FF7 Revelation's first dungeon is enough to impress me with its tighter combat – Cid and Vincent are excellent additions to the team

Between Summer Game Fest, Gamescom, and the PlayStation State of Play, director Naoki Hamaguchi and the team at Square Enix have showcased Final Fantasy 7 Revelation's massive open world. It's a huge sandbox brimming with activities, map markers, and interruptions from the slightly overtuned robotic companion MAI.

It's been an overwhelming amount of content packed into tight demos. However, after spending some time with the first chapter in a brand new preview session, I finally feel like I have a better handle on the huge offering in store. It’s clear that FF7 Revelation's scope tightens quite a bit as Cloud and the rest of the party make haste to the North Crater to stop Sephiroth.

Crate(r) expectations

This roughly 45-minute linear dungeon presents a more grounded look at the narrative parts of FF7 Revelation as we see Cloud and the gang still reeling from the loss of Aerith. Now focused on avenging her at any cost, the party urgently presses forward through the twisting and turning paths of the North Crater as they hustle toward the center.

Cloud's mental state is still rapidly declining and Sephiroth's hold over him grows stronger. Traversing the dangerous caverns and roads is broken up by intermittent cutscenes of our silver-haired villain telling Cloud to remember his SOLDIER number. To remember where he came from. These small but powerful moments remind me what I love so much about the FF7 Remake trilogy: the mystery and intoxicating intrigue of Sephiroth, and how it envelops everything around it.

As I cut through enemies like the tentacle-ridden Vitalipolis on my way through this Mako-infused crater, I begin to experiment with the new Function-Integrated Tactical Suitwear (or FITS for short). This system is a smaller version of a traditional Job system found in other Final Fantasy games and gives each character a unique suite of abilities to complement their kits.

Cloud is equipped with the Summoner FIT, which provides the ability to – you guessed it – summon classic creatures such as Shiva and Ifrit. Just like any other ability in Final Fantasy 7, you'll need ATB gauge to spend, and these new powers can be found under a special slot in the tactical menu (or bound to one of four shortcut keys). Having Shiva fight alongside the party and attack in sync with my button presses provides spectacle, but the fights aren't long enough to see real depth in the moment-to-moment decisions.

Cid Highwind finally takes up his lance and joins the party as a playable character alongside emo vampire heartthrob Vincent Valentine. Both additions immediately slot into the combat system with ease. Cid's flashy Dragoon attacks provide a sense of mobility, letting him easily jump and dash around the battlefield. There's more depth beneath the surface with Cid's combat kit, though. Timing your button presses with the blue aura flashes around him presents an opportunity for stronger attacks, adding another plate to spin during combat and one that rewards the player in spades with long sweeping swipes and a whirlwind of pain.

Vincent Valentine's brooding looks are accompanied by deadly accurate pistols. He twirls around the arena dishing out ranged attacks and applying pressure before spending ATB bar to transform into the Galian Beast, Vincent's true bestial nature unleashed. But, this does come at a cost. Chaos Levels build up the longer I stay in beast form, with each new level reducing my max HP. So far, this hasn't kicked me out of Galian Beast form, but it's clear that this is another resource to be managed in the middle of hectic battles.

Both Cid and Vincent have deceptively simple combo strings. At first it seems like a straightforward "mash square and spam abilities until the enemy is dead," but more layers continually unfold. Playing these characters feels more akin to a rhythm game, precisely timing button presses to match the combat pace. I still know there's more to how they fit into the larger team composition, but a short demo was never going to allow for understanding the full breadth of how it all fits together.

Eventually, I find myself going toe to toe with another version of the extraterrestrial lifeform Jenova, a rather straightforward fight that largely consists of whaling on a stationary target and staggering it for extra damage. Large undulating tentacles glommed onto the outskirts of the arena. I'm quickly reminded of the sheer spectacle that the Remake series always puts forth, and it's clear that Final Fantasy 7 Revelation continues to harbor that mantra.

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At the end of the combat section there's one final tease of something greater. Sephiroth appears and takes the crew to the events of Nibelheim that started it all. Cloud and the gang are confronted with that horrid day as Sephiroth walks through a dark portal begging to be followed.

The party sees a frozen Zack Fair, questioning his relationship to it all. My own head swirling with questions alongside them. Just as Cloud walks through, the demo ends. I don't know what's on the other side of that portal, but this small slice of Revelation puts its characters and story first.

There's still so much to see as the final chapter of the Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy hurdles toward its conclusion, and this window into it all has me excited to see what's on the other side of it all.

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