2020@E3

Developer/publisher Square Enix Format PS4 Release March 3

Final Fantasy VII Remake

When you rework one of the most influential games of all time, there’s a range of expectations, all of which are so far through the roof they’re practically in orbit. To hold the attention of a contemporary audience, Final Fantasy VII needs more than a facelift. Equally, when you’re revisiting the source of a generation’s love of videogames, you have to tread carefully. And yet, here we are: breathless, mid-clash, suspended between the past and the present.

Indeed, it’s a particular kind of suspension – Cloud’s Buster sword slicing through the air in super-slow-motion as sparks graze his perfectly rendered cheek – that is key. Final Fantasy VII Remake’s combat system comprises two separate modes. The first is action mode: we hammer buttons to hack at a Scorpion Sentinel and fill our ATB gauge, dodge blows, or switch between and reposition characters. Then there’s tactical mode: when our ATB gauge is ready, we can slow downtime.

In this state, we scroll through a menu that recalls the original game’s turn-based interface – and have time to think. It frees up some mental space to assess a fight, and decide which limit break attacks or spells to spend meter on. It’s a wonderful callback with a modern twist. Despite the change in pace, the pulse of the action doesn’t slow, Nobuo Uematsu’s orchestral theme thundering in our ears. We unleash a barrage of slashes on one leg until we can enter tactical mode, then switch to gunslinging heavy Barret – positioned at the Scorpion Sentinel’s rear – and cast a Thunder spell. It hits the enemy’s elemental weakness and staggers it.