First released in 1997 on the PlayStation computer entertainment system, Final Fantasy VII is universally regarded as a hallmark title of the RPG genre. The original title received high praise for its epic storyline, unique characters, and movie sequences that utilized the most cutting-edge technology of the time.

Rebuilding and expanding upon the legendary RPG for today, Final Fantasy VII Remake tells the story of a world fallen under the control of the Shinra Electric Power Company, a shadowy corporation controlling the planet's very life force as mako energy. In the sprawling city of Midgar, an anti-Shinra organization calling themselves Avalanche have stepped up their resistance.

Cloud Strife, a former member of Shinra's elite SOLDIER unit now turned mercenary, lends his aid to the group, unaware of the epic consequences that await him.

Red XIII

What is Red XIII? As he himself says: “I am that which you see before you. Nothing more.”

He may look like a beast, with his red fur, sharp fangs and tail of flames, but Red XIII is as eloquent as any human.

He has been captured by Shinra for use as a test subject, and is being held in Hojo’s scientific facility. Speaking of the sinister scientist…

Hojo

This enigmatic figure is the Director of Shira Electric Power Company’s Research and Development Division. He creates various biological weapons for the company, and he’s not bound by notions of morality.

Hojo will not hesitate to take a life if his experiments demand it. In a previous collaborative role, he performed special surgery on soldiers to increase their physical strength, giving birth to the elite SOLDIERS.

Tifa in battle – the basics

Next we’ll look at one of the main heroes, and how she operates in battle. Tifa Lockhart is a swift fighter, who uses her martial arts to damage enemies.

She can combo fast attacks with repeated presses of the □ button, and unleash unique abilities by pressing △.

In the following screenshots, we can see her unleashing some of those skills.

Whirling Uppercut: Tifa launches an enemy into the air with an upwards strike.

Omnistrike: Tifa smacks into her foe with a powerful shoulder slam.

Rise and Fall: Tifa attacks with a series of brutal kicks, and finishes with a powerful striking fist.

Tifa’s Battle Abilities

When Tifa’s ATB bar is filled by attacking enemies, she can use a special ability.

Tifa’s True Strike move hits the enemy in front of her with a swift attack

She can also finish off an enemy with an intensely powerful dive kick.

Materia and Weapons

Here’s a look at some of the Materia and weapons you’ll be able to use in Final Fantasy VII Remake:

Healing Materia lets you use spells like Cure and Cura. In the screenshot above, we can see Aerith using Regen – a spell that will gradually heal its target for a while.

The Deadly Dodge Materia turns any attack made after evading an attack into a powerful melee strike. Any character can use it – not just Cloud.

When you equip a weapon, it will be reflected in your character’s appearance in and out of battle. This image is a reimagined version of a fan-favorite – we think the team nailed it!

Mercenary Quests

Cloud can help out the many people across Midgar, including local merchants. These tasks are varied — he’ll be asked to deal with anything, from taking out troublesome monsters to finding lost cats.

In this quest, Cloud is asked to deal with some Drakes. He’ll get valuable rewards for completing the task.

Battle Report

Meet Chadley, a 15-year-old Research trainee, working under Professor Hojo. He’s researching new types of Materia, and needs a little help from Cloud.

You can collect Battle Report quests from Chadley in the Sector 7 slums. He’ll ask you to achieve various requirements, such as making a certain number of enemies burst or use Assess Materia a certain number of times.

Complete these tasks, and he’ll develop more Materia that you can buy.

Summons

The Chocobo Chick may look cute, but don’t be fooled — its magical attacks pack a serious punch! It’s included when you preorder any edition of Final Fantasy VII Remake.

This is Carbuncle — a mystical creature with a ruby attached to its forehead. It uses this gem to bestow a variety of powers on its allies. You’ll get this summon if you preorder the Digital Deluxe Edition from PlayStation Store.

Cactuar! This vacant-faced cactus can fire off thousands of needles at a time. You’ll get Cactuar when you preorder the Deluxe Edition, Digital Deluxe Edition, or 1st Class Editions of the game.

Environments

In Final Fantasy VII Remake, iconic locations from the original game have been recreated with amazing modern graphics. Not only that, there will be additional areas that you couldn’t get to in the original.

Let’s take a look at a couple of areas:

The Mako Reactor sucks out Mako from the core of the planet. It’s then turned into electricity or liquid gas for cities — though it’s also used to produce Materia and for other research.

The Shinra Electric Power Company has a monopoly on the resource, and have set up various Mako reactors across the world. However, some question the safety of this, and there have been confirmed cases of accidents in reactors at remote locations.

The Corkscrew Tunnel connects the slum streets to the nicer living areas on top of Midgar’s plates. The tunnel coils upwards in a giant corkscrew through the center of Midgar. Passengers on the train carriages are always checked for ID and movement between cars is closely monitored. When an intruder is discovered, military-grade weapons are deployed and intruders are dealt with quickly.

Final Fantasy VII Remake will be available for PS4 on April 10, 2020.