The Final Fantasy VII Remake is just a few months away, and today Square Enix revealed a number of new screenshots, along with new details and comments from the development team.

While the focus of the first article is mostly on screenshots, it also includes new art featuring Barrett (and Marlene) and Aerith.

The screenshots themselves begin by showing the members of Avalanche and the Turks (well, Reno and Rude).

After that, there are combat screenshots showing Cloud switching between Operator Mode and Punisher Mode, and using his Triple Slash attack and Blade Burst attack. Another screenshot shows the menu where you’ll be able to switch difficulties or select Classic Mode.

Another set of screenshots show some of the locations in Midgar: the church, Aerith’s house, and the inside of her house.

Getting back to combat, they show screenshots of Aerith casting Fire and Barrett using Assess to see the enemy’s weaknesses, resistances, items that can drop, etc.

Weapons can also be upgraded, and another screenshot shows us the upgrade screen for the first time. Weapons also have unique abilities that gain proficiency as you use them, as shown in another screenshot. When you have 100% proficiency in an ability, you’ll be able to use it with any weapon.

I like the sounds of this system, and I wonder if something similar will be in place for the regular Materia.

The screenshots also reveal the Chocobo and Moogle summons, pictured above, which is pretty cute.

Finally, we get to see the darts mini-game that was shown briefly in one of the trailers and a screenshot of a motorcycle battle.

Now let’s take a look at the interviews.

It’s really a collection of thoughts and comments on the Final Fantasy VII Remake, but there are a few details worth noting. Nomura, who is directing the game, apparently wanted to do a remake as the final entry in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII and didn’t get a chance. He reiterated that this is a full-length release with lots of content despite only being the first part and confirmed that there will be several new characters (though not main characters) and bosses.

The second game is also officially in development.

Nojima, who worked on the story and scenario, mentioned that since scenes are more detailed and rely less on the player’s imagination than in the original, “the feel of the story” might be considerably different. However, he also thinks players will feel a deeper connection to Cloud.

I’m a little concerned about why he thinks the story will feel so different, but since everything looks great so far, I’m still excited.

Hamaguchi, the game design and programming co-director, mentioned that “respect for the original” is a phrase they’ve kept in mind while making it, and scenario design co-director Toriyama spoke about how they’ve brought Midgar’s inhabitants to life and revived the Honey Bee Inn as a “pantheon of entertainment.”

I don’t quite know what that means, but apparently the original had quite a bit of content that didn’t make it into the final release, including a scene with Palmer, more NPCs to talk to, an encounter with a ghostly version of Cloud, and an employees’ room, so maybe some of these things have been restored for the remake. Then again, maybe it’s entirely new content.

There are many more comments from the rest of the team members, but those are the parts that stood out to me the most.

What do you think about the latest Final Fantasy VII Remake details? When do you think we’ll start hearing about the second game (and what will they call it)? What do you think they’ll do with the remade Honey Bee Inn? Share your thoughts in the comments!