins.

Around 60-70% - which occurred after the initial stagger - Jenova Emergent drops off the wall and onto the ground. It grows more appendages, such as extra arms, and roars back to life.

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3) Phase 3 of Jenova Emergent

Jenova has more mobility now (Image via Square Enix)

Jenova is more mobile now. It can dash across the screen and slash at the party with a huge tentacle. It also now has Torment, which uses said tentacle to grab a party member. It’s likely going to pick whoever is closest, so be ready to swap and unload with someone else for the Jenova Emergent battle in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.

In this case, I swapped to Barret and used Overcharge, which triggered another Pressure and the re-emergence of the targetable head. Maximum Fury deleted the appendage easily. There’s also the Left Shoulder to target this time. It’s a bit more durable than the head, and you can still get grabbed by Torment.

This should leave the boss around 50% HP and force it to use Reconstitution to grow back its extra limbs. However, you should also be able to stagger Jenova Emergent in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth at this point.

Thanks to a Synergy Attack and Cloud’s limit, we got it to 25%, which is as low as you can go at this point. Another cutscene will trigger, with even more appendages showing up.

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4) Phase 4 of Jenova Emergent

This is almost the end of the battle (Image via Square Enix)

The Head and Shoulder of Jenova Emergent pops up again in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth for this final phase, thanks to Propagate. I used Maximum Fury to shred through both parts easily. There are also tentacles to target, which you can easily destroy with Cloud’s Triple Slash.

Beware its mobile Carnage attack, where it lumbers forward, swinging at anything it can. The rest of the fight is easy enough since it has almost no HP, lots of stagger, and no limbs to defend it.

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Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth debuts on February 29, 2024. You can find our full, in-depth review of Square Enix’s latest masterpiece here.