Square Enix has given itself a monumental task with the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy. You would think simply retelling the story of the 1997 PS1 RPG classic with modern production values would be a tall order in itself, but this reimagining ambitiously pulls in elements from the metaseries that is Compilation of Final Fantasy 7 while also expanding it with multiple, even infinite, timelines.
In a GamesRadar+ interview, game director Naoki Hamaguchi told us, "The mission the team has is to basically recreate a new Final Fantasy 7 that includes all of that wider universe content from the start. So that's all consistently part of the world in the games that people will be playing."
With Final Fantasy 7 Revelation being the final part to this trilogy, and reportedly no DLC to follow, it's essentially the last chance to, as Hamaguchi puts it, "give the fans as much of the things that we know they want to see, the content that they want to look at, and we've included quite a lot of those references and connections to the wider Final Fantasy 7 universe in the last game."
It won't however just be a case of dolloping fan service for the sake of it, because if this finale is to truly stick the landing, it will also need to resolve the many new dangling narrative threads it has created in the previous instalments. Here's just 8 questions I have that I hope Final Fantasy 7 Revelation answers before I finally see credits on this epic reimagining. And of course, when you turn 8 on its side, it's also infinity!
Be warned, there will be some major spoilers covered here! And if you want to get caught up, we already have the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy story-so-far to help you out.
8. Aerith still here?
With the remake trilogy drawing to a close early 2027, we get ready for the epic conclusion with our Final Fantasy 7 Revelation Big Preview across hands-on impressions, dev access, and deep dives into the whole adventure so far.
The most devastating part of the original Final Fantasy 7, and worst kept spoiler, is Aerith's death. Its impact is all the more heartbreaking as she really is gone for good in your party. However, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's handling of the beloved flower girl's fate is more ambiguous, as even though a timeline distortion means Sephiroth does kill her and we see the party mourning her, Cloud still perceives her presence, though whether this is her ghost or perhaps an Aerith from an alternate timeline or an omnipresent form from the Lifestream is unclear.
But, even if I don't expect Aerith to be among your party members in Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, her prominent appearance in the game's key art should be enough evidence that she still has a significant role to play in this reimagining's story, whether in the current timeline or another.
7. There and Zack again
While Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth explores a timeline where Zack survived the ending of Crisis Core, it largely amounts to him existing in an alternate timeline separate to what Cloud's party is doing until its mind-bending cross-universe final boss. But will he stay benched in Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, or is it possible that he could find a way to play a bigger role by crossing into the current timeline, much like Biggs (who crossed the other way)?
Either way, if Final Fantasy 7 Revelation continues following the original plot beats, then the truth behind Cloud's role in the events of Nibelheim will definitely involve Zack, though it's also possible that the Zack of this alternate timeline will also experience these events as a flashback through a different perspective when it comes to helping Cloud reconstruct his true memories.
6. Going deeper underground
Final Fantasy 7 Remake's Intermission DLC had thrown a curveball by introducing Shinra's top-secret military organization Deepground, having first appeared in PS2 spin-off Dirge of Cerberus as part of the Compilation of Final Fantasy 7.
Supersoldier Tsviet, Nero – Intermission's final boss – is undefeated, and Sonon ended up sacrificing himself so that Yuffie could escape, so there's a chance that we won't have seen the last of him, or indeed other Tsviet members. Tsviet leader Weiss, for instance, only makes a brief appearance, and his own boss fight is an optional one within the virtual reality training device.
The group are conspicuously absent throughout FF7 Rebirth. Perhaps they will come to the foreground during the section in Final Fantasy 7 Revelation that takes the party back to Midgar, maybe as a chance for Yuffie to get revenge and to show how far she's come.
5. Wutai clan
The tensions between Shinra and Wutai have had more prominence in the remake, with the latter openly declaring war on the former towards the end of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. From our previous hands-on of Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, we know that the Wutai region itself will feature in the main story, whereas it had been completely optional in the original game (as was Yuffie, herself, as a party member).
The big question that remains is the driving force behind this conflict, which comes from former SOLDIER and Shinra defect Glenn Lodbrok, a character who incidentally first appeared in the now-defunct mobile battle royale spin-off Final Fantasy 7 The First Soldier, and who had already died at Rufus' hand. (A popular fan theory even persists that Lodbrok may actually be Cloud's father). While the end of Rebirth reveals that this version of Lodbrok was merely a black robe used by Sephiroth, it still leaves questions over his relationship with Wutai's interim Viceroy Sarruf, whose identity remains a mystery, and which our party may uncover while they are in the region.
4. Roche's redemption?
Of the new characters introduced to Final Fantasy 7 Remake's universe, Roche might be one of the most intriguing. Essentially Final Fantasy's equivalent of Yakuza's Majima, he seems to just live for the thrill of taking on Cloud, who he considers his rival, despite being just a 3rd class SOLDIER. Yet his flamboyant motorcycling days were also tragically cut short when he volunteered to become a Sephiroth clone for Hojo, and ultimately became another lifeless black robe, encountered in the Temple of the Ancients. But, unlike the others, he still seems to hold onto some memories of his rivalry with Cloud.
Yet, if that was the end of Roche, it doesn't explain how he managed to survive the events at the end of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. He's the only one of the black robes retrieved from the temple by Hojo and Rufus, and taken back to Midgar. Could it be that there's a chance of redemption for this former SOLDIER to return to his former self in the same way Cloud does in the original story? Or does something worse await at the plated city?
3. Compilation comeback
With this finale the last chance to pull in other characters and references from the wider Compilation of Final Fantasy 7 universe, there's a likelihood that no character however minor isn't on the table for Final Fantasy 7 Revelation. While we've already speculated another return for Deepground, and it was already teased from the State of Play that former Turk Cissnei – vital to the plot of PSP prequel Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 – will be having a more proactive role in the main story following her appearance in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, there's the possibility that another character could make an 11th hour debut.
Given that there's already been more backstory to the black robes, and if more of Zack's story is explored, it would make sense to carry over the prequel's continuity, which may mean the appearance of its antagonist, Genesis. Sure, he may have been out of action by the events of the original story, only to re-emerge at the end of Dirge of Cerberus to little consequence like a botched Marvel Cinematic Universe post-credits scene. But, with different timelines, anything is possible, so perhaps this will now finally matter. After all, the original game was remade in 2022 as Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion, so it'd be weird if it didn't add to the remake saga's narrative proper.
2. My way or the Highwind
Cid's appearance in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth meant rejigging the original story's chronology of when the party meets him, but in Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, the pilot is a fully playable party member, which also means we should expect to uncover his backstory in Rocket Town.
Fans will however note that Cid's personality in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth isn't quite the foul-mouthed chain-smoker that he was in the original game, though given he introduced himself to the party as the business owner of Bronco Airlines, you can probably reason that he needed a more courteous facade for his customers. The question is whether or not that mask will slip once we get to Rocket Town, and just how faithful the modern retelling will be to Cid's emotionally and mentally abusive treatment of Shera.
1. The final, final, final (honest) battle
Sephiroth had been an elusive villain for much of the original Final Fantasy 7 until you finally faced him in the endgame. However, given he has been the final boss in both Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, with each encounter more epic than the last, it presents a problem of just how on earth Final Fantasy 7 Revelation's final battle is going to play out without running out of steam.
It should be noted the game has yet to reveal Sephiroth's final, angelic 'safer' form, although the party has already faced his 'reborn' form (referred to as Bizarro in the original game) in Final Fantasy Rebirth, while a scene between Cloud and Sephiroth at the end of Final Fantasy 7 Remake was almost a shot-for-shot recreation of the very final cinematic fight at the end of the original game. Perhaps we'll see an all new ultimate form, and potentially another battle that transcends timelines, but I'm intrigued how the developers aim to top what has been done already while staying fresh. Whatever it is, I suspect you won't be able to win just by summoning Knights of the Round.
Our best Final Fantasy games ranking is a revelation when it comes to finding something new to play to plug the gap while you wait for more, while our best RPGs, best JRPGs, and best ARPGs lists have even more!
