I played roughly 45 minutes of Final Fantasy VII Revelation during Gamescom 2026 back in August, and though the remake series’ prior two entries kept my excitement alive, I walked away from that demo disappointed. Set during Revelation’s fourth chapter, it was overwhelming, aimless, and lacking the moments that made Final Fantasy VII Remake and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth so thrilling, all while doubling down on the latter’s worst aspect: an overwhelming amount of content. I’m all for open-world games stuffed to the brim with things to do, especially in an economy where being a gamer is more expensive than ever, but I was hoping my first taste with Revelation would feature some of the stakes, mystery, and “Hey, the world is ending very soon” combat urgency I expect of this impending finale. While the Chapter 4 Gamescom demo didn’t, I’m happy to report that my second go at playing Revelation, this time during Tokyo Game Show last week, is exactly what I was looking for.
I check into the incredible Final Fantasy VII Revelation booth, complete with multiple photo opps, including one that allows you to embrace your true Aerith, moments away from a certain backstab (my rendition is below – and don’t worry, it will haunt me forever that I got my hands wrong for the photo). I follow a Square Enix representative into a closed-off area buzzing with PlayStation 5 Pro consoles enclosed within walls featuring anti-Shinra posters celebrating the cast of Revelation. I’m given a Red Bull, Tifa’s drink of choice, I imagine, and a 25-minute timer is placed beside me. It begins counting down without warning, so I put a headset on, grab the DualSense, and jump in.
This demo takes place in Chapter 1, which sees Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Red XIII (or Nanaki as he’s now called), Yuffie, Cait Sith, Cid, and Vincent Valentine exploring the mysterious Northern Crater. This crater is where a meteor crashed into the planet thousands of years ago. The series’ trademark green spiritual energy swirls about, knocking the party around and bringing various black-robed figures walking about to their knees. Everyone is confused, especially Cloud, who is suffering from debilitating migraines that bring his progress to a halt; he’s also seeing visions of Sephiroth asking him for his Soldier number, which should be on Cloud’s bicep/shoulder but isn’t for… reasons. Of the party, Tifa recognizes that something is seriously wrong with Cloud but hopes that advancing to the crater’s core could make things right. There are some other story implications here, but I’ll keep those to myself for now; if you know, you know.
Specifically, the party is working its way through the Whirlwind Maze section of the Northern Crater, where Sephiroth awaits their arrival.
“The point of the two demos [the Gamescom Chapter 4 demo and the Tokyo Game Show Chapter 1 demo] is very different,” Revelation director Naoki Hamaguchi tells me on the show floor, as we’re tucked not far from a public bathroom to avoid the loud chaos of the event hall. “So with the last demo, we really drop you into the halfway point, and there’s just so much to do. And rather than focus on one specific thing, it was this idea that you have so much to do, and so much to fill your time with. People say it was sort of difficult to figure out what to do, but that’s almost the point of it, really. For this demo, it’s just 20 minutes; it’s solid; it’s focused; it’s about the story; it’s very focused on its purpose.”
Beyond these narrative elements, this 25-minute Chapter 1 demo gives me a feel for Revelation’s combat and the new FITS (Function-Integrated Tactical Suitwear) system, which lets party members spec into different classes. There are four specializations overall: Warrior, Knight, Black Mage, and Summoner. In this demo, for example, Cloud uses the Summoner fit, which lets me summon Ifrit, Titan, and more. Meanwhile, Tifa is a Black Mage, so instead of the usual fist-throwing, I’m using heavy-damage spells to take down enemies made up of creatures that call the Whirlwind Maze home, like serpents, quadruped animals, and more. I dabble in combat with Cloud and Tifa before settling into Vincent’s kit, and after roughly 15 minutes playing as everyone’s favorite vampire, I struggle to see myself not relying on him heavily in Revelation.
As regular ol’ Vincent, you use guns and a bunch of flips to damage enemies, and it feels great. It’s like a mix of Barret and Yuffie, but he can also freely transform into a monster by pressing R1. In this form, charging around the arena is easy and powerful, and this beast form emphasizes quick stagger abilities, a blessing in Revelation’s crowded battlefields. You can technically stay in this form as long as you’d like, but Vincent’s Chaos level rises the longer he does, reducing his HP. This creates a nice risk-vs.-reward tradeoff between beastly power and HP that I enjoy strategizing around.
My demo closes with a fight against Jenova Death, a massive, twisted creature of flames, tentacles, pustulation, and chaos. It’s a huge boss fight, but before I can lay waste to it for good, my timer goes off, and the demo is over.
Unlike my time playing Revelation at Gamescom, which left me exhausted after just 30 minutes, I leave this Tokyo Game Show reinvigorated by Square Enix’s vision for this remake trilogy. With Revelation launching April 8, there’s not much time left, but I look forward to the team further pulling back the curtain on what awaits Cloud and Co. in this finale.
