Final Fantasy 7 Revelation Preview: Square Enix’s Most Ambitious Game Yet
· Vice
I recently had the honor of visiting Square Enix, where I got to play Final Fantasy 7 Revelation early. Although I only had an hour with the hands-on demo, I walked away feeling confident about the ending of the FF7 Remake trilogy. In fact, this might actually be Square Enix’s most ambitious game yet.
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The Highwind Is Your New Home in the sky
Screenshot: Square EnixMy Final Fantasy 7 Revelation demo began with a tour of the newly unlocked Highwind airship. What surprised me most was how much effort Square Enix has put into making the iconic ship your team’s new home. Similar to the Normandy in Mass Effect, the Highwind is a traveling hub filled with useful amenities.
From vending machines where you can buy and sell items or weapons to a full Chocobo ranch, it has everything. There is even a feature that lets you collect furniture during your travels, which you can then use to decorate portions of the ship. The Highwind also houses characters you’ve met throughout Remake and Rebirth.
For example, there is a section of the ship where Chadley now conducts his research, while another location features Chocobo rancher Billy. And while the hub is absolutely massive, players automatically unlock a new grappling hook that lets you instantly zip around the Highwind’s multilevel structure. It’s awesome.
The Open World Map Is Absolutely Massive
Screenshot: Square EnixWhen I say Final Fantasy 7 Revelation’s open-world map is massive, I mean it’s absolutely massive. After completing the Highwind tutorial, it was finally time to take to the skies. Within seconds of taking control of the ship, I was genuinely stunned by the full scope of Final Fantasy 7 Revelation’s map.
Just as director Naoki Hamaguchi has promised fans over the past year, it includes every region you visited in Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. However, all three games’ worth of locations are now combined into one massive overworld map that you can fly across in real time. There are also no loading screens as you zip around the staggering continent.
The real magic, though, is the new parachuting mechanic. As you fly over each region, you can actually see the area’s map appear below you, including its various quest markers and locations. In my demo, for example, I wanted to land near a Chocobo quest in Mideel, so I stopped the Highwind directly above it, jumped off the ship with my parachute, and landed right next to the objective.
Screenshot: Square EnixIf you don’t like where you landed or want to travel to another section of the map, you can pause the game at any time and instantly fast-travel back to the Highwind before attempting another parachute drop. Square Enix has made it easy to adjust your jumps and land almost anywhere you want in each region. However, there are some story-based limitations.
For example, when I tried to drop onto one of the Weapons in the Corel region, the game automatically took control of my character during the descent and guided them away from it. Based on your current chapter and story progress, it appears that certain areas may be temporarily inaccessible.
World Intel Has Been Completely Overhauled
Screenshot: Square EnixOne of the best changes in Final Fantasy 7 Revelation is the overhaul of the World Intel system. In FF7 Rebirth, players had to visit towers throughout the map to reveal activities and unlock fast-travel points. However, because the Highwind now lets you drop almost anywhere, this sometimes-fatiguing mechanic has been streamlined.
World Intel is now largely tied to epic regional quests that feel more connected to the game’s lore and help you learn more about each area. In Revelation, World Intel has also been handed over to MAI, who now has a physical presence. More importantly, earning Intel Points for her feels much more seamless, as many activities are naturally integrated into the system.
Once you arrive in a new region, MAI gives you what feels like a quick guided tour of the quests and missions available to tackle. During my demo, I sometimes found myself earning Intel Points without even realizing it simply by completing other quests or interacting with the map.
Mideel Is a Gorgeous New Region
Screenshot: Square EnixThe second stop in my demo was the new region of Mideel. The tropical rainforest is gorgeous and packed with vegetation and wildlife. This is also where I got to test the game’s updated Chocobo mount system. In Revelation, you now have a single Chocobo named Piko that can be upgraded throughout your adventure.
Instead of using a unique Chocobo for each traversal mechanic, you now have one mount that can eventually learn every ability. This is a major improvement over the previous game, as it allows you to move around the map at lightning speed without constantly switching mounts.
For example, while exploring the jungles of Mideel, I used my Chocobo’s jet ability to hover into the air and climb a waterfall to reach a hidden location. I then sprinted off a cliff before chaining the jump into an Air Dash. When combined with the Highwind’s new parachuting system, traversal in Final Fantasy 7 Revelation has never felt so free or accessible.
Screenshot: Square EnixOne of my first quests in Mideel involved finding a rare Chocobo in the wild. However, to earn its affection, I had to use Piko to win it over. In Revelation, a Chocobo Roulette wheel spins whenever you encounter a new Chocobo. If you earn three or more affection points from the random spin, you will automatically tame the wild bird and receive points. There was even a quest in Mideel that allowed me to unlock a new feather color scheme for my Chocobo mount.
Combat Is the Best It Has Ever Been
Screenshot: Square EnixIt wasn’t until I visited the new Wutai region that I finally got to dive deeper into Final Fantasy 7 Revelation’s combat system. In Revelation, combat feels much snappier and more action-oriented, in a good way. Each character’s fighting style also feels drastically different.
Cid, for example, uses his spear to mark multiple enemies. You can then unleash area-of-effect attacks that automatically target every enemy you’ve marked. Vincent, on the other hand, feels like he’s from a completely different game. I would almost go as far as describing his combat as something out of Devil May Cry. Seriously.
With Vincent, you can switch between Gunslinger and Galian Beast modes. As a Gunslinger, you use his iconic pistols to unleash a flurry of ranged attacks while weaving in and out of combat. However, with a simple button press, you can instantly transform into his beast form, which turns him into a close-range melee fighter.
Screenshot: Square EnixEach character truly has a unique combat style that is equally fun in its own right. As a result, I genuinely found myself forgetting to switch characters or pause battles to use spells because I was having so much fun with each character’s basic playstyle.
However, the new FITS system is a complete game changer. Not only does it allow your characters to switch between the four classes: Warrior, Black Mage, Knight, and Summoner, but it also gives you much more freedom to experiment with their builds.
Screenshot: Square EnixIn my demo, I made Barret a Knight. This allowed him to use powerful close-range melee attacks while still firing ranged shots with his gun-arm. It essentially turned him into a tank, and it worked incredibly well when mixed with his base class abilities.
Final Fantasy 7 Revelation Is Already One of My Most Anticipated Games of 2027
Screenshot: Square EnixI can honestly say that my Final Fantasy 7 Revelation preview featured one of the best demos I’ve played in years. If you loved the cinematic storytelling of Remake and the open-world exploration of Rebirth, Revelation takes the best elements of both games and cranks everything up to 11.
The Highwind finally feels like a true home for the party, while the ability to fly across every returning region makes the world feel larger and more connected than ever. Add in the seamless parachuting system, streamlined World Intel activities, improved Chocobo traversal, and completely distinct combat styles for each character, and it’s difficult not to be impressed by the sheer scale of what Square Enix is attempting.
After just one hour, I walked away feeling like Final Fantasy 7 Revelation isn’t simply trying to conclude the trilogy, it’s attempting to surpass everything that came before it. Naoki Hamaguchi and Teruki Endo have absolutely knocked it out of the park so far, and I feel more confident than ever that Revelation will deliver the perfect Final Fantasy 7 ending we’ve been waiting for.
Final Fantasy 7 Revelation releases on April 8, 2027 on Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, PC and Xbox Series X/S.
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