one of the biggest reveals at this year’s summer game fest was final fantasy vii revelation, the third and final chapter in the remake trilogy that started in 2020. it looks great, obviously, but i’m a little underwhelmed by the subtitle; my own personal conspiracy theory is that director naoki hamaguchi feels the same way.

here’s what hamaguchi had to say about final fantasy vii revelation on the summer game fest stage:

the central theme of this title is resolve. cloud and his companions each confront their own destinies and find the resolve to march toward the final battle. i too have carried a promise in my heart throughout this journey: the resolve to see the series through to its very end. we’re committed to delivering this experience in its ultimate form. please stay with us and witness what lies beyond that resolve.

did you catch that? hamaguchi never says “revelation,” focusing instead on another word, “resolve.” he says it three times. in multiple interviews, hamaguchi has described resolve as a central theme of final fantasy vii revelation. he even said the decision on the subtitle ultimately fell to someone else, square enix veteran and original final fantasy vii developer tetsuya nomura. maybe hamaguchi is unhappy with the choice nomura made? drama!

and let’s be honest: even if none of that was the case, i hope we can all agree “revelation” is underwhelming. it’s pretty common as far as video game naming conventions go, and does little to evoke the game’s status as the finale to a sprawling epic with a lot of emotional weight. resolve would fix this, not to mention maintain the pattern the trilogy started with its previous subtitles. heck, even the remake of final fantasy vii prequel crisis core is named reunion. alliteration is fun.

anyway. final fantasy vii revelation drops next spring. i hope it’s a billion hours long. have a nice day.