You wait years for a Final Fantasy VII Remake trailer, and all of a sudden several show up at once. Square Enix promised to bring the long-awaited action RPG to E3 2019, and they have not disappointed, offering a (semi) deep dive on combat, content, and more.
Perhaps the most exciting reveal came right out of the gate, as it was confirmed that the remake will feature two blu ray discs worth of content, implying that this is going to be a truly massive title to sink our teeth into.
We also finally got confirmation that Final Fantasy VII Remake is indeed being split into multiple parts. According to Square Enix PR, the original title’s opening Midgard chapter has been greatly expanded, essentially becoming a full game in its own right and serving as the first in a new series.
They said in a statement:
FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE is a reimagining of the iconic original game that re-defined the RPG genre, diving deeper into the world and its characters than ever before. The first game in this project will be set in the eclectic city of Midgar and presents a fully standalone gaming experience that provides a great starting point to the series.
Square also offered an extended look at combat in the Final Fantasy VII remake, and it’s looking pretty bloody swish, I have to say. Real time actions such as standard attacks, blocks, and dodges have been combined with a more strategic system that’s actually reminiscent of the original game.
Landing attacks will fill up something called an ATB bar, which allows you to slow down time so that you can choose certain special actions such as spells and heavier attacks. We saw Cloud freeze time before taking out a Shinra guard with his iconic braver attack, and the crowd quite rightly lost its mind.
You’ll be able to switch between characters at the push of a button, too. Much like the original game, the likes of Barret, Tifa, and Aerith will all have their own unique abilities and strengths to bring to the table. In the gameplay demo, we saw Cloud and Barret take down the Guard Scorpion, which fans of Final Fantasy VII will recognise as the first major battle in the game.
Finally, Square showed off an extended version of the trailer it revealed yesterday. This was the most important part of E3 2019 so far, because it gave us our first look at the Remake’s new and improved Tifa. Man, I love Tifa. She gives me butterflies.
Final Fantasy VII Remake is coming to PlayStation 4 on March 3 2020. You have no idea how excited I am. Hell, you probably do actually.
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Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.