Square Enix shared a new batch of screenshots for Final Fantasy VII Remake shows more of Tifa Lockhart’s battle abilities, new summons, new character Chadley, and more.
Red XIII
First, here’s a look at Red XIII. He’s characterized by his red fur, sharp claws, and flaming tail. What sets him apart from most beasts is that he’s as intelligent and well-spoken as any human. You can check out more about Red XIII in our previous report.
Hojo
The Director of Shinra’s Research and Development Division. Hojo isn’t bound by common ethics or morality, and will easily take a life if his experiments need it. However, there is no denying his scientific acumen. He previously performed special surgery to increase physical strength for soldiers. This led to the creation of Shinra’s SOLDIER unit.
Tifa Lockhart in Battle
Tifa Lockhart specializes in taking down enemies with fast strikes using her own fists and feet. In Final Fantasy VII Remake, Tifa is a swift fighter who can pull off quick combos with repeated presses of the square button. She can also follow it up with a powerful unique ability by pressing the Triangle button after a combo.
Whirling Uppercut:Â A powerful upwards strike that sends enemies flying.
Omnistrike:Â Tifa slams the enemy with a powerful shoulder barge.
Rise and Fall:Â Starts with a wave of kicks and finished with a powerful blow from her fist.
You can launch special abilities when the ATB bar is full. The above is a look at Tifa’s True Strike. It strikes enemies directly in front of her. She can also finish with a powerful dive kick.
Materia and Weapons
With healing Materia you can cast spells like Cure and Cura. Here’s a shot of Aerith using Regen, which gradually restores health for a set time.
The Deadly Dodge Materia allows you to attack with a powerful melee strike after evading. Here we see Cloud using it, but any character can equip the Materia.
Here is Cloud wielding the Nail Bat weapon. As the screenshot shows, when you equip a weapon, it shows on the character’s appearance in and out of battle.
Mercenary Quests
Cloud is a jack-of-all-trades and that means helping citizens and merchants across Midgar. This involves anything from taking down monsters to finding lost kittens.
The above screenshots show Cloud tasked with defeating Drakes. Upon completion, he got 500 gil and HP/MP restored.
Battle Report
The above is a new character named Chadley. He’s a 15-year-old research trainee working under Professor Hojo. You can find him researching Materia in the Sector 7 slums. By helping him out, he’ll sell Materia for the party.
You can take on Battle Report quests from Chadley. These are a little different from your other quests, as it involves tasks such as Assessing Materia a certain number of times. Chadley might also ask you to defeat enemies in a certain way. You’ll unlock more Materia to purchase by completing these tasks.
Summons
Summons are a type of Materia, similar to the original Final Fantasy VII. You can equip one to a character to get support from a powerful ally.
First, the Chocobo Chick might look cute, but it can actually hit enemies with powerful attacks. This summon comes includes with any pre-order of Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Next is the mystical creature Carbuncle who can power allies with the shining gem attached to its forehead. The summon comes included with pre-orders of the Digital Deluxe Edition of Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Lastly, we have the iconic Cactuar uses incredibly powerful needle attacks, as expected. Cactuar comes with pre-orders for the Deluxe Edition, Digital Deluxe Edition, or 1st Class Edition.
Environments
Final Fantasy VII Remake will reimagine iconic Midgar locations. However, we’ll also get to see expanded parts with new areas that aren’t in the original game.
The above is a look at the Mako Reactor that sucks out Mako energy from the core of the planet. The Shinra Electric Power Company turns it into electricity or liquid gas for its cities. It is also used to produce Materia and for scientific research.
Since Shinra has a complete monopoly on Mako, it has built several reactors around the world. While the safety of these reactors has been questioned, there’s been confirmed accidents in remote locations.
Finally, the above is a look at the Corkscrew Tunnel which connects the streets of the slums beneath Midgar’s plate, to the living areas on top. The tunnel coils upwards, kind of like a giant corkscrew, through the center of Midgar. Anyone who rides the train needs to show ID. Furthermore, Shinra makes sure to take care of all unauthorized intruders, harshly and quickly.
Final Fantasy VII Remake will release for the PlayStation 4 on April 10, 2020. It’ll be a PS4 exclusive through April 2021. Check out a recent Final Fantasy VII Remake key visual featuring Cloud Strife, Barret Wallace, Aerith Gainsborough, Tifa Lockhart, and Red XIII here.
