Barret Wallace is one of the most well-known characters in the history of Final Fantasy. His immense size and signature gun arm are his defining features.
Players got their first real taste of Baret in Final Fantasy VII Remake when they got to finally go hands on with the game’s demo. Barret is the first character to join your party in both the original and remake, and he has some fun battle mechanics in the new game.
This was highlighted by Square Enix in a recent tweet that came out via the game’s official Twitter account.
“In Final Fantasy VII Remake, Barret is a long-ranged fighter,” Square said in the tweet. “Pushing the square button to attack will fire a volley from his machine gun, or you can hold down the button for an extended barrage. Check out his Overcharge, Focused Shot, and Lifesaver abilities here!”
When playing as Barret in Final Fantasy VII Remake, he comes in very handy when you’re dealing with enemies that are outside the reach of Cloud’s sword. In the demo, there are several mounted laser turrets that you have to rely on Barret to take down.
His Overcharge ability can be activated by pressing the triangle button. After that, it has to recharge. However, if you press triangle again, you can speed the charging process along and refill the overcharge meter more quickly.
Focused Shot is an ability that relies on Barret’s Active Time Battle gauge. When the ATB meter fills up, the player can select Focused Shot or cast a spell. In the demo, Barret comes equipped with the Thunder and Cure Materia.
We also got to see Barret’s legendary temper in action throughout the demo. The Avalanche leader has a short fuse and is slow to trust. That trust comes even slower when the person in question is a former member of Shinra’s elite SOLDIER division, like Cloud.
In the original game, Barret was initially from the coal mining town of Corel. He was one of the many townspeople who agreed to allow Shinra to build a Mako Reactor in the nearby Mt. Corel. When an explosion at the reactor was blamed on the town, Shinra burned it to the ground and killed everyone who was there, including Barret’s wife.
To fight back against Shinra, Barret formed the rebel group Avalanche, recruiting Biggs, Wedge, Jessie, and Tifa. They operate out of a secret base located beneath Tifa’s bar in the Sector 7 Slums of Midgar.
Final Fantasy VII Remake releases on PlayStation 4 on April 10, 2020.
