E3 2019: Final Fantasy VII Remake details and Tifa reveal

Square Enix played the crowd like no one else at this year’s E3 conference, coming in super hot with Final Fantasy VII Remake!

Before we get into it, producer Yoshinori Kitase mentioned in his opening that FF7R will contain two Blu-ray discs’ worth of content. However, the first part of FF7R will only allow us to explore Midgard, though Yoshinori-san has assured us that it was big enough to be a game on its own.

There’s going to be a Tactical Mode

Based on the past trailers, we know that FF7R is going to be an action game with attacks and magic in real-time, reminiscent of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. This morning, they revealed that FF7R will actually feature a hybrid combat system that blends real-time action with tactical combat.

This mechanic comes in the form of two ATB bars. Most of the time, a character can only make regular real-time attacks, like Cloud whaling on a hapless SOLDIER with his Buster Sword. However, once those ATB bars are filled up, Cloud (or any other character) will enter a different mode. Tactical Mode freezes time and gives you the option to use Limit Breaks, Items, and other special commands. The ATB bars fill up slowly over time, but landing your normal attacks lets you build them up much faster. It’s mentioned that Tactical Mode is entirely optional and can be switched off for a more action-based combat.

One of the cooler things showed off at the conference was Materia. Although not covered in-depth, we got to see how equipping them would make them show up on the weapon models themselves. It’s an extremely cool little detail.

E3 attendees will get a chance to try this out for themselves. As for everyone else, we have to content ourselves with the showcased boss fight between Cloud, Barret and Guard Scorpion/Sentinel Scorpion.

We finally get to see Tifa!

That wasn’t the only thing that Square Enix revealed. The company has been intentionally keeping a certain character from appearing in all of the Final Fantasy VII Remake trailers so far, and fans have been up in arms over it. Today, thanks to an extended trailer, we finally get to see the childhood crush and idol of many young players during the ’90s: Tifa Lockhart.

This new trailer also showed some epic scenes, giving us clues to how far production has come along for FF7R. We get to see the Shinra headquarters in full view, and even sections of it being explored. We also got a chance to see Tifa in action, including her acrobatic Limit Break, Somersault. Sephiroth also makes an appearance, taunting Cloud as he usually does.

Additionally, Square Enix has revealed details for the various game editions available. If you pre-order Final Fantasy VII Remake, you will be entitled to a ‘Chocobo Chick Summon Materia’. The Deluxe Edition includes an art book, a mini-soundtrack, the Chocobo Chick DLC as well as a ‘Cactaur Summon Materia’. The collector’s edition, or ‘1st Class Edition’, will feature the aforementioned items with the addition of a SteelBook case, the ‘Cabuncle Summon Materia’ and a Cloud action figurine. It’s him on the bike with his sword, as seen in the Shinra HQ escape sequence.

Final Fantasy VII Remake will be available only on PlayStation 4 on March 3, 2020.

[Local pricing has been confirmed for the Standard edition ($74.90) and the Digital Deluxe edition ($103.90). No word on the collector’s just yet.]

Image: Square Enix
Screenshots: GameAxis