We live in an era where technology’s constantly evolving, therefore we are able to remake different classical movies that left their mark on the consumer. We can improve the display quality or we can take a 2D Disney story and even render it in 3D. Gaming is also doing this but with fan-favorite titles such as Battletoads, Crash Bandicoot and even Final Fantasy. Final Fantasy has been an important franchise for the gaming community as it brought us interesting stories, fresh graphical features, and innovative gameplay. Final Fantasy 7 is over 20 years old, instead of taking it from the shelf and dusting it off, Square Enix took matters in hand and promised us a total new Final Fantasy 7 experience…
At Gamescom, we were invited to join a presentation of the development progress of Final Fantasy 7 remake. The developers explained to us that they wanted to breath new life into Final Fantasy 7, considering the previous aspects that build the game twenty years ago. Rebuilding Final Fantasy 7 is not just “upgrading graphics”, the developers want to create the next generation RPG to start things off, it has to be new and fresh to lure in new RPG fans and with the recent changes in the technology ladder, they find it important to create Final Fantasy 7’s content with the current technology to create better characters and put a big emphasis on the character’s background. Lore has always played an important part in the franchise and even though FFVII had great characters, due to the lack of technology, they haven’t reached their ultimate form but with the new FFVII, they’ll do the characters right by adding voice acting, motion capture, … With the help of new technology, the characters will be a lot more detailed which will help with the player’s immersion.
Building the game from almost scratch, the developers made sure they followed the same Core designs which made the game FFVII stand out from the crowd. There are 3 core designs to be reconsidered: the game has to be innovative, it should surprise players and the game should break boundaries to challenge new ground. The development team has a lot of developers that are spread out over 10 different countries. Most of the team consists of veteran developers who helped with creating the original FFVII and Square Enix made sure that there were also newbies involved with the remake of the game. These newbies are mostly fans who played the original game and eventually found a job in the business. What they’re creating now, has to be done correctly because this builds the foundation of future remakes in the Final Fantasy universe.
After this short briefing about the development process, we were treated on a bit of gameplay. The live demo was at the beginning of the game where they talk about the controls and how to play the game. First of all, the game is set in Midgar which was a key location in the original game. The game has this dark, modern steampunked setting which rarely changes. You would sometimes find small rays of sunshine but you’ll be running in a darker environment most of the time which sets the tone of oppression.
The developers showed us how combat worked and how it differs from the original game. As a player, you take on the role of Cloud which is an iconic character from the Final Fantasy Universe. Cloud has a big sword which can be used to deliver basic attacks. Basic attacks fill up an ATB-gauge which can be used to activate abilities or spells. The gauge fills up 2 compartments in total and can be seen as “charges”. Each character has a unique ability. For example, Cloud can use different fighting styles: Punisher or Operative. When Cloud’s in Punisher mode, he will be able to hit harder but will move slower. Operative mode fastens up Cloud’s basic attacks but he’ll do less damage than in Punisher mode. During combat, you will be able to slow down time and enter “Tactical mode”. This mode can be activated on the spot and allows you to get a decent overview of the combat situation. You can focus on specific enemies and use an ability. This slows down the combat for sure but it allows you to bring some organizing within the chaos. During tactical mode, you will also be able to use potions to heal yourself or replenishing your mana. A good thing to keep in mind is the fact that each ability uses the ATB gauge to fuel the abilities, a spell also uses up ATB energy but it will also use some MP. The command menu ( abilities, spells or items) can also be accessed during battle without going into tactical mode. You can tap the L1 button to activate one of the command options. This keeps the pace up during your battles. By pressing the analog stick, you will be able to lock on enemies and change your focus. This shortcut system is also customizable.
During your playthrough, you will be able to team up with allies. Allies can be controlled by the player, this gives the player to have some fun with other characters. However, it’s more about deepening the combat system. For example, Barrett is a character with a Gatling gun for an arm. This makes him the perfect character to deliver long-range attacks and keep some flying drones at bay. You can switch characters any time you want or you can use the tactical mode to give them commands to keep your control over the enemies. The developers also mentioned that enemies will have weaknesses for certain elemental attacks. For example, Barrett can use thunder which is a weakness for the drones. The game also features a red staggering gauge that’s presented above the enemies. The more damage you deal a certain character, the faster this red bar will fill up. From the moment the red bar’s been filled, your enemy becomes staggered stuns) and you will gain a damage boost to that character for a limited time. So make sure you make your hits count during that critical moment.
Cloud can also evade and block incoming attacks. The developers also told us that “exploring in the game” will be rewarded, as breakable objects have hidden items. Each enemy killed also drops money, gives XP and often will drop usable items. From what we’ve seen the game looks amazing and really fun to play. Hopefully, we’ll get our hands on it very soon!
For more information on this remake, stay tuned at our website!
