Final Fantasy VII Remake screens show off new Materia system

Square Enix has released a quartet of new Final Fantasy VII Remake screenshots, giving us a closer look at the game’s Materia system.

As FF7 buffs will already know, Materia is the supercharged substance which allows characters in this world to harness magical powers.

It has a huge relevance, not only to gameplay but the lore and setting of Final Fantasy VII. Materia is a crystallised form of “Lifestream” energy that can form naturally though as we see in FF7, Shinra and his minions have a way of creating it artificially.

In Final Fantasy Remake, Square Enix has confirmed that Materia will still play a key role though there have been some changes in how this system works.

Pared back to the very basics Materia can be equipped to each character in your party, imbuing them with the magic needed to cast spells such as “Fire”, “Bolt”, or “Cure”.

As in the original PlayStation classic, this system lets you tweak the combat roles of your party members instead of assigning them to classes such as Warrior or White Mage. While some heroes are better suited towards different Materia types, there’ some welcome flexibility in there for players to indulge in.

In Remake, however, certain Materia that appeared in the original game has been removed with new Materia being added. It makes sense considering the shift from turn-based combat and random encounters to a far more cinematic, action focused brand of gameplay.

Square Enix has yet to confirm exactly which Materia have made the final cut. We’re expected to see a greater number of support Materia this time around, giving players even more options when it comes to customising their battle styles.

Summons are also a massive part of any Final Fantasy game. We already know that the Cactuar and Carbuncle Summons will make an appearance though these are only available via the Digital Deluxe version of the game.

Final Fantasy VII Remake will launch next year on March 3rd, 2020. The hotly anticipated JRPG is currently a PlayStation 4 exclusive with no plans to bring it the Xbox One or PC.

Written by
Senior Editor bursting with lukewarm takes and useless gaming trivia. May as well surgically attach my DualSense at this point.

2 Comments

  1. Hi. I’m right in thinking this isn’t likely coming to the Switch (due to technical limitations amongst other things)? I have a yearning to replay this (it was first game I bought with original PS back in the day) and if it’s not out on Switch I may pick up remastered version that’s currently on sale. I’m not usually one for double dipping but when there’s a 20odd year gap I might make an exception in this instance!

  2. Also sorry! Just reread article and you clearly note it as PS exclusive. Silly me!

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