The highly anticipated Final Fantasy 7: Revelation is bringing back the dream of airborne exploration, and it's a thrilling prospect for fans of the series. Personally, I think this is a significant step forward for the franchise, and it's exciting to see the developers pushing the boundaries of what an open-world game can be. In my opinion, the original PlayStation game's iconic Highwind airship was a game-changer, offering players the freedom to explore the world map like never before. What makes this particularly fascinating is the seamless transition from the clouds to the ground, a feat that has been challenging to design. The developers have had to rethink the acquisition of the Knights of Round, and I'm impressed that they've managed to pull it off. The Highwind, now fully controllable, promises to navigate through a densely detailed, full-scale open world, something I've been eagerly awaiting since 2001. The structure of Final Fantasy has evolved significantly over the past quarter-century, with the first nine games featuring an overworld, a big map that served as the stage for epic adventures. However, the arrival of the PlayStation 2 and its graphical advancements led to a shift away from the overworld in Final Fantasy 10, with the game taking place entirely within its level environments. This change was evident in the helm of the Fahrenheit, the airship in Final Fantasy 10, which was reduced to a fast travel menu, a stark contrast to the excitement of unlocking airships in previous games. The mainline series never revisited the idea of the overworld, and the airship dream faded. But as gaming technology advanced, the worlds of Final Fantasy began to resemble the overworlds of its past, with Final Fantasy 15 offering an open world of rolling verdant hills, albeit with limited exploration options. The flying Regalia in Final Fantasy 16 was a bait-and-switch, and the quest to rebuild an airship went nowhere near the direction of airborne freedom. However, Final Fantasy 7: Revelation looks set to turn the structure of hubs into a true open world, unifying existing regions and new areas, and creating the franchise's most expansive open world yet. High above this world will be the Highwind, sailing through the skies to an updated version of Nobuo Uematsu's immortal theme, and down below will be a genuine open world, offering players the freedom to fly a Final Fantasy airship wherever they want. From my perspective, this is a significant step forward for the franchise, and it's exciting to see the developers pushing the boundaries of what an open-world game can be.
