Final Fantasy 7 Remake has officially released a fully playable demo of the upcoming title for the Playstation 4. This guide will help players learn tips and tricks for combos in the demo. Final Fantasy 7 Remake is one of the most anticipated games to release in 2020. After being delayed from March to April, consumers have become a bit itchy when regarding having content for the game. The demo was recently released and plays through the entire first chapter of this multi-game adventure. The original Final Fantasy 7 is known as one of the best RPGs to ever release. It’s iconic gameplay and story put it amongst the greatest games to exist and remaking a title like that is no easy task. The original Final Fantasy 7 also was strictly a turn-based RPG, where the player and the enemies will take turns attacking each other. The Final Fantasy 7 Remake has thrown this system away in for a brand new system that brings together turn-based gameplay with a more modern action RPG system. This guide will help players learn this new combat system.
As to come up to speed with most modern RPGs, Final Fantasy 7 Remake pulls from titles like the Kingdom Hearts series. Real-time combat is favored in this entry. The previous mainline Final Fantasy entry, Final Fantasy 15 released with more action RPG elements. This is looking to be a new standard for the franchise as it continues to grow and evolve. Final Fantasy 7 Remake follows a rebellious group called Avalanche as they attempt to protect the world from the Shinra corporation. This company has been sucking the life energy out of the planet for their own cooperate group, and it is up to Avalanche to put a stop to them. The Final Fantasy 7 Remake demo follows a playable Cloud and Barrett as they work together to destroy a reactor in Midgard that’s sucking up the energy of the world. For the first time ever, the player can switch between more than one playable character at a time. Here’s how the combat works in Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
The Combat in Final Fantasy 7 Remake
In the demo itself, the player can alternate between Cloud, the Buster Sword-wielding protagonist, and Barrett, the leader of Avalanche. Both play differently and have their own moments to shine based on their move sets. Cloud thrives with in-your-face combat with quick slashes of his Buster Sword. Barrett is better for dealing with flying enemies or enemies in areas too high to reach. Other playable characters will be introduced like Aerith and Tifa as the actual game releases in April. Players can quickly switch between characters by using the D-pad. It’s important to access the situation to determine what character would be better in those situations.
Each character also has their own special moves. Cloud can switch into “Punisher Mode” allowing him to do more damage and landing faster slashes. Barrett has an ability that allows him to shoot one, high damage attack at enemies, but this move will need time to recharge with each shot. Not only that, but each character has a move called a Limit. Limit charges over time and once full can decimate even the strongest of enemies. While fighting the player will also gain meter for their ATB Guage. The ATB Guage can be used to perform battle commands, such as using abilities, magic, or items. Pressing X in combat will bring up the Command Menu. Once the Command Menu is up, time will slow down, allowing the player the opportunity to stop and think about their next move. Here, special moves, items, and magic can be used, but only if the ATB gauge allows it. This is an excellent callback to the original Final Fantasy 7’s turn-based combat. This is also a great combat feature to catch a breather if things are getting too hectic.
Enemies can also have specific weaknesses in combat. For example, the Sweeper enemy is this large, bi-pedal tank that can take a lot of his. To potentially stun him, his weakness would be the Thunder spells. The demo does not allow the player to customize their Materia (Items used to equip to characters weapons to prove them with special abilities and stat boost) but the final game will allow players to change up their spells. If an enemy is staggered in combat, they will not move for a limited time. A small, orange meter will present itself showing how much time the enemy is in this position. This is a great opportunity to build up ATB gauge by attacking it or using power abilities. Another benefit of the ATB gauge is the ability to use abilities and items as the characters the player is not currently playing. For example, if the player is locked into Cloud, they can pull up the Command Menu and cycle through commands using the triggers and selecting an ability for Barrett. This helps plenty with multi-tasking attacks.
The defense is also a key gameplay feature in this title. By holding the trigger button, players can guard oncoming attacks. While this doesn’t completely negate the damage of enemy attacks, it does lower the damage taken on by the character. Using a guard is a great way to avoid being staggered and approaching enemies. All characters can now also use dodge roll. By using the analog stick, players can move in a certain direction to avoid being attacked. There’s no cooldown for this move either, so it is optimal to spam this when it tough situations. The game has the decency to provide the player with several in-game items to help take down enemies. Potions can be used to restore health, Ethers can be used to recharge MP for magic attacks, and a Phoenix Down can bring back dead allies with a bit of health. Items also use ATB gauge so be prepared to fight if needed.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake has found a perfect mix between turn-based and action RPG. The gameplay will keep players on their toes. The game also comes with a “Classic Mode” for players who prefer the older gameplay methods. This game means a lot to the RPG community and is looking like it won’t disappoint. The demo was an excellent taste of what to come. It did a solid job of demonstrating to the world that Square Enix is capable of taking on such a challenge of remaking a masterpiece once again.
More: Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s World Explained
Final Fantasy 7 Remake will release on April 10th, 2020.
