Naoki Hamaguchi says the final game in the Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy is being developed with an uncompromising goal: to make it feel like the last Final Fantasy VII game ever made.
After a decade working on the project, the director appears energised rather than exhausted. With Final Fantasy VII Revelation only months from completion, Hamaguchi believes his team has created a fitting conclusion for a story that has shaped his own life as a player and developer.
Hamaguchi first played the 1997 original while at university. That personal connection has given him both a fan’s understanding of the material and the freedom to reconsider what the series can become. Our arcade news coverage follows the wider industry questions raised by ambitious projects like this one.
A trilogy that had to keep changing
Hamaguchi has worked on the remake project for 10 years. He says he has always approached development as the fan closest to the production, and he is confident that the completed trilogy will satisfy its audience while accepting that criticism is a natural part of releasing entertainment.
Revelation was not mapped out in exact detail from the beginning. The team concentrated first on Remake, then Rebirth, and finally the third instalment. One principle remained consistent throughout: each game needed to evolve its gameplay experience. Without that progression, Hamaguchi believed players could lose interest before reaching the end.
The increasing size of the games was also shaped by lessons from Rebirth. Hamaguchi does not regard a large amount of content as automatically poor design, since some players prefer a focused story while others enjoy extensive optional activities. However, the team examined how Rebirth encouraged players to engage with its many quests.
In Rebirth, much of the optional content was connected to Materia development. Players seeking the strongest possible party could feel obliged to complete activities they did not particularly want to play because those activities provided battle-related improvements.
Revelation separates those rewards more clearly. Combat-focused tasks provide party power-ups, while mini-games offer mini-game customisation and flavour rewards such as character or weapon skins. Players can therefore see what an activity provides and decide whether it suits their priorities.
Hamaguchi does not describe this as a perfect formula for open-world design, but as a practical response to the previous game: a large world should offer plenty to do without making optional content feel like a chore.
Environmental themes with a timeless focus
Environmentalism remains important in Revelation, continuing one of the original Final Fantasy VII’s central concerns. For Hamaguchi, though, the deeper theme is the cycle of life and the conflict created when living energy is extracted as a resource.
The team wanted that message to remain broad and metaphorical rather than tying it too closely to current political events. A more direct connection to contemporary issues could make the story feel limited to a particular moment, whereas the remake’s themes are intended to remain timeless.
Working on the trilogy also strengthened Hamaguchi’s appreciation for the original game’s diversity. He points to the different party members, cultures and people represented across the world, noting how forward-looking that approach was in Japan more than three decades ago, when information about overseas events was less accessible.
Resolution, choice and individual character journeys
Where Rebirth centred on the bonds between the party, Revelation focuses on resolution and determination. As the characters prepare for the final battle, they must confront doubt, identify their reasons for fighting and find the motivation to continue.
Players will have a greater role in shaping those internal journeys. Many side quests allow them to choose which character undertakes the mission, and the consequences extend well beyond a few altered lines of dialogue.
The selected character can change the quest’s events, required gameplay, conclusion and effect on the broader story. These decisions are designed to make players weigh up whose personal path they want to follow.
The Highwind and a world-sized adventure
The Highwind presented a major design challenge. In the 1997 game, the airship could cross the world map in seconds; Revelation operates on a far larger scale. Hamaguchi believes the new game offers an unusual open-world structure because it is designed to feel like an entire planet rather than one region within a larger setting.
A genuinely realistic planetary scale would make travel slow and tedious, with players spending hours in transit. The team instead aimed for a balance that communicates a global adventure while keeping movement practical and enjoyable.
Final Fantasy beyond the traditional JRPG
Hamaguchi sees the remake trilogy as a demonstration of what Final Fantasy can be. He respects traditional JRPG design, including turn-based combat, linear storytelling and character-focused progression, but does not believe the franchise must remain within that format.
The trilogy’s action combat, broader systems and open-world ambitions are intended to show that Final Fantasy can compete as a global action RPG. Hamaguchi describes the evolution from Remake to Rebirth and Revelation as a statement that the series can become larger and more widely competitive without abandoning the possibility of traditional designs in future projects.
In his view, Final Fantasy is not a JRPG because it has no other option. It is a JRPG when that structure is the best choice for a particular game.
Making Revelation as the final word
That philosophy feeds into Hamaguchi’s approach to the trilogy’s conclusion. He is developing Revelation as though there will never be another Final Fantasy VII game, with no future spin-offs or downloadable content to fill gaps later.
Whether that ultimately proves true remains unstated. The intention, however, is clear: everything the team has for Final Fantasy VII should be placed into this final chapter. Hamaguchi’s confidence comes from that commitment, and he believes the trilogy can surpass the legend of the original and establish a new one.
For readers interested in the hardware and design culture surrounding classic games, RETROCADE’s arcade machine buying guide offers practical advice, while arcade cabinets and compact bartop arcades bring that gaming-room experience into Australian homes.
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