The Final Fantasy 7 Remake is well on its way with tons of new details being revealed
by Square-Enix and a brand new trailer shown during the Playstation Experience.
And while there was a lot to see, much of it fell into the category of the same as before
but upgraded in some way.
So rather than focus on each and every small bit, we’re going to stick with the bigger
revelations from the trailer.
With that said, let’s bring out the old Analysis Machine to see what secrets and hidden
details we can find!
The big thing to note about this trailer is that most of the events depicted cover the
opening bombing mission up until Cloud escapes via train.
There do seem to be a few scenes that take place after this, but we’ll begin by breaking
down the most interesting moments of the trailer in chronological order.
And that begins shortly after the train comes to a stop since, rather than the guards standing
still until AVALANCHE attacks, they take the time to inspect it.
This could indicate that Shinra is already well aware of AVALANCHE’s activities and
are actively working to prevent it.
It’s also worth noting that the guard is equipped with an assault rifle and a baton,
just like in the original.
Soon after, we get a closer look at the remake versions of Biggs and Jessie.
While their looks are mostly the same, just obviously upgraded, Biggs is well equipped
with two extra clips strapped to his shoulders.
It could indicate that the AVALANCHE members have slightly more defined roles within the
group.
Barret is obviously the leader, Biggs is their main fighter and is ready for action, Jessie
is their tech and explosives expert, and Wedge is just kind of the supportive back-up who
believes in the cause.
Each of these roles is demonstrated throughout the trailer.
But let’s focus on Barret, specifically when he’s talking to Cloud.
It’s our first good look at him and his design has been changed slightly.
He’s still muscular but nowhere near as bulky and of course he now constantly wears
sunglasses.
However, beyond those two facts, he’s actually quite close to the original design, especially
the artwork of him.
In the artwork, we can see that Barret wears metal bands around his waist, a dog tag around
his neck, and has some slight scars at his right eye.
Look closely at the remake version of Barret and we can the metal bands, the dog tag, and
even the scars beneath his shades.
He’s updated but still faithful.
The encounter with the Guard Scorpion maintains this as well.
While the original game could only do an alarm before a wipe into battle, an entire cutscene
is devoted to the Guard Scorpion’s approach.
This simultaneously increases its menace while giving us a slightly better look at the Reactor
Core room.
One angle shows the larger area where a save point could be found in the PS1 game.
But it’s missing here whether because of the cutscene or the fact that it might be
removed in favor of a new system or for the sake of realism.
We don’t know the answer for sure yet though we do have a feeling that a more modern save
system will be implemented.
The approach of the Guard Scorpion also shows that the walkway to the Reactor Core has been
widened to facilitate the more action-based combat which makes complete sense.
The bombing mission ends with the group escaping the rubble of the Reactor.
There was never a scene where Cloud had to work through the destruction, instead just
cutting to the moment where Jessie bombs their way out.
It quickly shows that there will be different kinds of navigation that Cloud will have to
perform though it’s nothing major.
The bigger question here is if the humor will remain intact.
Jessie sets the bomb like before except the viewpoint stays on the interior rather than
outside.
Oddly, the explosion doesn’t really cause any fire yet Wedge is the closest to the bomb
so it’s possible the comedic moment where his pants catch fire might stay in.
This is surprisingly important as it’ll show whether the more lighthearted moments
from the original game will be kept in or not.
We then get our first look at the street level of Midgar.
On the left, the burning rubble of the Reactor or perhaps other buildings caught up in the
bombing can be seen.
We don’t think that’s the place Jessie blew up just before though as Cloud is heading
toward it.
And while everything is impressively detailed, the things that stand out to us the most are
the buildup of trash along the street and the AC units along the nearby building.
Considering that there’s one between every two windows, it emphasizes the cramped living
conditions within Midgar.
These conditions are further emphasized the farther Cloud goes as we see people hunched
over on the sidewalk, windows with bars on them, and a car haphazardly parked down the
street.
Midgar has been expanded greatly.
Where before Cloud comes out onto a main street where he runs into Aerith right away, here
he can actually explore the Midgar streets, going up 8th until reaching a Y crossing.
More cars are parked all over the place down both streets, but the right one seems to lead
to an open area.
This might be where Cloud meets Aerith in the remake.
It’s then that we get our first look at the new battle system, and it’s much more
action-based than the Active Time Battle from the original.
However, the developers have stated that it’s not a full action game like Kingdom Hearts
or even contains as much action elements as Final Fantasy 15.
And there does seem to be evidence to these claims.
The options include Attack, Magic, Summon, Items, and Defend while on the bottom right
we can see a bar underneath Cloud’s name as well as numbers and bars for his HP and
MP.
The Limit Break is represented as well though it never increases since neither Cloud nor
Barret take significant hits.
Upon looking all of this over though, we noticed that Cloud has seen a massive boost to his
HP with over 2000.
In the original, he had less than 500 at this point.
Yet the MP value doesn’t seem to be changed at all.
The massive amount of HP seems doubly strange since Cloud only does about 19 points of damage
per hit.
Because of this and the fact that the Summon option is already available, we believe that
this is more of a demo than a reflection of the final game.
This is further backed up by the fact that Barret is fighting alongside Cloud at certain
points which never happened in the original.
The battle system itself seems to be reliant on a series of normal attacks.
Each strike fills the bar below the characters’ names in a pseudo-ATB style and the player
can switch between the two at will.
Cloud’s bar fills relatively quickly with each hit, but Barret’s only fills up once
in the time we see him despite shooting a constant stream of bullets.
So it seems that his regular attacks will be slower than Cloud’s but clearly have
a range advantage.
Once the bar has filled up, it glows red allowing Cloud or Barret to perform an enhanced attack.
The first one we see is from Cloud and seems to be a lesser version of the Braver Limit
Break.
Likewise, Barret’s enhanced attack is close to the Big Shot.
As an aside, Barret is being shot during this attack though each bullet only does three
damage which could be further evidence of a demo.
The next enhanced attack Cloud performs is similar to the start of the Climhazzard though
it only does minimal damage.
Later on, Cloud attacks in a circular motion that’s not reflective of any of his Limit
Breaks.
So could this enhanced attack be random in its execution?
Or could several options be available depending on player input?
Or is it all done via the menu before battles take place with each one having specific strengths
and weaknesses?
We just don’t know yet.
But we do see that the bodies of defeated enemies will stay visible rather than disappear,
at least they won’t right away.
Another thing we know is that this entire fight takes place around a fountain, the same
one from the original.
Obviously no fights took place here before but between this and the reinforcements that
come via jeep, it seems that escaping Shinra will be slightly more involved this time around.
The trailer eventually shows Cloud being surrounded by Shinra forces but something new occurs
when Cloud has one of his headaches during this sequence.
This did not happen in the original so is it possible that these will happen more often?
Or could there be another explanation?
The way this man reacts to Cloud running away is different in body language than simply
trying to get him to stop.
Could it be that this man recognized Cloud from his time working for Shinra and him calling
out to Cloud is what triggers the headache?
We think it’s possible especially because, unlike the others, this character doesn’t
have the visor over his eyes.
Of course, at that moment Cloud escapes through a hail of bullets and jumps on the train to
eventually meet up with Barret and the others.
But though that’s it for the actual bombing mission, there do seem to be a few scenes
depicting later events.
One shows a look at the slums of Midgar.
Unfortunately, there’s no indication of where in the city this could be, but that
could be the base of one of the reactors or even the Shinra building.
Next, we get a quick flash that shows a train destination of South Edge.
In Final Fantasy 7, Jessie states that people have forgotten the original names of the sectors
of Midgar.
So this might serve as a small connection to Advent Children.
In that movie, Edge was built on the outskirts of Sectors 3 and 4 so it could be possible
that that Edge is more of a reference to the outer rim of Midgar.
It could also mean that this is close to Sector 5 which could indicate that this scene is
from the train ride to sabotage the Sector 5 reactor.
Either way, it looks like the lore of Final Fantasy 7 is being expanded in some way.
We then see some kind of assault team working in the rain.
However, it never really rained during the Midgar sequence so it’s difficult to say
when this takes place.
But we do think it has a connection to the other view of the cityscape of Midgar.
The giant pipes seem to indicate that this is close to one of the reactors and rain can
be seen when we pause the footage.
So we think this is part of the sequence involving the assault team in the rain.
This squad is dressed differently from the guards we saw before and seem to be taking
part in some kind of operation.
Could they actually be members of the elite SOLDIER forces?
After all, the one is equipped with a sword on his back which is not standard for the
other members of Shinra’s army.
But we’re still not sure of when this takes place.
At first, the presence of the helicopter made us wonder if this is during Shinra’s attack
on Sector 7’s pillar.
Rather than an all-out attack, it’s a stealth operation.
But the mere fact that it would involve the pillar means that it would take place underneath
the plate and no sunlight or water can get through.
So instead, we believe that this is part of the set-up to how AVALANCHE is ambushed during
the attack on Reactor 5.
The helicopter in the scene could even be carrying President Shinra.
Ok, we’re almost done here but there are still a few moments we want to touch on.
The first is a close-up of Cloud’s eyes.
And like other members of the elite SOLDIER, he’s been infused with Mako energy giving
them a green glow.
This can just be more easily seen in the remake.
Then there’s this sequence where the camera is going down a long hallway into the light.
This could be a retooled opening cutscene.
Instead of focusing on Aerith, we’re actually seeing it from her viewpoint.
And finally there’s this moment of foreshadowing at its finest.
The fallen flowers represent Aerith while the black wing is indicative of Sephiroth.
We don’t expect the famous moment that Final Fantasy 7 is known for to change at all.
And that’s because, despite a few elements about this remake being a little worrying,
the Playstation Experience trailer really shows a dedicated amount of faithfulness to
the original.
Whether or not the remake will be successful in capturing the feel of the original, we
have no idea.
But we’re willing to follow it until we can finally see for ourselves.
Of course, let us know if we missed anything in the comments.
If you liked this video, be sure to like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter at GameXplain
to keep up with everything we do.
Thanks for watching, and make sure to stay tuned to GameXplain for more on Final Fantasy
and other things gaming.