Final Fantasy VII Remake is going to offer players a new combat mode titled Classic Mode. This was announced by none other than Producer Yoshinori Kitase during a stage show at the Tokyo Games Show 2019 held last week.
So what is this mode all about? Classic mode is aimed at the fans of the original Final Fantasy who loved its turn-based battle system. In the upcoming Remake version, the standard combat mode is done in real time, which includes attacking, dodging, and blocking. While performing these actions, you get to charge your Active Time Battle bar, or ATB, and once filled-up, it allows you to perform a special action.
The original Final Fantasy VII had a different battle mechanic. The classic system had players wait until the ATB gauge filled up before initiating a command. The new Classic Mode recreates this style of gameplay. In addition, characters fight automatically when in this mode. This means players can now focus on selecting commands.
The combat system of Final Fantasy VII Remake is all about giving players more choices in how to play the game. This upcoming mode increases those choices.
During this same stage show, Kitase also gave a preview to additional content including:
- 21st Century Squatting
- Kitase gave a demonstration on the Squat mini-game. This mini game plays like the one in the original version.
- Playing Aerith
- During the demonstration, Kitasa also revealed how Aertih Gainsborough can be played and what she can bring to the fight. In addition to her standard long-ranged attacks, she has an ability known as Tempest. She also has an ability known as Holy Circle. What Holy Circle does is it creates an area on the battlefield. All spells that are used in the zone can be cast repeatedly.
- Summons
- In order to show how Summons work, Kitase played the game fighting against Aps using Cloud. Those familiar with the original game know that as a sewer-dwelling beast, Aps is a formidable opponent and in the Remake players should expect it to be even more intimidating.
- So how do Summons work? Each character has one Summon Materia equipped at a time. It is the player that decides which one to equip depending on the scenario.
- In the battle, Kitase equipped the Ifrit Summon Materia on Cloud. This resulted in his attacks slowly filling up the Summon gauge. Once the gauge was full, Cloud was them able to summon an Ifrit to join the fight. While the Summons are AI-controlled, characters can make use of their ATB charges in order to use the unique abilities of the Summon.
- During the demo, Kitase used Cloud's ATB gauge to make the Ifrit use Crimson Dive and Flare Burst. The Summon continued to stay on the battlefield until the Summon gauge was depleted. Before that happened, Kitase activated the Hellfire ultimate attack of the Ifrit.
Final Fantasy VII Remake is set to be released in March 2020.
