FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE Demo Out Now!

[Shademp]

I am honestly surprised that you aren't allowed to loot one or both of the first guard bodies for potions.

 

[Wol]

A question for those playing the demo: is there an option to turn-off useless
UI

 

[Misterbadguy]

A question for those playing the demo: is there an option to turn-off useless
UI

You can turn off both the minimap/quest compass and the control guide, so absolutely.

 

[Clean Cut Chaos]

UI transparency to 0 for extra challenge.

 

[Tetsujin]

Here's my playthrough btw: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/560879042

Need to turn up my mic to compensate for my mumbling I think
Also, colors looks slightly oversaturated on twitch because I was playing with HDR on, but eh.

 

[Erotic Materia]

played the demo, the gameplay has potential but has some problems:

Cloud

ATB limiting combo variety & Lack of offensive tools

Abilities being tied ATB and their huge cost (50% of your total bar) means you will generally doing the regular and limited Operator/Punisher mode combo string and then chain it with one ability (or two if you save it) and then go back to performing limited combo until it replenishes and repeat, this could be remedied if the cost was lower (like say 20%).
The two systems only have three combo variations, mashing, holding and holding during a mashing string, I feel the lack of combo modifiers like directional imputs will not allow the combat to carry the whole game. Magic also being tied to ATB is unnecesary and reduces your combo options because using either magic and abilities means you won't be able to use the other in the same combo, if the idea was balancing to prevent spamming, magic being tied to MP (which they are in the demo) should have sufficed.

Defensive tools

From an action perspective they are garbage, dodge rolling lacks i-frames and it was terrible, blocking attacks doesn't protect from chip damage (from both firegun attacks and melee). The game needs some type defensive move that protects you from damage when you use it and the game has the move potential move already available in the form of parry but unfortunately it doesn't protect from chip damage. Punisher mode has two types of parry, one from holding the block button which will trigger a parry move the moment and enemy meele attack hits and another comes from the first frames of animation when Cloud switches to Punisher mode, and like any other action game that has a parry mechanique and that requiere a certain minimum of skill, you should be rewarded by not taking damage when you time the come correctly at the last second. Ideally I would preffer a safe defense/parry that protects me from damage not being tied to just punisher mode and be an universal mechanique available on both modes. The only thing preventing it from making the defensive tools worthless is that dodge rolling is marginally usefull to cancel your combo strings (except for the finisher moves) and move you away from hazzards (although it should cover more distance) and blocking attacks gives you ATB.

Miscellaneous issues

Switching from Operator to Punisher is laggy because of the stance switch animation, and while that particular switch stance has a parry attribute during its first frames, it gets in the way and breaks the flow of combo when you're stunlocking enemies with your regular attack string (a situation where you wouldn't need to parry). However, switching from Punisher to Operator is more fluid because the later doesn't have a stance animation like the former (Punisher-Operator are tied by sword swing, unlike Operator-Punisher that's tied by a stance), and it should be changed to this.

I previously said that the defensive tools are marginally not worthless because of some of their utility, like blocking giving you ATB but here's the issue, the game should not be rewarding you from playing poorly (i.e: taking damage) it should reward you for playing well (i.e: perfectly parrying enemy attacks and avoiding damage).

--------

Overall it has potential and there's some good ideas but has issues preventing it from excelling in the action department. Most of what I said are applyable to Barret.

I agree in regards to the i-frames and chip damage bits. Buuuut (and I have nothing to base this off of) maybe that will be something that is addressed with other weapons/armor/etc later in the game? E.g. increased defense while blocking with [item].

wail away at the asshole

Spoiler: Whoa, slow down there, sailor

 

[Wol]

You can turn off both the minimap/quest compass and the control guide, so absolutely.

Thats real nice, im a bit of an UI minimalist thats why

 

[Castiel Strife]

I am honestly surprised that you aren't allowed to loot one or both of the first guard bodies for potions.

I was surprised too. They kept everything else almost exactly the same regarding placement and such. I remember how Biggs unlocks the first door and then Jessie unlocks the second, just like in the original. Those small little details mean so much!!!

 

[Saven]

WFH today, so I went ahead and did a quick run skipping cutscenes for my 30 minute break. I'm getting a feel for Cloud's Punisher mode now and I pretty much got the Scorpion down (first sub-5 minute run). Shock Troopers are the only enemies I have not been able to master just yet. This battle system keeps getting better and better every time I play through it and the Materia system hasn't even been unlocked yet!

 

[Clean Cut Chaos]

Cat's woke me up at 4am... what the hell, that scorpion could use another arse kickin.

 

[Lex]

Where’d you see the press footage iteration!?

It's at 4:18 in the Eurogamer coverage. This moment happens in the demo but the scene shown here has been cut: (warning, spoilers):

If nothing else it's nice to know that even with the demo there's more to see from that segment of the game. There's no telling what else could be in there that we won't get to see until the game releases.

I'm twentyfive ish minutes into the VOD, loved the small shoutout

I got serious nostalgia yesterday when I saw you, me and Yop all playing it at the same time

 

[X-SOLDIER]

Vis-a-vis the extra scene: I think that's because the Demo is the Oct/Nov build, but the press actually played a Feb build, so there're probably a lot of little extra nuances in the full game which is VERY nice to know that it won't feel like a total repeat of the demo.


So, I just wrapped up my third time through, and I've gotta say... while my first playthrough had me burn through all of my potions and using Barret's cure a ton, by the third time through – None of the enemies feel difficult at all anymore. They all feel very different, but the combat cadence and patterns finally make sense now.

Also, using the touchpad to scan the enemies was SUPER cool for seeing what kind of things the bestiary records about combat actions – stagger, weaknesses, defeat, etc. and the fun enemy data like the fact that Shock Troopers are all drugged up. Note: It only scans enemies, the individual regions on the enemies don't have separate entries.

If you want to know how I approached my demo playthroughs that worked really well for me, I went into it like this:

1. First playthrough helps you just get a sense of what the options are and how everything works loosely, everything will feel like a damage sponge, and you'll get hurt a lot. You'll end up using your ATB actions reactively almost the whole time.
2. Second playthrough focusing on Cloud's & Barret's Δ moves, how to optimize building their ATB charges, and get the most damage & stagger out of their non-ATB combat actions. As a result you'll learn more about guarding and Barret's Steel Skin. You'll take less damage overall, and deal more when you start taking more. You'll also get better at target toggling. You'll start to get better at seeing the enemy patterns, and you'll get to using ATB actions about 50/50 for planning and reacting to damage.
3. Third playthrough is all about using magic on regular enemies, swapping between the characters, to gain ATB charges quickly on who you need them on, and optimizing Stagger & Weaknesses. Like having Cloud get one ATB charge to use an Ether on Barret who already has two, then having Barret use Thunder, Overcharge, have Cloud follow-up with Punisher Mode, and one of his ATB attacks, back to Barret for Thunder, and when it's staggered have Cloud use Punisher Mode & ATB charges as quickly as you can get them. Almost all your ATB usage will be proactive, and you'll almost never need one that feels like you have to wait for it, and the Mako Shards in boxes will actually be key to keep your MP stable.

It was WAY more fun the third time through. I felt like I was in control, I knew how to handle the party to deal with what I was facing, and that I still had plenty of room to improve my execution (which I'll probably just wait to do with the full game). I actually played around a lot with Punisher Mode to see if I could get the Scorpion Sentinel to jump on me and counterattack it, but didn't really feel like the damage I was taking by doing that was tough to handle, and it didn't really even slow down how I handled it (although I haven't really tried to do it as quickly as I can still). I didn't really use the L1 active combat stuff, since I really like the X Menu delays to the combat to get some time to think about things.

While it felt like an ARPG the first time I played it on Normal, playing it for a third time FEELS like it's turn-based a majority of the time. You could still go full ARPG with it if you wanted to with the L1 shortcuts, and that's the kind of thing that I might do after I'm a lot more comfortable with the battle system, but I'm not in any rush to do. I'm happy to leave that for the full game.

I've got some clips of my fight against the Scorpion Sentinel from my second attempt, and most all of the combat stuff from my third time through if anyone wants to see.

Spoiler: X's Gameplay stuff

Second Playthrough Boss Fight:

Third Playthrough:

But yeah, hopefully that all helps in getting a better sense of control around the combat and making it work better for ya.




X

 

[pxp]

It's at 4:18 in the Eurogamer coverage. This moment happens in the demo but the scene shown here has been cut: (warning, spoilers):

If nothing else it's nice to know that even with the demo there's more to see from that segment of the game. There's no telling what else could be in there that we won't get to see until the game releases.



I got serious nostalgia yesterday when I saw you, me and Yop all playing it at the same time

Oh cool - that scene makes way more sense like this - whenever I watched on from the leak it seemed a bit disjointed. Guess that explains it then.

 

[Lex]

My first run of the demo (the recorded one linked to earlier) was kind of a surreal experience. Like, I was excited, I was in awe etc., but I was also so focused on analysing everything and getting to grips with how it all controlled.

I did another run last night before going to sleep and I found myself just really enjoying the experience (and feeling like I actually got good at the combat - I've been using the shortcuts a shitload).

I'll do another run tonight. I've thought about the demo all day in work and I'm just so glad to say I'm really looking forward to actually playing this game next month.

 

[Knuxson]

I really liked the flashes of memory for Cloud when the other characters would ask him a personal question or a question regarding Shinra/SOLDIER. That brief look on Cloud's face where he obviously doesn't remember, then the ringing sound and color change, followed by him answering the question confidently, I thought it was a great touch.

I also found it interesting that Avalanche's bomb clearly didn't blow up the whole reactor, but simply disabled it, with Shinra being the ones to utterly destroy it, presumably to drum up public outrage against Avalanche. Although, I feel it might lessen the impact of the guilt for Barrett and Tifa if it wasn't really them that killed a bunch of people. If I recall correctly though, wasn't there a line from Jesse in the Sector 7 hideout about the bomb being way more powerful than it was meant to be? Or was it that she wanted the explosion to be bigger? I can't remember exactly.

Anyway, with this plot line of Shinra destroying the reactor, maybe Square is trying to lessen the moral ambiguity surrounding Avalanche being terrorists. There is nothing else in the OG that points to Shinra being the ones to actually destroy the reactor, right?

 

[ForceStealer]

I also found it interesting that Avalanche's bomb clearly didn't blow up the whole reactor, but simply disabled it

I'm not even sure it disabled it. It didn't seem to do much at all. The Guard Scorpion did more damage, lol. It'll be interesting how this affects the No. 5 Reactor bombing.

If I recall correctly though, wasn't there a line from Jesse in the Sector 7 hideout about the bomb being way more powerful than it was meant to be? Or was it that she wanted the explosion to be bigger? I can't remember exactly.

She says that she followed the instructions on the computer to make the bomb, and seemed a little dismayed that the explosion could be so big.

Anyway, with this plot line of Shinra destroying the reactor, maybe Square is trying to lessen the moral ambiguity surrounding Avalanche being terrorists. There is nothing else in the OG that points to Shinra being the ones to actually destroy the reactor, right?

One could argue Jessie's line and also the fact that Shinra let the Sector 5 reactor blow up be hints to the fact that there was more to it than met the eye. Not to say that's what I thought or anything, but it wouldn't be out of the question to me. As to Avalanche, as far as they know they did it, and they were still the reason it happened in any case. I get the concern, but I'm witholding judgement until we see where they go with it. It could make for some interesting story opportunities. Or it could flub, obviously, but I don't see this wish by Square to decrease moral ambiguity that fans seems to project on them sometimes.


One minor thing I'll praise about that element - that Shinra had to command their robots to destroy it and themselves. Rather than just a big red self-destruct button that has no reason to exist

 

[Tetsujin]

One minor thing I'll praise about that element - that Shinra had to command their robots to destroy it and themselves. Rather than just a big red self-destruct button that has no reason to exist

That's a good point. To this day I still wonder why the plates come pre-installed with an "emergency release system" that just blows up the pillar.
What emergency could ever exist that requires you to quickly release an entire city district?
Because I doubt Shinra had the foresight to know that one day they might want to squash a terrorist cell in the slums

 

[Knuxson]

I'm not even sure it disabled it. It didn't seem to do much at all. The Guard Scorpion did more damage, lol. It'll be interesting how this affects the No. 5 Reactor bombing.

Yeah, it didn't seem to really have any visible impact. But I assumed it must have disabled the reactor's lifestream pumping functionality or something, as otherwise it would mean Avalanche basically screwed up the mission.

 

[Keveh Kins]

Played it, really enjoyed it, especially the soundtrack.

Pleasantly surprised by the acting. Wasn't as hammy as I thought it would be.

When did Jessie's personality become the Pink Ranger from MMPR? I jest.

One tiny thing I absolutely loved for no reason other than it made my inner child squee - the robotic voice of the Monodrive enemies saying "Intruder detected" or whatever. Perfecto!

I need to digest it and replay it again. I definitely felt there was a depth to the combat that I hadn't really delved into.

I'm optimistic.

 

[Theozilla]

Avalanche’s bomb definitely had impact, it just exploded as it intended, just disabling the main processing core/unit.

 

[ForceStealer]

Why was No. 5 Reactor explosion so much smaller, anyway? I guess you could surmise that Jessie tweaked the second bomb, but presumably there's a minimum to the strength of the explosion purely because we're dealing with a reactor that is containing magic planet blood under pressure. Also there's the fact that Barret specifically says that "the next explosion is gonna be bigger than that!" Which, sure, could be hyperbolic speech-giving, but I'm not sure he wanted the next explosion to be smaller.

As a kid I assumed the explosion was the same, it's just that we were focused on Cloud falling so we didn't see it that time. But then for the rest of the game no one even mentions the No. 5 bombing.

Yeah, it didn't seem to really have any visible impact. But I assumed it must have disabled the reactor's lifestream pumping functionality or something, as otherwise it would mean Avalanche basically screwed up the mission.

I wondered if that was exactly the implication.

Avalanche’s bomb definitely had impact, it just exploded as it intended, just disabling the main processing core/unit.

But how long could that possibly take to repair? A few weeks? That doesn't seem like much of an eco-terrorist move, lol.

 

[Castiel Strife]

I loved Cloud’s “Get Help” line to Barrett. ? I also love the smirk Cloud gave to Jessie when jumping across the bridge deal. It’s going to be really awesome to see Cloud’s personality develop just like in the original.

 

[Shademp]

I am quite skeptical about the choice to make Shinra responsible for the destruction of the mako reactor but, like ForceStealer, I am refraining from final judgment until I've seen the whole game.

It seems to me though...

Spoiler

...that the plot wishes to paint Shinra as a formidable force and Barret's Avalanche cell as a group way in over their head, way more so when compared to the original game. Perhaps the writers wish to heighten the impact of how even with the almost-all-seeing eyes of Shinra, and their advanced tech, they are no match for Jenova and Sephiroth.

My personal speculation remains that Shinra is intentionally destroying parts of Midgar because they are getting diminishing returns from the mako reactors. In short they are running out of mako. By temporarily disabling the electricity to Sectors 8 and 1, plus destroying Sector 7, they are sucking up less mako and thus increasing the lifespan of Midgar. Buying themselves necessary time so Shinra can intensify the search for the Promised Land (ergo the sudden aggressive re-kidnapping of Aerith) and build Neo Midgar there.

 

[Claymore]

Spoiler

My personal speculation remains that Shinra is intentionally destroying parts of Midgar because they are getting diminishing returns from the mako reactors. In short they are running out of mako. By temporarily disabling the electricity to Sectors 8 and 1, plus destroying Sector 7, they are sucking up less mako and thus increasing the lifespan of Midgar. Buying themselves necessary time so Shinra can intensify the search for the Promised Land (ergo the sudden aggressive re-kidnapping of Aerith) and build Neo Midgar there.

I love this thought. This is exactly what I was thinking and is something that will play more prominently in this version of the story.

 

[Saven]

I am quite skeptical about the choice to make Shinra responsible for the destruction of the mako reactor but, like ForceStealer, I am refraining from final judgment until I've seen the whole game.

It seems to me though...

Spoiler

...that the plot wishes to paint Shinra as a formidable force and Barret's Avalanche cell as a group way in over their head, way more so when compared to the original game. Perhaps the writers wish to heighten the impact of how even with the almost-all-seeing eyes of Shinra, and their advanced tech, they are no match for Jenova and Sephiroth.

My personal speculation remains that Shinra is intentionally destroying parts of Midgar because they are getting diminishing returns from the mako reactors. In short they are running out of mako. By temporarily disabling the electricity to Sectors 8 and 1, plus destroying Sector 7, they are sucking up less mako and thus increasing the lifespan of Midgar. Buying themselves necessary time so Shinra can intensify the search for the Promised Land (ergo the sudden aggressive re-kidnapping of Aerith) and build Neo Midgar there.

Spoiler

Agreed. I think it's also foreshadowing how far Shinra will go to start the Neo Midgar project even if it means allowing an entire plate to fall.