Even if you’re not a fan of the remakes, there’s no doubt that Square Enix has some pretty high expectations to meet with Final Fantasy 7 Revelation. The Highwind is already a pretty big change in terms of exploration, especially since you can fly almost anywhere. But the fact it’s available from the start also means that the entire world is your oyster.
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.
