Topic: Final fantasy discussion thread

so i played the demo last night (link to a video is in my sig box) and it was amazing so where to start, first off it looks absolutely amazing in motion, i only have a base PS4 (launch model too) and it ran as smooth as butter (and not once did it kick the fan into high speed either), the level' was pretty linear though but then again it was the first level in the game and that's to be expected, it's basically a tutorial level (so i have no idea why the push square reviewer was moaning about it, seems like they was just nitpicking to find something negative)

next onto sound and to get this off the bat, the new voice cast did a great job i know a lot of people were worried about the change but it's good, Cloud sounds like the cocky guy he was at the start of FFVII and Cody Christian does it well, his voice is similar to Burtons Cloud but a bit more cocksure and given at this point in the story Cloud is a bit aloof so it fits better than the more somber and depressed voice Burton does

Barret is a bit OTT but the character was OTT during the early sections of FFVII, he wasa guy who believed he was the only person who was right, that he was the only person who could "save the world" and he kinda had to be the center of attention, that's why in the OG FFVII he said lines like "If we gotta have a leader then it's gotta be ME" and and John Eric Bentley certainly makes Barret sound like he is trying to sound important

as for the Avalanche gang Erica Linbeck does a great job as Jessie but as for Biggs and Wedge they don't really get a lot of screen time in the demo so i'll hold judgement on them but they seem OK

then come the music for want of a better word, fantastic the remixes of the old songs feel fresh but at the same time hit you right in the nostalgia, and the Scorpion boss battle music for example works well and gets you pumped as you fight the boss

as for other things like sound effects i noticed that Clouds sword makes slightly different sounds when they impact enemies depending on what kind of enemy you are fighting for example you hear more of a clunk when fighting a robot like a sweeper than you get when fighting a normal soldier so that's a nice touch

but the most important aspect of any game, the game play and how does FFVII Remake play well for want of a better word it plays great, if i was going to compare it to other games i would say it like a mix between Kingdom Hearts and FFXV, you attack with the Square button (and it's not hold to attack like FFXV you have to press it repeatedly to chain standard attacks), for Cloud you can press Triangle to switch between two different stances for light or heavy attacks holding the Square button allows you to do a area attack and pressing the Cross button allows you to bring up the command menu to select other attacks, Spells and Items or you can press L1 and bring up a quick menu and select from 4 preset moves (just like in Kingdom Hearts), bringing up the command menu will slow the game down to allow you time to select your commands and it works pretty well, it also allows you to select a enemy from a target list so you can always attack the enemy you want to (same with using curative items or spells)

you also need to make good use of the character switching as there are enemies that Cloud can't hit so you will need Barrets long range ability and specking of Barret he has his own unique Triangle attack witch is basically a charge shot, can do some good damage though but you have to wait for it to recharge before using it again

you can also issue commands to other party members by pressing R2 so even though the computer will control them for the most part they are still under you command even if your not controlling them

you can guard by pressing R1 this will reduce you incoming damage and even negate some of it but be careful because depending on what stance Cloud is using his defence will change for example using punisher mode Cloud will NOT be able to defend against long range attack or magic

now i'm not going to spoil the boss fight but you won't win unless you make use of BOTH party characters efficiently, i played the game on Normal difficulty and the fight was a bit of a challenge

now i think i'll leave it there i don't want to spoil things for people, if you're interested in the FFVII Remake than you should definitely download the demo and give it a go but as for me i loved it and i can't wait for the full game to be released which by the way they have finally confirmed has gone gold, it's finished

now if you will excuse me i'm going to play the demo again

The FFVII Remake Demo is fantastic.

I love the battle system, which is what I was most concerned about since I already like the story and the characters. Looks great, sounds great, plays great. Obviously going to preorder it now.

Really loved the demo, the combat is challenging enough and doesn’t feel like a button masher, which is what I was concerned about. Obviously it’s a shame it’s just Midgar but I’m really especially hyped now so probably going to pre-order once I get paid.

I've had the special edition preordered for months.

Really liked the demo. The presentation and music are just awesome. There's so much personality to these characters, and I already love Wedge and Jessie this time around. Barret goes full ham with the voice acting, but I don't really see that as an issue. Like the games, it's incredibly entertaining watching go off on people.

The combat system is fun for normal enemies, but I'm not sure how I'll feel about it with bosses, since the boss felt like a bit of a slog. Maybe I'm just not utilizing the system effectively enough and need to practice. I do like that there is a sort of skill component to combat now, though.

Switching between characters is really fluid and natural, and I can't wait until I'm able to play around with Tifa and her brawler-type moveset.

One thing (of many) I'm looking foward to is seeing what each characters Triangle move is, like Cloud's stance and Barret's charged shot. I think Yuffie's could be Mug or something like it. Cid might have a Dragoon leap attack. It'd be cool if Tifa's is like a FADC in SF4 so she can cancel moves into each other and extend combos.

@Ralizah what difficulty level did you play it on?, if you're having issues with the Boss then maybe it would be a good idea to play on an easier level until you can learn the ins and outs of the combat system

@kyleforrester87 That was enough for me, I don't wanna run the risk of ruining the game before it has even come out.

If the FFVIIR games are significantly enhanced on PS5, I might go for that earlier than later. The game looks and plays fine, but it's clear that it would benefit tremendously from more powerful hardware. Must be insanely cool playing this at 60fps.

@FullbringIchigo Normal difficulty. And no. I didn't lose to the boss, and these encounters SHOULD be challenging. I just felt like my performance against it was suboptimal.

@Ralizah me too actually but once i get used to the battle system i should be able to flow in combat much more efficiently

The boss just had a bit too much HP really. It’s not a deal breaker but it wasn’t really challenging so much as it was a little bit of an endurance test.

@FullbringIchigo That's what I figure. I really need to work on my timing with the dodges. I kept getting hit by enemy lasers, which are perfectly dodgeable.

When I fight the scorpion again, I need to actually attack its legs in the final stretch of the battle, and try to avoid more of its close-range attacks.

The combat in this game feels like what Kingdom Hearts' combat should have been. Action-based, but tactical thinking needed to perform well.

@kyleforrester87 I thought that, but my girlfriend was playing the demo at the same time as me and she killed it in half the time. So I think we were just doing it a bit wrong.

@johncalmc Sounds like your girlfriends using cheats. Or maybe you took twice as long as me and your girlfriend.

@kyleforrester87 Woah

@Ralizah yeah me too also Barret has Lightning Magic so use that on the legs, makes it much easier

@KratosMD i chose 30 too as i wasn't sure how long it was going to take to escape but next time i'll chose 20

@KratosMD Real FF7 fans don't use any materia with Barrett until you're finished at 7th Heaven.

@KratosMD There was an extra cutscene? Guess I'll need to pick 20 minutes when I play the actual game. What a dumb decision to lock a cutscene behind such a seemingly arbitrary decision.

EDIT: 30 minutes.

@FullbringIchigo My problem is that I had already used up Barret's MP casting Thunder on the main unit. I can't wait to see some of the bosses in later games with this combat system. Like Hojo's final form, or the hydra in that cave (forget what its name was).

@Ralizah Not sure it's a dumb decision, I did 30 minutes too but I figured you'd get some kind of reward for doing it quicker. Why wouldn't you?

@kyleforrester87

EDIT: Story content like that shouldn't be a "reward" for a mostly arbitrary decision like how long to set a bomb. Not without some warning, at least.

Hope there's not a lot of that.

@Ralizah Hm, well I chose 30 minutes and I didn't get a Sephiroth cutscene? Anyway, I don't really see the problem though, you can miss out on plenty of cut scenes in games by making different decisions or just straight up missing a section.