The 1997 RPG Final Fantasy 7 is one of the most beloved games of all time, so naturally this decade's remake trilogy has been received, although largely positively, under intense scrutiny. A remake in every sense of the word, three distinct games have been made out of the original one, and Square Enix has been liberal with changes and expansions to the story, combat, world, and minigames, which naturally means fans have been squabbling online about all of the differences for about six years now. Naoki Hamaguchi, director on Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Revelation, sees that as a good thing.
Ahead of Final Fantasy 7 Revelation's release next year, Hamaguchi tells Automaton he's "grateful" for the remake trilogy's discourse because it means people care.
"Games are a medium, a community, and a culture. While a culture has certain unchanging aspects, I believe it only truly shapes into a culture when people discuss it from many different perspectives," says Hamaguchi. "If everyone looked at something in exactly the same way, I think it might not leave a lasting impression and could fade into obscurity over time. The very fact that the community is so active, that conversations happen, and debates keep erupting, is a kind of entertainment in and of itself."
I don't know about you, but I'm tickled by the mental image of Hamaguchi browsing Final Fantasy-related subreddits, sipping a cup of coffee, and giggling as his diehard fans argue about impossibly hot fantasy characters with big hair. In more elegant words, Hamaguchi says those heated discussions are proof of passion, which is hard to argue with.
"When people discuss and get heated about the minigames, the story, or the relationships between characters in FFVII, I think that only happens because they see value in those elements," he says. "I'm proud that this series has enough depth and capacity to inspire those kinds of discussions."
Even from game to game in the remake series, there's a lot of variation in terms of gameplay and structure, with the first 2020 entry being far more linear than the massive open world that is Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Hamaguchi told GamesRadar+ in a recent interview that people "got a little bit tired" of all the side quests in Rebirth and might have "stepped away" in exhaustion, which suggests Revelation could be a little more streamlined.
