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Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier, Square Enix’s next battle royale game for mobile devices, will be released in November, producer Tetsuya Nomura revealed during a special livestream at the Tokyo Game Show on Sunday. Pre-registrations will begin later this month.
The title was first announced in February, and the team used feedback from a closed beta held over the summer to make adjustments. Producer Shoichi Ichikawa mentioned that controller compatibility was by far the most requested feature after beta and has now been added to the game.
“A lot of people want to be able to play on PC or console,” Ichikawa said. “We’re not there yet, but we hope it will bring the players closer to this experience.” At the moment, there are no plans to port the game to other platforms.
Other improvements include a revamped tutorial, which will feature both a mode to help players new to battle royale games learn the basics, and a mode to help players master the gameplay. A new training card has also been added to allow training in combat contexts.
Ichikawa said 75% of beta respondents said the game met or exceeded their expectations. The controls and balance of the game have been updated in response to feedback – a number of respondents singled out the Warrior class as in need of tweaking.
The coin exchange system that has proven popular with beta testers has been changed and extended. Players can collect coins from secret boxes and by defeating monsters and exchange them for items. The items available will change each season.
There will be both Standard Matches and Ranked Matches in the game. Players can be awarded items for reaching each of the seven ranks in the game and those at the top at the end of each season will be given a special code name for inform others of their achievements on the battlefield.
Ichikawa said there will be no system that will reward players for their spending and matches will depend on the skill of the players.
There is a third mode featuring three characters who will be linked to the story, although there is no actual story mode.
The background of the game will be familiar to those who have played Final Fantasy VII or Final Fantasy VII: Remake. The game takes place in a VR simulation used by Shinra to train SOLDIER candidates, and many locations mirror those found in Final Fantasy VII: Remake.
The second half of the livestream was devoted to a match between a team of guest streamers against a team of developers. The match gave a brief overview of the Ninja class, which has been added to the game and joined the Warrior, Wizard, Monk, and Ranger classes. Each class has its own skills and abilities.
The ninja class offers a flexible experience where players can perform melee attacks or use ranged weapons. The class is extremely useful for stealth play, as it allows you to become invisible for a short time.
The new trailer for the game which was released during the Square Enix live stream on Saturday showed players riding chocobos during a match. The series’ signature bird also made an appearance during the Sunday airing. Two players can ride a chocobo, and the bird can fly a very short distance and perform a kick.
There are also other vehicles that can be used and while you cannot run over an ally, you will be able to damage enemies.
Players can level up during matches by fighting monsters to gain experience
“It wouldn’t be Final Fantasy without experience points and leveling up,” Ichikawa said.
Players who feel overwhelmed can take on monsters to get stronger. There will be monsters in some parts of the map and some will engage even if the player is in the middle of a fight with another player.
During the tag team match which is played on Sunday, Ichikawa mentioned that there are also missions that can be accepted in matches that offer more experience points.
The match showed the teams fighting near the abandoned church in Sector 5 where the player meets Aerith in Final Fantasy VII and its remake.
Regarding the summons, it seems they act in different ways. Ifrit, said Ichikawa, will fight by your side, while Shiva throws diamond dust into the area. There are also more summons planned for the game.
The team has promised more updates as it nears its release next month for iOS and Android devices.
Jason Coskrey is a Tokyo-based writer. Find him on Twitter at @JCoskrey
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