Square-Enix’s E3 Press Conference kicked off with a blowout of information on the very long-awaited Final Fantasy VII Remake, which they said will eventually have enough content to fit two full Blu-Ray discs. However, as has been previously stated by the company, the game will be episodic, and the first ‘fully standalone gaming experience’ expands on the starting city of Midgar, which originally accounted for the first 1/3 or so of the original game’s first disc.
As well as receiving an amazing visual overhaul, the combat system has also been redesigned into a hybrid of real-time action and a command menu, which freezes time as Cloud builds up his ‘ATB’ meter and allows him to make more tactical commands like the original game. You can switch between characters, and gameplay was shown with most of the major characters from Midgar, including Cloud, Barrett, Aerith and our first look at Tifa. A lengthy boss battle with the original scorpion mech during the game’s bombing mission was also shown off, highlighting the new mechanics and a much more epic version of the old PS1 fight.
The game’s cast changes things up from previous voice actors, and includes:
- Cloud, voiced by Cody Christian (All American, Teen Wolf)
- Barret, voiced by John Eric Bentley (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Independence Day: Resurgence)
- Aerith, voiced by Briana White (Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, Occupants)
- Tifa, voiced by Britt Baron (GLOW)
- Jessie, voiced by Erica Lindbeck (Spider-Man, Persona 5, ThunderCats Roar)
- Biggs, voiced by Gideon Emery (Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Teen Wolf)
- Wedge, voiced by Matt Jones (Breaking Bad)
- Sephiroth, voiced by Tyler Hoechlin
The game launches on March 3, 2020 with a standard edition, deluxe edition with steelbook, artbook, sound track and DLC, as well as a 1st Class Edition featuring a figurine of Cloud on his famous motorcycle (although this is only available from the Square-Enix store).
Check out the expanded trailer below!
