Final Fantasy VII Revelation Highwind

In Final Fantasy VII Revelation you fly Cid's airship, the Highwind, in real time over the whole planet from early in the game and parachute from its deck to land almost anywhere, with no loading. The ship is also the party's base, where you change FITS and meet Wize, Billy, Piko and Chadley.

0:22 In Final Fantasy VII Revelation the Highwind is your way around the world: you pilot Cid's airship in real time over the whole planet, then jump off its deck and parachute to the spot you choose, with no loading between sky and ground. Square Enix calls it "your very own airship and the pride of the Shinra fleet," and you get control of it early in the game, not in the final hours as in 1997. It is also the party's base of operations, where you change FITS outfits and where several supporting characters now live. This page covers flying, parachuting, where you cannot land, fast travel and life aboard; the regions below are on Final Fantasy VII Revelation World Map.

Quick facts

What it is	Cid Highwind's airship, "the pride of the Shinra fleet"
When you get it	"Early in the game" (Deep Dive); open in the Chapter 4 demo
How you fly	In real time, over a seamless open world
How you land	Parachute from the deck, almost anywhere
Loading	None visible between air and ground, per IGN
Where you cannot land freely	Midgar; parts of Wutai
Also	The party's base: FITS, Queen's Blood deck editing, crew
Aboard	Wize, Billy, Piko, Chadley (and MAI on comms)
Fast travel	Any location you have visited
Idea for the parachute	Fortnite, says director Naoki Hamaguchi

How do you get the Highwind?

3:49 Early. The Combat and Exploration Deep Dive says "you'll gain control of the Highwind early in the game, granting you complete freedom to travel where you want, when you want, seamlessly moving from one locale to the next." In the Gamescom press demo, which started at Chapter 4, the ship was already yours and most of the world was open from its deck. Square Enix has not said in which chapter you first take the wheel.

1:34 That is the biggest structural change from 1997. IGN's second-take preview put it this way: "free traversal over an entire world map is usually reserved for an RPG's final hours, but if you treat this whole trilogy as one enormous game, that's the point we've reached." In the original, the party only took the Highwind after the North Crater, at the start of the second disc, with most of the story behind them; Revelation is the whole third act of that story, so the ship arrives near its start. The game's place in the trilogy is on Final Fantasy VII Games in Order.

Flying the Highwind

0:15 You fly the ship yourself. "Freely soar the skies aboard your airship, the Highwind," the Deep Dive begins; "once you find a location below that piques your interest, simply take a leap of faith to start exploring." Square Enix's first details describe the entire planet as "freely explorable via the iconic Highwind airship", and the press release promises to "explore every corner of a truly open planet aboard the iconic Highwind airship".

8:33 Meteor hangs over every flight. IGN's Michael Higham found that seeing it "lingering in the sky while flying the Highwind around" was "a reminder of the finality that comes with this entry." Game Informer's Wesley LeBlanc added that the open world looks good from the air (Game Informer, Sep 10, 2026), and GameRiot found every location "absolutely huge," even from the airship.

Parachuting: how do you land?

0:51 You do not land the ship; you jump. The Gameplay Introduction plays it for laughs ("I am not jumping. No way, no how." "Don't worry, these parachutes are top-of-the-line. Pull the cord and pop!"), then explains: "At any moment in the open world, simply pilot the Highwind to your destination, and take a leap of faith. With the wind rushing past, you'll descend seamlessly from the sky above to the ground below."

4:19 The drop is steerable. Over Wutai in the Deep Dive, the advice is to "take stock of the locations on the ground and deploy your parachute at just the right moment to land exactly where you want," and the party lands "right in the capital central square." Timing the cord is the whole skill.

3:41 IGN's second preview found it changes how you approach regions you already know from Rebirth: you can skydive and "land seemingly wherever you want when revisiting an old region," which grants "an extra sense of freedom and verticality to exploration" and lets you "zero in on what you want to accomplish by parachuting to a specific spot."

6:03 And it is seamless. Higham called it "impressive how seamless it is flying around in the Highwind and dropping into any part of the map without visible loading," with some level-of-detail pop-in he shrugged off. He had thought parachuting "seemed silly at first," but decided it was "a better solution than haphazardly having you land the Highwind somewhere on the map," and that from the sky "you get a good sense for the scope and scale of Revelation and how dense its map is."

Why a parachute? The Fortnite idea

4:09 Director Naoki Hamaguchi told IGN that in the original "the Highwind could land anywhere on the world map," but in "this fully realized, high-fidelity open world, that wasn't really a legitimate option." So the team turned to Fortnite: players and "modern audiences" were familiar with "characters flying down the air using parachutes," and he thought it "a fun way to also introduce a seamless transition from the air to the ground." More of what the team has said is on Final Fantasy VII Revelation Developers.

Where can't you land?

2:37 A few places are off limits to a free drop. IGN's second-take writer tried "and failed to skydive into Midgar" before settling for the Grasslands outside it, the first open region of Rebirth, now roamed by "hulking evil beasts."

4:36 Wutai has exceptions too. The same preview says "there are exceptions to landing wherever you want in a given region," found on a first visit to Wutai; in the Deep Dive the capital's central square is a valid landing spot, so the limits seem to apply to parts of the region rather than all of it. Square Enix has not published a list of no-landing zones as of Nov 7, 2026. Wutai is on Wutai.

The Highwind as your base

3:02 "The Highwind isn't just a means of transportation," the Deep Dive says, "it also functions as your base of operations and will subtly change over the course of your adventures. Whenever you need to put your feet up, your airship is just a tap away." That last part matters: you can return to the ship from the field at any time.

What you do aboard, from the previews:

Aboard the Highwind	What it is for	Source
FITS	Change each character's outfit and role	Game Informer, Sep 3, 2026
Wize	Queen's Blood games and deck editing	Game Informer, Sep 10, 2026
Billy and Piko	The chocobo farmer and the party's chocobo	Game Informer, Sep 10, 2026
Chadley	Now "busy tracking down Weapons"	Game Informer, Sep 10, 2026
MAI	Chadley's assistant, on the comms with world intel	IGN, Sep 10, 2026

Vi.ki assembled the table from Game Informer's Sep 3 and Sep 10 articles and IGN's Gamescom preview. Wize also passed on side news in the demo: Regina is back in Gongaga and wants a visit. The card game is on Queen's Blood in Final Fantasy VII Revelation, the chocobo on Piko the Chocobo, the outfits on Final Fantasy VII Revelation FITS System.

Fast travel

6:06 Flying is not the only way around. In the Deep Dive, "any location you've already visited will be unlocked as a fast travel point," and the party jumps straight from Rocket Town to Gongaga. The Highwind is for reaching new places and for the view; fast travel covers the return trips.

Is the Highwind used in battle?

Not as a vehicle you fight in, as far as anything shown. But Hamaguchi hinted at more: asked about Cid's final Limit Break, he said it "hasn't been revealed yet" and that the Weapon battles were built to be exciting, "including the Highwind" (Inven Global, Sep 10, 2026). In the 1997 game Cid's final Limit Break, Highwind, called the airship down on the enemy. The Weapons are on Final Fantasy VII Revelation Weapons.

What we think

We think the Highwind will be the most praised new feature at launch, ahead of FITS, because every preview that mentions it is positive and it fixes the thing previewers least liked about Rebirth: long runs between points of interest. We expect at least one Weapon fight to be fought from the Highwind's deck or with the ship in play, given Hamaguchi's hint. We also expect the no-landing zones to grow as the story goes on, the way regions open up "freer and freer" in his description, and Midgar to become reachable by air only late in the story. Those calls, with check dates, are on Predictions.

Frequently asked questions

Can you fly the Highwind yourself in Final Fantasy VII Revelation?

Yes, in real time, over the whole open world. You get control of it early in the game.

Can you land the Highwind?

You do not land the ship; you parachute from its deck to the ground, almost anywhere, and return to the ship at any time.

Can you parachute into Midgar?

Not in the Gamescom demo: IGN's writer tried and failed. Whether that changes later in the story is not known.

Where did the parachute idea come from?

Hamaguchi told IGN that Fortnite, and modern players' familiarity with parachuting characters, inspired it.

Is there fast travel?

Yes. Every location you have visited becomes a fast travel point.

Sources

Moments

FINAL FANTASY VII REVELATION - Gameplay Introduction

FINAL FANTASY

0:22 In Final Fantasy VII Revelation the Highwind is your way around the world: you pilot Cid's airship in real time over…
0:51 You do not land the ship; you jump. The Gameplay Introduction plays it for laughs ("I am not jumping. No way, no how."…

FANTASY VII REVELATION | Combat and Exploration Deep Dive Trailer