Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier

[Shademp]

powerful Aunt May in spandex

*cough*

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

Not to be gender essentialist or anything, but I'd put money on the figure in the chocobo hoodie, the one circled in the image, being female.




And Midgar does look like it's in the process of being built, which is cool.

 

[Odysseus]

I think the weirdest thing to me is the the slums just already exist. I was under the impression that there were actual towns there at some point.

Though again, recycling assets is easier for a tie-in phone game.

 

[Strangelove]

i honestly tried to give the trailer (which i only watched today) a chance but i ended up skipping through it. i'm not one for competitive online games and if this is going to be the weakest in terms of story, i am very cold to this one. i don't know if it will be like the g-bike game and have the barest semblance of a story but so far i am not too keen

 

[Shademp]

Gameplay-wise The First SOLDIER looks more and more appealing to me the longer I look at it. Definitely way more interesting-looking than Ever Crisis in terms of gameplay mechanics. But it still feels like Square are way out of their depths by once again trying to tap into the shooter genre. I don't see this mobile game surviving for very long.

 

[Strangelove]

this is as good a time as any to confess that i have never played fortnite or any br game

i just have visions in my mind of some prick getting heated because i suck at the game and i don't need that aggro in my life over a video game

if there is some story in this pls add a versus-cpu mode for people like me

 

[Wol]

As long as SQEX treats it as a side-game, it will never receive the investment needed to become a quality battle royale that mantains interest.

If it doesn't shine on its own merits, it won't attract casual gamers, that are used to play Pugb and Fortnite. FF fans won't be too interested in general, because they crave for revelant storylines.

So If the gameplay sucks or its at best mediocre and the story sucks, it's already dead.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

I never play Battle Royales because I am always the first to die.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

There's still a chance it'll actually be good, you guys.

 

[ForceStealer]

Spoiler

You're right off course, but I couldn't resist

 

[Wol]

Yeah, there is, but SQs track record with shooters is... well...

 

[Shademp]

The TLS discord correctly pointed out that no version of the SOLDIER emblem is visible in the trailer to FS, which makes sense given that SOLDIER has not yet been properly established. I'm actually interested in seeing how the game will handle this. When will the SOLDIER emblem be introduced? Will the DG-like emblem be the first version of the emblem until we see it replaced by the modern variant? If so, when will this transition happen?

Potential for some neat, subtle lore reveals if they manage to make this game cover a decent number of years in the timeline.

I also bet we are going to hear examples in the plot of many soldiers being sent to an underground medical facility and suspiciously never being seen again even though their wounds were not that serious. Those familiar with the lore will know that this facility is Deepground in its infancy.

 

[Odysseus]

Nomura said the plot would be pretty sparse for this thing, so I'm really not expecting much lore like that. The framing device of becoming the "first soldier" is probably as far as the plot will go lol.

 

[Tetsujin]

Yeah, I mean they just came up with an excuse setup for an FFVII battle royale. Best thing I'd hope for is maybe unlockable lore files or something.

 

[Shademp]

I'm honestly expecting some form of cutscene, even if only a brief one, that shows the SOLDIER emblem revealed after you've achieved top rank, reached a high level etc. Since they bothered to make that brief FMV with President Shinra, even designing a unique suit for the young President, I have a feeling they are willing to include content that actually enrich the world.

Don't get me wrong, I think in the end you'll be able to count on one hand the number of minutes devoted to actual plot material even if the game manages to survive and see multiple expansions. It doesn't look like a DoC Online Mode situation where we'll actually closely follow our player character and see them interacting with plot-relevant characters. But there's still a lot of neat stuff that could be imported there in something as little as 3-5 minutes worth of lore.

 

[waw]

I have a feeling they are willing to include content that actually enrich the world.

Don't get me wrong, I think in the end you'll be able to count on one hand the number of minutes devoted to actual plot material even if the game manages to survive and see multiple expansions...

If the announcements are accurate, my understanding is Ever Crisis will have playable RPG chapters from this era. I suspect we'll get canon characters and some form of these events, personally. Maybe not too much in FIrst Soldier, but I think there is a story being written.

 

[Ite]

I don't see this mobile game surviving for very long.

So the canonical First Soldier will be whichever player is the last to ditch this game.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

Fight to the death for the privilege of dying for Shinra!

 

[cold_spirit]

I retrieved this image from background of the official Japanese website. The scale looks freaking sweet. It's distant, but you can see Corneo's gaudy pagoda on the left side.

 

[LegendarySaiyan]

I am not interested in playing this, but if there are any cutscenes or story content, I will watch them on YouTube I wish them did something like FFXV Comrades for the Console instead of for Mobiles. In my opinion, Battle Royal does not fit the FFVII Universe. I am interested for the Story Content though, if there are any

 

[BlueCollarNerd]

Im with everyone who hates mobile gaming and its future. I know for certain my phone will be unable to play this title. Also i find tablets such a weird/wasteful device for personal use. I will say they do seem to be rather useful for businesses as a form of mobile registers. But if i have a smart phone that can do everything and a computer(mines dated but ill hopefully be replacing soon) what is the need for anything between?

Hopefully BlueStacks can be used to emulate your purchased game on the computer.

Ive never tried to emulate a android os. I would assume it can be done. If so that would make it more enjoyable i think.

I haven't played a shooter in many years. I think the last titles i played were cod world at war or one of the halo titles around that time. I do enjoy the rush of a fps but they can be very boring if not playing with a friend.

This interests me depending on how much lore they involve. I will be excited to play along side some TLS members if we can sink up.

 

[Shademp]

I saw a Spanish FFVIIR facebook thread that pointed out something that makes a lot of sense: Vincent the Turk could easily appear in The First SOLDIER as a boss. Same really for a young Veld/Verdot/Velderot/Voldemort.

Turk Vincent as a boss would be a nice coincidental homage to his temporary role as a boss in Dirge of Cerberus online.

Spoiler

I know there is reasonable skepticism in regards to how much this game will include any plot, characters or even tiny lore dumps, but it only just now dawned on me how much potential there is in setting this game 30 years prior to OG/Remake. We could meet- or get references to characters like Grimoire Valentine, Lucrecia, Gast, Hojo, Ifalna, Gillian... So much potential.

 

[ForceStealer]

It will be hilarious if this game remembers the existence of Gast while the rest of the Compilation completely whiffed on him.

 

[Shademp]

From the most recent Nomura interview done- and published by Famitsu

Spoiler: Japanese

――『FFVII FS』は、『FF』シリーズではまさかの（？）バトロワアクションということで、『FFVII』ファンの方はもちろんですが、それ以外の方にも訴求できる作品という意味合いが強いのでは、と感じました。一方で、『PUBG』や『Fortnite』、『Apex Legends』、『荒野行動』など、バトロワゲームもかなりライバルが多めですが、どのような層をターゲットとした作品なのでしょうか？

野村『FFVII』に限ったことではありませんが、長く続くIPのファン層はある程度固定されていき、逆にそれ以外の層への訴求力は我々の課題となっています。『FFVII』という大看板にあぐらをかいていられないという思いは強く、いまいちばん熱いジャンルに挑戦者として参加しようという気概で『FFVII FS』を開発しています。ジャンル的にも『FFVII』を知らない、『FF』自体プレイしたことがない層が多くいるジャンルだと思っています。本作をきっかけに、『FFVII』の世界観に興味を持っていただければという気持ちはありますが、当然やるからには半端な物は出せないので、内容的にも全力で挑んでいます。また、我々にとっても初めて経験するジャンルですが、『FFVII』ファンの方々の多くの方も経験したことのないジャンルかもしれません。ぜひいっしょに挑戦してみていただきたいです。

――画面左上の3人の一般兵は仲間を表しているんでしょうか。また、拳、剣、杖のアイコンはジョブを表していると思いますが、ジョブはバトルごとに変えることはできるんでしょうか。


野村『FFVII』本編にジョブチェンジの要素はありませんが、『FF』ならではの要素はこのジャンルの中で個性を強く出すために、多分に用意しています。お察しの通り、各プレイヤーはスタイルというジョブに似たプレイスタイルを設定してバトルに臨むことが可能で、アイコンはそれを示した物です。スタイルはそれぞれ特別な能力やスキルを持っており、バトル毎に設定が可能です。ひとつのスタイルを使い続けることの利点もありますが、それはまた別のタイミングで公開させていただきます。

――ベータテストなどは予定されているのでしょうか？

野村クローズドベータテストの実施は予定はしているので、今後の情報をお待ちいただければと思います。

――『FFVII FS』について、野村さんがこだわっている点はどこでしょうか？

野村ほとんどがゲームプレイで構成されているので、自分自身も手触り感等のプレイに重きを置いています。ただ、バトロワプレイヤーの皆さんがいちばん気にされるのはバランス部分だと思います。本作の立案者のひとりであるプロデューサー市川自身がバトロワのヘビープレイヤーなので、本人が皆さんの代弁者的にこだわって調整に意見しています。自分は下手なりの意見もしていますが、彼がかなり詳しく、自分が出すアイデアに対しても、それがバトロワのバランスにどう影響するかを答えてくれているので安心して無茶を言っています。後はグラフィックに関して、スマホ用ということでがっかりされないレベルまで叩いてもらっています。

--FFVII FS" is, for the first time in the "FF" series (?), a Battle Royale action game. I felt that "FFVII FS" was meant to appeal not only to "FFVII" fans, but also to other people. On the other hand, there are quite a few rivals for the game, such as "PUBG", "Fortnite", "Apex Legends", and "Wilderness Action".

Nomura: Although not limited to "FFVII", the fan base for long-lasting IPs is fixed to a certain extent, and our challenge is to appeal to other segments. We feel strongly that we cannot rest on the laurels of "FFVII", and are developing "FFVII FS" with the spirit of participating in the hottest genre as a challenger. In terms of genre, I believe that there are many people who don't know about "FFVII" and have never played "FF" itself. We hope that this game will be a catalyst for people to become interested in the world of "FFVII", but of course we can't produce something half-baked, so we are doing our best to make it as good as possible. Also, this is the first time for us to experience this genre, and many of the fans of "FFVII" may have never experienced this genre before. We hope you'll try it with us.


--Do the three soldiers in the upper left corner of the screen represent your friends? Also, the fist, sword, and staff icons represent jobs, but can the jobs be changed for each battle?

Nomura: There is no element of job change in the main game of "FFVII", but we have prepared a lot of elements unique to "FF" in order to create a strong individuality in this genre. As you may have guessed, each player can set up a style of play similar to a job, called a style, and go into battle with it, as indicated by the icons. Each style has its own special abilities and skills, and can be set for each battle. There are some advantages to using one style over another, but we'll talk about those at another time.


--Are there any plans for a beta test?

Nomura: We are planning to conduct a closed beta test, so please wait for further information.


--What is it about "FFVII FS" that you're so particular about?

Nomura: Most of it is gameplay, so I myself put a lot of emphasis on the tactile feel of the game. However, I think the most important thing for Battle Royale players is the balance. Producer Ichikawa, who is one of the designers of this game, is a heavy player of Battle Royale himself, so he has been giving his opinions on the adjustments as if he were speaking for everyone. I'm not very good at it, but he's very knowledgeable about the game, and when I give him an idea, he tells me how it will affect the balance of the game, so I can safely say that I'm being reckless. I've also asked him to beat the graphics to a level where I won't be disappointed since it's for a smartphone.

Some bold goals expressed here by Nomura. "... developing FFVII FS with the spirit of participating in the hottest genre as a challenger" and hoping to attract newcomers into the FFVII universe?

At least for this shooter-style game they have a producer who is experienced with Battle Royale as a player, so that's promising.

 

[Shademp]

Wow I'm so late to this observation

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1365218182575714307