The Final Fantasy 7 Remake Will Have 'Action-Based' Combat

No, the Final Fantasy VII remake still doesn't have a release date. Yes, its combat will be action-based and not menu-based, confirms director Tetsuya Nomura in an interview with Famitsu.

Nomura spoke to Famitsu in order to clear up some confusion that occurred after Nomura shared screenshots of the in-development title at the Monaco Anime Game International Conferences (MAGIC). In the stills, which showed Cloud and Barret facing off against the game's first boss, fans noticed that combat contained both menus and an Active Time Battle gauge, leading many to assume that the Final Fantasy 7 remake's combat would be menu-driven, as in the original game.

But that's not the case. "Battles are not command-based, they're action-based," says Nomura. As a result, many of the game's enemies, including the Scorpion boss, will get new attacks in order to facilitate faster, twitchier combat. "The Guard Scorpion battle has map destruction and a great number of attacks that weren't in the original," Nomura says, "so it has become a significantly flashy battle. If you look closely, I think that you can see that there are a number of missiles are coming down."

In addition, a screenshot that showed Cloud ducking behind some crates doesn't necessarily mean that Final Fantasy VII is turning into a cover-based action title like Gears of War or Uncharted. "Regarding cover actions, there are places where they can be done on the map, but they are not required," Nomura says. "Because it's seamless, I showed that there can be actions in response to various scenes."

The Final Fantasy VII remake continues to mystify fans, who have been scrambling to learn more ever since the game first appeared at E3 2015. While details about the game are scarce, we know that the game will come out in installments (when and if it comes out at all), and will feature high-resolution recreations of the original game's most iconic locations.