In the Doghouse
Today, Final Fantasy fans were gifted with a demo for the upcoming Final Fantasy VII Remake on PS4. There’s nothing like waking up to a 3 hour bombing mission as Cloud Strife. In the demo, players get to control the characters Cloud, Tifa, Barret, and Aerith. Red XIII is confirmed to make an appearance later in the game, beyond the scope of the demo, so don’t expect to play as him. Unfortunately, you will not be playing as him at all, even when the game comes out next month.
Fans of the original game know when and where Red XIII is introduced in the story. Cloud, Barret, and Tifa infiltrate the Shinra building in search of Aerith, but also find a red wolf/dog creature named Red XIII. At this point in the Final Fantasy VII Remake, this would take place toward the end, as the game only takes place within Midgar. As a result, the game’s co-director Naoki Hamaguchi explained that there would not be enough time left in the game to fully explore him as a playable character. Instead, he will be joining the party as a guest character.
What does this mean for gameplay? Well, the player gets to control a party of three, choosing between Cloud, Aerith, Barret, and Tifa. However, Red XIII will also be on the battlefield as a fourth, but will not be controlled by the player. Pretty much every Final Fantasy game works on a 3 character party system and in some cases a fourth is also added at rare points. Such examples can be found in Final Fantasy XII, XIII-2, and others, so this is not a grand departure from the usual formula. If you are disappointed by this news, do not fret. The Remake will be episodic, so it is very likely that Red XIII will be playable in the next part of the Remake, along with some of the other characters from the original game. Final Fantasy VII Remake comes out on April 10th for PS4.
Who are you most looking forward to playing as? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: VG24/7