Plus, we get to try a playable demo from Final Fantasy VII Remake and Atelier Ryza.

This year’s Tokyo Game Show is currently being held at Makuhari Messe in Tokyo’s neighbouring Chiba Prefecture from 12-15 September. And according to the organisers, 655 companies and organisations are exhibiting their wares at this year’s iteration, including 350 domestic companies, which is a record number for the three-day-long event.

Our Japanese-language reporter Tasuku Egawa was there to cover the game show for us, and while he was set to focus on the fantastic cosplayers that had gathered for the annual event, he couldn’t resist taking a look at some of the booths inside as well.

The most popular booths on the first day of the event belonged to those showcasing the following titles: Final Fantasy VII Remake, Death Stranding, Project Sakura Wars, Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout, and Action Taimanin.

Tasuku was able to play a trial demo of Final Fantasy VII Remake, and he says the combat system plays like an action-based RPG, similar to Square Enix’s Star Ocean and Bandai Namco’s Tales series, where battle actions are performed in real-time instead of the usual turn-based mechanic. (A classic mode, with a battle system closer to the original game, is also said to be available.)

The demo Tasuku tried lets visitors play as only Cloud or Barret. Pressing the square button controls Cloud’s basic sword attacks, while rotational attacks are achieved with a longer press on the button. For both characters, the R1 button is for shielding against strikes, the X button is for evading strikes, the circle button brings up the command selection mode, where you can choose items and magic, and the up and down buttons on the d-pad switches between characters.

▼ Take a look at more gameplay details revealed during Saturday’s presentation at the TGS Playstation booth.

Tasuku found that the speed of switching between characters was slower than he would’ve liked, and the small damage inflicted by normal attacks was a little disappointing. However, he figured this was due to the limited nature of the demo, as more heavy-hitting attacks would likely become available over time with the stagger gauge.

Nonetheless, the demo was a great taster that left Tasuku even more excited for the upcoming release, which is set to become available for the PlayStation 4 worldwide on 3 March 2020.

Tasuku also stopped by the Koei Tecmo booth to check out Atelier Ryza, although the trial he played here was so short he couldn’t really get a proper grasp of the game.

▼ Check out the gameplay below.

Still, Tasuku was impressed with the graphics, characters, and the life-sized figurine of Ryza on display.

After checking out some of the booths at the show, it was time for Tasuku to return to the job at hand, and he headed outside to photograph a selection of the best cosplayers at the event. So let’s get to it and check out the cosplayers and their costumes!

▼ Yuumi from League of Legends | Cosplayer: @skcc_cos

▼ Anne Bonny from Fate/Grand Order | Cosplayer: @megrikina

▼  Mary Read from Fate/Grand Order | Cosplayer: @happy_kyom

▼  Reika from Gantz | Cosplayer: @moriko_0000

▼  Miyamoto Musashi from Fate/Grand Order | Cosplayer: @s0ma_yuki

▼ Rozalin from Disgaea 2 | Cosplayer: @gooseyhoops

▼ Nero Claudius from Fate/Grand Order | Cosplayer: @suzu_0607_

▼ Suzuki Hina (Vtuber) | Cosplayer: @yeb_mssk_cos_es

▼ Dong Bai from Dynasty Warriors 8 | Cosplayer: @saki_yaman

▼ Akagi from Azur Lane | Cosplayer: @mo3mo1mo

▼ Kirin Armor from Monster Hunter | Cosplayer: @ukito__cos

▼ Nargacuga Armor from Monster Hunter | Cosplayer: @akanacos710

▼ Sakura Kinomoto from Cardcaptor Sakura | Cosplayer: @rena_hashi

So there you have it, the fantastic cosplayers from day one of Tokyo Game Show 2019! The only thing missing was Keanu Reeves cosplaying as Johnny Silverhand from Cyberpunk 2077, but seeing as Reeves was at the show last week — posing on the game’s custom-made Yaiba Kusanagi motorcycle — we’ve got our fingers crossed for a Silverhand cosplay sighting to grace us with its presence in the very near future!

Photos: ©SoraNews24  
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[ Read in Japanese ]