FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE Demo Out Now!

[Theozilla]

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

It could definitely take more than a few weeks. Also plenty of real life power plants have been stalled and/or shut-down for far lesser reasons in history.
Also sabotage is an extremely common eco-terrorist move, most eco-terrorism involves small-scale sabotage/destruction of machinery and equipment involved in environmentally degrading activities/organizations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eco-terrorism#Examples_of_tactics

 

[X-SOLDIER]

I honestly just love it, because I think that it also serves to underscore that

Spoiler

the Avalanche crew really are a tiny group of passionate amateurs when it comes to what they're doing. Like, Wedge doesn't believe anyone would do something like this for money, so we know where his heart is – but even he's feeling kind of sick about actually doing it. Jessie's got some connections to the Avalanche leadership, and Biggs hasn't really had much to show his motives other than being good with hacking and combat – even then, they only even knock out the train guards. They don't kill anyone. Barret is 100% on for saving the Planet, and from the elevator scene we know that he's doing it because of his past and Marlene, but he's just running on pure passion and adrenaline. He only steps in later, but we know he's all anger at anyone Shinra.

Avalanche always did what they did with a plan in mind, but it wasn't a hard-boiled professional thing. The bomb was clearly meant to just wreck as much of the core as possible, and everyone is nervous about even just doing THAT. The raw sense of that is FLAWLESSLY delivered in Jessie & Biggs' banter about Cloud being a professional, then Barret's dialogue talking about his heart pumping as they go into the reactor, and finally with the juxtaposition of them both in the elevator exit scene showing Barret & Cloud together.

Shinra being responsible for making the reactor into a massive explosion as controlling the narrative is also MUCH more believable of the sort of authoritarian dystopia of Midgar. In the modern era, you know they'd have cameras everywhere, and there's some sort of a spin team working on any crisis to paint it in their favor (as I assume we'll eventually learn about Wutai). It's also giving us the information that Shinra is figuring out where they're based out of in the slums, and is orchestrating varying parts of what's happening to help justify anything for their Promised Land end goals. It also casts suspicion on who the leadership of Avalanche really is (and I'm wondering if there're any versions of Before Crisis stuff that'll be loosely referenced).

While it's dramatic irony for us as players, I think that they'll lean in on Jessie feeling guilty about the impact of the reactor explosion. That'll work well, especially if she never learns the truth and Barret finds out afterwards. Knowing that his friends died thinking that they caused the deaths of a ton of other people – when it was Shinra just murdering more innocents will just further reinforce his entire character arc, and keep the memory of the original Avalanche crew in a new light.

I cannot wait to see what more the game has in store in a month!




X

 

[Shademp]

Thank you so much X-SOLDIER for pointing out that the touchpad shows enemy data. Would have taken ages to find it out myself.

I must have played the demo about seven times now and it's a joy to become more fluent in the battle system, finding out what works and what doesn't. The replay value of this brief intro is amazing. There is just so much to learn and so much strategy to perfect. After seeing Eurogamer's extended preview of the game it appears to me that the same replay value will remain throughout the whole experience.

Don't remember if Hard mode was confirmed but I'm going to assume that it will be there in the final game, even if you have to unlock it first. That mode is going to be a doozy!

Spoiler: Note about the Nibelheim flashback that was shown in Eurogamer's preview

They've taken the care to make Nibelheim look almost like a desert village in the mountains. I'm going to assume the limited patches of green is due to the regional mako reactor making the land more barren. You'd never look at Nibelheim in the original game or even in Crisis Core and think that the ground is having its life sucked out. The remake makes me think that I'm looking at the consequences of mako extraction. I'm enjoying this.

 

[Lulcielid]

Technical breakdown (resolution & performance) of the demo.

 

[Erotic Materia]

Thank you so much X-SOLDIER for pointing out that the touchpad shows enemy data.

Wait, what? I had no idea! You just press the touchpad in combat...?

 

[Sephira]

First thing I did when I got home yesterday was download the demo, and I have to say that I LOVE IT!! ♥♥♥ OMG It's definitely fantastic!! I'll play it again when I get home later today so I can take some more screenshots to share on Twitter and take in its perfection.

Best lines in the demo?

Cloud: "Do you really hear that?"
Barret: "Damn straight I do!"
Cloud: "Get help."



Can't wait to play the whole game!! ♥♥

 

[Shademp]

Wait, what? I had no idea! You just press the touchpad in combat...?

Indeed. You'll get some flavor text describing the enemy and a list showing if you've performed certain actions on that enemy type at least once, like if you've used their elemental weakness on them, if they've been staggered or if you've ever used a limit break on them. Most of the enemy data is inaccessible though since we don't have the Assess materia yet to analyze enemies.

 

[Erotic Materia]

WELP GUESS IT'S TIME TO PLAY THE DEMO AGAIN

 

[Kai Schulen]

So, there's this brief section where Barret asks about Cloud's age, and Cloud mistakes Barret asking about his rank.

It's pretty funny, but kind of heartwarming in retrospect because aside from what Tifa told Barret about Cloud, it's him trying to get to know Cloud a little bit better, and I think he's realizing just how young Cloud is, despite his EX-Soldier status, in comparison to his 30+ years.

 

[Prism]

In the time between the public demo and this current PSN build, the graphics have changed a bit. (I think. Memories can be faulty or other factors could be there) The anti-aliasing is a lot smoother! On Cloud's hair, there were a bunch of rendering artifacts that would flicker in the PAX demo that aren't in this build of the game - this detail is one that I'm certain on. The sub-surface scattering also is a lot more apparent, and makes the characters' skin look really good. But I feel like that could be a monitor thing. I also swore that Cloud's model was slightly outdated in the PAX demo, but I don't think that's likely...

But anyway, the new demo is SICK! The performances from Cloud and Barret in particular were really good, and I suddenly understand why the Clessie thread has been getting a lot of replies lately... Cloud's angst and stoicism with an under-side of empathy and fun was well executed. Modern interpretations of Cloud make him a bit more angsty than he really was in the original, but there's still room for all of those traits in his personality regardless.
My favorite line in all of the demo was probably Barret's delivery of "THEN DO THE DAMN JOB!" Very witty.
Either way, Square successfully elongated ~10 minutes of gameplay in the original to around 45 minutes or so, which is impressive.

I've already written up my thoughts on the battle system in other threads, so I'll spare those details (though there are a few more mechanics in this demo that weren't in the older one)
But...
Classic mode really is mislabeled, aha. It plays more like Xenoblade Chronicles than classic FFVII. In retrospect, it does seem a little far-fetched that they would recreate the same classic battle system, but with a label like "classic" it sets certain expectations. Maybe they should've called it "Auto mode" or something.

 

[Ite]

So, there's this brief section where Barret asks about Cloud's age, and Cloud mistakes Barret asking about his rank.

It's pretty funny, but kind of heartwarming in retrospect because aside from what Tifa told Barret about Cloud, it's him trying to get to know Cloud a little bit better, and I think he's realizing just how young Cloud is, despite his EX-Soldier status, in comparison to his 30+ years.

Looneymoon and I were gushing about this exchange as well. It’s like Cloud doesn’t know how old he is, like, that information might make him ask too many questions, so he *buzzzzz* doesn’t think about it. All that matters is that he’s First Class, First Class, First Class...

 

[Jairus]

Everybody sing now, to the tune of "The Time Warp" (Let's do the Time Warp again!):

LET'S PLAY THE DEMO AGAIN!!

 

[Nanaki Skywalker]

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

I never thought about Shinra destroying the Reactor like that. However, I did think it made sense, even in the context of the original story, because the first Reactor bombing was widely used as anti-Avalanche propaganda, and Reeve, via Cait Sith, even criticized Barret for that to his face over that, especially pointing out that people lost everything because of that. The Sector 5 Reactor bombing had a smaller explosion and did considerably less damage than the first one, both in terms of property damage, and in terms of loss of life, and was never mentioned again in the plot, despite a presumably similar bomb being used (come to think of it, Tifa, Barret, and Cloud (despite his fall) literally survived that particular explosion, despite being right in front of the Reactor entrance). Not only that, but the Sector 5 Reactor was still fully operational later in the game, particularly when it and the other 6 Reactors remaining supplied power to the Mako Cannon, which stood right on the remains of the Sector 1 Reactor.

Additionally, Shinra being responsible for the Reactor explosion is consistent with their own well-documented mass destructive behavior, which includes...
-The destruction of Banora
-The destruction of Corel (which made Barret an enemy of Shinra)
-The Sector 7 Incident

And if you factor in the consequences of Hojo's experiments, up to and including the Jenova Project and its byproducts (such as Sephiroth)?
-The Nibelheim Incident
-The extinction of both the Cetra and Professor Gast's family (the very existence of Aerith made these two directly related, and needless to say, her death was the final nail in the coffin for both lineages)
-Nearly costing the Planet its very life with the summoning of Meteor

 

[Makoeyes987]

That moment was very much a reference toward his mental state being heavily anchored to the false persona he's trapped in due to the Jenova cells and Mako Poisoning he had. It was a moment that pierced the veil of his badassery and revealed the dorky, awkward Cloud that wasn't quite prepared for such an innocuous yet unexpected question.

What's important to remember is that Cloud essentially has two minds existing within him.

There is Cloud's active consciousness which is a construction of false memories and personality traits formed through the Jenova cells within him. This personality is a hodge-podge of Jenova's Mimicry ability utilizing Zack and Tifa's memories, and his perception of what it means to be a SOLDIER 1st Class.

Then there's Cloud's suppressed unconscious mind that is his real personality. The part of him that is hidden and weakened from Mako Poisoning, Jenova cells and trauma. Yet, despite all of these factors, this mind knows the truth behind everything and even carries some recollection of the past. It was the voice in Cloud's head trying to point out the inconsistencies in his memory, tried to resist Sephiroth's control over him and helped Tifa reconstruct his mind.

We're going to see the clash of these personalities in Part 1.

 

[Ite]

LET'S PLAY THE DEMO AGAIN!!

It’s just a dodge to the left!
And a swing to the riiiiight
Put your hand to your gun-arm!
An ally’s joined the fiiiiight

 

[Erotic Materia]

It’s just a dodge to the left!
And a swing to the riiiiight
Put your hand to your gun-arm!
An ally’s joined the fiiiiight

I can hear it!

 

[Tetsujin]

Finished my 5th run, finally heard Barret singing the victory theme

Still haven't seen his limit break though.

 

[Theozilla]

Just finished my second playthrough of the Demo today. First run yesterday was on Easy with 20 min timer; today was Normal with 30 min on the timer (still got done in under 20 minutes though). Got to see Barret’s Limit Break in the second run.
This hybrid command-action style of play is right up my alley, I was worried Normal might be too hard based on other’s reactions to it, but I meshed with it fine.

 

[Kai Schulen]

Did anyone see the description for the Buster Sword in the party menu:

A large broadsword that has inherited the hopes of those who fight.

 

[Dee]

Just finished my third clear. Love everything about it aside the targeting and camera, which can be a little bit funny sometimes. The combat has loads of potential but I can see it not clicking (or at least not right away) for some given how much it encourages switching characters quite regularly. Once you get used to doing that though it's great, very rhythmic.

That was one of my biggest issues. I had a hard time switching between Barret and Cloud, especially when they were both getting reamed and all I was doing was using potions.

 

[Tetsujin]

Man, Jessie has a really impressive amount of lines for when you run into the lasers repeatedly. It's hilarious. You can feel her wanting to shag Cloud less and less the more you run into these and your coolness just evaporates :'D

 

[Dashell]

Guys I haven't played the demo yet because for some reason I just haven't felt like it

Am I dying?

 

[Tetsujin]

 

[Dashell]

oh damn, it's worse than I thought

 

[Jairus]

Man, Jessie has a really impressive amount of lines for when you run into the lasers repeatedly. It's hilarious. You can feel her wanting to shag Cloud less and less the more you run into these and your coolness just evaporates :'D

Ah, well, I think she gets her interest back by the time he makes up for it by saving her twice and then impressing her with his super anime jumping skills.