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By breaking the original story of Final Fantasy 7<\/em> into three parts, the team behind Square Enix\u2019s ambitious remake trilogy created a challenge for themselves. Remake<\/em> has the iconic reactor bombing mission to kick things off, but how do you recreate that magic three times over? Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth <\/em>opens with a dread-inducing sequence detailing the Nibelheim incident five years earlier. Now, Final Fantasy 7 Revelation<\/em> <\/em>takes a similar, though more rapid-fire approach, steering headlong into Cloud\u2019s fractured mental state at the end of Rebirth<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/section>\n <\/p>\n During a roughly 40-minute hands-on demo of the game\u2019s first chapter on a PlayStation 5 Pro, I ventured into the Northern Crater, took the newly playable Cid and Vincent for a spin, and watched Cloud tiptoe right up to the brink of collapse. The time flew by, and I came away ravenous for more \u2014 even if I remain mostly unconvinced that Revelation<\/em>\u2019s newest tweaks to the remake\u2019s combat system are entirely necessary.<\/p>\n From what I can tell, Revelation <\/em>picks up very soon after Rebirth <\/em>leaves off, with Cloud and company departing the City of the Ancients to pursue Sephiroth at the Northern Crater. As the party ventures deeper, they begin to feel the intoxicating effects of all the Mako energy in the area (it\u2019s like the Force, but also magic soul petroleum). Barret and Cid comment that they\u2019re feeling tipsy. Yuffie wants to go home to Wutai, fearing an imminent Shinra invasion. All the while, Tifa continues to unconvincingly ignore Cloud\u2019s rapid deterioration, for her own sake as much as his.<\/p>\n Most of the preview took place in the Northern Crater, which gets a splashy glow-up in true FF7 Remake<\/em> fashion. Whereas the PS1 originally depicted this area as an endless, green-black pit in the ground, it\u2019s got more of a trippy, cosmic feeling here, with massive crystalline formations and shimmering aurora borealis ribbons weaving through the sky. In the original game, it\u2019s a drab place where you spend a whole lotta time, so I\u2019m pleased that there\u2019s nicer scenery to enjoy this time around.<\/p>\n As Cloud and friends journey to the center of the Planet, they get into a few fights along the way, allowing me to get acquainted with Revelation<\/em>\u2019s two new playable characters, Vincent Valentine and Cid Highwind. Vincent functions like a hybrid of Barret and Red XIII, with long-range standard attacks that make him a nice option when the fighting gets hectic or Cloud is getting pummelled. Hold R1 for about two seconds and Vincent will transform into the werewolf-like Galian Beast, which is tanky and ferocious, if a bit slower than Red\u2019s spinning sidewinder attacks. I found Cid a little harder to appreciate at first \u2014 until I realized if you simply hold down the basic attack button (Square on PS5), he\u2019ll unleash a nonstop barrage of quick little stabs with his polearm. Among his arsenal of skills are a couple of dragoon abilities, which see him leap high into the sky and do a plunging attack. Both newbies feel comparable in power to Cloud, and once I get my hands on the full game, I\u2019d be curious to see how the power creep with Cid and Vinny feels compared to earlier characters like Yuffie and Cait Sith. They\u2019re good! Maybe too good!<\/p>\n Though the system won\u2019t be available at this early stage of the final game, my Revelation<\/em> demo did allow me to test out the new FITS (or \u201cFunction-Integrated Tactical Suitwear\u201d) system, essentially a swappable job mechanic that allows your party members to customize their skill loadout. Cloud was using the Summoner FIT, which allowed him to channel either Ifrit, Shiva, or Titan to add elemental effects to his attacks. If your ATB gauge fills in time, you can also do an elemental tag-team Synergy attack with your chosen summon. It\u2019s fun, and I can see it being very useful in more challenging or optional boss fights. That said, I found the addition of Synergy tag-team skills in Rebirth <\/em>pretty superfluous, and this left me with a similar impression. I\u2019m curious to see some of the other FITS roles, but at first blush it\u2019s yet another submenu dragging down Remake<\/em>\u2019s otherwise snappy and thrilling action-driven combat.<\/p>\n A weekly cheat sheet to what you\u2019ll eventually love to play. No buying, no \t\t\tSign up freeGet Polygon\u2019s Wishlister newsletter<\/h3>\n
\n\t\t\tcommitment \u2014 just saving for later.<\/p>\n
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