With the Final Fantasy VII Remake release date of April 10 fast approaching, I spent a ton of time playing through this reimagining of Square Enix’s 1997 classic. While it has slick gameplay and a clearer story, there are some elements of Final Fantasy VII Remake that I wish I knew before starting the game.
How to skip Final Fantasy VII Remake dialogue
Unlike most PS4 games where pressing X lets you skip through spoken dialogue, Final Fantasy VII Remake uses the triangle button. The game doesn’t tell you this nor does it display a button prompt to let you do so. If you’re the sort who reads the dialogue before its completely spoken and are impatient to see what’s next, the triangle button is your friend.
Prepare for tough Final Fantasy VII Remake boss fights with this button prompt
On the topic of button prompts, Final Fantasy VII Remake displays the square button with the word ‘Menu’ next to it during certain cut-scenes. This lets you load up the in-game menu to sort out inventory, materia, weapons, and gear for your party before a boss fight as the game tends to have you controlling different characters in certain sections. It’s a welcome addition as it can let you swap crucial magic and accessories between playable characters for maximum combat effectiveness.
Final Fantasy VII Remake Ether and Turbo Ether are easy to find
Not only do you need an ATB bar to cast magic in Final Fantasy VII Remake, but you need MP or magic points too. More often than not, you’ll run out of MP soon. In the original Final Fantasy VII, Ether was tough to come by in the early game. You couldn’t buy it at stores. In Final Fantasy VII Remake, Ether is available in abundance in its stores and in the game world. While Ether replenishes 20MP, you can also find Turbo Ether which completely replenishes your MP by stealing it from specific enemies.
Final Fantasy VII Remake materia locations are in plain sight
While you can get access to your fair share of Final Fantasy VII Remake materia via completing Battle Intel requests for Chadley, some of it is present in the game’s many levels . And when you discover these glowing orbs, they’re marked on your map. What’s more is, when you try exiting an area that has materia before acquiring it, your party members will remind you that it’s still there and you won’t be able to get it later. Compared to the original where a lot of these were tough to find, Final Fantasy VII Remake’s approach is a welcome change.
Completing Final Fantasy VII Remake side-quests lets you fast travel back to the quest giver
Most side-quests in Final Fantasy VII Remake have you slaying monsters aplenty. And in a lot of cases, once you’re done with them, you have the option to fast travel back to the quest giver, saving you the time of dealing with the drudgery of walking back to them.
Final Fantasy VII Remake fast travel unlocks towards the very end
Speaking of fast travel, Final Fantasy VII Remake does have that despite being a largely linear affair. That said, there’s a catch. Fast travel is in the form of chocobo carriages and finding more chocobo increases the number of locations available. It’s not fast travel in the traditional sense, but does speed up your movement from one area to another.
Pressing L3 lets you climb down ladders faster in Final Fantasy VII Remake
Although Final Fantasy VII Remake tells you to press L3 to run, you can also press L3 to speed through climbing down ladders. And since the game has a large number of them, this is a quicker way to get to the next point of interest.
For what it’s worth, Final Fantasy VII Remake is a welcome return to form for Square Enix’s long-running franchise. Check out our review, detailed guides for its combat and mini-games, as well as everything else you need to know about the biggest RPG of 2020.
