Final Fantasy VII Revelation Hands-On: Cid and Vincent Bring New Combat Depth

The final entry in the Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy, Revelation, is poised to introduce significant changes to the established combat loop, particularly through the long-awaited playability of Cid Highwind and Vincent Valentine. According to a recent hands-on demo, these two characters offer distinct, high-mobility playstyles that stand out against the existing roster.

Combat Mechanics and Character Kits

Cid Highwind, returning as a Dragoon, utilizes a spear-based kit focused on high-speed mobility. The demo highlighted his ability to leap across the battlefield to close distances and stagger foes with greater efficiency than earlier party members. Vincent Valentine, conversely, bridges the gap between ranged gunplay and melee aggression. His kit allows him to switch between handgun combat and a “Galian Beast” transformation, effectively providing two distinct playstyles within a single character slot.

Alongside these character-specific kits, Square Enix is introducing the “FITS” system. This feature allows players to equip characters with job-based abilities, such as the Summoner FITS, which grants the capability to call on entities like Shiva and Titan during combat. This addition appears designed to add a layer of mechanical depth to legacy party members like Cloud Strife, who otherwise retains his established playstyle from the previous two entries.

Why it matters

For players who have spent two games with the core party, the introduction of Cid and Vincent represents a shift toward more complex and specialized character builds. If these early impressions hold, players may find themselves moving away from “maining” a single character like Cloud in favor of utilizing the new, more aggressive kits of the late-game additions.

These changes come as Square Enix wraps up a project that has spanned several years and multiple releases. With the game reportedly requiring a significant 200GB of storage and opting for a digital download format to maintain graphical fidelity, fans should ensure their hardware is prepared ahead of the title’s launch, which coincides with the franchise’s 30th anniversary. While the combat systems show promise, the overall experience will ultimately depend on whether these new mechanics can overcome potential pacing issues or the “mini-game bloat” experienced in previous installments of the trilogy.