It’s here, we’ve played it, and we have a lot to say. The Final Fantasy VII Remake, awash in delays, rumors, teasers, finally has a confident release date, and Screen Rant’s stormed Square Enix headquarters for precious time with controller in hand. While hard to express in words the worldwide anticipation surrounding the game and how that invariably affects and feeds into three precious hours of demo gameplay, it’s also not unreasonable to expect, quite possibly, the greatest video game remake ever made.
As has been previously revealed, the episodic installment plan for Final Fantasy VII Remake means that this firsst entry will take place entirely in Midgar, the electrically-powered urban environs where Cloud Strife finds himself raging against the machine with eco-terrorist/freedom fighter cabal AVALANCHE (caps intentional). As an apparent former elite member of SOLDIER (ditto), Cloud’s a sullen but well-meaning super-powered mercenary entering the next stage of his life, and hopefully picking better allies this time around.
Our demo carried us through a few different early moments in the game, including the expected introduction. We’ve all seen the Remake footage over the past few years, and all that can be said is that these glimpses are somehow inadequate to actually experiencing it in person—the opportunity to play FFVII Remake running on PS4 Pro hardware with a nice large screen is incomparable to a quick YouTube video. The texture quality leaves almost nothing to the imagination, infusing each character and scene with a level of infinitesimal detail that is practically distracting in its depth. Would players have ever conceived of the muted galaxy of faint freckles on Cloud’s face? What about the thread-count of Tifa’s crop top or Barret’s tattoos and facial stubble? It’s all here, looking real enough to touch, and so far and away from the geometric designs in the original that it’s practically its own RTX Off/On meme.
The path to the Mako reactor target is reminiscent of the original, serving as an ersatz tutorial as Cloud is left a few steps behind to deal with any stray Shinra troops. The level layout seems very similar to the original—you even slide down pipes as before, and can stop to help Jessie when she gets stuck—but the new third-person behind-the-back perspective offers dazzling views of the massive industrial enclosure surrounding the reactor itself. Playing the original FFVII, there is something that seems somewhat compartmentalized or instanced about navigating from screen-transitioning camera angle to camera angle, never allowing the player to really comprehend the gargantuan structure that they’re in. Here, you definitely can, and it’s immense.
When Final Fantasy VII first released, the Active Time Battle (ATB) system had already become a hallmark of the series. ATB’s particulars would evolve over the years, allowing players to engage a familiar turn-based RPG combat approach while also feeling strategic pressure informing each decision. For FFVII Remake, the decision to implement a more action-oriented combat system seems somehow aligned with the times (and with several, but not all, of Final Fantasy’s newer titles), but it’s that rare example which will seemingly satisfy both turn-based aficionados and twitch-reflex gamers.
Cloud is your primary character, and you enter the first few battles alone. His special combat function is that he can switch stances, alternating between Operator and Punisher stances, one of which allows him to block aggressive enemy attacks as well. Blocking and dealing damage fills up ATB gauges which, when full, allow Cloud to select special attacks and options during Tactical Mode.
In practice, Tactical mode functions as a light pause feature (interestingly, time does progress during this mode, albeit very, very slowly, reminiscent of Superhot), which is also handy if you just need a quick breather to decide on your next move. Once selected, Cloud’s special attacks can target a given enemy ASAP, but this is decidedly more complicated than in the original turn-based design. For instance: you can lock in a special attack or magic spell to initiate, but if an enemy is targeting a character with their own strong attack, it’s entirely possible that their action will be interrupted or canceled.
This battle vulnerability requires some nuanced understanding of player movement, environmental geometry, and enemy ability cooldowns to succeed—the latter of which is one reason your foes clearly announce their upcoming attacks in a hovering text window. And sure, for the first couple of fights, it’s easy enough to just smack enemies around with repeated attacks of the Buster Sword—which thankfully feels as impactful as you’d hope—but the challenge level ramps up quickly and punishes button-mashers.
Once other playable characters are thrown into the mix, the enemy count increases and these systems get even more interesting. Full disclosure: it was an unmistakable thrill to actually control Barret and Tifa directly on the field, blasting mechs, charging shots, and pummeling bosses close-up. You don’t have to constantly swap and micromanage, though, as the AI proved to be fairly competent, and you can also use the tactical pause to issue specific orders on-the-fly to other characters at any time. Still, swapping to Barret to focus-fire a turret or repositioning characters before a big boss attack did seem to obtain better results than just praying for AI wisdom. Each character’s skills and combat vocabularies are completely different, which makes each slightly-harder-than-scrub fight feel dynamic, tense, and absorbing.
There’s also a stagger function, where enemies can be put into a daze through repeated attacks that target their particular vulnerabilities (successfully parrying attacks with Cloud’s block function also seems to increase an enemy’s stagger). Once fully staggered, it’s beatdown time, and dog-piling a staggered boss with everything you’ve got feels especially satisfying.
Whether you’re gawking at the sheer size of the Mako reactor, scrambling between the gorgeous dimly-lit alleys of Midgar, or allowing the arresting soundtrack to reverberate through your skull, Final Fantasy VII Remake seems designed to command attention and envelope its players in something more substantive than plain nostalgia. When Barret begins his tirade on the AVALANCHE’s greater good, a performance which was arguably quaint in the original, it seems rightfully bombastic and emphatic with new graphics, cinematography, and full voice-acting behind it. When the crew splits up and Cloud is let out into the streets of the city, choosing to engage or slink away from the wandering Shinra soldiers feels genuinely exciting, rather than a simple narrative buffer or exposition opportunity before the next story beat.
Although the FFVII Remake script doesn’t really feel on the cutting edge of modern-day storytelling, it’s definitely a thoughtful advancement on the original (and especially the original translation). In other words, it still retains that preposterously amplified and grandstanding Final Fantasy touch, but is a clear elaboration and improvement on the original game’s often terse text, all of which is further amplified by the enthusiastic voice acting.
The best way to describe how the FFVII Remake experience supersedes mere nostalgia is in the scene where Jessie offers Cloud some Materia. Here, today, in 2020, you actually see Jessie physically hand Cloud a glowing sphere, which he accepts. And then you can slot that glowing sphere into Cloud’s Buster Sword, where you will also visibly find it positioned in-game. In other words: the Materia concept has evolved from a mechanical system to an evident component of character design, and both Barret and Tifa have their own visible Materia slots where you can see each colored sphere as they are equipped. Although the demo didn’t have much in the way of gear-swapping, all of it seemed present on each character, and more in-game gear should make way for some nice cosplay options for players to show off and share.
The final portion of our demo showcased that fight against Abzu in the sewers, a moment which made its first public appearance during TGS 2019. The fight is outstanding, though similar in certain respects to the other boss battles in the demo: environmental positioning, dodging critical attacks, and always pushing for the stagger. However, along with the earlier multi-stage Air Buster fight, here we also were equipped with specific Summons. Wailing on a tough enemy with a 20 foot-tall Ifrit backing you up is something that this game was absolutely not allowed to get wrong, so believe us when we say that it steps up to these lofty expectations—Summons are awesome. The fight itself is complicated by AOE attacks and Abzu constantly leaping onto characters to pin them, where you’ll need to swap to someone else to save your pinned friend. As for the Summons, apparently only one may be called upon at a time (three of these massive hulks at once would probably make it impossible to even read the screen properly), but they then fight alongside you for a spell, and perform an awe-inspiring attack when leaving the fight.
Interestingly, you only see the Summons in the demo during boss fights, but it will probably make for a ludicrous sight to pull out Leviathan while dealing with a few low-level mobs. Sadly, we couldn’t test this possibility out, but woe will no doubt befall the rifle-toting Shinra Security Officer with an Ifrit in his face.
While you’re stomping jackbooted thugs, marveling at the high-resolution minutia to be found strewn throughout Midgar, or squaring off against each imposing multi-stage boss, you’ve got that soundtrack. Lord, the soundtrack, packed to the gills with new elaborations on each heartfelt character motif and story note. The battle themes alone are certainly distinguishable, but improved upon in every conceivable way, with lengthened bridges and a full span of different instruments. The original kernel is there and your PlayStation One memories are fully intact, but the finished product is on another, unprecedented level of quality. This is quite possibly Nobuo Uematsu’s masterwork, which makes it a little sad that the soundtrack was leaked by data-miners—do yourself a favor and wait to experience it freshly in the actual game.
That release date approaches quickly, and it’s hard to rightfully compare what we’ve experienced so far to any other remake in video game history. Final Fantasy VII Remake’s breadth and fidelity just seems like something brand new, even for those who have more or less memorized the original—and, possibly, especially for them. The preview implies a staggering brick-by-brick design process, of artisans manifesting cutting-edge approaches to every detail in one of the most celebrated RPGs ever made. It’s a massive risk for what ultimately appears to be a massive, rightfully-deserved payoff…even if it’s just the first episode.
More: The Most Exciting JRPGs Coming in 2020
Final Fantasy VII Remake releases on April 10 for the PlayStation 4.
