Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth director says that it's absolutely essential to Square Enix that his team makes Part 3 "the best experience we possibly can"

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth trailer screenshot showing a young woman in a green ceremonial dress dancing, a determined look upon her face as she smirks while staring ahead
(Image credit: Square Enix)

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth director Naoki Hamaguchi has already helped deliver two stunning installments of Square Enix's planned three-part remake series, but he won't be able to rest until his team makes sure the final game is just as mind-meltingly good.

That's an official order from publisher Square Enix, by the way. In a new interview with YouTube channel Final Fantasy Union, Hamaguchi explains through a translator that the "absolute, essential mission" that Square Enix gave his team was to "finish [the remake trilogy] off and make it the best experience it possibly can [be]." 

Though Part 3 of the trilogy does not yet have a release date, as of this summer Hamaguchi seemed resolute that he'd be able to deliver on Square Enix's intimidating demand. 

In an August livestream event, Hamaguchi decreed that he was "absolutely confident that the third game in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake series will be one of the most loved, most popular games in the whole history of video games." So, that seems good.

In the spirit of that enthusiastic statement, Hamaguchi tells Final Fantasy Union that he's proud of how his team has so far been able to reimagine the typical, triple-A Square Enix game.

"Really, I'm proud of what we managed to achieve on Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth in terms of going away from that more traditional [...] linear gameplay experience and really creating that exciting [...] look at a more free, open-world," he says. "That's definitely something that will pay dividends in the future."

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's director says he rejects the idea of design by committee: "If there are too many people inputting, [...] the work can easily lose its character."

Ashley Bardhan
Contributor

Ashley Bardhan is a critic from New York who covers gaming, culture, and other things people like. She previously wrote Inverse’s award-winning Inverse Daily newsletter. Then, as a Kotaku staff writer and Destructoid columnist, she covered horror and women in video games. Her arts writing has appeared in a myriad of other publications, including Pitchfork, Gawker, and Vulture.