Final Fantasy VII Remake Demo teases Major Expansions of Original Concepts

Recently, the shot heard around the world was the sudden release of a demo for the Final Fantasy VII Remake on PS4. With it being one of the most anticipated releases of this console generation, there is a lot of expectation for this Square Enix behemoth. There are many players out there that have fond memories of Final Fantasy VII and because Square Enix is so apt to keep their games moving forward by porting and enhancing them, the original Final Fantasy VII is still a big part of gaming culture. There remains a lot of confusion about this release’s marketing, specifically in its episodic approach to the beloved fantasy epic, but PS4 players can now download a quick demo to at least get a feel for the game’s earliest section and the foundations of the combat. I’ve played the demo many times over, through each difficulty, and even attempted a simple speedrun and I have some thoughts I want to share.

First, allow me to lay out some background for my connection to Final Fantasy VII. FFVII was the first PlayStation game I ever saw; it was something one of our elementary teachers had in her classroom and at the time the school was loaning out PS1s with educational software to help enrich reading and math skills which generally had the PS1 on a lot of minds, especially with the games being much cheaper than the N64. Of course, our teacher only showed us the first area of the game as it was rated T for Teen after many requests from the afterschool class. I was moved by this moment but it wasn’t until I spent time with a friend and his older sister that I really fell in love with Final Fantasy as a franchise. The sister showed me lots of PS1 RPGs as they were cheap at the time and they owned several including Final Fantasy VII, VIII, IX, and Legend of Dragoon. We would load up saves where she was stuck, try to discern a way to win, but mostly just be in awe of the game’s summons and special effects. Not long after this, I started collecting any game related to SquareSoft, and that mentality eventually extended into Square Enix titles when they merged with the Dragon Quest developers.

RPGs became my favorite way to experience stories and I owe a lot of my love of reading and my fascination with stories to those days wrapped in blankets, fighting with scratched discs, and pouring over every minute detail of these fantasy worlds.

Final Fantasy VII was a big one for me. This game dominated my interests for so long due to its unique, darker setting full of evil corporations to overthrow, deep mysteries of a strange planet, and secret items and scenes everywhere.  As I’ve said time and time again, both in my written works and in our podcast, Final Fantasy IX is my absolute favorite entry and one of my favorite games ever but FFVII was exciting because just about everyone I knew was at least remotely familiar with the characters. Sephiroth was legendary and it was amazing to stare him down in Kingdom Hearts. We spent countless hours using Gameshark devices to bring new members into the party like Sephiroth or Zack Fair.

It’s hard to believe that a full remake with a huge amount of obvious care and consideration to one of the most beloved games ever even exists. While I know I’m going to hate the wait for each episode or update or however this story is ultimately delivered, I am overjoyed that we are getting a much larger Final Fantasy VII experience. The demo is a great way to share that magic over a huge number of players, just as it was when demos of the original release were circulated.

I’ve played a smaller version of this public Final Fantasy VII Remake demo at PAX West where it started with a cutscene full of short snippets of the world and then dropped Cloud in the moments before the descent into the reactor to set the bomb. It was only three or four encounters to get a feel for the controls followed by the battle with the Guard Scorpion. Most of what was in that demo in September 2019 is unchanged in the current public demo.

Now, a lot of more prominent press outlets had the opportunity to play additional scenes in a recent preview event which involved playing as Aerith and Tifa. I didn’t have this opportunity, so my thoughts on the game are based purely on what I’ve played, which is the public demo.

Background out of the way, the remake of Final Fantasy VII is ambitiously expanding everything that made the original release great while also creating a unique identity that could set the bar for RPGs and cinematics. Square Enix has always pushed the boundaries for visuals and that seems to carry over into Final Fantasy VII Remake. Character models are complex with lots of little costume details that make sense in the steampunk, dark fantasy setting but the clothing also stands out in color choice and design. The demo takes place at the start of the game, during the bombing of a Mako Reactor and ends when Avalanche flees the exploding facility, so most of the characters we see are the Avalanche group. Each of them has a unique body type and silhouette, making it easy to tell who’s who even in faster-paced scenes. Facial emotions and body language have added a lot to the game’s storytelling and flesh out the characters in ways that are just wonderful. Of course, with this being a game most developed in Japan, I’m sure that some moments won’t carry over as well into other languages, but localization efforts continue to get better and better.

I absolutely adore what has been done with Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie. Each of them feels distinct and are written well, at least by RPG standards. When playing the original release, I never got a feel for who these characters were but now we get a flirty Jesse, a level-headed Biggs, and a lovable and awkward Wedge. Character moments are well-paced throughout the room-by-room combat and it rarely felt like the scenes were abrupt interruptions which was a big criticism I have with much of the Kingdom Hearts series. In Kingdom Hearts games, one can see a scene, take two steps, and be put into another. It happens far too often, and I hope that the Final Fantasy VII Remake demo is an indication that the flow of the experience has been considered more.

Barret also feels more believable in this demo. He’s gruff, determined, deeply motivated, and believes that the extreme action of blowing up a Mako Reactor will bring good to the corrupt world he lives in. We do eventually see him start to warm up to Cloud through snide remarks and playfulness but Barret’s best moments in this demo involve him challenging the carefree philosophy of Cloud. Barret is constantly questioning Cloud’s loyalty to the job and encourages him to have a more emotional stake in what they’re trying to accomplish. Even in the short time of this demo, we get moments of Barret’s character evolving and I am keen to see how each of them is developed.

I think that there’s a huge opportunity for Cloud in this remake to become way more fleshed out and maybe even become more symbolic in a way that’s less “cool hero with big sword saves planet” and more “emotionally complex person shows how one can overcome trauma to make change in a damaged world.” My favorite addition to his character in this remake so far is the buildup of his fear of Sephiroth. Cloud fights with hallucinations, hears voices, and is constantly pulled away mentally to wrestle with his trauma. I want to see this side of Cloud handled in a meaningful way.

Admittedly, these animations, character complexities, and added depth do not seem to carry as well into the environmental design. The locale itself looks fine with grungy textures, mostly good shot composition, and the space feels more realistic, but the actual level design felt like a weak component. This is hopefully just the nature of the opening scene but considering most of this release is set to take place in Midgar I hope to see more varied and more interesting levels. That said, there are added elements to consider when exploring such as dodging lasers in one segment of this demo.

Unfortunately, the biggest downfall I’ve found in Final Fantasy VII Remake is the camera. This is particularly felt when players first get access to Barret in battles, who is used to quickly take out turrets positioned above the battle. The camera just doesn’t pull out far enough and the aiming seems to jump around way more than it should. I hope this gets addressed because all the action happening is spectacular and rewarding.

Combat is a satisfying mix of fast, deliberate attacks and more considered patterns and strategies. At the surface, the game can be played fairly well by just mashing basic attacks and using abilities like Cloud’s Braver to chunk down enemy health bars. However, things become more interesting when taking the time to notice what is most effective and how abilities can play off one another. For example, Barret’s Steelskin ability can help mitigate damage when trying to pull the enemy’s attention away from Cloud and from there Cloud can position himself for a Focused Thrust that builds Stagger. This simple approach is one of many because of the various weaknesses that enemies have and the way they are grouped in fights. I kind of wish that these fights were longer (though there will likely be a hard mode that I will try) because I like carefully managing the battlefield but it is satisfying to see a group, mentally line up some moves, and execute them. Adjusting for changes in the fight also feels amazing and I’m ready to see how that carries into later battles.

Where Final Fantasy VII Remake will probably shine brightest is the dynamic boss battles.

The boss battle at the end of this demo against the iconic Guard Scorpion does a lot of things that I hope reflects the biggest confrontations throughout the game. Guard Scorpion stays mobile and shifts targets by jumping into the air and turning around. When this occurs, the other character not being controlled is typically positioned directly behind the mech, which is a perfect opportunity for the player to switch and target the shield generator. Not only that, but it also jumps out of the arena to rain missiles from afar. Players that switch to Barret and have a few bars of the ATB gauge can keep stacking damage with spells and abilities. The scorpion also performs a dangerous blast from it’s tail that forces players to hide behind fallen debris. These moments feel less grounded than the rest of the fight as this is the type of convenience that only occurs because it’s a game, but I did appreciate these precious seconds of pause to heal and reconsider my strategy. This fight also tends to bring out one’s limit break attack, which is just awesome and immensely satisfying when performed against a staggered opponent for even more damage.

The game’s combat is layered in a way that makes me excited to grind, which is something that can often make or break how I feel about a particular RPG. I really hope there are plenty of opportunities to take down foes and that there are secrets sprinkled throughout these fights. I cannot wait to see what sort of new things have been added mechanically. Story wise, I have my fingers crossed for big risks and change ups, but I will be satisfied with just a richer version of the classic narrative.

This demo satisfied my itch to spend more time with these early moments. A 20-minute, one-time playthrough at PAX West was enough to excite me but wasn’t enough to pin down certain elements. For those that have hesitations, this demo shows off the basics of what players can expect but I am far more interested in how the combat and story evolves throughout the experience. I also really wish Square Enix would shed more light on their exact intentions for future installments with the game’s marketing. Because this release is simply titled Final Fantasy VII Remake, I imagine there will be digital updates and purchasable chapters adding to the base game. I’m also thinking we may see more sequel-oriented content outside of the game’s original story beats once the rest of the core chapters are released.

Personally, I cannot wait to explore this world and reunite with some of my favorite characters in the franchise. As far as major releases are concerned, Final Fantasy VII Remake has my complete attention and I really want to see Square Enix hit a home run this time.

Learn more about Final Fantasy VII Remake on the official website.

For further discussion on Final Fantasy VII Remake check out my reaction to a major trailer that dropped last January. We also recently reviewed the cover album SEVEN by Knight of the Round that puts a metal spin on the FFVII soundtrack. Lastly, I put out some thoughts on why I really enjoy how Square Enix treats (most) of their legacy titles.

All images used were created using a Razer Ripsaw HD to record standard PS4 1080p footage and then frames were saved in Sony Vegas.