Final Fantasy 7 Revelation appears to eclipse the scale of the past two games

If you thought Rebirth was a lot, you haven't seen anything yet.

There's finally a light at the end of the tunnel for the Final Fantasy 7 Remake project. The third and final installment of Square Enix's remake trilogy is less than a year away. Ever since the end of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, there were questions about how this last chapter would look and what it would entail. As part of my time at PAX West, I got to take a first look at Final Fantasy 7 Revelation and was gobsmacked by how massive the whole world looked. Anyone who thought the world of Rebirth was big is about be stricken by just how much more there is in Revelation.

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation picks up right after the events of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, but the part of the game that I tried didn't start out at the beginning. It started at Chapter 4 and immediately presented an interesting situation: Cloud and Tifa weren't present, meaning players are going to have a significant stretch of the game where Cloud isn't the party leader. In fact, the party leader can be switched around in the pause menu.

For this early portion of the game, the main objective is to explore a region that's often been talked about in the series, but never seen to this point: Wutai. However, before that, I got to take a tour of one of the game's biggest new features, which is the airship. The airship Highwind will act as the player's central hub throughout Revelation. This is where players will regroup, talk to various characters, take on some side quests, and also determine where to head out to next. When I started flying around the world, it truly sink in just how much bigger Revelation looks to be in scale compared to the first two games in the trilogy. Nearly every region from both Remake and Rebirth appear to be accessible from the airship, looking mostly similar to how they did in those games. Of course, with time having passed and the titanic Weapons wandering the world wreaking havoc, areas like Junon, Gongaga, and the Midgar outskirts may look slightly different than they did before. Whenever a player decides on a destination, they'll dive out from the airship and deploy their parachutes, landing safely for the next part of their adventure.

For the first part of my time with Revelation, I explored the new Mideel Region. This is a tropical rainforest area located just outside the Wutai borders. Upon landing, information overload sets in almost immediately when the AI companion MAI (Monster Assessment Instrument) chimed in with facts about the region, things to look out for, numerous side quests, and giant monsters roaming the area. Just scrolling past everything MAI had to say was a journey in itself, taking more than a full minute. It further supports the idea that Revelation appears to be more of everything, which includes side quests and challenges. As part of their exploration, players can use the Makolight tool to scan nearby areas, gaining new information on things like collectibles, enemies, and friendly fauna. The Makolight can also assist with certain side activities, like a set of ruins that unleashed a hidden monster after it was fully scanned. If that monster's power level was any indication (it one-hit killed my entire party), then Revelation will not be short on intense challenges.

Battles in Revelation will unfold similarly to Remake and Rebirth, but with the loss of [REDACTED FOR SPOILERS] in the last game, it did start to present the conundrum of who does the party's healing. The answer to that comes through the new FITS system. The FITS system complements a character's already established role and acts as a stand-in for the traditional Final Fantasy job system. I mainly used Cid as a party leader and he was a fine Dragoon, but when I started with him, he was also wearing the black shirt of a Black Mage. A few wardrobe changes later and I was able to switch between Black Mage, Knight, and Summoner, each with their own distinct outfit. Of course, if there's a particular outfit that the player really likes, it'll be possible to equip that outfit to a different job role. The FITS system adds a much deeper complexity to team building, because now players need to be cautious of who can do what with their inherent abilities, how they blend together in battle, and how the FITS jobs can enhance all of that. All of this is before even discussing Synergy attacks, another feature making its return from Rebirth that I wasn't able to look at just yet.

It's important to keep everyone leveled up, which will also include your trusty Chocobo. Piko will make his return from Rebirth, giving players a faster way to cover ground. However, for the first time, he can also fight. Piko can run past foes and strike, as well as allow his rider to launch off of him in order to deliver a dismounting attack. As the game goes on, Piko will level up alongside the rest of the party and pick up new traversal and combat skills. Piko can level up mainly by finding Chocobo flags scattered across the world.

Like Rebirth before it, Revelation will be filled with side activities. The Gold Saucer was among the sights that I saw in the world map. While I didn't swing by there this time, a handful of mini-games will be available to enjoy. Also making its return from Rebirth is Queen's Blood. While Cloud appears to have retired from competition, those who played Rebirth may remember that Nanaki (a.k.a. Red XIII) got a taste of the game and was suitably hooked. Look for Nanaki to get a Queen's Blood storyline that will draw players back in all over again. While out in the world, players can pull out a camera to take pictures of the local wildlife. All of this will go along with numerous other mini-games and activities that further amplify Revelation's overall scale.

I like to say at the end of these previews that I've only scratched the surface of what's coming. That may ring truest for Final Fantasy 7 Revelation. Rebirth was already a massive piece of work, so big that one of its criticisms was that it felt overly bloated. Revelation, from everything that I can see, is going to go even bigger. This is not "less is more," it's "if less is more, imagine how much more more would be." There is much, much more to learn about this game before the saga finally concludes. Final Fantasy 7 Revelation will come to PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2 on April 8, 2027.

This preview is based on an early PlayStation 5 build played during a behind-closed-doors meeting at PAX West 2026. The final product is subject to change.

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