In a new promotional image released by Square Enix, fans were treated to the first still shot of the entire Avalanche team assembled before the game’s official release on April 10, 2020.
“Combining incredible visuals, stunning world-design, a gorgeous musical score, seamless strategic action-based combat and a captivating cast of characters, Final Fantasy VII Remake is almost upon us,” Square said on the games official Twitter account. “We hope you’re ready for it.”
Fans are indeed ready for this long-awaited title. Since the game was officially announced at E3 2015, fans of the original Final Fantasy VII have been on the edge of their seats waiting for any new information about this epic return to Midgar.
Up until recently, we had yet to see the full team assembled. That is because one of the main characters of Final Fantasy VII, Red XIII, had not yet been revealed. That all changed when the official “Theme Song” trailer was released just a few weeks ago. There were a great many reveals in that trailer, from the executives at Shinra, to Hojo, to Jenova herself. But the main takeaway that most fans got from this epic trailer was the long-awaited arrival of Red XIII.
Fans of the original 1997 release of Final Fantasy VII should know the scene pictured in this image well. It occurs in the original somewhere between four and five hours in, depending on how the player has progressed.
Avalanche has just burst out of the Shinra building, with Cloud on a motorcycle and the rest of the team in a three-wheeled pickup truck. Cloud has to fend off enemy soldiers, also on motorcycles, as they try to attack the truck. Then, a large boss battle occurs at the end of the highway.
If there was any doubt that this moment would make it into the final game, they were put to rest with this image. Not only is the entire team assembled at the edge of the highway, where the boss battle takes place, but you can see the blue and green truck off to the side.
Of course, the remake is not following the story of the original Final Fantasy VII exactly. Trailers have shown us a slew of new story elements. For instance, we see Sephiroth in Midgar several times in the trailers, whereas in the original he was not directly encountered until long after the party escapes from the massive city.
Final Fantasy VII releases worldwide on April 10, 2020.
