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[AlexxKidd]

Game demos are only transparently given out to dying fans for good pr. Sorry everyone.

*cough* *cough* I feel a sudden bout of numbness take my body...

 

[D.Final]

The character models also look like CGI but in real time, how's this even possible on PS4?

True

Even the cutscenes seems pre-rendered CG, and instead are real time graphics.
It's really amazing

(and I have the same feelings with Kingdom Hearts 3 and Final Fantasy XV, two games with a really impressive and magnificent graphic)

 

[DonF]

This looks gorgeous, I hope it plays as good as it looks.

 

[D.Final]

Played more of the original last night, Got to Fort Condor. Funnily enough, after all these years I didn't realize the Condor was an actual bird, I just assumed it was a statue. I must've missed the dialogue where they establish as such when i was younger.

Which of course reminded me of the scope of the original and prompts that fun speculation about what they'll include in parts 2 & 3 and how they'll depict them, namely the battle at Fort Condor. Just got to Junon and had to

Spoiler

revive Priscilla

which was about as intense as i remember it being all these years later.

It will be fantastic to review these game sections made in the Remake graphic

 

[Vicetrailia]

I'm now excited about gaming again.

 

[D.Final]

I'm now excited about gaming again.

It will be awesome

 

[D.Final]

11 Things We Learned About Final Fantasy VII Remake at Gamescom

From fleshed-out character beats, to little details that make Midgar feel like a living, breathing city.

blog.us.playstation.com

 

[FranXico]

Can't wait to play this on PS4.

 

[royox]

P

The character models also look like CGI but in real time, how's this even possible on PS4?

Like they did with Spider-Man. Using the gameplay models for the cutscenes. Also unreal engine 4 is a beast. What I'm scared is about performance. FFXV's performance was horrible with loads of framedrops mid battle and horrible camera. Guess the normal PS4 will suffer a little while the Pro will have strong 30fps.

 

[sid2vicious]

P


Like they did with Spider-Man. Using the gameplay models for the cutscenes. Also unreal engine 4 is a beast. What I'm scared is about performance. FFXV's performance was horrible with loads of framedrops mid battle and horrible camera. Guess the normal PS4 will suffer a little while the Pro will have strong 30fps.

FFXV was using Luminous engine not Unreal 4, I heard Luminous was difficult and expensive to develop for and nowhere near as stable as Unreal 4 engine, I'm sure that has everything to do with FFXV performance.

 

[DGrayson]

Ive never played FFVIII, I hope this is reviewed well so I can finally give it a shot.

 

[DGrayson]

Ive never played FFVIII, I hope this is reviewed well so I can finally give it a shot.

jesus christ i thought this said FFVIII. I have played FFVII, yes hope the remake is great but i reallly want to play the new remaster of ffviiii

 

[Aranea]

Someone managed to grab some screenshots during the Gamescom even and gave a long detailed info about the demo. The stuff was posted on /r/FFVIIRemake today.

Instructional video:

• It starts with a pre-rendered cinematic video showing infrastructure, workers and the daily life of Midgar.
• A narrator is talking about the great things Shinra provides to the citizens of Midgar, leading everyone to the Promised Land with the power of Mako, which powers everything as a safe and clean energy source and is responsible for transforming Midgar into this thriving metropolis.
• In the middle of that Shinra propaganda video, it glitches out and Jessie takes over.
• During that cinematic video, however, we get a great look at several parts of Midgar (above the plate only, of course). Here are some notable details:
• It starts with a camera pan over parts of Midgar showing a modern cylindrical building also seen in the background of the E3 2015 reveal teaser and the shot of Cloud on the Hardy Daytona introducing editions and pre-order bonuses. We also see a train passing by an industrial area and a highway with a noise shield on one side running perpendicular to it.
• Another shot shows rooftops with multiple chimneys on top and another highway suspended high above with big Mako pipes running alongside of it and through the building scape. We also see a swarm of white doves flying by.
• The imagery in both shots is very reminiscent of the reveal teaser from E3 2015.
• Then we get a camera pan down into the streets with many different buildings resembling a neighborhood in New-York City. One of the buildings even has a silo on top like the one I described in my latest analysis video (Game Analysis #10)
• The next few shots show cafés, restaurants, shops, traffic lights, lots of fire escapes, awnings, AC units, familiar cars driving by, citizens going about their day, children riding their bicycle and construction workers doing their job.
• In another shot, they show mechanics swapping Mako canisters of a car (like changing batteries) and loading full ones onto a small green pickup truck with only one back wheel. We already saw similar canisters in the gameplay demonstration footage and I even mentioned those in one of my videos (Game Analysis #8).
• In the last shot, we see a mechanical digger carrying a pipe segment. What the most interesting about it is that it doesn’t bear an excavator shovel at the end of its arm but instead that very same brown robot hand seen in the original game on that broken highway in the sector 6 slums.
• What’s very interesting about those scenes is that everything takes place in broad daylight and it doesn’t feel dark at all, very much comparable to those skyscraper and highway shots in the reveal teaser.
• I hope those scenes are part of the final game releasing next year.
• After Jessie takes over, we learn the combat basics of which we already know plenty. However, several camera angles are different. The sector 1 station interior (having different ads, and the shampoo ad returns), the Guard Dog area, the room with the elevator and the area with the large ramp where Cloud uses a Potion in the gameplay demonstration from E3 2019 also received new angles.
• Another new aspect is Cloud’s ability Triple Slash. It’s the one we see him perform in the E3 2019 trailer footage in the subway tunnels. He hits 3 different targets with wide slashes which may hit multiple enemies per hit if in range. It consumes only one ATB charge.
• We also get to see the Sweeper step onto Cloud, pinning him to the ground, inflicting high damage and bringing Cloud into the KO status, where the screen lights up in red (like when on low HP). Barret then need to use a Phoenix Down on Cloud to have him get up again. Jessie explains that the game isn’t over until all party members are KOed.
• Last point, Cloud uses an Ether which shows an orange-red effect around him to contrast the green one for Potions.

Show floor Demo:

• It starts with a short scene just beyond the entrance to the reactor core hall with Jessie telling us about the objective and then seamlessly transitions to gameplay.
• Of course, we can’t interact with the entrance door, but there’s a huge Shinra logo on the floor.
• Maximilian Dood told us that you can talk to Jessie and she says something like “I’m flattered that you decided talking to me, but why don’t you blow ‘her’ mind instead?” (talking about the reactor). In German, her line is different: “What now? Can’t stay away from me, can you? Business before pleasure!”
• There are green octagonal arrow symbols above and below the ladders to signify interaction, similar to the green arrows in the original when having the help indicators enabled by pressing select. While Cloud is on a ladder and during combat, that icon turns into a grey “unavailable” symbol.
• The whole walkway layout of this area turns out to be exactly as I described in my analysis of this room. However, before going down the short staircase to the platform Jessie will be waiting on, the walkway goes a little further to a treasure chest containing a Phoenix Down. There’s also a platform below the entrance reachable through a ladder from the second optional path I mentioned in my analysis (the one higher up where you have to climb down a ladder).
• Speaking of that second optional path, it’s barred off by yellow tape in this demo.
• The other short optional side path close to the bottom also contains a treasure chest with an Ether inside.
• Treasure chests can be opened by pressing triangle (the same visual prompt seen in the E3 2019 trailer), but only outside of battle.
• Abilities like Braver can miss if you active them when the target is out of reach.
• Enemies, most likely only organic ones, dissipate into green Lifestream particles upon death. This is an in-lore explanation for them disappearing to prevent clutter in combat zones. Though I think that’s only for death animations and not actually the case for anything dying in the story and the game world.
• Cloud can swing his Sword outside of Battle by pressing square and destroy Shinra crates. The side plates of those remain on the floor. For how long, I do not know.
• Destroyed Shinra crates may randomly drop an item, which can be picked up by merely walking over them. In this demo I’ve only seen orange-red glowing orbs called Makonites which heal 5 MP. That’s possibly the reason for their color. Other pickups might have different colors like green for HP healing orbs.
• There are no other maneuvers possible in exploration mode. No combos, no dodge rolling and no blocking as well as no jumping, at all. More proof that it’s not a typical Action RPG. Exploration and combat mode are still strictly separated from each other.
• Stances and special attacks mapped to triangle have been replaced by Guard (R1), at least on the UI and only for this demo. Possibly as to not overwhelm the players and, more importantly, not to reveal a feature they haven’t fully revealed yet.
• While blocking, you can’t attack or dodge roll. You have to release R1 first. This doesn’t apply to commands executed in Tactical Mode.
• By holding down square instead of tapping, Cloud will only perform a 3-hit combo. With tapping, 5 hits are possible. For Barret’s attack, square is meant to be held down.
• Usage of an ability seems to reset combos as you always start with the first hit. The gameplay demonstration proves otherwise, so I think this is a feature deactivated in this demo.
• We can see how lock on works. The targeting reticule largely remains the same but is missing those 4 horns and says “locked on” below. The camera automatically follows the target, but it’s not strictly centered on it. Also, it seems you can’t manually change targets when locked on. Soft lock-on is also purely automatic.
• Security Officers have 4 attacks: Rifle, Grenade Toss, Tonfa hit and a Kick. 2 more than in the original. They also jump back after a close-range attack to get out of range.
• Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem we’re able to throw them over the railing and let them fall into the Mako basin. Looks like there are invisible walls all around those walkways.
• Monodrives are very agile and seem to have only 2 attacks: Drill Dive and the Fire spell, the same ones as in the original.
• Speaking of Fire, when hit by a Fire spell, a small flame residue stays on the target as I’ve mentioned in my combat analysis, but there’s no Burn status effect.
• Sentry Rays seem to have only one attack: their laser, as they do in the original game.
• The responsiveness is generally very good, especially when compared to the clunkiness of FFXV and the controls feels more precise.
• When opening the Commands Menu during exploration, the status elements of all characters in the party appear and fade out shortly after exiting the Commands Menu.
• You can also run by holding R2 during exploration and slide down and scramble up ladders for faster traversal.
• Barret follows you around but not as obnoxiously as in FFVIII. However, he doesn’t seem to be doing his own thing and always catches up to you and stops a few feet behind Cloud.
• Some more interesting banter between Cloud & Barret: “Boy oh boy, that’s a long way down. I’m glad I’m not afraid of heights” – “Doesn’t matter if you fall.” – “Haha… very funny.”
• In the cutscene at the pump regulator before the boss, Barret wants Cloud to place the explosive.
• In the English version, Barret says “Let’s see if little Stamp bites the hand that feeds”. Stamp is an in-universe pop culture reference to a cartoon dog carrying a military helmet seen on 2 different ads, one informing about The Adventures of Stamp, Book 3, “Stamp stands up for his friends!”. In my opinion, Stamp is used to subtly distribute Shinra propaganda among the citizens of Midgar. Everyone loves an adorable mascot, right?
• In German, Barret talks about the opportunity to prove to him that Cloud isn’t one of Shinra’s lap dogs anymore and doesn’t mention Stamp at all. Bummer.
• Barret really doesn’t trust him yet and it shows that he only let Cloud tag along because of Tifa (and because they needed a skilled fighter and someone knowing the insides of a reactor).
• While Cloud is setting up the explosive, Barret has a frightening grin on his face while rubbing his chin. There’s already a meme on this site with that picture.
• We also see Cloud having another episode, a memory glitch of sorts, where he sees a lone black feather floating to the ground and disappearing into thin air before Barret rips him out of it.
• Then, the scene we already know starts and the Scorpion Sentinel appears.
• In the demo, Barret and Cloud both have 3 abilities and 3 spells each. Braver, Focused Thrust and Triple Slash for Cloud, Steelskin, Focused Shot and Bullet Barrage for Barret. Cloud can cast Fire, Cure and Blizzard and Barret knows Thunder, Cure and Aero. (Aero Materia? YES!)
• As Maximilian Dood said, when casting Blizzard onto an enemy, the ice sticks for a short time. Not sure if it actually freezes them.
• Barret’s ability Bullet Barrage sprays loads of Bullets onto the enemy, lands more hits, shoots faster and deals much more damage (x3?) and his standard attack but also consumes all remaining ATB charges. Parts of that ability can be seen in the E3 2019 trailer where he shoots at the Air Buster (and a little bit against the Sweeper in the gameplay demonstration).
• If hit by the Scorpion Sentinel’s Tail Laser attack, be it when grappled or during phase 3, does deal a good amount of damage (~300 and ~470 respectively). However, the demo build has been toned down in terms of damage and difficulty. In the final game, those attacks might even be instant kills, which I would welcome.
• Someone commented on my combat & gameplay analysis video (Game Analysis #9) and made me aware of a feature I haven’t noticed so far. MP regeneration. We were told that MP doesn’t regenerate automatically. However, that’s not entirely true. During the whole demo, MP regenerates by 1 around every 30 seconds (hard to say due to different actions pausing the timer). Though I think this is due to the air being filled with Mako fumes, leading to a slow MP regeneration. I think that’s an ingenious feature!

Source r/FFVIIRemake

 

[Somoza]

Unreal Engine at its finest.

 

[Neil]

That city looks more like Edge than Midgar.

 

[D.Final]

Someone managed to grab some screenshots during the Gamescom even and gave a long detailed info about the demo. The stuff was posted on /r/FFVIIRemake today.

Instructional video:

• It starts with a pre-rendered cinematic video showing infrastructure, workers and the daily life of Midgar.
• A narrator is talking about the great things Shinra provides to the citizens of Midgar, leading everyone to the Promised Land with the power of Mako, which powers everything as a safe and clean energy source and is responsible for transforming Midgar into this thriving metropolis.
• In the middle of that Shinra propaganda video, it glitches out and Jessie takes over.
• During that cinematic video, however, we get a great look at several parts of Midgar (above the plate only, of course). Here are some notable details:
• It starts with a camera pan over parts of Midgar showing a modern cylindrical building also seen in the background of the E3 2015 reveal teaser and the shot of Cloud on the Hardy Daytona introducing editions and pre-order bonuses. We also see a train passing by an industrial area and a highway with a noise shield on one side running perpendicular to it.
• Another shot shows rooftops with multiple chimneys on top and another highway suspended high above with big Mako pipes running alongside of it and through the building scape. We also see a swarm of white doves flying by.
• The imagery in both shots is very reminiscent of the reveal teaser from E3 2015.
• Then we get a camera pan down into the streets with many different buildings resembling a neighborhood in New-York City. One of the buildings even has a silo on top like the one I described in my latest analysis video (Game Analysis #10)
• The next few shots show cafés, restaurants, shops, traffic lights, lots of fire escapes, awnings, AC units, familiar cars driving by, citizens going about their day, children riding their bicycle and construction workers doing their job.
• In another shot, they show mechanics swapping Mako canisters of a car (like changing batteries) and loading full ones onto a small green pickup truck with only one back wheel. We already saw similar canisters in the gameplay demonstration footage and I even mentioned those in one of my videos (Game Analysis #8).
• In the last shot, we see a mechanical digger carrying a pipe segment. What the most interesting about it is that it doesn’t bear an excavator shovel at the end of its arm but instead that very same brown robot hand seen in the original game on that broken highway in the sector 6 slums.
• What’s very interesting about those scenes is that everything takes place in broad daylight and it doesn’t feel dark at all, very much comparable to those skyscraper and highway shots in the reveal teaser.
• I hope those scenes are part of the final game releasing next year.
• After Jessie takes over, we learn the combat basics of which we already know plenty. However, several camera angles are different. The sector 1 station interior (having different ads, and the shampoo ad returns), the Guard Dog area, the room with the elevator and the area with the large ramp where Cloud uses a Potion in the gameplay demonstration from E3 2019 also received new angles.
• Another new aspect is Cloud’s ability Triple Slash. It’s the one we see him perform in the E3 2019 trailer footage in the subway tunnels. He hits 3 different targets with wide slashes which may hit multiple enemies per hit if in range. It consumes only one ATB charge.
• We also get to see the Sweeper step onto Cloud, pinning him to the ground, inflicting high damage and bringing Cloud into the KO status, where the screen lights up in red (like when on low HP). Barret then need to use a Phoenix Down on Cloud to have him get up again. Jessie explains that the game isn’t over until all party members are KOed.
• Last point, Cloud uses an Ether which shows an orange-red effect around him to contrast the green one for Potions.

Show floor Demo:

• It starts with a short scene just beyond the entrance to the reactor core hall with Jessie telling us about the objective and then seamlessly transitions to gameplay.
• Of course, we can’t interact with the entrance door, but there’s a huge Shinra logo on the floor.
• Maximilian Dood told us that you can talk to Jessie and she says something like “I’m flattered that you decided talking to me, but why don’t you blow ‘her’ mind instead?” (talking about the reactor). In German, her line is different: “What now? Can’t stay away from me, can you? Business before pleasure!”
• There are green octagonal arrow symbols above and below the ladders to signify interaction, similar to the green arrows in the original when having the help indicators enabled by pressing select. While Cloud is on a ladder and during combat, that icon turns into a grey “unavailable” symbol.
• The whole walkway layout of this area turns out to be exactly as I described in my analysis of this room. However, before going down the short staircase to the platform Jessie will be waiting on, the walkway goes a little further to a treasure chest containing a Phoenix Down. There’s also a platform below the entrance reachable through a ladder from the second optional path I mentioned in my analysis (the one higher up where you have to climb down a ladder).
• Speaking of that second optional path, it’s barred off by yellow tape in this demo.
• The other short optional side path close to the bottom also contains a treasure chest with an Ether inside.
• Treasure chests can be opened by pressing triangle (the same visual prompt seen in the E3 2019 trailer), but only outside of battle.
• Abilities like Braver can miss if you active them when the target is out of reach.
• Enemies, most likely only organic ones, dissipate into green Lifestream particles upon death. This is an in-lore explanation for them disappearing to prevent clutter in combat zones. Though I think that’s only for death animations and not actually the case for anything dying in the story and the game world.
• Cloud can swing his Sword outside of Battle by pressing square and destroy Shinra crates. The side plates of those remain on the floor. For how long, I do not know.
• Destroyed Shinra crates may randomly drop an item, which can be picked up by merely walking over them. In this demo I’ve only seen orange-red glowing orbs called Makonites which heal 5 MP. That’s possibly the reason for their color. Other pickups might have different colors like green for HP healing orbs.
• There are no other maneuvers possible in exploration mode. No combos, no dodge rolling and no blocking as well as no jumping, at all. More proof that it’s not a typical Action RPG. Exploration and combat mode are still strictly separated from each other.
• Stances and special attacks mapped to triangle have been replaced by Guard (R1), at least on the UI and only for this demo. Possibly as to not overwhelm the players and, more importantly, not to reveal a feature they haven’t fully revealed yet.
• While blocking, you can’t attack or dodge roll. You have to release R1 first. This doesn’t apply to commands executed in Tactical Mode.
• By holding down square instead of tapping, Cloud will only perform a 3-hit combo. With tapping, 5 hits are possible. For Barret’s attack, square is meant to be held down.
• Usage of an ability seems to reset combos as you always start with the first hit. The gameplay demonstration proves otherwise, so I think this is a feature deactivated in this demo.
• We can see how lock on works. The targeting reticule largely remains the same but is missing those 4 horns and says “locked on” below. The camera automatically follows the target, but it’s not strictly centered on it. Also, it seems you can’t manually change targets when locked on. Soft lock-on is also purely automatic.
• Security Officers have 4 attacks: Rifle, Grenade Toss, Tonfa hit and a Kick. 2 more than in the original. They also jump back after a close-range attack to get out of range.
• Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem we’re able to throw them over the railing and let them fall into the Mako basin. Looks like there are invisible walls all around those walkways.
• Monodrives are very agile and seem to have only 2 attacks: Drill Dive and the Fire spell, the same ones as in the original.
• Speaking of Fire, when hit by a Fire spell, a small flame residue stays on the target as I’ve mentioned in my combat analysis, but there’s no Burn status effect.
• Sentry Rays seem to have only one attack: their laser, as they do in the original game.
• The responsiveness is generally very good, especially when compared to the clunkiness of FFXV and the controls feels more precise.
• When opening the Commands Menu during exploration, the status elements of all characters in the party appear and fade out shortly after exiting the Commands Menu.
• You can also run by holding R2 during exploration and slide down and scramble up ladders for faster traversal.
• Barret follows you around but not as obnoxiously as in FFVIII. However, he doesn’t seem to be doing his own thing and always catches up to you and stops a few feet behind Cloud.
• Some more interesting banter between Cloud & Barret: “Boy oh boy, that’s a long way down. I’m glad I’m not afraid of heights” – “Doesn’t matter if you fall.” – “Haha… very funny.”
• In the cutscene at the pump regulator before the boss, Barret wants Cloud to place the explosive.
• In the English version, Barret says “Let’s see if little Stamp bites the hand that feeds”. Stamp is an in-universe pop culture reference to a cartoon dog carrying a military helmet seen on 2 different ads, one informing about The Adventures of Stamp, Book 3, “Stamp stands up for his friends!”. In my opinion, Stamp is used to subtly distribute Shinra propaganda among the citizens of Midgar. Everyone loves an adorable mascot, right?
• In German, Barret talks about the opportunity to prove to him that Cloud isn’t one of Shinra’s lap dogs anymore and doesn’t mention Stamp at all. Bummer.
• Barret really doesn’t trust him yet and it shows that he only let Cloud tag along because of Tifa (and because they needed a skilled fighter and someone knowing the insides of a reactor).
• While Cloud is setting up the explosive, Barret has a frightening grin on his face while rubbing his chin. There’s already a meme on this site with that picture.
• We also see Cloud having another episode, a memory glitch of sorts, where he sees a lone black feather floating to the ground and disappearing into thin air before Barret rips him out of it.
• Then, the scene we already know starts and the Scorpion Sentinel appears.
• In the demo, Barret and Cloud both have 3 abilities and 3 spells each. Braver, Focused Thrust and Triple Slash for Cloud, Steelskin, Focused Shot and Bullet Barrage for Barret. Cloud can cast Fire, Cure and Blizzard and Barret knows Thunder, Cure and Aero. (Aero Materia? YES!)
• As Maximilian Dood said, when casting Blizzard onto an enemy, the ice sticks for a short time. Not sure if it actually freezes them.
• Barret’s ability Bullet Barrage sprays loads of Bullets onto the enemy, lands more hits, shoots faster and deals much more damage (x3?) and his standard attack but also consumes all remaining ATB charges. Parts of that ability can be seen in the E3 2019 trailer where he shoots at the Air Buster (and a little bit against the Sweeper in the gameplay demonstration).
• If hit by the Scorpion Sentinel’s Tail Laser attack, be it when grappled or during phase 3, does deal a good amount of damage (~300 and ~470 respectively). However, the demo build has been toned down in terms of damage and difficulty. In the final game, those attacks might even be instant kills, which I would welcome.
• Someone commented on my combat & gameplay analysis video (Game Analysis #9) and made me aware of a feature I haven’t noticed so far. MP regeneration. We were told that MP doesn’t regenerate automatically. However, that’s not entirely true. During the whole demo, MP regenerates by 1 around every 30 seconds (hard to say due to different actions pausing the timer). Though I think this is due to the air being filled with Mako fumes, leading to a slow MP regeneration. I think that’s an ingenious feature!

Source r/FFVIIRemake

Great screenshots

And cool the video made as a promotion of the Shinra Company.
I look forward to exploring all of Midgar
(maybe even during the morning, with the sunlight in the upper city)

 

[Aranea]

Someone leaked more gameplay footage from Gamescom.