Final Fantasy 7 Revelation Begins In The Whirlwind Maze?!
The first revelation is the game starting in the Whirlwind Maze.
Tokyo Game Show 2026 previews and demos by content creators and game journalists show that Revelation begins in the Whirlwind Maze. There are several reasons why the Whirlwind Maze makes sense for the dungeon to be Revelation's starting point. I'll be discussing them in this article.
In the original game, the party would go to Icicle Inn. Travel the snowfields north. Finally, they would scale Mount Gaea to reach the Northern Crater.
In Revelation, they are skipping to the Whirlwind Maze. It’s possible we could scale Mount Gaea in some capacity. Or we could be skipping parts of the frigid, icy mountain for Revelation to start in the Whirlwind Maze. It’s possible that the Tiny Bronco could crash-land at the base of Mount Gaea. The party would have no choice but to scale the icy mountain to reach Sephiroth.
Why The Whirlwind Maze as the First Chapter Makes Sense!
First, there aren’t any major events that happen between the Forgotten Capital and the Whirlwind Maze. The Whirlwind Maze is a major turning point for Final Fantasy 7's story. The planet and its inhabitants are forever changed after the events of the Whirlwind Maze.
Second, it makes sense that the Revelation starts with the Whirlwind Maze considering Rebirth’s ending. The devs want to continue the story after the Forgotten Capital, especially with Cloud’s deteriorating mind. Cloud’s mind seems to be in a worse state than it was in the original.
Third, the Whirlwind Maze will heavily expand with Remake’s continuity and elements. Broden, a now-Sephiroth clone, becomes a Gigas which the party has to reluctantly strike down. Sephiroth is also playing his mind games on Cloud.
The fallen hero keeps taunting Cloud about his number. Cloud's number is his SOLDIER identification number. Sephiroth also keeps manipulating Cloud by embracing him and talking to him softly. Sephiroth is trying to break Cloud’s mind and make him into his puppet.
Lastly, Jenova Death is the major boss encounter in the Whirlwind Maze. Honestly, I think it’s crazy that we’re fighting a Remake Jenova boss this early in the game. As the battle ensues, you see that the party is inflicting minor damage on Jenova.
The damage is not minor because the party is weak or Jenova is too strong. It’s the type of damage that a player’s fledgling party inflicts on a boss. But the fact that it’s an early Jenova battle is crazy. Considering that Remake battles of Jenova have been epic and tough.
More importantly, the real Jenova’s torso is seen being held by a black robe. In the original, Jenova Death spawns from Jenova herself. The party realizes that the Sephiroth they were chasing all of this time was Jenova.
It’s hard to say whether Revelation will still follow this reveal since Sephiroth is everywhere. But Sephiroth is still using Jenova to fulfil his ambitions. Considering what he is planning for Remake's continuity.
Sephiroth reappears after the Jenova Death's defeat. He tells Cloud that it is sad that he doesn't have a number. He implores Cloud to step out of the shadows and join him in the light.
Nibelheim Illusion
The demo doesn’t get too far into the Nibelheim flashback. But there is a new major addition: Zack appears! Zack is standing right next to Cloud in the illusion. Cloud is also wearing his SOLDIER uniform instead of his infantry one. Cloud’s face is also visible, as he hid his face with a standard infantry helmet.
While Tifa and Barret are baffled by the illusion, Cloud remains fragile yet steadfast; that is only an illusion. Cloud believes Sephiroth is toying with them, mainly toying with Cloud. A dark light trail appears as Cloud walks towards Sephiroth.
As the Avalanche trio approaches Sephiroth, he continues to tease Cloud with his mind games. He teases Cloud about his 1st Class SOLDIER rank and Cloud being a puppet with no emotions. The trio reaches the infamous Mt. Nibel photo.
Curiously, Zack is standing aside while the past Cloud, Tifa, and Sephiroth pose for the photo. Every figure in the illusion disappears, and a dark portal appears. Present-day Cloud, Tifa, and Barret enter the portal. Entering the portal ends the demo.
Another new element is the Whispers. The inside of their hoods is illuminated with a dark light. Clearly, they are under Sephiroth's control. Sephiroth could use them to help with his Nibelheim illusion. The Whispers do possess knowledge of the planet’s memories and its inhabitants.
Sephiroth could use the Whispers to present what really happened in the Nibelheim incident. He could also use the Whispers to fabricate and twist certain versions of the truth to damage Cloud’s psyche even more. The Nibelheim illusion is where Cloud finally breaks and becomes Sephiroth’s full puppet. In Revelation, Cloud’s fall could be more horrific and sad this time.
Final Thoughts
At first, Revelation beginning in the Whirlwind Maze took me by surprise a bit. I watched and read different previews from various content creators and game journalists. These previews prove to me that starting in Whirlwind Maze makes a lot of sense.
There’s also the fact that you gain access to the Highwind within the first four to six hours of the game. The Whirlwind Maze acting as the opening for Revelation would get us to the Highwind within that timeframe.
Lastly, Revelation’s first three chapters could be story-heavy. This was the case with Remake, as the first two chapters were linear and story-driven. You didn’t get to explore anything until Chapter 3.
Personally, I don’t mind this. Having the first three chapters be linear and story-driven will set Revelation's tone. The Highwind being the introduction to the open-world aspect in Chapter 4 will balance Revelation’s narrative with the open world.
One of my criticisms of Rebirth was the open world overshadowing the narrative at times. But I feel this will not be the case for Revelation. Revelation will have a better balance, I feel. It will be great because I look forward to both the story and exploring the open world with the Highwind.
Many thanks to Audrey Aitakimochi for her TGS 2026 demo videos!
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