• Based on how Final Fantasy VII Remake's reveal looked live at Square Enix's event (meaning, on the company's giant projectors), its stutters and minor visual artifacts hint at fully real-time rendering on PS4. But we'll have to wait and see if that bears out when we test the game later this week at E3. Square Enix
  • We've already seen high-fidelity Cloud… Square Enix
  • And we've already seen high-fidelity Aerith…
  • …but today, we finally get to see the redesigned, modern-gen version of fan-favorite Tifa in all her martial arts glory.
  • And, hey, we'll gladly take another dramatic look at Sephiroth.
  • Nanoseconds after this frame, Sephiroth mysteriously vanishes. Of course he does.
  • She's happy to see Barret.
  • She's not exactly thrilled to see Cloud.
  • He's happy to see… well, anything he can shoot.
  • A few more familiar characters popped up in today's new trailer.
  • Midgar, in all its shiny glory.
  • Landing with a somersault and a Buster Sword unsheathing.
  • Cloud is running.
  • Barret doling out some punishment.
  • The buster sword is just as big an awesome as we remember.
  • The attacks have lots of particle effects.
  • We even got a recreation of the original box art.
  • The only thing missing from this lineup is a blue menu system.

LOS ANGELES—Square Enix's E3 press conference began by wasting no time with its big, expected news: Final Fantasy VII Remake finally has a release date. The PlayStation 4-exclusive JRPG will launch on March 3, 2020. If that sounds like too long to wait, and you're in Los Angeles this week, Square Enix says all E3 2019 attendees will have a chance to play the game's first real-time demo on the show floor.

Monday night's event included the clearest demonstration yet of how the game's combat system will work: as a mix of real-time attacking and dodging, and an "active time battle" (ATB) system of pausing to activate special abilities and items. The latter will only activate once players have built up enough of their fighters' ATB meters, which grow as players pull off more successful weapon swipes and dodges. (This means crucial items like potions and Phoenix Down revives won't work until you rack up enough hits on foes, and using those will mean waiting longer to activate magical spells and special melee attacks.)

More familiar FFVII characters finally got their in-game reveals, as well, particularly the popular martial arts ally Tifa. One of her ATB special attacks, a flurry of punches followed by a flashy bicycle kick, fit in nicely with Cloud's barrage of sword swipes within a Japanese kanji character, a massive lighting-ball blast from Barret's machine gun, and a green, particle-filled explosion of healing power from Aerith. Barret's standard attacks will largely revolve around gun shots, not melee swipes, so he will be able to control real-time combat from a distance—and that likely means other popular FFVII characters will work the same.

  • Finally, a lengthy look at the game's mix of real-time action and pause-menu activation of special powers.
  • The scorpion activates yet another shield.
  • We tried our best to get clear shots of Final Fantasy VII Remake's frantic combat.
  • When the action is paused, any dramatic effects on screen will pan slowly in Matrix-like bullet-time style.
  • Let's wreck some baddies.
  • Will our heroes outlast the scorpion? (Spoiler: yes, but not before the jerk activates a bomb with a 20-minute timer.)
  • As Cloud explains, you can take cover behind debris.

The game's mix of real-time and paused-menu action was demonstrated in lengthy, breathtaking fashion by a battle sequence between Cloud, Barret, and a massive Scorpion Sentinel. In this boss battle, the robo-arachnid activated various shield effects and healing fields, which Cloud and Barret had to take down one at a time by focusing on weak points, using proper elemental attacks, and distracting the Sentinel. The latter example came when a massive laser blRead More – Source

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Ars Technica

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