If there was one thing every Final Fantasy fan had on their mind in the past year or two, it was, “Where’s Final Fantasy 7 Remake?” Originally announced at PlayStation’s E3 conference all the way back in 2015, Final Fantasy 7 Remake was real and we all celebrated that moment together.
While the initial trailer in 2015 gave us a very juicy look at the new art style and power of the PS4, it was also our first chance at seeing beloved characters from the game in a whole new light. There was one thing for certain though, the game was clearly still early in development.
Skip ahead four years and we finally get to see Cloud Strife and the rest of the gang in action once again via a new trailer showcased today during PlayStation’s “State of Play” broadcast.
Here are five things that we learned and discovered after watching the latest trailer for Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
Our First Look at Aerith
Aerith Gainsborough is a joyful and free-spirited character in the Final Fantasy 7 universe. She’s also always cheering her party members up when the going gets tough.
From the beginning of the trailer, we can see her in a peaceful pose, contemplating. Right as the tension of the trailer starts gaining momentum, we see a memorable scene unfold.
In the original, Cloud and the gang blow up the first Mako Reactor and there’s a lot of commotion after the battle. It’s at this pivotal moment when Aerith gives Cloud his first flower showing that she’s always willing to lend a helping hand even if it means distracting Cloud from his main goal.
The true question will be, can the player still take or deny the flower, or even pay Gil for it like in the original? Will we see Aerith and Tifa both have an affinity for Cloud while still remaining friends?
It will be very interesting to see what the team at Square Enix will change and keep the same regarding the story in Final Fantasy VII. We will just have to wait and see!
Cloud Got a Makeover
From the moment Cloud Strife arrived into the gaming landscape in 1997, he immediately became the poster boy for RPGs as a genre and gaming as a whole. He had a distinct style, baggy pants, and a big sword, what’s not to love?
However, what really makes Cloud an interesting character is how he changes on an emotional level throughout the story.
In the beginning, he is somewhat of a boastful swordsman who seeks fame and seems to miss the bigger picture. Later on, we see a more compassionate character who learns what it takes to be a hero and not just a fighter.
In this latest trailer, he looks better than he’s ever looked. There has been a clear jump in visual fidelity between the 2015 trailer and the one released yesterday. Beyond that, it’s clear that Cloud’s face has been touched up significantly and he looks a bit more mature now.
If you compare the two trailers side by side you can notice that the other characters look more detailed as well.
The nostalgic feel and look of the original is still present in Cloud and the rest of the gang’s design, but now we can actually see these characters interact with each other in a way we’ve never seen before.
Character-Switching Action
Throughout the trailer, there were bombastic moments which hinted at how combat would work in Final Fantasy VII. During the action we see Cloud and Barret brute forcing their way through enemies, while also seeing that Tifa is in their party (yet she is cleverly hidden away throughout the trailer).
One of the more interesting aspects of the combat that some may have missed was the concept of on the fly character switching.
The trailer never actually shows characters switching, but the L2 and R2 button markers on the bottom left-hand side of the screenshot above seem to indicate some kind of dynamic battle system.
Underneath the L2 and R2 buttons, you can see the names Tifa and Barret respectively.
Given that we see the player controlling Barret in the trailer (which was not possible in the original) and that Final Fantasy XV implemented a similar system, it’s safe to assume that we will be switching between characters whenever we see fit.
UI Changes
Something all Final Fantasy fans remember are the stark blue menus in many of the classic Final Fantasy titles. When we were first shown the game back in 2015, we did get a couple of glimpses at the combat and the UI elements looked closer to Final Fantasy XV than Final Fantasy VII.
This seems to have been changed in the latest build of the game.
From the screenshot above you can see that now UI elements have a more blueish tint to them to reflect that classic look, also with bigger bounding boxes for better visibility.
Also, the text font has been changed to make things a bit more readable while trying to mimic the font from the original; if you look back at the old trailer you can see why they decided to change it.
UI and presentation can really help make a game feel right. There’s nothing worse than playing a good game with a lackluster presentation. Not that Final Fantasy VII Remake ever had that problem, but now it’s more faithful to the source material.
Sephiroth Seems as Evil as Ever
While only of his back and long flowing hair, we finally got a glimpse of Final Fantasy’s most infamous antagonist, Sephiroth. Amid an explosion, crumbling rubble, and Cloud out of breath, Sephiroth utters the phrase, “Can you bear to see the planet suffer… Cloud.”
This had to be the most powerful moment in the trailer and it seemed fresh (like some kind of flashback or new scene).
Even if you never played the original, you can tell that these two have a history together. Fans of the series know that Sephiroth enjoys tormenting Cloud any chance he gets. He just wants to see the world burn while ruling it at the same time.
He’s simply a classic villain who’s fallen from grace and gone mad, serving as little more than Jenova’s puppet. Will we see a new side of Sephiroth in the Remake?
My guess is not entirely, but he’s certainly a character we’re all happy to see more of despite how evil he may be.
As announced at the end of the trailer, we will know more about the game in June, most likely on or around E3. If you happened to miss the initial announcement and trailer for the game, we got you covered.
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