The Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy has featured an expansive cast of characters throughout the first two games. This not only includes characters from the original game, but some from spin-off media as well, like Cissnei, who was first introduced in Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7. As Final Fantasy 7 Revelation will be a conclusion to the trilogy, it’s very likely that we will see most of the major characters return to get closure on their storylines.
As for which characters are currently confirmed to come back, there are a few sources to draw from. We’ve gotten the FF7 Revelation Reveal Trailer, which showed off a mixture of gameplay and cutscenes. There is also a longer Gameplay Introduction video that gives a quick look at a few additional characters. Finally, there’s the media page on the game’s official site, though this doesn’t reveal any characters who weren’t already seen in the trailers. Finally, there’s the game’s promotional art that shows a few characters not seen in other media.
While there are undoubtedly more characters coming, and it would be easy to speculate about which ones, these are only the characters who have been officially revealed in game material:
Cloud Strife Returns To Finish The Job
Cloud Strife’s inclusion in Final Fantasy 7 Revelation was guaranteed, given that he is the series’ protagonist. The taciturn ex-SOLDIER returns to lead his party of companions to hunt down Sephiroth and save the world.
The FF7 Revelation trailers show off some of Cloud’s development over the course of the series. Originally getting involved with Avalanche simply for the money, Cloud’s dialogue in the trailer reveals he has grown to truly care about his mission and companions, and he is even comfortable saying as much at this point.
Sephiroth Has Put His Final Plan Into Motion
Like Cloud, it was also a sure thing that Final Fantasy 7‘s main antagonist, Sephiroth, would return. The One-Winged Angel has succeeded in calling forth Meteor to destroy the planet. Although not entirely clear, it also seems like he may be communicating to Cloud still through visions.
As he did in the first two parts of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy, it wouldn’t be surprising if Sephiroth was again the final boss that players will fight in FF7 Revelation. It will be interesting to see what new powers he has now, and how difficult the final confrontation will be.
Yuffie Gets To Visit Her Home In FF7 Revelation
Originally an optional party member in Final Fantasy 7, Yuffie Kisaragi has been elevated to a major supporting character in the remake and will be returning as a playable character in FF7 Revelation.
Among other new locations, Final Fantasy 7 Revelation will be taking us to Yuffie’s home nation of Wutai. This will likely come with some quests that will teach us more about her history, similar to how visiting Barret Wallace’s hometown did in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.
Barret Wallace Is Still Here To Save The Planet
Barret Wallace, another main party member, has been with Cloud from the first time we took control of the mercenary. Barret is once again back as a playable party member, as well as a major part of the cutscenes we see in the two videos released so far.
With the planet in even more immediate danger than Barret could have imagined, he will likely be fired up and ready to take on Sephiroth. Barret’s whole motivation, after all, has been to save the planet, and now he has a very clear villain to direct his anger at.
Tifa Lockhart Still Stands By Her Friends And Beats Down Enemies
Everyone’s favorite mild-mannered bare-knuckle boxer, Tifa, is also back in Final Fantasy 7 Revelation. Aside from being a playable party member, there is also a short clip in the Reveal Trailer where the player seems to be controlling Tifa alone in a confrontation with a Weapon. This could mean Tifa gets a chance to step into the protagonist role for a short time.
Depending on the players’ choices, Tifa is also a potential love interest for Cloud. While the original Final Fantasy 7 didn’t offer any definitive closure on Cloud’s love life, it is possible this choice could be expanded upon in FF7 Revelation.
Vincent Valentine Has Finally Joined The Party In Combat
Although Vincent Valentine began traveling with the party partway through Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, he was disappointingly absent as an option for combat encounters. Luckily, that’s not the case in Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, where players will get a chance to control both Vincent and his Galian Beast form.
Gameplay footage has also shown that, outside of combat, you can line up shots with Vincent and take out destructive terrain in a hail of gunfire. This is a cool addition, and somewhat reminiscent of his starring role in the FF7 spinoff game, Dirge of Cerberus.
Cid Highwind Takes To The Skies And The Battlefield
Cid Highwind is another party member that joined in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, but was not playable in combat. Instead, he simply took on the role of the party’s pilot, shuttling them around in his plane, the Tiny Bronco.
Like Vincent, Cid will now be a full-fledged member of the party and take part in combat encounters. His long spear appears like it will give him an advantage by allowing him to keep his distance from enemies while still dealing damage. It will be fun to see how Cid and Vincent enhance combat in the new game, and what their new synergies with other characters bring to the table.
Cait Sith Is Back With The Party After His Betrayal
Following his betrayal of the main cast in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and subsequent redemption, Cait Sith has returned as a playable member of the party. Cait Sith will also be accompanied by his trusty stuffed Moogle, which acts as his battle companion.
Although he isn’t shown in either of the trailers, Cait Sith’s inclusion would suggest that we will likely be seeing Reeve Tuesti. Reeve is the Shinra executive who controls Cait Sith, and whose change of heart led him to defy the company and help the party.
Red XIII Rounds Out The Living Members Of The Party
Red XIII, whose real name is Nanaki, is the last returning party member. We learned a lot about Nanaki’s past, and even got a special section of the game where we played just as him in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, so he may end up taking a bit of a backseat to some of the newer party members this time around.
It will be interesting to see how the new gear system works with Red XIII. While equipping new armor gives new outfits to characters like Cloud and Tifa, Red XIII doesn’t wear clothes typically. Although, he did don a suit of Shinra armor in the last game, so maybe the developers will have some fun with his looks.
Hojo Is Still Conducting Experiments
Hojo, the twisted Shinra scientist, appears briefly in the trailer for the game. Although we only see him for a short moment, he can be seen holding a strange vial of green liquid. This could allude to the conclusion of his story, which players of the original game will already know.
If the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy is your first experience with the game, you may want to skip this theory and head down to the next item on the list to avoid spoilers. But, in the original game, Hojo transforms into a strange creature called Lifeform-Hojo N which serves as a boss fight. This mystery vial he’s holding could be related to that, or could simply relate to one of his other experiments.
Rufus Shinra Is Still On His Mission To Capture Weapons
Similar to Hojo, we only get a brief glance at Final Fantasy 7 Revelation‘s secondary antagonist, Rufus Shinra, in the game’s trailer. Having taken over the Shinra company after his father was killed by Sephiroth, it only makes sense that Rufus would continue to be a major player in the game’s story.
In the trailer, Rufus appears to be sitting in front of a microphone, probably preparing to make some sort of official statement. There’s not enough detail to know if this is related to the impending war with Wutai, or the capture of the Weapons, which are two of Shinra’s main focuses at the end of FF7 Rebirth.
It Looks Like Reno Still Has Beef With Cloud
Reno is the only one of the Turks that has been confirmed by the currently available trailers and screenshots to be in Final Fantasy 7 Revelation. In the quick scene we see with him, he’s squaring off against Cloud, so it seems like we can expect another fight against him.
As of now, we haven’t seen Rude or Elena, but I would be surprised if they don’t also return in Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, given their prevalence in the last few games. That said, we’ll have to wait for more trailers to get a look at them.
Aerith Will Seemingly Return In Some Way
The extent of Aerith’s role in Final Fantasy 7 Revelation is very unclear. She doesn’t even appear in either of the official videos released for the game, or in the screenshots on the game’s website. The only reason we know she’s in the game is because she appears on the key art for it.
After her death in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Aerith appears to Cloud and speaks to him briefly before the party departs. It’s possible she may return again in a similar fashion. We also know there is still the alternate reality Aerith, so we’ll be seeing her in some form in this game.
Zack Fair’s Reality Is Still In The Mix
Like Aerith, Zack Fair only appears in the key art for the game so far, so how much of a role he’ll play is unclear. Players may control him again as part of the alternate reality storyline, or he may join another boss fight like at the end of FF7 Rebirth. Either way, we know he will be present in some capacity.
As more official materials for Final Fantasy 7 Revelation come out, I’m sure we will get a look at some of the characters who were missing from the initial trailer and gameplay footage. There are a ton of characters in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy that we didn’t see in the current materials released, but I doubt that means they aren’t in the game.
- Released
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April 10, 2020
- ESRB
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t
- Developer(s)
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Square Enix
- Publisher(s)
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Square Enix
- Engine
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Unreal Engine 4