We finally got a detailed look at Final Fantasy 7 Remake's combat during the Square Enix E3 press conference today, along with an extended version of its most recent trailer. While purists hoping the Remake would be turn-based will be disappointed, the new system seems like something altogether new for Final Fantasy. It does bear some resemblance to Final Fantasy 15, though.
Before the combat demo started, producer Yoshinori Kitase took the stage to give some more details about Final Fantasy 7 Remake. For one, the full game is going to fill two bluray discs (that's almost 200GB of data)—though Square Enix has already suggested that the release of the Remake will be broken into separate parts. Kitase explains that the first "game" in the Remake will offer a much-expanded look at life in Midgard, the city where FF7's story begins. Kitase suggested that this new retelling could itself be its own complete game.
After that intro, we finally got an explanation of how combat works. Like Final Fantasy 15, Remake will feature action combat. One difference is that as you attack you'll build up your 'ATB meter.' When that's full, you can trigger a tactical mode that slows time so you can initiate special attacks or use potions. I actually really like this system, since you only have two ATB charges at one time, so you need to be careful about when you spend charges. If you waste them casting spells (Remake will still have materia), you might have to wait to heal after a big attack.
Players can also switch between party members with the press of a button, and each one has different abilities and attacks. Various trailers showcased Barret, Tifa, and Aerith in action.
It all looks pretty good, but Final Fantasy 7 Remake still doesn't have a PC release date. Square Enix said earlier this week that it would "debut first" on PS4, though, so that gives us hope.