Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier battle royale game announced

I thought we were past the battle royale trend, I really did. But here we are, the official milking of the Final Fantasy VII Remake. This week, Square Enix announced Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier — a battle royale spin on the iconic franchise.

Set prior to the events of Final Fantasy VII, The First Soldier takes us back to Midgar and into the shoes of a SOLDIER candidate part of a secret Shinra project. The goal, it seems, is to climb the ranks of the experimental corps of enhanced fights. And you’ll have a plethora of weapons, items and abilities at your disposal.

Square /

A gameplay trailer for Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier showed players fighting across various areas of Midgar. In addition to the arsenal of weapons, we see magic being cast in the form of fireballs, cures and shield barriers. In what is one of the cooler moments, we also see you’ll have the ability to actually cast summons.

Combat also reveals there will be bosses scattered around Midgar that you’ll be able to fight. I can only assume that defeating them will reward you with powerful loot.

Check out the gameplay for Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier below:

I have to admit, this is probably the one spinoff I never expected to see from Final Fantasy. It’s definitely weird, but I’m also slightly intrigued. It looks kind of fun.

But I’m also concerned about the gameplay itself. It doesn’t look as smooth or polished as, say, Fortnite or Apex Legends. The aiming and gunplay looks kind of slow and clunky.

Square /