Monsters, Materia, And Chocobos Highlight Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier Livestream

Square Enix has pulled back the curtain on Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier, revealing tons of new information on Final Fantasy's first foray into battle royale in a livestream presentation.

The stream highlighted many of The First Soldier's unique takes on the format, mainly its hybrid focus on ranged and melee combat. 75 players will drop into each match, with the standard looting of weapons and supplies fully intact. The standard battle royale item rarity scale--grey as common all the way to orange being legendary--is here as well, but firearms, handheld weapons, and even magic Materia can be found scattered across the map.

Speaking of the map, The First Soldier's full arena was revealed highlighting many of the different Final Fantasy VII Remake locales that will feature during battle. Familiar locations include Wall Market, complete with Corneo's mansion, the Verdant House (aka Aerith's house), the Sector 5 and Sector 7 Slums, and the Church...but don't step on the flowers.

Vehicles can be found throughout the arena for easy traversal, with the speed bike being shown off in the live matches. Chocobo stops can summon chocobo mounts as well, with the giant birds able to hover and glide short distances when jumping. No other vehicles were shown during the stream but more are said to be included in the game.

One unique feature of The First Soldier are the monsters roaming around the different areas, adding a PvE element to each match. Standard enemies like Bombs can be defeated for experience, while a few areas have FFVII's bosses like the Guard Scorpion. Defeating monsters and farming their EXP will eventually level up the character, increasing HP/MP and enhancing their abilities.

Each player can choose one of four different "styles," each with its own focus and unique abilities. The warrior specializes in melee combat--with one of its abilities being a charging slash protected by a shield--while the sorcerer can boost their magic casting power. The most notable ability revealed in the livestream belongs to the ranger, who can temporarily show the location of all enemies within a certain distance.

The First Soldier's most impactful addition, however, is its materia. Materia can be found scattered all through the map, giving players magical abilities to use throughout the match. Duplicate Materia can power up the spells being used, for example a Fire Materia can become Fira and Firaga with multiple Fire Materia.

Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier is the first of two FFVII-themed mobile games coming soon, the other being the story-based RPG Ever Crisis. Both were announced in February alongside Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, which launches exclusively on PlayStation 5 June 10. A beta test for The First Soldier was announced to begin in June.