Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Final Fantasy VII Remake demo is the first step in a very long journey

Gabe Gurwin
By
Final Fantasy VII Remake - Demo Out Now! | PS4

Square Enix finally released the free demo for Final Fantasy VII Remake through the PlayStation Network on Monday, nearly five years after the game’s announcement. It gives players the chance to try out one of the game’s early iconic missions, and those who play it early will get a free bonus on PlayStation 4.

Final Fantasy VII Remake comes out as a PS4 exclusive on April 10, and the first episode has been a long time coming. After bouncing between Square Enix and CyberConnect2, it went to Square Enix in 2017 under Kingdom Hearts III director Tetsuya Nomura, who took over the project.

Recommended Videos

The Final Fantasy VII Remake demo covers the game’s first chapter, which is the Mako Reactor 1 bombing mission. This mission was also shown during E3 2019, where Square Enix offered an extended look at the game’s new combat system. It features protagonist Cloud alongside Barret as they make their way into the Mako Reach 1 and plant a bomb before facing off against a boss.

“This pump’s sole purpose is to drain the planet dry,” Barret says in the trailer. “You’re going to stand there and pretend you can’t hear the planet crying out in pain?”

The two characters’ combat styles are quite different, just as they were in the 1997 original. Cloud relies heavily on melee combat via the Buster Sword, while Barret can deal damage from afar with a gun attached to his arm. Unlike the original game, combat flows in real time, but players can gradually build up points and then select special attacks from a menu in a nod to classic turn-based role-playing games.

Final Fantasy VII Remake Barret
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Those who download the Final Fantasy VII Remake demo before May 11 will get an exclusive PS4 theme that unlocks when the main game launches a month earlier) and should be available instantly for anyone who downloads the demo after that date. Another dynamic Tifa theme will be available to those who purchase two Butterfinger, Baby Ruth, or Crunch bars.

Final Fantasy VII Remake is releasing episodically, and the first part only covers the story up through Cloud’s escape from Midgar. Despite the first game’s slight delay from March to April, Square Enix said the second part’s development wasn’t affected. It isn’t clear how many parts there will be in total, as the company has apparently not decided how it will cut up the rest of the content yet.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Gabe Gurwin
Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis isn’t the faithful remake you’re expecting
final fantasy vii ever crisis beta impressions 7 fire

When Final Fantasy VII Remake launched in 2020, it was a revelation for me. The bold reimagining taught me that a video game remake can be much more than a nostalgic revisit, instead using the history of the original to tell a high-concept story about destiny. Though I immediately revered it as one of gaming’s greatest accomplishments, others weren’t so pleased. There’s a not-so-small collection of purists out there who simply wanted a 1:1 remake of the PlayStation version with pretty graphics.

Fortunately for that crowd, Square Enix is delivering that faithful remake with Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis. Well, maybe not as faithful as you're expecting.

Read more
Creating Clive: Final Fantasy XVI creators unveil the details behind its hero
Clive stands in profile in Final Fantasy XVI.

If you held a March Madness-style tournament to determine the Final Fantasy hero with the most emotional baggage, I’d imagine that Final Fantasy XVI’s Clive Rosfield would at least make his way to the semi-finals. The tortured hero goes through one hell of an ordeal in the action RPG’s dark intro. First, his little brother that he’s sworn to protect gets brutally murdered by Ifrit after a climactic Eikon battle. To add insult to that injury, Clive has his life spared by a rival nation in Valisthea and is forced to serve in their military against his will.

Tough break, kid.

Read more
Final Fantasy XVI’s most impressive innovations are the ones you can hear
Clive walks through a field in Final Fantasy XVI.

Final Fantasy XVI is a leap forward for the long-running RPG series in some very obvious ways, The most immediately apparent way it accomplishes that is through its fantastic real-time combat, which makes the adventure into Final Fantasy’s best pure action game to date. Then there are its cinematic Eikon fights, which offer spectacle on a level we’ve long dreamed of seeing in a video game. However, some of its most impressive innovations are ones you can’t actually see. Rather, you’ll need to listen closely.

Ahead of Final Fantasy XVI’s launch, I spoke to series composer Masayoshi Soken about his work on the project. While we talked a bit about his excellent score, Soken was most eager to share details on the new sound tech that was built for the action RPG. You may not notice it while playing, but Final Fantasy XVI raises the bar for video game audio in ways that might soon carry over into other Square Enix titles.
Audio innovation
In a music panel prior to Final Fantasy XVI’s release, Soken shared a bit about the new sound tech powering the game. The first major innovation he highlighted was the action RPG’s new approach to interactive music, a system meant to make the soundtrack more reactive and dynamic in battles. Rather than looping music during fights, Soken uses audio magic to seamlessly transition between different sections of the score no matter how long it takes a player to move through the fight. Everything down to Clive’s end pose will naturally sync up with the music in every fight.

Read more