Final Fantasy VII Remake is finally here and it is a gorgeous reimagining of Square Enix’s RPG classic. Final Fantasy VII Remake changes things up quite a bit not only in combat but also structure. There are new systems at play here and also a plethora of additions across the board. Hopefully these tips help you out in the initial hours of your journey in Midgar.
Exploration rewards you in Final Fantasy VII Remake
There are loads of treasure chests, materia, and bonuses hidden across the various locales in Final Fantasy VII Remake. Make sure you spend time exploring the map so you don’t miss out on a potentially useful item.
Final Fantasy VII Remake materia system explained
If you’ve never played Final Fantasy VII before, it has a materia system. Materia lets you use certain skills and the more you use a specific materia, the higher quality the skills become. Materia is found through progression and through side quests or through Chadley. When you find any materia in Final Fantasy VII Remake, remember to equip it in your weapons so it levels up and you get access to powerful skills.
Chadley’s Battle Intel rewards in Final Fantasy VII Remake are useful
You meet Chadley in Final Fantasy VII Remake early on and should spend time doing what he says and fulfilling his Battle Intel requirements. This includes using the Assess materia for Monster Bio reports, staggering foes and performing skills, defeating unique monster varieties and more. He will sell you new materia cheap and also reward you with the ability to unlock summons and more for doing basic things in combat.
Final Fantasy VII Remake weapon upgrades explained
As you fight more, you unlock SP for weapons. You can use this SP to unlock more abilities and stat bonuses for equipping certain weapons. Some weapons even let you add more materia slots when you upgrade nodes on the weapon upgrade tree for each weapon in Final Fantasy VII Remake. If you aren’t happy with your weapon setup, you can talk to Chadley to reset your weapon by paying an amount of gil (money).
How to heal up in Final Fantasy VII Remake
There are benches and vending machines scattered across the world in Final Fantasy VII Remake. You can rest on the bench for free to fully restore your HP and MP in Final Fantasy VII Remake. The vending machine is useful for buying new music and for discounted items. Remember to take advantage of any vending machine and bench you come across in Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Final Fantasy VII Remake navigation explained
Big blue diamonds with an exclamation mark indicate the main story objective. Smaller blue diamonds indicate story-related locations or objects. Purple circles are hidden items or episodes you need to unlock through progression or a specific item. Green exclamation marks in shield symbols indicate quest objectives for side quests or odd jobs. You can press L2 to change the way the map is displayed. You can toggle it off completely, have it displayed on the top right at all times, or have a compass navigation on the top of the screen.
How to unlock music in Final Fantasy VII Remake
Barring buying music from vending machines, make sure to pay attention to the environmental sound in an area. If you notice a new song playing, try moving towards the sound and paying attention to the music symbol on the top left of the screen. This will either tell you the song name or display a “???” implying a song you don’t own. Talk to NPCs here to be able to either get the song for free (in very specific cases) or to be given the option to buy the song cheap for your Music Collection.
Final Fantasy VII Remake combat tips: how to stagger enemies
If you aren’t confident in combat, switch to classic mode until you get your bearings with the combat system in Final Fantasy VII Remake. Remember to use the assess ability from the assess materia to find enemy weaknesses. This not only rewards you through research for Chadley, but it also helps you out in combat. Try using skills that add pressure to enemies. Building up pressure will eventually stagger enemies. An enemy in a staggered state will take much more damage. This is key to harder encounters and boss fights. Make sure to use the L1 shortcuts. You can customise this from the menu.
Final Fantasy VII Remake: how to use summons
Summons aren’t straightforward in Final Fantasy VII Remake. In more difficult battles or boss fights, a summon bar slowly fills up on the right of the screen. When this is completely filled up, you can summon and call upon a very powerful ally. Once summoned, you can command your summon indirectly through commands and instruct it to use specific skills or act on its own. When the summon bar is empty, the summon will do its ultimate ability and vanish for that encounter so use summons wisely.
Switch party members during combat in Final Fantasy VII Remake
While many people prefer getting used to and playing as just one character in RPGs, you will be forced to switch to other party members during combat in specific situations. Instead of just playing as Cloud, get used to playing as the likes of Barret, Aerith, and Tifa early on so that you aren’t confused when you are forced to play as others. This will help a lot in certain boss fights where Cloud is bound or stunned.
Break every Shinra logo box in Final Fantasy VII Remake
You will notice various metal and wooden boxes with the Shinra logo in Final Fantasy VII Remake. Make sure to hit these with your weapon by pressing square because they often contain items that restore your MP like mako shards and potions. Some of them even have ethers.
Final Fantasy VII Remake Moogle Medals and what they do
While exploring and destroying Shinra logo boxes and opening treasure chests, you often are rewarded with Moogle Medals. These are used to earn certain rare rewards through an exchange system you unlock a few hours into the game. Moogle Medals are found in chests and boxes so remember to open and destroy them.
Wall Market guide in Final Fantasy VII Remake
The Wall Market is a gorgeous night location in Final Fantasy VII Remake but the map is very complex. When you arrive, make sure you spend some time exploring every single nook and cranny in the Wall Market. It is full of treasure chests and other hidden items.
How to save in Final Fantasy VII Remake
Save often in Final Fantasy VII Remake. Despite there being an auto save, make sure to save often. You can save by pressing options and then triangle or scrolling down to the save/load menu item.
Final Fantasy VII Remake side-quests are worth it
While some of them feel like fetch quests, the side-quests or odd jobs in Final Fantasy VII Remake are worth your time. You are rewarded with weapons, materia, items, money, and more through them.
Hopefully these tips help you in the early game of Final Fantasy VII Remake.
