FF7 Revelation director on whether Remake trilogy success means more Final Fantasy remakes
Director Naoki Hamaguchi told Radio Times the Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy's success could cut both ways for future remakes. In a separate Den of Geek interview, Hamaguchi discussed the scale of Revelation, due 8 April 2027.
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The story, neutrally told
Centre · 1Naoki Hamaguchi, director of the Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy, told Radio Times that the trilogy's success could make further Final Fantasy remakes either more or less likely. Radio TimesN “"That's a pretty interesting framing you've got there," he laughed. "I think both are probably true.” Read at Radio Times ↗ Centre · 1Radio Times said the first two instalments have been a tremendous success for Square Enix, citing Hamaguchi's July interview with Automaton in which they said the games were "performing even better than most people would probably imagine" in sales. Radio TimesN “the first two instalments are "performing even better than most people would probably imagine," in terms of sales.” Read at Radio Times ↗ Centre · 1Hamaguchi said that from a business or management perspective, people might look at the success of Remake and say "Let's do the same again". Radio TimesN “So, from a business or a management perspective, I can well believe that people might look at that and say, 'Well, you know, it succeeded. Let's do the same again.'” Read at Radio Times ↗
Centre · 1Hamaguchi also pointed to the risks of splitting a single game into several titles: a weak reaction to the first instalment could leave a difficult decision about the second, and a long development could see a director step away and the vision change, confusing fans. Radio TimesN “if the reaction to the first instalment is not quite what you were hoping for, then you may be left with a difficult business decision about what to do with the second instalment”“And then you'd run into problems where maybe the overall atmosphere, the vision, things would change. Fans would be confused.” Read at Radio Times ↗ Centre · 1Hamaguchi said the 12 years of FF7 Remake development "went by in a flash" but amount to a significant part of a person's life, and concluded: "I do think it would be quite a tricky decision to make." Radio TimesN “"The 12 years [of FF7R development] went by in a flash, but when you think about the proportion of a person's life that amounts to, it's actually a fairly significant chunk.” Read at Radio Times ↗ Centre · 1Asked what they would like to see remade, Hamaguchi named Final Fantasy VI, which strongly influenced them as a child, and said they would also want a full remake of The Witcher 3, though they would feel "goosebumps" at being asked to make it as a developer. Radio TimesN “"That had a lot of inspiration for me, a lot of influence on me as a child."”“"If they did a full remake, I would be there.” Read at Radio Times ↗
Centre · 1In a separate interview with Den of Geek at Tokyo Game Show 2026, Hamaguchi said one goal of the series was to scale up with each title, and that Final Fantasy VII Revelation aims at a sense of scale and verticality rather than width alone. Den of GeekN ““One of the goals of the series was to scale up with each successive title,” observes Final Fantasy Remake trilogy director Naoki Hamaguchi” Read at Den of Geek ↗ Centre · 1Den of Geek's writer, who played an early build, described the Highwind airship from which the party can parachute into environments, returning chocobo mounts, and deeper combat with a more varied synergy system. Den of GeekN “This is most saliently seen with the addition of the Highwind, a large airship that can fly around the planet and drop protagonist Cloud Strife and his fan-favorite friends in environments in an instant” Read at Den of Geek ↗ Centre · 1Revelation adds two playable characters, Cid Highwind and Vincent Valentine, and a customisation system called FITS (Function Integrated Tactical Suitwear), which Hamaguchi said began internally as a job system. Den of GeekN ““Originally, we did call it a job system internally.”“Final Fantasy VII Revelation adds two new playable characters to the mix” Read at Den of Geek ↗
Centre · 1Revelation, the trilogy's concluding instalment, is developed and published by Square Enix and releases on 8 April 2027 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC; post-launch DLC is also being prepared. Den of GeekN “Developed and published by Square Enix, Final Fantasy VII Revelation releases April 8 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.” Read at Den of Geek ↗ Centre · 1Hamaguchi said they expect a sense of reassurance rather than sadness once the game is out, though they might want to revisit the characters later. Den of GeekN ““Rather than feeling sad, there is a sense of reassurance once the game is out that we’ve done these characters proper,”” Read at Den of Geek ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left0 outlets
No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Centre2 outlets
- Framing
- Both outlets are interview-led. Radio Times asks whether the trilogy's success makes more remakes likely. Den of Geek writes a hands-on preview of Revelation's scale and mechanics.
- Emphasis
- Radio Times stresses business risk and the length of development. Den of Geek stresses gameplay additions and scale.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Radio Times does not cover Revelation's gameplay or release date. Den of Geek does not address future remakes.
- Charged language
- “tremendous success”“Biggest Final Fantasy of All Time”“you ain’t seen nothing yet”
- For example
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“The Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy has been a tremendous success for Square Enix.” — Radio Times
“If you thought Final Fantasy VII Rebirth was a tremendous increase in scope and gameplay depth over Final Fantasy VII Remake, you ain’t seen nothing yet.” — Den of Geek
Right0 outlets
No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
What every side reports
- Naoki Hamaguchi directs the Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy for Square Enix.
- Final Fantasy VII Revelation is the concluding instalment of the trilogy.
- Both outlets drew on interviews with Hamaguchi.
Naoki Hamaguchi person
Says the trilogy's success could encourage more remakes commercially, but splitting one game into several is risky and long development makes such a decision tricky. Describes Revelation as built for scale and verticality.
“So, I do think it would be quite a tricky decision to make.” — Radio Times
“we really wanted to create this sense of scale and verticality with everything.” — Den of Geek
Left0 articles
No coverage yet.
Centre2 articles
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Neutral Q&A-style piece on whether the trilogy's success makes further remakes more or less likely, with Hamaguchi's candid view of the risks.
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Final Fantasy VII Revelation Is Shaping Up to Be the Biggest Final Fantasy of All Time
Celebratory Enthusiastic hands-on preview presenting Revelation as the most sweeping Final Fantasy yet.
Right0 articles
No coverage yet.
- 5 Oct 12:51 First Radio TimesN FF7 Revelation director thinks series success could mean more Final Fantasy remakes – or the exact opposite
- 5 Oct 17:00 +4h 8m Den of GeekN Final Fantasy VII Revelation Is Shaping Up to Be the Biggest Final Fantasy of All Time
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.