9 Intriguing Insights from the Final Fantasy 7 Revelation Trailer That Have Us Buzzing

On June 5 at Summer Game Fest, director Naoki Hamaguchi took the stage to unveil our first in-depth look at Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, the concluding chapter of Square Enix’s Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy.

We were treated to not just one, but two trailers: an initial reveal followed by a gameplay showcase that offered additional insights into what we can expect. The combined footage runs over seven minutes. Here’s what we’ve gathered so far.

A heads-up for those who haven’t experienced the original 1997 Final Fantasy 7: this article is packed with spoilers, as Square Enix has cleverly woven in numerous references and callbacks for fans familiar with the story.

Let’s address the elephant in the room: Sephiroth’s voice in Revelation is different. The iconic One-Winged Angel will not be voiced by Tyler Hoechlin this time around. While Hoechlin lent his voice to Sephiroth in both Remake and Rebirth, Travis Willingham will be stepping in for the final installment. Willingham shared his excitement on social media, expressing his honor in taking on the role and acknowledging Sephiroth’s significance to fans.

The reason for Hoechlin’s absence is attributed to a “scheduling conflict,” as confirmed by Hamaguchi. It’s unfortunate, but I have faith that Willingham will deliver a stellar performance.

Here’s a delightful detail that fans have already noticed: the in-game party member portraits in Revelation pay homage to the original Final Fantasy 7 portraits. While some, like Cid’s, don’t match perfectly—he’s not smoking in his Revelation portrait—others, like Yuffie’s, are spot-on. Yuffie’s portrait captures her wild grin perfectly, and she somehow looks even more unhinged this time around.

Aerith’s death was portrayed beautifully in both the 1997 and 2024 versions of Final Fantasy 7, but the original game has a unique edge: it’s immediately followed by a snowboarding minigame. For those who might not know, Cloud goes full SSX Tricky down a snowy mountain just moments after Sephiroth takes Aerith’s life. This minigame has become a bit of a running joke among fans, so I’m curious how Revelation will handle this peculiar transition, especially since Rebirth ends with Aerith’s tragic moment.

Given the current narrative setup, it seems that Revelation might kick off with the snowboarding minigame, which hasn’t been shown in any trailers yet. This doesn’t necessarily mean it’s been cut, but it might be toned down from its original, over-the-top vibe.

Now, here comes a significant spoiler, so look away if you haven’t played the original Final Fantasy 7. Based on where we left off in Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, it’s likely that we’ll start Revelation in North Crater. This is where Sephiroth manipulates Cloud’s mind, leading to Cloud being absent from the party for a substantial part of Disc 2. The reveal trailer hints at this, showing the party on the Highwind without Cloud and a skydiving scene that also lacks his presence.

The trailers seem designed to obscure this detail from newcomers while suggesting that Cloud will be missing for a considerable duration.

Wutai is an interesting location in the original Final Fantasy 7, as players can visit it without recruiting Yuffie. If you do this, Wutai becomes almost pointless, lacking quests and shopkeepers. In Revelation, since you’ve already recruited Yuffie in Rebirth, it’s unlikely you can skip her. However, the gameplay trailer shows Cloud briefly appearing in Wutai, hinting that you might still have some flexibility in how you tackle tasks.

This leads me to hope we can still experience the secret scene where Tifa recruits Yuffie, especially since Yuffie’s nickname for Tifa in that moment is “Boobs,” which is just too funny to miss.

Remember Sapphire Weapon from the original Final Fantasy 7? Don’t worry if you don’t; unlike other Weapons, Sapphire Weapon can’t be fought because it meets its end in a cutscene. While it has appeared as a boss in other titles, its prominent role in the Revelation trailer suggests we might finally get to battle it in an FF7 game. Hopefully, it will have more to do this time than just die and set up the secret fight with Emerald Weapon.

That said, the brief scene at the end of the gameplay trailer seems to mirror the moment where Sapphire Weapon gets shot in the original, so perhaps we won’t see much change. Maybe they’ll turn it into a minigame where you can control Rufus Shinra to take down Sapphire Weapon yourself.

In the original FF7, Vincent’s Limit Breaks function differently than other characters, allowing him to transform into various creatures. Revelation appears to maintain this mechanic, showcasing Vincent’s Galian Beast form, which seems fully controllable this time around.

A notable detail is that Vincent’s Limit Breaks appear to have unique Synergy attacks with other characters. It’s unclear if these Synergy skills will work like they did in Rebirth, where every character could unlock one with each party member, but if they do, the developers will have to put in extra effort for Vincent.

If you’ve only seen the reveal trailer for Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, you might have missed crucial context about the new “F.I.T.S” mechanic, which is primarily detailed in the gameplay trailer. The “Function Integrated Tactical Suitwear” system seems to function like a job/class mechanic, allowing party members to change their move sets by swapping outfits. Interestingly, the gameplay trailer suggests that F.I.T.S. won’t alter your stats, so you’ll still need to seek out better gear to boost your attributes.

Another key point is that while equipping F.I.T.S. appears to change your character’s appearance, there’s a “Change Outfit” prompt in the gameplay trailer. This implies you could equip a F.I.T.S. and still modify your look, allowing you to use its move set without being locked into a specific style. This would be handy, especially since Cloud looks a bit silly in that Warrior outfit.

I’ll be honest; I wasn’t the first to notice this, as many fans have pointed out that one scene in the gameplay reveal trailer for Revelation closely resembles a pivotal moment from the original game. At the 30-second mark, Cloud and Sephiroth appear unusually close, almost as if they’re allies. For those familiar with the original, this might evoke memories of the scene where Sephiroth manipulates Cloud into handing over the Black Materia at North Crater.

It even looks like they exchange something in the Revelation scene, though neither is holding anything. Fans are speculating that the Black Materia has been edited out for the trailer to avoid spoiling the story for newcomers.