050
FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE
wenty-three years on, our
application to join AVALANCHE
has finally been accepted. It’s the
ecoterrorist group trying to save
its planet’s energy from being
sucked dry, and we’ve stepped into
the ex-SOLDIER boots of Cloud,
a superpowered swordsman who’s
been enhanced by that very same
energy and now turned against the
organisation he worked for, Shinra,
the corporation that rules the
steampunk-inspired city of Midgar
with an ironclad grip.
Midgar is a marvel at a glance, but
mired in its own issues.
With a dense population,
the upper class literally
living above those who
dwell in slums beneath the
main city’s plates, Shinra
has to keep everyone in line.
Not that Cloud is worried
about that. He’s just helping
out AVALANCHE for the
mercenary paycheque, or so he says.URBAN ASSAULT
Our extensive hands-on demo has
us playing from the very beginning
as the team carry out a bombing
on one of the city’s Mako reactors.
Seamlessly moving from cutscene
to action, this is an absolutely
gorgeous remake that thankfully
retains the visual stylings of the PS1
original. Where FFXV was often
beautiful, too many times assets felt
like they’d been plopped randomly
onto the world. Here everything
is immediately cohesive, Midgartowering around you, beautiful in
its neon hum and oppressive in its
overbearing structures.
Hopping off a train alongside the
other AVALANCHE members, Cloud
immediately has to chop his way
through guards using his
impressively oversized sword,
following his comrades through
train ticket barriers, waiting as
they cut through a fence to get
into a warehouse, and then clearing
rooms so the others can hack the
computer consoles to get into the
reactor itself. It feels like a real place.
We recognise the geometry of the
original game many times during
our playthrough, but it’s been
completely refreshed. It’s marvellous
how the remake plays on our
nostalgia while delivering so much
new to the senses.BOMBER MAN
Once inside we’re joined by Barret,
AVALANCHE’s gun-armed leader,
and we fight our way past sentries
to get to the reactor’s core. In the
original you could spec characters to
havedifferentskills,butultimatelytheyallhandledthesameinthe
turn-based ATB (Active Time
Battle) system. Here, party members
feel much more discrete, and have
become more robust since the last
time we went hands-on. Barret’s
gun ensures he can attack from
a distance, getting the drop on
mounted turrets on enemies that
can hover out of the way. Simply
holding down r unloads a clip,
with w letting him unleash a burst
attack that charges over time.
As you might expect from his
massive sword, Cloud is much
better up close. Tapping r has
him use a single-target autocombo,
while holding it down performs a
group attack. It’s a simple twist but
it works, as busier fights can get
chaotic. Using w switches him from
Operator mode to Punisher mode,slowing him down massively but
allowing for much stronger attacks
and counters.
Later on in our demo we’re also
given access to Tifa and Aerith’s
combat flavours. The former has
a variety of close-quarters martial
arts strikes, while the latter can use
damage-dealing magic and support
skills from a distance. As you
damage enemies you build up their
stagger, eventually filling a meter
that will leave them vulnerable for
a time, which is when you can deal
them heavy damage.PARTY PEOPLE
With three party members in your
team at a time there’s plenty of
room for tactics. In battle you can
switch between them at will, or
give them commands by holding
down p or i. As your party
land hits they build up ATB meter,
which you can then spend on larger
actions, such as using powerful
abilities, magic, or items. In tougher
encounters you need to consider
what you use them for. Do you
want Cloud to use a thrust attack
that deals heavy stagger
damage, or play it safe and
use a potion? That both your
larger offensive and support
options share a meter really
means your choices can
affect how harder fights
will play out.
While there are plenty of
Shinra goons to mow down,
every boss we encounter is extra-
special – tough and monumental.
Our first foe is the Scorpion
Sentinel, which originally showed
off the PS1 game’s ATB system in all
its glory by having periods when its
tail laser would raise and you’d have
to stop attacking for a bit or it’d
strike back. Here the fight
showcases Remake’s new, more
action-orientated, combat. You
stagger it with careful use of magic;
make sure you target its shield
generator to make it vulnerable; hide
behind cover to avoid its laser after
it leaps around the arena; and strike
its scuttling legs so it falls over and
you can whale on it. Back on PS1,
the leap to 3D allowed FinalEEEEEEXXXXXXTTTTTTRRRRRRAAAAAA-SSSSSSPPPPPPEEEEEECCCCCCIIIIIIAAAAAALLLLLL –
CINEMATIC.”