Final Fantasy 7 Remake was the most difficult entry in Square Enix’s planned trilogy to develop, director Naoki Hamaguchi said, even though the later games expanded the project’s scope.
Hamaguchi described the first game as a particularly demanding combination of creative and business decisions. Development began with a team of about 30 people, while the developers also had to determine whether their approach to reimagining the 1997 role-playing game would satisfy its established audience.
A small team and a large commitment
The production challenges extended beyond building the opening chapter. Square Enix’s plan connected Final Fantasy 7 Remake to two follow-ups, making the performance of the first release important to the future of the wider project. Hamaguchi said weak sales or a poor reception for the opening game could have resulted in the later entries being canceled.
“We haven’t altered the core of the story based on reactions at any given time.” — Naoki Hamaguchi
Hamaguchi also discussed the difficulty of keeping the development team as consistent as possible across the trilogy. The group working on Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Final Fantasy 7 Revelation grew and changed as production continued, creating a management challenge while the developers worked to preserve the project’s original direction.
Preserving the identity of the remake
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth serves as the second chapter of the reimagining and takes Cloud Strife and his companions beyond Midgar. Its larger scope followed the first game, which concentrated on the opening portion of the original adventure. The third entry, Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, is intended to complete the trilogy.
According to Hamaguchi, the team continued to measure new story ideas against the identity established at the beginning of the project. Some additions prompted the developers to question whether the result still felt like a version of Final Fantasy VII rather than an unrelated interpretation.
“I felt it was absolutely essential to avoid turning a masterpiece like FF7 into something that felt like my own personal fan project.” — Naoki Hamaguchi
Hamaguchi’s comments place the trilogy’s development around two connected goals: expanding the original game into multiple releases while maintaining a consistent central theme. The production began with the smallest team of the three entries and continued into a project whose later installments required more developers and a broader game world.
- Final Fantasy 7 Remake began development with about 30 people.
- Hamaguchi said the first game’s sales and reception could have affected whether its follow-ups were made.
- The director said the trilogy retained its central story direction rather than changing it in response to reactions.
