Final Fantasy VII Revelation Preview: An Exciting New Beginning

Published Oct 9, 2026, 6:14 PM EDT Yuliya Geikhman has been writing professionally for over 17 years. She started out in the MMO scene with Pando Media Booster and now dives into everything gaming at Screen Rant. She's a lifelong gamer, a relentless industry sleuth, and a passionate follower of everything happening in the games industry. After three long years, the wait is almost over: Final Fantasy VII Revelation launches next Spring. The game will conclude the adventures of Cloud Strife and his companions as they bend fate to their will and break away from the destiny laid out for them in the original FF VII, three decades ago. This title promises to be the most exciting and action-packed, as the beloved characters face off against Sephiroth. I went hands-on with Final Fantasy VII Revelation in a preview event in NYC. Unlike the demo from Gamescom, which showed off exploration and Wutai, this preview placed me in a segment from the beginning of the game. Heading Into The Northern Crater Final Fantasy VII Remake was concentrated entirely in Midgar, where Cloud meets his new adventuring partners and starts a journey that would change the fate of the world. Rebirth extended beyond the city, taking the characters through a familiar adventure with new twists. As the third and final installment of Final Fantasy VII begins, the danger grows larger still, with Sephiroth preparing to launch a Meteor that will destroy the whole world. Cloud and his companions—sans one—enter a Northern Crater crawling with black-robed figures, in search of Sephiroth. Cloud had been showing signs of cracking, and as I dove into the game, he seemed to be fracturing further. Missing memories and strange visions plague the character as the party makes their way through several enemy encounters—including a new form of Jenova called Jenova Deathmourner. As with the previous games, this will all sound familiar to FF VII fans, since the bones of the original game are firmly in place. But the demo also dives into some new directions. Jenova Deathmourner, for instance, is a far more disturbing version of the original Jenova Death that you fight in the Crater, with tentacles erupting from her fleshy headless neck. The game also hints at Zack's bigger role in the story, and revisits some echoes from the past. With just the short half hour that I had with the game, it's clear that the dramatic finale to the trilogy will deliver surprises and twists that will surprise even long-time fans. Cid The Dragoon And Vincent The Beast During this preview, I got a chance to try out the two newest party members to head into combat: Cid Highwind and Vincent Valentine. Both play like a dream, and add a completely different playstyle to an already varied roster. Both also introduce an element of timing to battles, making them even more active and engaging. Cid is a Dragoon who wields a lance and unleashes devastating jump attacks. He's fast on his feet, but his hits are more deliberate thanks to the timing mechanic: After one or two attacks, Cid will glow blue. Waiting until this visual cue before attacking again will trigger a followup attack, like Stinger (spam attack to stab the target multiple times), Top Gear (rush at the target while in the air), or Turbulence (launch Cid and the target into the air). The last one is particularly important, since Cid actually has several attacks that hit harder when he's in midair. He summons the dragon-like spirit of his lance mid-battle, and marks enemies to receive more powerful hits. He's also able to jump around the battlefield and self-buff, which makes fighting as Cid feel incredibly satisfying. Vincent Valentine, on the other hand, uses his guns to attack from further away. Vincent is even faster than Cid, and his hits are chained much quicker by repeatedly pressing the attack button. He, like Cid, also has a timed element, which causes him to briefly glow red and unlock special attacks. But while Cid's timed attacks felt natural and fluid, Vincent's felt more random, and I couldn't consistently get them to appear. Of course, Vincent has another trick in his arsenal: He can transform into his Galian beastly form. This turns him into a large, lumbering beast with powerful swiping attacks and a strong secondary skill that can also be enhanced with good timing. This form takes a toll on him, though, causing his chaos level to increase and decreasing his max HP until he reverts to human form. It also makes him really, really slow. Even dodging while in this form doesn't make him go much faster, so the Galian beast was best summoned when Vincent had already closed his distance to the enemy. The system makes Vincent stand out as an incredibly versatile character to command. I also got to play around with the new FITS system a little bit as a demo exclusive, since at this point in the story the feature wouldn't be unlocked yet. This adds class-specific abilities to different characters and provides an additional level of customization and combat. In the preview, Cloud had the Summoner FITS equipped, which allowed him to sync up with Shiva, Titan, or Ifrit to provide support with some attacks. There didn't seem to be much more I could do with the system for now, leaving me somewhat underwhelmed—but it's worth noting that this was just a sneak peek at what the feature has to offer. More Updates For A Bigger Adventure A few more updates stood out during the preview. The most intriguing update can be found in the equipment system: You can now link up to three Materia, instead of two. This gives you a lot more wiggle room and opportunities to customize the characters to suit your play style. The addition of this new feature, combined with the timed elements of fighting with Vincent and Cid, worked together to make combat even more dynamic and exciting. One surprising change made to the Northern Crater is the removal of the wind mini-game. In the original game, the path to Jenova Death required players to cross a windy segment, timing their passage to lulls in the wind. This element is hinted at in Revelation, when a few robed men are blown off a narrow path, but otherwise it's missing. A few other minigame segments will officially be making a reappearance in the third game, like the hypothermia and snowboarding segments. But with the removal of this timed platforming, I wonder what else from the original was left on the cutting room floor. Another surprising update is the distinct lack of the controversial yellow paint in the middle of the Northern Crater. Climbable rocks were marked with a more natural lighter blue than the surrounding dark blue cliffsides. This might seem like an insignificant update, but it shows that Square Enix is listening to player feedback—a fact that bodes very well for the grand finale of the FF VII remake. All in all, my experience with FF VII confirmed what I already expected: It was bringing more of what fans have come to expect from the previous two games, dialed up to 11. No one knows what the future holds in store for Cloud and his friends or how different it will be from the original game. But judging from this preview, it's certainly going to be a fun ride. Final Fantasy VII Revelation launches for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (via Steam and Epic) on April 8, 2027. Systems Released April 8, 2027 Developer(s) Square Enix Publisher(s) Square Enix Prequel(s) Final Fantasy VII Remake, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Franchise Final Fantasy Number of Players Single-player Steam Deck Compatibility Unknown