The original Final Fantasy VII is widely regarded as one of the greatest video games ever made. And the ongoing Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy has had the daunting task of delivering a modernized retelling that does justice to the 1997 classic. With the 30th anniversary approaching, we’ll soon get the final installment, which aims to cap off the trilogy with a satisfying conclusion and hopefully tie up the new loose ends introduced in the revamped storyline.
While Final Fantasy VII Rebirth was an ambitious upgrade for the original game’s second act, the upcoming Final Fantasy VII Revelation is going even further by letting players explore every corner of the sprawling open world as they see fit.
I played Final Fantasy VII Revelation at PAX West 2026, seeing firsthand the big moment where players will pilot the fan-favorite Highwind airship and be let loose to explore the massive world. Along with getting some hands-on time exploring a fully explorable Wutai region and other returning territories like Junon, I also got to see the full party in action with new combat synergies that up the spectacle in some stunning ways. So far, Final Fantasy VII Revelation has me excited for its expanded scope and what’s to come with the trilogy’s conclusion.
FFVII Revelation continues right after Rebirth, focusing on a corrupted Cloud Strife leading his party to the northern continent to confront Sephiroth. Like the original game, things don’t go as planned, leading the party to regroup and set out for an even more daring mission—stop the empowered Sephiroth and the approaching planet-destroying meteor. Furthermore, giant ancient monsters known as the Weapons also arrive, roaming the planet and causing chaos in their wake. No pressure.
Much like 2020’s Final Fantasy VII Remake and 2024’s Rebirth, FFVII Revelation is not just a retelling of the original game. Still, it greatly expands the story, adding more character depth and more opportunities to see this world in a larger scope. In the vein of Neon Genesis Evangelion‘s Rebuild film series, the FFVII Remake trilogy leverages the original game’s lore for an updated story that feels self-aware, with a focus on the party of heroes defying their fate.
One of the great things that the FFVII Remake trilogy has accomplished is updating the world of FFVII to make it feel more lived-in and active. This means towns are more populated, more context is added to the story, and there’s also far more ground to cover. FFVII Remake and Rebirth accomplished this well, but Revelation takes it even further with its move to a more connected open-world game.
One of the standout points of my hands-on that really hit me with those familiar feelings was getting to fly the Highwind. Revelation takes this even further by letting you explore the inside of the ship and even meet the crew. It totally captures the ship’s scale, and seeing the crew hang out with Cid Highwind and other party members put a smile on my face while exploring.
The Highwind is, of course, not only a visually stunning recreation of one of FFVII’s most memorable moments where the world opens up, but it also shows how Revelation is pushing FFVII into a true open-world experience by letting you quite actually fly up to your chosen territory and dive seamlessly to the ground with your party. Much like Fortnite, surprisingly, your chosen party of heroes—such as Yuffie, Barret, and Cait Sith—will skydive down into the world below, where your landing spot is up to you. While there are some designated zones to land for bonus rewards, you can make your own way. When venturing to Junon to see the updated map, I landed in a clearing with my party and almost immediately ended up in a fight with a beach troll. And it was so fun to dive straight into a brawl.
As Revelation focuses on the endgame of sorts for Final Fantasy VII, this point in the story also brings together every member of the party, and that includes the dragoon pilot Cid Highwind and the mutant gunslinger Vincent Valentine. While only supporting characters in FFVII Rebirth, Revelation finally makes them playable, and their fighting styles offer up wild combo attacks and spells that really make them new wild cards for the party. I particularly enjoyed playing as Cid, whose jumping attacks and lance combos are so fun to dish out.
An added edge to combat coming in Revelation is the new F.I.T.S. system, which allows you to add alternate class combat skills to each character. In a similar vein to the traditional Final Fantasy class archetypes, such as warrior and mage, you can deck out each character with an array of new skills, effectively reshaping the makeup of characters and your party however you see fit. It’s certainly an interesting addition, and I’m curious to see how different this can make each party member. Also, the new outfits for each character do look stunning.
Along with the Highwind, one of my favorite places to explore in this early look at Revelation was the revamped Wutai, the secluded nation and home to ninja Yuffie Kisaragi. While an optional area in the original game, the FFVII Remake trilogy has made it a core destination that’s critical to the plot. I really enjoyed exploring Wutai, checking out the wilderness around the capital city, and even using the new grappling hook to reach the more vertical spots. I was only scratching the surface of what I could see in the updated area, and before I knew it, my time with Revelation came to an end.
But therein lies one of the tricky things about my brief time with Revelation. I wish I had more time, as it was all so much to take in. Compared to FFVII Rebirth, which was one of the most densely packed Final Fantasy games in recent years, Revelation looks to completely overtake that with its larger world and new quests to take on. In that sense, I felt a bit overwhelmed by Revelation’s sheer offerings, and while I can chalk that up to a demo that dropped me several hours into the game, I hope the full game will have a proper way to help players find their bearings.
Final Fantasy VII Revelation is the most important entry of the FFVII Remake trilogy, simply for the fact that it has to stick the landing to cap off this wildly ambitious reimagining of a classic. It’s got a tough act to follow after Remake and Rebirth, which are both fantastic Final Fantasy games in their own right. But what has already impressed me with Revelation is that it’s going all in on opening the skies and world of FFVII in a way that the entire Final Fantasy series has not seen before.
Much like with Rebirth, I’m intrigued and anxious about how the story will all come to a close, but I can’t deny that the ambition of Revelation has made me optimistic that the final entry of the FFVII Remake trilogy will make its mark — hopefully in all the right ways.
Final Fantasy VII: Revelation is set for release on April 8, 2027 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2.
Alessandro Fillari is a freelance writer for Nerdist, a life-long video game player, and a true believer in the power of a good story.