I'm truly stoked for this. The gameplay and visual design are everything I could have hoped for. We seem to have confirmation of controlling multiple party members in battle. Midgar looks and feels like Midgar, only with loads more exploration and detail. Specific cut-scenes, action set-pieces and dialogue have been retained, indicating a true remake of the original rather than a fanciful re-imagining.

It looks like the combat will be somewhere between FFXII and Kingdom Hearts. I saw both Barret and Cloud being controlled in the gameplay clip, with the traditional FFVII menu options for each. It doesn't seem as high-flying and spammy as KH's combat, which I like, but a little more hands-on than FFXII.

Barret's sunglasses may be silly and unnecessary, but there's nothing to indicate he'll retain them for the whole story - I can imagine him ditching them and showing his care-worn eyes when Avalanche's plans go south - and they don't represent a major departure from any previous plot or character points anyway.

It's still early days, but if this video is indicative of the tone and style for the entire remake, then it's likely to be everything I could've hoped for. That's coming from someone whose first, and favourite, FF is number 7.