Suppose I should preface this with saying I have practically no understanding of Japanese (I extend little beyond knowing what Yes and No is) so I can?t go into depth as to the details of the plot and it?s highly likely that I am not aware of certain gameplay mechanics due to the language barrier.
Despite this, what I?ve played so far has been fantastic. Even despite the language difficulties the hours I?ve played so far have been very enjoyable.
It?s not a traditional Square Final Fantasy style RPG. There are no party members (at least yet), so far all combat has been solely down to Zack.
However, the game feels like it unashamedly belongs in the Final Fantasy VII universe. The game?s opening is a heavy nod to that off Final Fantasy VII (even down to the remixed music) and serves as a good introduction to the game and it?s battle system.
Battles occur on a semi-random basis it seems. In most cases you cannot see your enemies but at certain points you will receive the message ?Activating Combat Mode? and the monsters will appear. There are no transition scenes, fighting takes place in the exact area you were exploring. During combat you retain full control of Zack and can move around the arena at will. Targeting is handled automatically based on which enemy you are currently closest to. Pressing Triangle allows you to Guard whereas Square is a Dodge/Roll function.
At the bottom right are your combat icons. The first is a Sword which is your basic attack function (you can attack up to 4 times to chain hits) and the last is Items (potions, antidotes etc). Inbetween you have slots for up to 4 materia which you have equipped (I think further slots become available later in the game judging from the menus). You use the L & R buttons to cycle between these options and Circle uses. Overall the combat works really well.
During combat are 3 slot machine reels spinning continuously with faces of characters in the game. At seemingly random intervals you will get a ?Modulating Phase? and the reels will stop. This can sometimes result in level up (for Zack or Materia) or Limit Break style attacks. This is one of the major areas I?m not fully sure of due to the language (of course there is also the chance that it is just totally random anyway).
Materia is obviously in the game. As previously mentioned, you can have 4 equipped at the start of the game. The most obvious uses are spells with offensive magic (Fire, Ice, Thunder) and Support (Cure). However, there is also yellow materia which provides new sword attacks (have a heavy overhead swing that stuns and a multi-hitting AOE spin attack) and blue material that provides stat boosts. It also appears that you can create new material by combining different sets but again the language barrier hinders me here.
As previously mentioned, the structure of the game is different to a standard RPG and operates on a mission system similar to that of Final Fantasy X-2. You have a series of obligatory story missions that you have to work through. I?ve completed 3 of these so far and they are quite long with plenty to get stuck into. Slightly linear so far although the last one had a few treasure chests to hunt out for extra goodies. This story line has everything you?d expect including cutscenes (some spoken, some text) and boss fights (I?ve fought a number of mechs so far as well as a couple of incredible fights against
).
However there are also a large number of extra missions accessible via save points. Not fully certain, but it seems like there are about 300 of these so there?s a lot to do here. Missions are rated for difficulty before you select them. Overall these have been shorter than the story missions although I?ve only done an Easy and Normal ranked one so far (the easy was simply a fight against 3 monsters whereas the normal was slightly longer). The mission structure probably suits the handheld format as it allows you to focus on the shorter missions when you only have a short time to play. Save points in the main story missions are also generously spaced to allow you to play for short amounts of time if necessary.
Overall I am really impressed with what Square-Enix have achieved here. Although the structure is noticeably different, the game doesn?t feel dumbed down. Soundtrack is excellent and the entire game feels like it truly belongs in the Final Fantasy VII canon. Zack also comes across as a likeable main character based on his mannerisms and actions.
Whether I?ll finish the game in Japanese I?m not sure, but the official western release cannot come soon enough.
Despite this, what I?ve played so far has been fantastic. Even despite the language difficulties the hours I?ve played so far have been very enjoyable.
It?s not a traditional Square Final Fantasy style RPG. There are no party members (at least yet), so far all combat has been solely down to Zack.
However, the game feels like it unashamedly belongs in the Final Fantasy VII universe. The game?s opening is a heavy nod to that off Final Fantasy VII (even down to the remixed music) and serves as a good introduction to the game and it?s battle system.
Battles occur on a semi-random basis it seems. In most cases you cannot see your enemies but at certain points you will receive the message ?Activating Combat Mode? and the monsters will appear. There are no transition scenes, fighting takes place in the exact area you were exploring. During combat you retain full control of Zack and can move around the arena at will. Targeting is handled automatically based on which enemy you are currently closest to. Pressing Triangle allows you to Guard whereas Square is a Dodge/Roll function.
At the bottom right are your combat icons. The first is a Sword which is your basic attack function (you can attack up to 4 times to chain hits) and the last is Items (potions, antidotes etc). Inbetween you have slots for up to 4 materia which you have equipped (I think further slots become available later in the game judging from the menus). You use the L & R buttons to cycle between these options and Circle uses. Overall the combat works really well.
During combat are 3 slot machine reels spinning continuously with faces of characters in the game. At seemingly random intervals you will get a ?Modulating Phase? and the reels will stop. This can sometimes result in level up (for Zack or Materia) or Limit Break style attacks. This is one of the major areas I?m not fully sure of due to the language (of course there is also the chance that it is just totally random anyway).
Materia is obviously in the game. As previously mentioned, you can have 4 equipped at the start of the game. The most obvious uses are spells with offensive magic (Fire, Ice, Thunder) and Support (Cure). However, there is also yellow materia which provides new sword attacks (have a heavy overhead swing that stuns and a multi-hitting AOE spin attack) and blue material that provides stat boosts. It also appears that you can create new material by combining different sets but again the language barrier hinders me here.
As previously mentioned, the structure of the game is different to a standard RPG and operates on a mission system similar to that of Final Fantasy X-2. You have a series of obligatory story missions that you have to work through. I?ve completed 3 of these so far and they are quite long with plenty to get stuck into. Slightly linear so far although the last one had a few treasure chests to hunt out for extra goodies. This story line has everything you?d expect including cutscenes (some spoken, some text) and boss fights (I?ve fought a number of mechs so far as well as a couple of incredible fights against
).
However there are also a large number of extra missions accessible via save points. Not fully certain, but it seems like there are about 300 of these so there?s a lot to do here. Missions are rated for difficulty before you select them. Overall these have been shorter than the story missions although I?ve only done an Easy and Normal ranked one so far (the easy was simply a fight against 3 monsters whereas the normal was slightly longer). The mission structure probably suits the handheld format as it allows you to focus on the shorter missions when you only have a short time to play. Save points in the main story missions are also generously spaced to allow you to play for short amounts of time if necessary.
Overall I am really impressed with what Square-Enix have achieved here. Although the structure is noticeably different, the game doesn?t feel dumbed down. Soundtrack is excellent and the entire game feels like it truly belongs in the Final Fantasy VII canon. Zack also comes across as a likeable main character based on his mannerisms and actions.
Whether I?ll finish the game in Japanese I?m not sure, but the official western release cannot come soon enough.
Only managed to get 30mins on it but wow as you have all said this is awsome. The presentation is awsome, really really well done. A nice big pat on the back for SE with that one. Also the combat has somthing for everyone I feel that also none RPG fans might even like this.
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