FINAL FANTASY 7 THE FIRST SOLDIER
A action battle game that takes place when SOLDIER was not established yet.
—FF7 THE FIRST SOLDIER uses Midgar as its battleground, but where exactly does this installment take place within the FF7 story?
Nomura: Within the various compilations in FF7, this game is the first to take place chronologically during a time when SOLDIER was not a thing yet but is about SOLDIER cadets and how SOLDIER gets established. The story itself isn’t very dense given the nature of the game, but it does form the backbone of the SOLDIER story.
—The SOLDIER cadets fight not only monsters, but the Cutter enemy, Scorpion Sentinel, and other Shinra machines. What is the reason behind that?
Nomura: It’s all part of their SOLDIER training. They have to undergo various situations to experience realistic battles.
—Can you give us a basic rundown of the battle rules? Is it along the lines of last man standing wins? Or are there team battles?
Nomura: There are solo and trio battles, and the winner is the last person or last team remaining.
—Since this game is a Battle Royale type with RPG elements, there might be some out there who are worried about picking up the game as it might not be geared for gamers who are not used to that style. How did you go about making a balance for that?
Nomura: One of the fun parts of the Battle Royale game is leveling up by gathering items and subduing monsters, which are RPG elements we have added. This should allow for casual gamers to enjoy the battle game as well.