Eleven years have passed since the announcement of the 'Final Fantasy VII Remake' project in 2015, and six years since the launch of 'Final Fantasy VII Remake', which marked its official beginning. 'Final Fantasy VII Revelation' (hereinafter 'FF7 Revelation'), set to conclude the remake trilogy, is approaching its spring 2027 release.
Although 'FF7 Revelation' has finally been unveiled after 'Remake' and 'Rebirth', fans' reactions are not purely anticipation. It is not because the game lacks fun or polish, but because of a story that unfolds quite differently from the original. While it follows the main arc of the original narrative, there are quite a few differences in detailed developments.
The biggest change is undoubtedly the existence of alternate timelines. Just as in the original, Zack died in the main timeline, but somehow, he remains alive and well in another timeline. However, Aerith does not exist in this timeline. As stories unfolding in different timelines have begun to intertwine throughout the remake series, the narrative has grown even more complex.
Various opinions continue to circulate in the community regarding this development. Why did alternate timelines appear? Is it merely a parallel world? And what changes will this bring to the main story? With so many questions remaining, fan focus is fixed on 'FF7 Revelation' to provide the answers.
Even the title is significant. 'FF7 Revelation' uses "Revelation" in its title, signifying the uncovering of hidden truths. Curiosity is rising over what kind of story will unfold in this grand finale to the trilogy, and how much of the truth long shrouded in mystery will be revealed. Another major point of interest is what rich content will be delivered following the previous entries.
We met with Producer Yoshinori Kitase and Director Naoki Hamaguchi of the FF7 Remake series to hear about the story and content of 'FF7 Revelation', and how they are preparing to conclude the trilogy.
Six years have passed since the release of FF7 Remake. With 'FF7 Revelation' scheduled to release in spring 2027, the remake series spanning roughly seven years is finally coming to an end. Although it hasn't released yet, how do you feel?
Kitase: From when we announced the remake series in 2015 until now, I feel that everyone, including the development team and myself, poured everything into FF7 Remake. 'FF7 Revelation' will conclude the story next spring, and while I feel very satisfied that it is the final entry in the trilogy, I am already excited to see what players will think and how they will react.
Hamaguchi: Speaking of my feelings, I think there might never again be another project where we create a trilogy for a AAA title of this scale. In fact, there were a lot of difficulties throughout the development period. In particular, because there was an original game with an established ending, we struggled a lot with how to satisfy the expectations of the media and players while continuing to realize what we wanted to achieve.
The most important thing was staying true to that goal. From Remake to Rebirth and Revelation, we had to continuously evolve the work while making it something that gives players plenty of room for speculation and discussion. I think we focused heavily on achieving that.
In that sense, I believe that 'FF7 Revelation' existing today is entirely thanks to the players. I think we were able to reach this point because players kept paying attention, and as a developer, I consider myself extremely fortunate.
It's my personal philosophy that game development isn't complete until it reaches the players, so I am already looking forward to everyone's reactions.
In the original game, the latter part following Aerith's death was quite brief. On the other hand, 'FF7 Revelation' needs to have a substantial volume as the grand finale of a trilogy. Could you share what parts were expanded, whether any parts were compressed, and what criteria were used for those decisions?
Hamaguchi: Storywise, we didn't think about compressing the original. Since we believe players have cherished memories attached to every part, we focused instead on including all sections and expanding them further.
Regarding characters, Yuffie and Vincent are great examples. In the original, they weren't mandatory main characters, but in the remake series, their status changed to playable main characters. In 'FF7 Revelation', I think players will find a lot to relate to when seeing Yuffie's role in the rivalry between Shinra and Wutai, among other aspects.
Meanwhile, certain locations and events that should have appeared earlier in the original ended up appearing in 'FF7 Revelation' due to narrative pacing. Rocket Town is a prime example. While it originally should have appeared before 'FF7 Revelation', it ultimately ended up in 'FF7 Revelation'. By adjusting the timing and presentation like this, we aimed to further expand upon the original's expressions.
Finally, regarding content length, just like the previous entry Rebirth, playing through only the main story will offer over 35 hours of gameplay. We made sure it has substantial volume and a complete standalone story as an RPG, not just an installment in a trilogy, and personally I am very satisfied with how it turned out.
You previously mentioned that the subtitle Revelation carries the meaning of uncovering all hidden truths. Does that mean the various questions raised throughout the FF7 Remake series will all be resolved in this game?
Hamaguchi: Since it has not released yet, I cannot share details about the story or ending, but I believe we have included everything we intended to convey.
From an entertainment standpoint, whether players accept the conclusion at face value or view it as an ending with room for interpretation is something I hope players judge for themselves after playing.
Zack had a significant role in Rebirth, and it was mentioned that his role is even larger this time. Will Zack's segments proceed from a separate perspective like in the previous title, or will he join Cloud's party in the main story?
Hamaguchi: It's very difficult to answer at this point. Because he plays such an important role, speaking on it could be a spoiler, so I cannot reveal much yet. However, since so many media outlets and players are curious about this, I'll share what I can.
As you mentioned, one of the biggest differences from the original is Zack's role. As his role shifted from the original into the remake series, the world changed, leading to additional elements. That was because those changes were being conveyed to players through Zack's perspective.
While I cannot disclose details, in 'FF7 Revelation', which serves as the culmination of the trilogy, there are generally more playable segments for Zack and his role is larger. As such, I think it will be a great experience for Zack fans.
One thing I can share is that in Rebirth, Zack mostly followed along with the story. In 'FF7 Revelation', Zack grows as well, so players can expect a much larger-scale experience regarding Zack compared to the previous game.
In Revelation, Final Fantasy's signature job system was introduced in the form of "Wear." In previous remake entries, each character's identity naturally translated into their combat style—such as Barret's ranged attacks and Tifa's swift melee combat. What led you to introduce the Wear system beyond this existing approach?
Hamaguchi: In Remake and Rebirth, the game systems basically followed Cloud's perspective, with Cloud as the main protagonist. Of course, Cloud remains the protagonist in 'FF7 Revelation', but because he is the lead character, party composition and overall focus naturally leaned toward him.
In 'FF7 Revelation', we consciously made sure to treat each character's role equally. Under the previous system, rather than building a party freely with favorite characters, players were somewhat forced to build parties based on roles like 'I need this role, so I have to include this character.' To shake up this formulaic party building and alleviate role restrictions tied to specific characters, we introduced Wear. This allows characters to perform various roles and lets players form parties centered around their favorite characters.
In the demo build, there were only four Wear options available per character. Why limit it to four when the number could have been higher? We'd also like to hear how you balanced party customization freedom with character identity.
Hamaguchi: Regarding how Wear came to be, alongside the reasons mentioned earlier, I discussed with Battle Director Endo and decided to incorporate the job system, a classic staple of the Final Fantasy series. We didn't set it at four from the very beginning. Since job systems in the Final Fantasy series typically feature a wide variety, that was our initial intent as well.
The issue was that 'FF7 Revelation' is an open-world action RPG. While other action games usually have one or at most two or three playable characters, our game features seven main playable characters, so we realized that adding just one more job (Wear) incurs immense development cost. Adding one meant designing it to suit all seven characters.
So during the design phase, we considered options like adding special accessories for visual distinction rather than fully changing outfits. However, we judged that in this era, changing jobs without changing outfits—only changing accessories—would fail to meet fans' expectations.
Rather than doing that, we decided fairly early on that it would be better to create distinct outfits for each while giving Wear defined roles to establish strong individuality. There was also a reason for calling it Wear: using "Job" might convey the impression of a vast, sprawling number, so referring to it as Wear helped differentiate it.
As a result, rather than adding more Wear options, we limited them to four to ensure clear distinction. Personally, I am very satisfied with it as a system that gives players freedom of choice while offering a distinct identity.
In FF7 Remake Intergrade, Deepground and the Tsviets from the spin-off Dirge of Cerberus appeared, but some fans were surprised that they didn't appear in Rebirth. Is there a possibility that they will reappear in 'FF7 Revelation'?
Hamaguchi: Since it relates to the story, it's difficult to answer yes or no here (laughs). So I will share what I can at this moment.
Looking at discussions among media and fans, there's been much debate about whether the ending of 'FF7 Revelation' leads into Advent Children. In that sense, when asked if there are connections to Dirge of Cerberus or other spin-offs and whether they connect or not, rather than answering directly with yes or no, I describe it broadly as a new FF7 that incorporates elements and lore from these spin-offs.
That was why Deepground and the Tsviets from Dirge of Cerberus appeared in FF7 Remake Intergrade. In conclusion, I would say 'FF7 Revelation' is being crafted as a finale that properly integrates elements from those spin-offs.
In Cid's case as a joinable party member, he was an homage to the Dragoon job in the original game. In the remake, it stood out that he was designed as an aerial combo-focused character. This mechanism is quite different from previous characters—were there any difficulties in implementing it? Also, in the original, his final Limit Break summoned the Highwind for a bombardment—will that be implemented as well?
Hamaguchi: As you mentioned, Cid was indeed designed as an aerial specialist character. In terms of attacker roles, if Red XIII is a ground attacker, Cid was designed with the idea of being an aerial attacker. Therefore, he was built to excel at aerial combo attacks and targeting airborne enemies easily.
As a side note, Cid's stats and specs were made quite strong, but most media outlets asked far more questions about Vincent. That's likely because Vincent can swap between Human and Beast modes, plus he's just a cool character. Still, I'm grateful you asked about Cid (laughs).
Ah, and regarding Cid's final Limit Break, it hasn't been revealed yet so it's hard to detail, but with battles against the Weapons included, I can say we structured it to offer a very exciting experience, including the Highwind.
For the FF7 Remake series, various minigames are an indispensable element. Just like Fort Condor and Queen's Blood in Rebirth, could you introduce any minigames in 'FF7 Revelation' that received extra effort?
Hamaguchi: If there's a minigame every FF7 fan expects, it would likely be Snowboarding. It was included in this demo build, though quite a few people might not have played it. It was made with substantial depth, designed to give different experiences depending on which route you choose.
Personally, my favorite part of this demo build is a side quest where the low-poly models from 3D Battler take over Gold Saucer. Visiting during that quest lets you enjoy minigames like Chocobo Racing and Snowboarding. Looking at it this way, players might think these are minigames exclusive to Gold Saucer, but they also have a surprising role in the main story, so I really hope players try them out.
Meanwhile, we received various feedback from fans regarding minigames. A prominent one was that Rebirth had too many minigames. Creating such a wide variety of minigames was entirely my decision, as I felt that diversity was one of FF7's key charms. So we prepared a wide variety of minigames this time as well. However, we are aware that quite a few players feel, "I don't really want to do minigames," or "I do them, but it's tedious." So for those players, we implemented two improvements.
First, just like combat, we added difficulty adjustment options for minigames. This makes them easier to play, and for players who feel even that isn't enough and prefer to bypass them entirely, we added a skip feature. So for those who feel there might be too many minigames, please know that 'FF7 Revelation''s minigames aren't that harsh, and look on them favorably.
Additionally, an event that fans have been anticipating since the previous entry was turned into a minigame in 'FF7 Revelation': the slapping scene between Tifa and Scarlet. It has been implemented as a minigame with great presentation and mechanics, so please look forward to it.
In Vincent's case, Beast mode was his Limit Break in the original game, but in this entry, it was changed to a standard ability allowing him to freely transform and revert. You must have had to balance human and Beast mode so that neither feels strictly superior—how was this tuned?
Hamaguchi: His basic positioning is similar to Yuffie's. Yuffie can alternate between two main modes: direct physical attacks with her shuriken, and ninjutsu (magic-based attacks) after throwing her shuriken.
Vincent is similar. While both his Human state and Beast mode deal physical damage by default, he resembles Yuffie in that he can freely switch between melee and ranged playstyles. Furthermore, as you mentioned, in 'FF7 Revelation', he can freely switch to Beast mode at any time using an ability.
Swapping modes mid-battle feels exhilarating and fun, to the point where I often included him in my own party alongside Yuffie. I believe fans will feel that same fun when playing.
Should we call it mounted combat? A mounted Chocobo combat feature was added, though in the demo build, its necessity didn't quite come through. What was the intention and intended utility behind adding it?
Hamaguchi: It wasn't designed with the intention of making players fight extremely difficult enemies while mounted on a Chocobo. Since combat relies heavily on individual character specs, there won't be battles where you are forced to fight tough bosses while riding a Chocobo.
Rather, it's better understood as an element added to complement combat pacing. As you know, in Rebirth, players could ride Chocobos around. However, in the previous entry, entering combat meant dismounting from the Chocobo to fight, which felt detrimental to the pacing. And once combat ended, you had to remount the Chocobo. Therefore, in 'FF7 Revelation', we enabled combat while mounted on a Chocobo to maintain that rhythm and tempo.
Frame it like this, and people might think Chocobo utility is low, but as you play, Chocobo abilities expand and enjoyable elements increase, making it another fun aspect of the game.
By the way, we've taken questions from many media outlets so far, but I think this is the first time anyone asked about mounted Chocobo combat. I think it was a great point to bring up.
Finally, please share a message for Korean players.
Kitase: As an original developer, I want to leave a message for fans of the original. As the finale of FF7, I believe this game packs everything you've wanted to see and play, so please look forward to it. Also, since 'FF7 Revelation' completes the trilogy, for anyone who thought, "I'll play once it's completely finished," I think now is a great time to purchase Remake, Rebirth, and Revelation together. The bundled pricing is very reasonable, so I hope you purchase it and enjoy it from Part 1 all the way through.
Hamaguchi: I remember visiting Korea for a launch event when FF7 Rebirth released. That shows how important the Korean market is to us. While it's in the planning stages and hard to share specifics right now, if possible, Kitase-san and I would love to visit Korea together for a community event. We know how passionate the Korean community is and how much they support us, so we would be truly grateful for your continued support.
