The 
Nibel Region is the final open world area in the game, and like so many regions before it, you’ll need its native chocobo if you want to fully explore it. Including the tutorial chocobo wrangling minigame in the 
Grasslands, there have been three chocobos you’ve had to wrangle, and the formula has gotten rather stale. For the Nibel region chocobo, the minigame has been given a final revamp to keep things somewhat fresh, and this page will help you overcome this new challenge and wrangle the Nibel region chocobo in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.
(1 of 3) You can locate the Chocobo Intel event by heading to the Chocobo Sage’s Manor,
Nibel Region Chocobo Location¶
There are two ways you can find this chocobo - you can either stumble upon it blindly by locating its Chocobo Intel location on the map (it’s just southeast of the Nibel Airstrip, southwest of Activation Intel 1: Airstrip Tower) or by going far afield to reach the Chocobo Sage’s Manor, whereupon you’ll start the side quest Esoteric Secrets of the Elders. In the latter case you’ll be tasked with catching this bird, so it’s just a roundabout way of getting the Chocobo Intel location marked on your map.
The entire goal of this minigame is to pick up Chocobo Bait and throwing it to lure Selena to the grass patch where you started, avoiding cacti in the process.
How to Solve the Nibel Region Cacti Puzzle¶
However you manage to find the location where the Nibel chocobo lurks, head over there and Cloud will hunker down in some grass between two observant, stationary chocobos. Despite how this minigame starts, there’s not a whole lot of stealth involved, the birds down here are just to keep you honest. The goal of this minigame isn’t to sneak up on your target, but to lure the bird into reaching you. The only problem? Bulbous balloon-like cacti stand in between Cloud and his target chocobo, Selena.
Head up a grassy slope to reach an elevated area that is covered with grass you can hide in, although it’s not terribly necessary anymore. Note the Chocobo Bait lining the edge of this area and slink your way forward until you’re looking down over Selena. The core concept is simple enough, you’ll need to toss Chocobo Bait down to the ground below to lure Selena to it, while avoiding the cacti. If the chocobo gets caught by the cacti she’ll take damage, and after three hits you’ll fail the minigame and have to restart. Checkpoints are again fairly common, so this isn’t too bad, but the various gameplay elements in this minigame are a bit quirky:
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You can grab an unlimited number of Chocobo Bait, as it respawns fairly quickly, but you shouldn’t need more than a few at a time.
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Selena will not return to her start position if you take too long throwing bait. You’re not on any time limit, so be patient and make good throws.
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Watch the cacti and learn their patterns. Many inflate and deflate in set sequences, and you’ll need to act as opportunities to lure Selena as they arise.
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Bait has a limited range - Selena won’t trek terribly far to get bait, so you may need two pieces of bait to get her to cover even moderate distances.
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Selena will only move just far enough to consume the bait, she won’t move onto the bait itself. Keep this in mind when throwing your bait and throw it just a bit further than you think you need to ensure Selena clears any obstacles.
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Selena will stop to consume bait when she reaches it, so there’s some downtime between each bait throw (not including the time it takes Selena to waddle over to the bait). You’ll need to keep this in mind as you try to get Selena to navigate the course, as you won’t be able to perform quick, repeated actions.
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There’s some time wasted during your throw, and it takes Selena a moment to actually get moving. You’ll need to plan and execute your throws ahead of time.
(1 of 3) When you reach the first column of cacti, wait for the cacti to deflate,
With all that in mind, toss some bait to lure Selena to the left, towards the solid fields of cacti. This first phase is simple enough, there are a few lone cacti scattered about, just throw bait so Selena’s path doesn’t cross any of these bulbous plants. It’ll take around four Chocobo Bait to lure Selena over to a line of cacti that inflate and deflate in three sections. Lure Selena to the edge of these cacti and when the cacti in front of her deflates, throw another Chocobo Bait past the cacti line to lure her across.
The second obstacle is more of the same - another line of cacti blocks Selena’s path, but they inflate and deflate individually, instead of in groups, leaving you a narrower window both in timing and space to maneuver Selena. You’ll get checkpoints after clearing both of these lines, so just learn the mechanics of the minigame here and get through it before you face the third and final cacti challenge.
A map of the third cacti puzzle. The cacti in groups #1, #2, and #3 all inflate and deflate together, with #1 deflating first, then #2, and so on. #4 is the barren patch where you need to lure Selena.
After clearing both cacti lines you’ll find yourself in a field of cacti, which is effectively split into four parts:
- First is the outer column of 6 cacti..
- Second are two columns of around 10 cacti behind the first.
- Third is a smaller column of five cacti behind the second.
(1 of 2) The third cacti puzzle is the trickiest, as you need to lure Selena to a barren patch past three groups of cacti.
The third cacti puzzle is the trickiest, as you need to lure Selena to a barren patch past three groups of cacti. (left), From the barren patch, lure Selena down to the grass where you started, then sneak up on her to wrangle yourself a new chocobo! (right)
These three groups inflate and deflate in synchronicity, and you’ll need to guide Selena to a barren patch of cacti-free ground up and to the left beyond the third column. Not all of these cacti will be deflated at the same time, so you’ll need to throw several pieces of Chocobo Bait in a sequence to guide Selena as the opportunity presents itself. First, be sure to gather plenty of Chocobo Bait before starting this (you’ll want at least four pieces of it) and keep Selena as far away from you as possible. This last precaution is due to the fact that you need to lure Selena to the barren spot after the third segment of cacti and bait has a limited range, so you need to throw the Chocobo Bait far enough into the barren area so Selena can get her whole chonky self over there without coming into contact with any reinflating cacti. When Selena safely reaches the barren patch, you’ll get another checkpoint.
You should be in the home stretch, now, the hardest part is behind you. Now you just need to lure Selena past three more groups of cacti and into the grass where you started, and these three groups are in a straight line between the barren area and the grass. Once again, the topmost group of cacti deflates, then the center, then the cacti nearest the grass, and the first group will re-inflate by the time the last group deflates. The only real tricky part here is the middle, as there’s not a whole lot of space here, so you’ll need to throw Chocobo Bait at the very edge of the last group of cacti to lure Selena onto the center group of cacti when they’re deflated, but you have to not lure her onto the final group of cacti while they’re inflated while also luring her far enough away from the first group so they don’t hit her when they re-inflate.
Lure Selena into the grass and spend more Chocobo Bait to ensure she’s solidly in the grass and then turn her around so you can sneak up behind her. This might not be necessary, but why not play it safe at this point? When you like your odds, slink downhill and mount the chocobo to capture her.
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