At this year’s PlayStation Experience, held at Moscone Center in San Francisco, the first gameplay footage of the much anticipated Final Fantasy VII Remake was revealed. First teased by Square Enix during Sony’s E3 press conference earlier this year, the new trailer gives the public an excellent taste at what they can expect from the upcoming release on the PlayStation 4.

The Final Fantasy VII Remake trailer opens with Barret, Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie questioning our protagonist, Cloud Strife. Our heroes briefly explain his backstory while beautifully rendered and familiar environments flash across the screen. Fans of the Final Fantasy VII may recognize the mission in the trailer our characters are preparing for, which takes place near the beginning of the game.

While half of the footage consists of cutscenes, the other half depicts the aforementioned first look gameplay, which features a brand new battle system that will replace the classic turn-based style of the original. Instead, the new combat looks similar to the Active Cross Battle system similar to what has been seen in the upcoming Final Fantasy XV. This could be jarring or even blasphemous to gamers hoping for a more pure experience to the original FFVII.

In a previous interview with Official PlayStation Magazine (via GamesRadar),  FFVII Remake’s director, Tetsuya Nomura, admitted that “dramatic changes” would be made:

“And of course, that being said we want to clarify: We’re not going to be changing it into a shooter or something like that. We are going to be bringing dramatic changes, but we want to make sure it’s still recognizable.”

Additionally, the limiting isometric camera angles of the original are also no where to be seen. Final Fantasy VII Remake appears to incorporate a third-person camera angle, as we follow Cloud through some of Midgar’s ruins with his famous Buster Sword gleaming in tow.

There is no concrete release date set for Final Fantasy VII Remake to make its big debut, but given the scope and size of the game’s story, players can probably expect it after Final Fantasy XV releases in 2016. We’ll keep you posted with any more developments throughout PSX 2015.

Source: PlayStation