Although as huge fans of the series we were slightly disappointed (but still itching to get our hands on the game) due to the delay announcement of Final Fantasy VII Remake by Square Enix, our excitement levels quickly shot back up as thankfully we were lucky enough to be invited by Sony Interactive Entertainment Singapore Private Limited (SIES) recently to a behind closed doors Chinese New Year event to play a short 15- 20 minutes demo of the game.
Boy oh boy, on first impression were my childhood nostalgia spraying sparks all over the place (literally) as when the player slashes, shoots and cast spells creates glorious colorful particle effects spraying all over your screen.
The Mako Reactor Demo
The demo starts off with players taking control of Cloud Strife as he is briefed by Jesse to take down the Mako Reactor. He is then joined by Barret Wallace as a playable character that is only switchable during combat. On the field, Cloud is able to run, climb and slash enemies and random destructible boxes littered about via the square button to get Mako Crystals to restore MP. The triangle button opens up a different type of interactable treasure chest with the one I opened in the demo giving a tuft of phoenix down. Sprinting and sliding down ladders can be triggered by simply pressing the L3 button, making field navigation a bit faster.
The gameplay combat mechanics work similarly like Crisis Core, Dirge of Cerberus or more recently, Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom providing fast, fluid and straightforward combat with the enemies visible on the field and triggering a fight results in real-time engagement. The enemies we encountered in the demo were limited to Shinra Soldiers, Monodrive, Sentry Ray and ultimately the boss Scorpion Sentinel.
Giving choice to players, the game can be played solely as Cloud who controls easily enough with guarding (R1 button), dodging (Circle button), R3 to lock on to enemies (switch lock on via R analog stick) and slash away at enemies stylishly (Square Button) in real-time combat while Barret acts as a gun-totting AI. Sooner or later you find yourself using Barret more for his advantageous far distance attacks, spells, and abilities. Later on, players will realize that switching characters is essential to take down bosses such as the Scorpion Sentinel.
As Cloud slashes the enemies, he quickly builds up a blue ATB (Active Time Battle) bar which by pressing the X button opens up a Tactical Mode that slows down time angering up a mini pause menu that has options to cast spells, abilities, use items, and use the Limit Break (which has its own build up bar). However, ATB is limited to two bars which means only 2 actions can be taken before slashing again. Therefore, it is ideal to switch controls back to Barret via directional button (up or down) to deal continuous damage via spells or skills to the boss.
As you deal consecutive damage to the boss, it will fill up his red focus bar (below his health) which once filled will stagger, stuns, and leaves the boss defenseless for a period of time allowing the player to go on a damage phase rampage. After dealing a certain amount of damage, the boss shifts his battle tactics moving from one field to another with new attacks such as an electrified EMP field, armor barriers all the way to heavy damage-dealing laser tail that force you to hide behind environmental debris to avoid damage. In the end, the boss goes into a frenzied rampage mode by shooting lasers and missiles everywhere with only a quarter of health left and activates an auto repair skill, forcing you to deal more damage to him via Limit Breaks which in itself keeps the signature cinematic presentation from the original game with the demo showcasing Cloud’s Cross Slash and Barret’s Fire In The Hole.
The impression I am left with from the demo is that Final Fantasy VII Remake is by far easy to pick up and play and provides an excellent hybrid of real-time combat mixed with time stopping ATB turn-based elements accompanied with some solid graphical moments but that doesn’t mean it is without any flaws. Within the span of the 15-20 minutes of gameplay we were afforded, we have found a few flaws in the game that we hope are fixed once the final release comes around;
- Clouds hair looks like a pixelated bushy mess like there is a big problem with the antialiasing.
- Music and sounds tend to break when the battle gets too intense, I have switched between multiple PlayStation 4’s with the same occurrence.
- The camera may spin around chaotically or stutter upon switching characters due to explosions or enemies reacting to your strikes.
- While on the field, it is not ideal to stand idly as the over the shoulder camera tends to centralize on Cloud with Barret behind him and his big body will obscure any view of the front.
- The demo appears to not include HDR, as the graphics are not as pristine if it’s running in 4K, though i do expect this to be improved in the final release.
Hopefully the talented team at Square Enix will be able to iron out the issues and launch what we certainly hope to be an instant classic that more than justifies the remake and expands the universe for fans and newcomers alike on 10 April 2020 for PlayStation 4 gamers. I for one will personally be buying Final Fantasy VII Remake for nostalgic reasons.
Speaking of purchases, Sony Interactive Entertainment Singapore Private Limited (SIES) has confirmed the Malaysian prices for the First Class Edition will be 1349 MYR, Steelcase Deluxe Edition at 339 MYR and lastly Normal Edition for 239 MYR. All physical discs purchases will come with an exclusive free poster.

