It’s not an exaggeration to call Final Fantasy 7 Revelation one of the most hotly anticipated games of 2027–potentially the most anticipated, depending on what else winds up releasing that year. The very title “Final Fantasy 7 Revelation” was something of a revelation itself; the subtitle of this final entry in the remake saga was not revealed until footage of the game itself was shown at Summer Games Fest 2026.
MASSIVE spoilers ahead for Final Fantasy 7, both 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 in 2024, whose subtitle was originally supposed to be Reunion, probably in reference to the Jenova Reunion theory, but this was instead chosen for the Final Fantasy 7 – Crisis Core remake/remaster. Rebirth could be in reference to Sephiroth’s strange mother-son relationship with Jenova, or even Cloud’s rebirth at the hands of Hojo, although Final Fantasy 7 Revelation will cover this particular event in far greater detail.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s Aerith Situation Helps Make Things Even With One Other Character
Players may be left waiting a bit longer for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s follow up, but Aerith’s situation helps even the playing field in the party.
Final Fantasy 7 Revelation Will Reveal the Truth Behind Cloud Strife
The death of Aerith at the hands of Sephiroth is brutal enough, but it’s arguably not the most tragic part of the Final Fantasy 7 story. For my money, that honor goes to the bombshell twist about who Cloud Strife really is. Much like so many other parts of the remake saga, it’s very probable that how this information is delivered will be different in Revelation, but we can likely expect the core details to remain the same.
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Build your perfect top ten one reveal at a time.
Pick two spots to swap before locking in your final ranking.
At first glance, Cloud seems like a typical mysterious hero, especially in the remakes, where he’s considerably more stoic and serious. This isn’t just cliche writing, though: the gaps in Cloud’s memory, his tendency to get confused, and his fugue states all have an explanation. Sephiroth seems to offer one near the climax of the story, 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 in lieu 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 providing Sephiroth with the Black Materia, subsequently freeing him. This is, of course, disastrous, but it’s only the beginning of Final Fantasy 7’s mind-bending antics, which are further expounded upon with some help from Tifa and the Lifestream.
Cloud Is Zack Fair’s Living Legacy
As it turns out, Cloud is not actually a Sephiroth clone—he’s the very same boy Tifa grew up with in Nibelheim. When he was 14, he applied for the Shinra Army’s SOLDIER program, which puts admitted applicants through rigorous mako treatments, turning them into elite, near-superhuman operatives. Cloud did not qualify for the SOLDIER program, however, as he lacked the mental fortitude required.
Note: It’s been speculated that Cloud’s lack of psychological readiness was tied to his original reason for joining Shinra: to try and impress Tifa, rather than serve some greater end.
Dejected, Cloud still enlisted in the Shinra Army as an infantryman, where he met Zack Fair, protagonist of Crisis Core and a tertiary character in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Zack, who actually was a SOLDIER, became something of a mentor and idol for Cloud, eventually accompanying him on his mission to Mt. Nibel, the same one that ended with Sephiroth massacring Nibelheim, as shown at the start of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. But this flashback sequence is intentionally deceptive.
Find the odd one out before the timer hits zero.
Find the odd one out before the timer hits zero.
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First of all, Cloud never became a SOLDIER. He did join Zack and Sephiroth on this mission to Mt. 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 start of Rebirth is largely a figment of Cloud’s imagination, a fantasy wherein he places himself in Zack’s shoes. In fact, Cloud’s entire SOLDIER persona, the identity he presents and believes for most of Final Fantasy 7, is a facade loosely based on Zack’s personality.
Zack and Cloud’s Ardous Journey Before 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 made an invalid. Thus, Zack ushered a mostly unconscious Cloud around the continent for about a year, evading the Shinra corporation. Eventually, they were beset by a massive swarm of Shinra troops, resulting in Zack’s death.
Cloud, who was starting to regain his consciousness at this time, survived the ambush, and came upon a fallen Zack on the battlefield. With his dying breath, Zack bequeathed his sword to Cloud and anointed him his “legacy.” The combination of the cutting-edge mako treatments–which also gave Cloud physical abilities akin to a SOLDIER’s–and the trauma of the previous five years shocked Cloud’s psyche, making him 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 remake installments, although probably not enough for a FF7 newcomer to guess it. At any rate, the remake saga seems like it’s clearly headed in the same direction as the original Final Fantasy 7 with respect to this reveal, and while there are other secrets to uncover, the subtitle of Final Fantasy 7 Revelation is likely a reference to the Zack-Cloud fiasco.
