“There’s so much emotionality, there’s so much vulnerability,” he said. “There are moments in this that if you haven’t cried in the first two yet, I guarantee you’ll be sobbing in this third one.” He went on to say that the title will be “a payoff” for all of the story elements that have been building up so far.

Christian isn’t the only one who has spoken about how emotional Final Fantasy 7 Revelation will be. Just last month, director Naoki Hamaguchi spoke about how, despite having played through the title around 40 times, a certain scene still manages to make him cry. This comes down to the moments of introspection experienced by Cloud and how his fate has been bound by that of Zack and Aerith.

“There’s this scene that’s quite essential to the story of Final Fantasy 7 where Cloud goes into a moment of introspection and discovers his identity and how it fits with Zack and Aerith,” he said. “I think the way we portrayed that in Revelation turned out very well, and we’re eager for fans to see it.”

“I’ve finished Revelation about 40 times, and every time that introspective scene with Cloud made me cry.”

Without going into too many details about exactly which scene he was talking about, Hamaguchi said that it was “A key scene from the original, related to Cloud’s identity” and noted that it “is one of the most memorable experiences” in Revelation.

The emotional payoffs present in the storyline of Final Fantasy 7 Revelation may have played a role in the development team’s decision for the game’s title. Hamaguchi had previously spoken about how the story is going to offer many revelations to players.

While there were questions about whether the team would go with Resolve as the title instead, since that seems to be a core theme of the story, Hamaguchi said that it “wasn’t really a candidate for our title. We landed with ‘Revelation,’ because that was the word that was the best match for what we wanted to depict in the third instalment of our series.”

“I think a lot of fans and players were just really wondering, how this is going to go down, and how the trilogy is going to conclude,” he said. “As a response to that, this is our message, to say that this is the end of everything, this is where everything gets revealed, and this is where you will find out all the answers.”

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation is being developed for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2, and is slated for release in Spring 2027.

Some of the DLC likely corresponds with in-game items that will likely be part of a supposed Premium Plus Edition of the title. Interestingly, there are also mentions of a Story Expansion Pass, which indicates that some of the DLC will continue the story of Final Fantasy 7 Revelation.

While the scale of these DLCs remains unknown – many of them are likely to essentially be extra gear or costume options – there might also be plans for an expansion that is similar in scale to Episode INTERmission for Final Fantasy 7 Remake, which essentially added an entirely new story to the game, introducing the Remake trilogy audience to the character of Yuffie and her unique combat style.

Since director Naoki Hamaguchi has previously spoken about wanting to integrate stories, characters, and content from Final Fantasy 7’s various spin-offs and follow-ups, we might even see versions of Dirge of Cerberus or Advent Children recreated in Final Fantasy 7 Revelation in some form.

Hamaguchi had spoken about this during a Q&A in Shanghai. At the time, he was responding to a question about whether Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 character Cissnei would be showing up in Revelation following her appearance in Rebirth.

“Well, at this time it’s best not to say whether Cissnei will appear or not, but there is one thing I can tell you,” said Hamaguchi. “This Final Fantasy 7 Remake series is not simply a recreation of the original work, but rather, our goal is to create a single, new Final Fantasy 7 that incorporates the settings and concepts of all the previous spin-off titles, such as Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, and Crisis Core. Therefore, the appearance of Cissnei and the inclusion of Dirge of Cerberus Soldiers in the DLC, all have that meaning.”

“So, since that concept will of course carry over into Revelation as well, not limited to Cissnei, for the last entry, there will be characters that have appeared in the various FF7 compilation games that I think will be there, and each of these characters has a large and dedicated fanbase, so we want to create a work that can satisfy the feelings of those people.”

It is worth noting that the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy has done an admirable job of introducing characters and story concepts from games that were previously only spin-offs. A notable example of this is the inclusion of Leslie Kyle in Final Fantasy 7 Remake. The character was previously only mentioned in Final Fantasy VII The Kids Are Alright: A Turks Side Story. Similarly, the title also included references to Dirge of Cerberus in the form of its antagonists – Wiess and Nero – being available as VR mission boss fights in Episode INTERmission.

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation is being developed for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2, and is slated for a Spring 2027 release.

“Well, at this time it’s best not to say whether Cissnei will appear or not, but there is one thing I can tell you,” replied Hamaguchi. “This Final Fantasy 7 Remake series is not simply a recreation of the original work, but rather, our goal is to create a single, new Final Fantasy 7 that incorporates the settings and concepts of all the previous spin-off titles, such as Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, and Crisis Core. Therefore, the appearance of Cissnei and the inclusion of Dirge of Cerberus Soldiers in the DLC, all have that meaning.”

“So, since that concept will of course carry over into Revelation as well, not limited to Cissnei, for the last entry, there will be characters that have appeared in the various FF7 compilation games that I think will be there, and each of these characters has a large and dedicated fanbase, so we want to create a work that can satisfy the feelings of those people.”

He went on to talk about how Cissnei has a lot of fans. “Whenever I talk to the media or fans, they very often ask me if Cissnei will appear or say they like Cissnei,” he laughed.

Fans of the original Final Fantasy 7 and its spin-offs shouldn’t find this too surprising, since we’ve seen many references to these spin-offs and even cross-media stories like novels throughout the trilogy so far. Final Fantasy 7 Remake, for instance, featured an appearance of Leslie Kyle during its Wall Market sections. This character made his first appearance in Final Fantasy VII The Kids Are Alright: A Turks Side Story – a story published in Japan back in 2011. The same game also features the main antagonists of Dirge of Cerberus – Weiss and Nero – as VR missions in its Episode INTERmission DLC, which eventually got included with the base game as Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth saw similar inclusions. Along with the appearance of Cissnei, the title also included smaller references to other stories in the same universe, such as Tifa having a cat.

Earlier this month, Hamaguchi also spoke about how he had played through Final Fantasy 7 Revelation around 40 times, and how a certain emotional scene always ended up leaving him in tears.

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation is being developed for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2, and will be coming out in Spring 2027. For more details about why Square Enix decided to call the third entry in the trilogy Revelation, take a look at what Hamaguchi had to say about potentially calling it Resolve.

The scene largely relates to Cloud coming to understand what happened to him, and his relation to both Zack and Aerith. Hamaguchi has said that this moment has “turned out very well” in Final Fantasy 7 Revelation.

“There’s this scene that’s quite essential to the story of Final Fantasy 7 where Cloud goes into a moment of introspection and discovers his identity, and how it fits with Zack and Aerith,” he said. “I think the way we portrayed that in Revelation turned out very well, and we’re eager for fans to see it.”

“I’ve finished Revelation about 40 times, and every time that introspective scene with Cloud made me cry.”

He mentioned the same scene on social media as well, saying, “A key scene from the original, related to Cloud’s identity, is one of the most memorable experiences in FFVII Revelation.”

It is worth noting that Final Fantasy 7, which is considered by many to be one of the best games in the franchise, if not of all time, is well-known for the twists and turns in its story. Despite its age, the RPG was praised for its handling of heavy subjects, as well as how well it was able to portray its more emotional moments even despite the more primitive graphical capability of the original PlayStation.

As for Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, it is slated to bring the Remake trilogy to an end, and in the process, will answer many questions that Remake and Rebirth left open. Hamaguchi noted that this was the main reason for the studio picking Revelation as the game’s title, despite its core themes also revolving around another word that starts with “re” – Resolve.

“I think a lot of fans and players were just really wondering, how this is going to go down, and how the trilogy is going to conclude,” he said. “As a response to that, this is our message, to say that this is the end of everything, this is where everything gets revealed, and this is where you will find out all the answers.”

As for the decision to go with Revelation over Resolve, Hamaguchi said that the latter “wasn’t really a candidate for our title. We landed with ‘Revelation,’ because that was the word that was the best match for what we wanted to depict in the third instalment of our series.”

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation is being developed for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2, and in a first for the franchise, will be coming to all platforms on the same day. While you wait for its Spring 2027 release, take a look at other details, like the fact that its maximum level will be 99, and that it won’t include Bone Village.

“As I spoke about in my stage presentation, the central theme of this title is going to be ‘Resolve,'” Hamaguchi explained. “That could mean a lot of things, but one of them is the resolve of our party player-characters heading into the final battles. What kind of resolve do they have in them? What are they feeling? What are they thinking about? Things like that. We’re going to really dive deep into that specific aspect of their emotions and what they’re thinking. It’s going to shape a little bit differently between the choices that the players take, so the overall game experience might change a little bit depending on those choices that the players might take, but the goal is for the characters to feel closer than ever for the players.”

When asked about whether “Resolve” was considered as a potential title for Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, Hamaguchi said that the fact that both words start with the letters “re” is simply a coincidence.

“It wasn’t really a candidate for our title,” he continued. “We landed with ‘Revelation,’ because that was the word that was the best match for what we wanted to depict in the third instalment of our series. One thing I can share about the title ‘Revelation,’ though, is that we kept this under the veils for the longest time, and we wanted to be very careful about it. We have a very huge development team, but among those development team members, only five or six people knew about the title. Most of them found out about the title at the [Summer Game Fest] stage presentation!”

As for why the team decided to pick Revelation as the title, Hamaguchi explained that the story of the third entry will revolve around “revealing all these unanswered questions that the fans may have with Remake and Rebirth.”

“I think a lot of fans and players were just really wondering, how this is going to go down, and how the trilogy is going to conclude,” he said. “As a response to that, this is our message, to say that this is the end of everything, this is where everything gets revealed, and this is where you will find out all the answers.”

Square Enix has recently confirmed that Final Fantasy 7 Revelation will give players plenty of freedom from quite early on, and the moment that players unlock the Highwind, they will be able to fly almost anywhere in the game’s world. The developers have also confirmed that the optional WEAPON superbosses will have “dedicated narrative components,” and that the title won’t feature Bone Village.

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation is coming to PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2 in the Spring 2027.

Now another promise is fulfilled, as he confirmed to Everything.it that you can finally hit the original’s max level. “Another thing I wanted to add is that in Remake and Rebirth, there was a level cap, but in Revelation, we will not have a level limit: players will be able to reach level 99.”

Which is great news, but you’re likely going to need every single one of them. “WEAPONs and enemies even tougher than the final boss you face in the story. Examples include the WEAPONs themselves or the beloved Knights of the Round.”

So instead of replaying the game on Hard mode (as in Remake and Rebirth), you’re now motivated “to complete all the remaining content on the world map after finishing the main story.” Interestingly, he also promised that the optional WEAPONs would have their own “dedicated narrative component.”

Launching in Spring 2027, Final Fantasy 7 Revelation will be available simultaneously for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2 – a first for the trilogy. Alongside Cid and Vincent Valentine as party members, each with unique playstyles that complement each other, you can look forward to the new FITS system.

The latter is like a combination of the classic Jobs and Final Fantasy 10-2’s Dresspheres, where different equipment changes the characters’ appearance while granting new abilities. We’ve already seen Cloud and Tifa as the Warrior and Black Mage, but what other FITS can be expected? Stay tuned for more details in the coming months.

But not so in the remake. The news comes from none other than Naoki Hamaguchi, who told RPG Site that players weren’t going to be able to visit the place, although a few surrounding areas were still open for business. “Bone Village itself is not included, but North Wood and the Temple of Ancients, we’ll be able to revisit.” That, and Rocket Town, which didn’t make the cut in Rebirth.

Although that might be disappointing news to some of you, there’s still a lot to look forward to. There’s a world that’s more open to explore with a lot of side content, for starters, and a fair bit of narrative choice, although it won’t affect the game’s ending. We’re particularly happy about the Highwind unlocking early, letting you take to the skies and go just about anywhere.

All in all, Bone Village might be missed, but there’s a lot of cool stuff to help you cope when Final Fantasy 7 Revelation launches in Spring 2027 for the PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2.

In the interview, Hamaguchi spoke about how the core themes of Final Fantasy 7 Revelation will revolve around the idea of “resolve”, since all of the protagonists are now heading into their final battle against Sephiroth while his meteor looms ominously in the sky. He noted that, with all of this in mind, the developers didn’t want to develop just a singular storytelling experience that would be the same for everyone. Rather, the team wanted each fan to have their own adventure in the world.

“As our party head into the final battle, the game is going to show the resolve that they carry within them,” Hamaguchi said. “This goes without saying, but our heroes, Cloud and his companions, are beloved by a lot of fans around the world. But when we thought about that, we didn’t want to just kind of deliver a singular storytelling experience for every single player around the world. We wanted each player – each fan – to have a unique experience as they head on to the final battle.”

The choices that players will get to make will end up having an effect on the state of the characters as they head into the climactic confrontation against Sephiroth. Hamaguchi noted that these changes will tell their own smaller stories that would be unique for each player based on the choices they made throughout their time with the game. However, the ultimate ending is still going to be the same for everyone.

“There will be some moments where players will be faced with choices – so player choices – and based on the choices that they make, these specific moments where we see each character facing the final battle – and the story moment where it shows their resolve as they head into this final battle that determines the fate of the planet – that’s going to change a bit between the players based on the choices that they made throughout the game,” he explained. “The idea is to kind of change the approach and the depth of these story moments for these characters in this final chapter. We hope players look forward to that moment in the game.”

“There won’t be multiple endings that would change depending on the players’ choices, but the process of how we get there to that singular ending might be a bit different between the players based on the choices that they make throughout the game,” he continued. “That might mean that some players might have a different emotion as they get to the story ending, so that’s kind of the difference that they might have.”

Hamaguchi also admitted that, since Final Fantasy 7 Revelation will mark the ending of a trilogy that has been seven years in the making, with Final Fantasy 7 Remake originally coming out on PS4 back in 2020, many are likely paying close attention to how the finale will play out.

“The concluding chapter of this remake series, how it’s going to play out, is probably going to receive a lot of attention from our fans,” he said. “I think a lot of fans are worrying – or just being curious – about how it’s going to play out in the end.”

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation is being developed for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2, and is slated for a simultaneous release across all platforms in Spring 2027. For more details, check out its announcement trailer, what Hamaguchi has said about its side content, and how its open world will be available quite early in the game.

Speaking to Denfaminico Gamer (translation via DeepL), game director Naoki Hamaguchi said that unlike Rebirth, the entire map is open from the start. Of course, the main story still requires following a “predetermined sequence.” “However, this doesn’t apply to the side content. For example, whilst there is a set order in which you must defeat the WEAPONS that appear in the story, you can take on WEAPONS that aren’t tied to the story at any time.”

You’ll most likely get curb-stomped, but hey, it’s still possible. Plenty of side content is also “nearly on par” with the main story’s difficulty to let players “choose when to play it, whilst keeping an eye on the main story.”

“Even when we’re really focusing on the story in specific scenes, we don’t really stop you from playing the side content. However, we’ve included phases where we say, ‘Please follow the story on this continent for now,’ so in that respect, the structure is similar to the previous game.

“That said, there are some clear differences from the previous game. In the previous title, areas opened up one by one, and it wasn’t until near the end that you realised ‘all these spaces were actually connected’. In this game, however, once you obtain the Highwind early on, you’re free to explore every area as you please using it.”

And while you may not get immediately destroyed as you would against the WEAPONs, the difficulty level will vary quite heavily. “It’s entirely possible that you might think an area is easy, only to find that the one next door is incredibly tough. Rather than clearing a single area in one go, the idea is to progress by picking and choosing what you want to do in different areas as you go,” said Hamaguchi.

“Once you’ve progressed through the main story and grown stronger, you might think, ‘I’ll give this content another go,’ or whilst wandering around, a new quest might pop up and leave you wondering, ‘What should I do?’

“As for the content, there’s at least as much as in the previous game, so just like with Rebirth, I think you’ll find yourself playing whilst wondering where to start.”

This approach also helps mix up the monotony of the previous game, where completionists wouldn’t move on from an area until it was fully completed. Hamaguchi believes that isn’t possible this time because, “There are so many areas to explore, and plenty of content you can’t tackle straight away. I think it’ll come down to deciding ‘where to draw the line for now’.

“Even during our development playthroughs, it takes a considerable amount of time to see all the content. So we set conditions like ‘just the main story this time’, but if you do all the side elements, you simply won’t make any progress on the main story.”

It remains to be seen if this approach will allow for ignoring all side content and focusing entirely on the story. Final Fantasy 7 Revelation doesn’t necessarily do away with minigames, after all, so time will tell. The sheer freedom is still enthralling though, even if Hamaguchi wouldn’t consider it a true open-world game.

Out in Spring 2027, Final Fantasy 7 Revelation is the first entry in the Remake trilogy to launch simultaneously on Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2.

“The Highwind is on a massive scale. If you try to land it on the ground just like in the original version, you run into all sorts of problems—such as the Highwind looking ridiculously huge compared to the land, or the fact that it can only land on flat surfaces,” he said. It was a problem that emerged when development began, and thus led to him looking at “various ways to let players experience the game’s sense of scale.”

“Nowadays, in battle royale-style titles and the like, descending by parachute is something people are quite familiar with, isn’t it? I thought that if we had such an easily recognisable symbol, players would find it more accessible, so I decided on the current system of jumping out with a parachute. That was right at the very start of development. I told the team, ‘This is the way we’re going,’ and we’ve pushed forward without wavering ever since.”

Thankfully, returning to the Highwind is very straightforward – simply fast travel. After reaching a location, the choice is yours whether you want to use a Chocobo, walk or dive from the airship once more. The latter isn’t mandatory every time.

“It’s the same when crossing continents,” added Hamaguchi. “Whether it’s Kalm or Cosmo Canyon, if you’ve been there before, you can fly there, but if you haven’t, you’ll need to parachute down initially. The design is such that if there are unexplored areas within a region, you can parachute down nearby and then explore from there. We’ve prioritised high usability, but of course, if you want to use the parachute, that’s still an option.”

He also confirmed that the Highwind is unlocked early on, and that you’re free to travel with it from the start. Yes, the entire world is free to explore, including Midgar, though some areas (perhaps referring to the Northern Crater) are unreachable. The ship’s interior has also been lovingly recreated and will change as you explore more, with new decorations. You might even pick up some new requests from crew members. It’s like a hub in that sense and a decent way to decompress after major missions.

As for where Revelation begins, Hamaguchi is keeping those details close to his chest. “I imagine you’re all very keen to know where the game begins, and we’ve come up with an interesting opening that’s very much in keeping with the third instalment, so please look forward to that.” Hilariously, flying across the edge of the world will bring you right back around, just like in real life.

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation is out in Spring 2027 and will launch simultaneously on Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2.