Final Fantasy VII Remake Screenshots Reveal The Game's First Boss Fight

Over the weekend, Square Enix's Tetsuya Nomura dropped by the Monaco Anime Game International Conferences (i.e. MAGIC—see what they did there?) to give attendees a special treat—a few screenshots from Nomura's two hotly anticipated projects, the Final Fantasy VII HD remake and Kingdom Hearts 3.

The first screenshot shows Cloud, Final Fantasy VII's spiky-haired hero, ducking behind some crates as a SHINRA soldier opens fire. In the second, Cloud and Barret take on a Scorpion, which Nomura confirmed is the game's first boss. Nomura claimed that the scenery will be "partly destructible" during battle.

The designer didn't say much else about how Final Fantasy VII's upgraded combat system will work—"I asked to show a video, but the company refused," Nomura said—but long-time players will note that the screenshots include standard Final Fantasy features like menu-driven commands and an Active Time Battle gauge.

In addition, a single screenshot from Kingdom Hearts 3 depicts Sora, the series' protagonist, fighting against the evil Heartless in Thebes, one of the settings plucked from Disney's Hercules. In Kingdom Hearts 3, Sora's iconic weapon, the Keyblade, "turns into a lot of things. Here it is a shield, but it can also be transformed into a chariot," Nomura said.

Although they first appeared at MAGIC, Square Enix later released the screenshots on Twitter for fans all over the world to enjoy.

Neither the Final Fantasy VII remake nor Kingdom Hearts 3 have a release date, although all the evidence indicates that it's going to be a long time before anyone will get to play either. They'll wait—despite their numerous flaws, both Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts have devoted fan bases, and the long delays should make the games' eventual arrivals that much sweeter.