It is not an exaggeration to call Final Fantasy 7 Revelation one of the most anticipated games of 2027 – potentially the most anticipated, depending on what else will be released that year. The very title “Final Fantasy 7 Revelation” was something of a revelation in itself; the subtitle of this final entry in the remake saga wasn't revealed until footage from the game itself was shown at Summer Games Fest 2026.
MASSIVE spoilers ahead Final Fantasy 7both the original and the remakes.
The first entry in the FF7 remake saga has a fairly simple title: Final Fantasy 7 Remake. This can probably be attributed to the fact that it was the first entry in the remake saga, and Square Enix wanted to set expectations for the project early on: it's a reimagining of the original FF7 story, not just a higher fidelity version of it. Then there was Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth 2024, which the subtitle was originally intended to be Reunionpresumably in reference to the Jenova Reunion theory, but this was chosen instead Final Fantasy 7 – Crisis Core remake/remaster. Rebirth could be a reference to Sephiroth's strange mother-son relationship with Jenova, or even Cloud's rebirth at the hands of Hojo, though Final Fantasy 7 Revelation will cover this particular event in much more detail.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's Aerith situation helps even things out with another character
Players may have to wait a little longer for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's follow-up, but Aerith's situation also helps the game plan in the party.
Final Fantasy 7 Revelation will reveal the truth behind Cloud Strife
Aerith's death at the hands of Sephiroth is brutal enough, but it is arguably the most tragic part of Final Fantasy 7 story. For my money, that honor goes to the bombshell twist about who Cloud Strife really is. Like so many other parts of the remake saga, it's very likely that how this information is delivered will be different in Revelationbut we can probably expect the core details to remain the same.
Build your perfect top ten one reveal at a time.
Start
Switch two choices?
Choose two locations to trade before locking in your final ranking.
Build your perfect top ten one reveal at a time.
At first glance, Cloud seems like a typical mystical hero, especially in the remakes, where he is considerably more stoic and serious. This isn't just cliche writing, though: the gaps in Cloud's memory, his tendency to become confused, and his fugue state all have an explanation. Sephiroth seems to offer a close to the story's climax, telling Cloud that he is actually a “failed Sephiroth clone” created by Hojo five years before the start of the game. Cloud rejects this notion at first, but eventually grows to accept it instead of other evidence
However, this is revealed to be a red herring, a manipulation on Sephiroth's part to get Cloud to free his corporeal body from a mako crystal in the northern crater. This actually seems to work, with Cloud supplying Sephiroth with Black Materia, and then freeing him. This is of course disastrous, but it is only the beginning Final Fantasy 7s mind-bending antics, which are further explained with a little help from Tifa and Lifestream.
Cloud is Zack Fair's living legacy
As it turns out, Cloud isn't actually a Sephiroth clone – he's the same boy Tifa grew up with in Nibelheim. When he was 14, he applied to the Shinra Army's SOLDIER program, which puts accepted applicants through rigorous mako treatments, turning them into elite, almost superhuman agents. However, Cloud did not qualify for the SOLDIER program because he lacked the mental strength required.
Note: It has been speculated that Cloud's lack of psychological preparedness was tied to his original reason for joining Shinra: trying to impress Tifa, rather than serving any greater goal.
Dejected, Cloud still enlisted in the Shinra army as an infantryman, where he met Zack Fair, the protagonist of Crisis core and a tertiary character i Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Zack, who was actually a SOLDIER, became something of a mentor and idol to Cloud, eventually accompanying him on his mission to Mount Nibel, the same one that ended with Sephiroth massacring Nibelheim, shown at the beginning of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. But this flashback sequence is intentionally misleading.
Find the odd one before the timer reaches zero.
Start
Find the odd one before the timer reaches zero.
Light (15s)Medium (10s)Hard (5s)Permadeath (5s)
First, Cloud never became a SOLDIER. He joined Zack and Sephiroth on this mission to Mount Nibel, but only as an infantryman. He didn't even take off his helmet in front of Tifa; she never knew he was there. What we play at the beginning of Rebirth is largely a figment of Cloud's imagination, a fantasy where he places himself in Zack's shoes. In fact, Cloud's entire SOLDIER persona, the identity he presents and believes most of the time Final Fantasy 7is a facade loosely based on Zack's personality.
Zack and Cloud's arduous journey ahead Final Fantasy 7
After Sephiroth burned Nibelheim and his body was lost in the mako reactor, Cloud and Zack were captured by Hojo, who performed mako experiments on them for four years. They eventually escaped, with Zack able to recover from the experiments more easily than Cloud, who was essentially rendered invalid. Thus, Zack initiated a mostly unwitting cloud around the continent for about a year, avoiding the Shinra corporation. In the end, they were surrounded by a massive swarm of Shinratroopers, resulting in Zack's death.
Cloud, beginning to regain consciousness at this point, survived the ambush and encountered a fallen Zack on the battlefield. With his dying breath, Zack bequeathed his sword to Cloud, anointing him his “legacy”. The combination of the groundbreaking mako treatments—which also gave Cloud physical abilities similar to a SOLDIER—and the trauma of the previous five years shocked Cloud's psyche, causing him to believe that he was, in a sense, Zack Fair, the legendary Buster Sword-wielding 1st Class SOLDIER.
This twist has been clearly telegraphed in the previous two Final Fantasy 7 recreate rounds, but probably not enough for one FF7 newbie to guess it. In any case, the remake saga clearly seems to be heading in the same direction as the original Final Fantasy 7 in regard to this reveal, and though there are other secrets to reveal, the subtitle of Final Fantasy 7 Revelation is probably a reference to the Zack-Cloud fiasco.
.
