Square Enix surprised everyone this past weekend when they released a gameplay trailer for Final Fantasy VII Remake on stage at PlayStation Experience. Besides looking gorgeous, the trailer also showed off some radically different combat than the turn based instances of the original. Speaking with Famitsu and Dengeki Online (via Gematsu), producer Yoshinori Kitase and director Tetsuya Nomura explained the changes, and detailed more about what gamer’s can expect.
“Rather than a command-based battle ensuing when you encounter an enemy, we’re aiming for a seamless active battle, as you can see in the trailer,” Kitase stated.
Nomura went on to add, “Regarding the battle speed and tempo, for the sake of a stress-free battle, we want to do something on the level of Dissidia Final Fantasy… There won’t be any actions that require a technique. By using the new system, we want to do action battles while also being able to fight while thinking strategically.”
There will be callbacks to the original though, Nomura said. “In the end, it’s based on Final Fantasy VII, so elements like the ATB gauge and Limit Breaks will appear with new ways to be used.” The player will not be waiting for the ATB gauge to fill up in order to attack, as was the case in the original. Instead, something like it will be used in a new way to work with the new action-focus of the combat.
It was also confirmed that three-member parties will be making a return, players given the power to switch back and forth between the three selected characters in combat or control just one.
As for the quality of the gameplay trailer, while it is confirmed as all in-game footage, Kitase and Nomura promise it is only the beginning and meant simply to show the direction of Final Fantasy VII Remake.
What do you think of the little we have seen of the combat system so far? Sad you’ll have to turn somewhere else to grab your turn-based itch? Let us know in the comments.