TGS New Gameplay Demos - Limit Breaks, Ifit, Character Switching, Music etc.!

[Aulayna]

The first video isn't that different to the Let's Play I posted yesterday, the second one is where the goods are at:

qxryETMIesI

And the big deal:

1tjwcrIv3Co

If I wasn't already sold on this, I'd be throwing money at my monitor right now!

That remixed battle theme sounds great, Cloud has a different weapon equipped, summons being allies in battle like FFX seems much better than the implementation in FFXV, switching between characters seems actively encouraged, Aerith's attacks basically being a baton twirler (always imagined that back in the day), and the Limit Breaks look slick!

[Aulayna]

Some interesting deets in this twitter thread too:
https://twitter.com/finalfantasyvii/status/1172727600810201088

Difficulties:
Easy, Hard

Combat:
Standard (ATB gauge filled by doing standard attacks)
Classic (ATB gauge fills automatically - designed for those who just want to select commands and ignore the action-combat of Standard)

Summons:
Each character can equip 1 summon materia
Summons have a timer and stay on the battlefield attacking until the timer runs out, once the timer runs out they cast their traditional ability (i.e. Hellfire, Diamond Dust etc.) and leave the battlefield.

Abilities:
Aerith's Triangle ability is called Tempest, it puts an AoE on the ground and any spell cast within that AoE is then cast repeatedly.

[cloud_doll]

Some interesting deets in this twitter thread too:
https://twitter.com/finalfantasyvii/status/1172727600810201088



Combat:
Standard (ATB gauge filled by doing standard attacks)
Classic (ATB gauge fills automatically - designed for those who just want to select commands and ignore the action-combat of Standard)


This is what got me! I'm honestly horrible at most action battle games so when I saw there is an option to switch to classic mode I was THRILLED. As if I wasn't already excited for this game haha! But at least now I know I won't suck at it!

[fat_moogle]

It just keeps getting better and better. Every single fight looks like so much fun, and the Stagger mechanic from FFXIII seems vastly improved thanks to the fluidity of the hybrid battle system.

It seems like the active battle leader fills their ATB quicker than the computer controlled characters, and I love that the other characters only use their abilities when you switch to them or issue them the command from the menu. This is going to lead to some amazing stuff. Stagger > Braver > Summon > Switch > Tempest > Switch > Fire > Switch > Cross Slash > Switch > Fire in the hole. 0303.2020 come at me.

Aerith having long range attacks is a game changer! I believe this also shows her more mystic side which I think is a nice addition. Other characters have to physically hit enemies to deal damage but she can summon up physical manifestations of energy from the earth which she can use to her advantage. Maybe it could have something to do with her Holy materia...or maybe it was just a design decision to make her more fun to play. Either way, good choice.

Also I'm so glad that Summons stick around for a duration during battle, and that we even get to issue them commands. It seems like a perfect mixture of summoning from FFX, XII, XIII & even Type-0. I've heard that Summons are limited to boss fights or places with wide open space but I'm not sure if that's true or not. I'm also intrigued to see how the smaller summons such as the Chocobo Chick & Cactuar will work.

[Wolf Kanno]

Battles still feel really slow and drawn out for me. Again, the second video has too many obvious edits within it, and the Let's Play video watching that fight with the Sweeper makes me a bit concerned that this game is going to simply be long because everything is forced to be as excruciatingly slow as possible. At least when Ifrit finally showed up, the boss finally started taking serious damage to the life bar. I'm in disagreement with fat_moogle because I really hate the fact the awful Stagger mechanic from XIII is in this game, as I feel it's pretty much the main culprit of my issues here. Why can't I just beat the monsters face in and exploit elemental damage to get big gains in DPS? Why are we adding a second step if only draw the fight out longer than necessary?

I will say that I like some of the interesting design choices here such as Aerith's Limit Break creating a field effect that allows you to double cast magic. That's actually pretty clever, though it's going to make it worse when she's gone unless they give another party member a similar ability. Still, I like the fact that she'll make magic a more viable option despite the questionable mechanics the game imposes on it.

I'm liking the way Summons are being utilized here as I've always preferred treating them as a party member over being just a glorified spell. It also looks like they hit that nice balance between being actually useful on the field, but with enough handicaps to keep them from being a game breaker.

I'm feeling like I'm going to wait on this and probably buy it used. I'm way too particular about my action-rpg combat mechanics I'm afraid. Despite having a Classic mode, I'm not big enough of a fan of VII to warrant a day one purchase.

[fat_moogle]

I started Final Fantasy VII again a couple of days ago and if you don't change the battle speed then that is excruciatingly slow. Wait wait wait wait wait wait attack wait wait wait wait wait wait attack. If anything this new battle system takes things up a notch and gives you the option (I say option because of "Classic" mode) to consistently be involved. Sure, battles might last longer, but with a game presenting cinematics like this would you want to face a boss and think "is that it"?

[Wolf Kanno]

I started Final Fantasy VII again a couple of days ago and if you don't change the battle speed then that is excruciatingly slow. Wait wait wait wait wait wait attack wait wait wait wait wait wait attack. If anything this new battle system takes things up a notch and gives you the option (I say option because of "Classic" mode) to consistently be involved. Sure, battles might last longer, but with a game presenting cinematics like this would you want to face a boss and think "is that it"?

Play FFIV and then jump into VII and tell me how the speed feels. ;)

As for lengthy boss battles, I'm a DarkSouls/Bloodborne guy and those boss fights end within three to five minutes while still being cinematic and memorable. The fights I've seen so far in VIIR just seem to be damaged sponges that drag out the fight needlessly without offering much of anything else but spectacle. They could at least look challenging.

[Del Murder]

I'm totally sold on this game but I'm with WK that the boss demos so far look like prolonged chip damage fights. I'm hoping it was extended for demo purposes.

I like how the summons and limits work. It gives me a KH3 vibe, which I found fun.

[Loony BoB]

Play FFIV and then jump into VII and tell me how the speed feels. ;)
Still lightning fast compared to FFIX :lol: