Final Fantasy 7 Revelation: Naoki Hamaguchi Interview

This year’s Summer Game Fest Opening Night Live concluded with a dazzling reveal of the next Final Fantasy 7 remake project, which we now know is called Final Fantasy 7 Revelation. This next chapter will finally conclude the Final Fantasy 7 remake saga, which began back in 2020 with the inaugural Final Fantasy 7 Remake.

In a recent interview with GameRant, Final Fantasy 7 Revelation director Naoki Hamaguchi shed some light on what players can expect from this finale, which is set to be even more ambitious than Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. With the FF7 remake saga coming to an end, Hamaguchi and the rest of the Revelation development team hope to deliver a satisfying conclusion for all fans. The following transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Naoki Hamaguchi On Ending the Final Fantasy 7 Remake Project After So Long

GameRant: As we approach the end, what are you hoping will be the legacy of the Final Fantasy 7 remake saga, and what sort of impact do you hope it will have on other remakes?

Naoki Hamaguchi: The Final Fantasy 7 IP has had a huge impact on the digital entertainment industry—it goes without saying that it’s very iconic. For the development team, who has spent the last decade bringing out this reimagined version of Final Fantasy 7, it carries a lot of weight for us. We want fans to bear witness to the ending of this saga, and not regret having followed this series for almost a decade. I hope they enjoy the ride.

I don’t think I need to do a deep dive into how difficult it was to develop this project in just 10 years. I think everyone in the industry, especially developers, really understand how much of a feat that is. So, as for the FF7 remake saga’s legacy on the games industry and remakes as a whole, I just hope that it has a strong impact on other developers.

GR: Do you think that we’re going to see more remake projects with the scope and scale of the Final Fantasy 7 remakes?

Hamaguchi: It’s probably going to be very difficult to achieve another remake on a similar scale and scope. For one thing, the IP has to be right. It has to be huge, and Final Fantasy 7 filled that role, so to speak.

Another thing is that creating a game is not something that can be done by just one person. It’s always going to be a team effort, and in that regard, I’m very grateful to have this incredible development team that ran with me for the past decade. It’s really been a long group effort, which isn’t something that every development team can pull off.

GR: To your point about IP, we all know how difficult it is to get a property that captures a huge audience and gets the funding it needs for intensive, ambitious development. Understanding that, is there any temptation to continue the world of Final Fantasy 7 remake, now that you’re reaching its end?

Hamaguchi: Right now, I’m just fully focused on delivering a perfect conclusion to the remake trilogy. That’s where my head’s at right now. To be completely honest, I really cannot think of any ideas I have for another installment in the remake series after Revelation [laughs].

But I can say that, much like we did with FF7 Remake Intergrade, I would be interested in offering a DLC chapter with additional story content after or within FF7 Revelation, if there’s strong support from the fans. That’s something we might be able to consider.

GR: That sounds very interesting. Is there anything you can tell me about where Revelation could go as far as DLC?

Hamaguchi: I think it’s better if I don’t mention any specifics of what we have in the storyboard right now, because that would reveal what we probably will and won’t include in the base game of Revelation. Right now, we just hope fans look forward to the story of Revelation, and the potential that a DLC might come.

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation Will Be a Complete, Augmented FF7 Experience

GR: Revelation will further flesh out various elements from the original Final Fantasy 7, such as the Turks and Wutai. Are there any characters, storylines, or concepts that you particularly enjoyed expanding upon, or that you’re especially excited for fans to experience?

Hamaguchi: In Revelation, I would say that Wutai is my personal favorite of the more fleshed-out elements. Taking a step back and looking at FF7 Rebirth, you may remember that we included Gongaga, which was not part of the original game. I felt that this greatly strengthened the game experience of Rebirth. Wutai is going to play a similar role in Revelation: it wasn’t in the original, but it’s going to be shown in a deeper way in this game. This version of Wutai is going to show a lot more of both the pro-Shinra and anti-Shinra factions of the FF7 world. That area is going to show a lot of the political themes of the game. I think it will resonate with a lot of FF7 fans around the world.

GR: Speaking of Gongaga… I heard you mention that Zack Fair is going to have a bigger role in Revelation. Obviously, we saw more of him in Rebirth as well. As a big fan of Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core, I’m curious: how much of an impact, if any, did Crisis Core have on not just Revelation, but the remake saga as a whole?

Hamaguchi: That’s correct: Zack is going to have an even bigger role this time around, not just in the story, but in terms of the overall game experience for the players as well.

This actually doesn’t just apply to Crisis Core, but also Dirge of Cerberus, the Vincent Valentine spin-off. These spin-off titles have quite a big impact on the remake series as a whole, since the concept of the remakes is to reimagine the entire world of FF7. So, in that sense, Revelation is going to have elements that tie into these two games, and even Advent Children.

GR: This last question is specifically about you, Hamaguchi-san. I know that you’ve said that you’re fully focused on Revelation right now, but I wonder, now that you’ve reached the end of this huge, unprecedented project, is there anything you’re itching to do next? Do you think there are any more remakes in your future?

Hamaguchi: I don’t feel like I will want to do another remake series after this, especially not something this grand in scale. At the same time, I feel that the FF7 remake series was able to show the world the scale and power of the JRPG genre. I think we did a pretty good job of that. So, I’m pretty confident in saying that my next project will probably be another JRPG title, and I certainly think we’ll be able to leverage the knowledge, experience, and insight that we’ve gained throughout this decade of developing the FF7 remake series. Whether this new project will be part of the Final Fantasy franchise or a new IP is entirely undecided. But as a Japanese game developer, I am very proud to deliver this JRPG to global audiences.

GR: Is there anything else you would like our readers to know before we wrap up?

Hamaguchi: Being able to announce Final Fantasy 7 Revelation has been an incredible experience, and I’m very happy to see the strong positive reception from the fans so far. We still have a lot of work left to do before release, but we hope that fans look forward to the Spring 2027 release window.

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