Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s Biggest Gameplay Differences

A demo for the Final Fantasy 7 Remake is now for anyone and everyone to play, showcasing the redefined classic. Twenty years is a lot of time between the original and the remake, and this obviously results in quite a few changes.

The Final Fantasy 7 Remake doubles down on creating a new experience, for both longtime fans and total newcomers. The first part of the remake only covers the events in Midgar, but the scope and size have been greatly expanded.

There are a wealth of differences between the original game and the remake, so there’s plenty to dig into for anyone curious.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake Has Action-RPG Gameplay

The biggest, and most obvious, difference comes with the combat system in general. The original Final Fantasy 7 was a true-blue turn-based RPG, in the tradition of the series. Battles would have your party on one side and enemies on the other, and an ATB gauge would dictate when a character can move.

In the remake, combat has been much faster-paced, with players able to move characters around at will. Each character can attack in real-time, and as attacks land, they’ll build up an ATB gauge. Once the gauge is full, pressing L2 or R2 allows players to slow down time and execute a powerful special move or magic attack. The remake also has a Classic Mode, where characters will attack entirely on their own and players just need to enter ATB commands.

The real-time aspects make the remake play much more like Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy XV than a classic experience, although it has its own unique twists and mechanics. Players will also need to dodge and guard enemy attacks, and bosses especially seem to have unique mechanics, like the shield of the Scorpion Tank.

Each character also has an alternate way to attack. For example, Cloud has two different modes he can switch between; Operator Mode and Punisher Mode. Operator balances defense and offense, while Punisher emphasizes heavy attacks with long-range. The downside though is that Cloud moves much slower in Punisher and will counter any melee attacks he guards. These alternate modes add another small layer of strategy onto combat.

How Items Work in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake

With the change in combat also comes a change in how items and healing work in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Players can’t just use items at any time, as they’ll need to expend an ATB gauge to do so; the same goes for magic. This creates an interesting system where players need to prioritize using powerful attacks, or healing their party. Outside of battles items and magic can be used at will, but of course, players still need to take their MP and item numbers into account.

Seamless Battles and Exploration

The Final Fantasy 7 Remake focuses on making everything seamless, whether that’s transitions between cutscenes or going into battle. CG cutscenes flow directly into in-game cutscenes, which then flow into gameplay. By the same token battles happen without any breaks whatsoever, with enemies all inhabiting the world as players see it, instead of appearing randomly.

The original was, of course, limited by the technology and random battles helped with that. Interestingly, the remake doesn’t have a jump button like in Final Fantasy XV and players also don’t need to interact with some objects in the world. Certain points will see Cloud seamlessly jump over obstacles, climb up ladders, etc.

Pressuring and Staggering Enemies

The remake has a system similar to what Final Fantasy XIII had, letting players stagger enemies and open them up to massive damage. As characters attack enemies a pressure gauge will build up above them, and once full a few more attacks will stagger them. This stuns the enemy momentarily and gives all of your attacks increased damage. Enemies have certain weaknesses that can be exploited to stagger them faster, like mechanical enemies being weak to Thunder magic.

The original Final Fantasy 7 had a world map like most games in the series, but it didn’t have a map for each area. This is something the remake changes, giving you a detailed map for each area that shows the player’s location and objectives. The map can be opened at any time by pressing the Dualshock’s touchpad. The expanded scope of the game makes Midgar much larger, and the map should be incredibly useful when getting around.

Summons Work Differently in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake

Although summons aren’t in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake demo, Square Enix has already detailed that they work quite differently. Each character can equip one summon materia, and when equipped a summon gauge will fill during combat.

Once the gauge is full the summon will join the battle and fight alongside your character. In the original, each summon would only use one attack. Summons are controlled by the AI in the remake, but you can use the tactical menu to issue orders to them, just like with party members.

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