FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE INTERGRADE Interview – Naoki Hamaguchi, Director

Nintendo Switch 2 offers new ways for players to play FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE, as well as new ways to share the experience through features like GameChat. Do you expect to see players sharing their experience of the game with others a little differently now?

Hamaguchi:
I do think we’re going to see more of that kind of sharing. It's a good thing and I want to see more of that. The way that people play games, the way they interact with them, the places they interact with them are becoming much broader. In the past, high fidelity gaming experiences like the FINAL FANTASY games would typically be played at home in the living room on a big TV screen. Now, players can enjoy these types of game in their own room and on their own screen. People want to have those opportunities to play games in different places and in different ways.

I can definitely see more people playing this game on the go somewhere with their friends and sharing the experience with them. “Ah, I love this scene! Come and take a look. Isn’t this great?” Even online, you’ll see people posting screenshots and clips of their favourite moments. As a creator myself, I'm really happy to see that and I'm really excited to see what the possibilities of that are.

Was there anything that surprised you when bringing FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE to Nintendo Switch 2?

Hamaguchi:
The first thing – and maybe this comes from my place as a gamer and a fan – was that it was really touching to see the game running beautifully on Nintendo Switch 2 for the first time. When we saw the game running in handheld mode, just looking at that and how it changed the gaming experience was actually quite surprising. We're used to making console games where the experience involves having a controller in your hand and a TV in front of you. There’s also a bit of distance between the player and the visuals and sound coming from the TV screen. Having everything together in a form that’s much closer to the player really changes the overall feel of it.

When you see something, it's right there in your hands. The sound is immediate, and the vibration comes from the controllers. It seemed to improve the immersion and the feeling of consistency. It really did seem to give it a different feeling, which was quite surprising and was great to see.

Were there any elements that were particularly important to you when developing the Nintendo Switch 2 version?

Hamaguchi:
Speaking about the technical side of things, our specific strategy was to make sure the Nintendo Switch 2 version of FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE would stand up to all the other hardware platforms, even in handheld mode with a really solid, stable frame rate. One important thing we had to keep exactly the same as the other versions of the game was the lighting. The reason for that is that our game is very character driven: the characters, how they appear, their emotions, the facial expressions, etc., are really key to telling the story of this game, and if the lighting is changed from other versions, they may start looking like different characters and may have a slightly different feel to them.

That lighting was a very important part in that visual identity of the characters, so that had to stay the same and was basically decided from the beginning. A lot of this is down to the efforts of our graphic designers, our lead graphics programmers, etc. They did a really great job. Showing the game off at various events around the world, having hands-on sessions with people and the reactions we've seen from the fans and from media as well really has proved this concept, so I'm very glad.

FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE INTERGRADE includes a brand new adventure called FF7R EPISODE INTERmission. What sort of considerations were made when choosing to tell a new story in parallel to the main party?

Hamaguchi:
One thing we set out to do in terms of the story we’re telling in the remake trilogy was to not just focus on the original game’s story but to include storylines and lore from the spin-offs and other titles that make up the wider FINAL FANTASY VII universe. Talking specifically about INTERmission, there were three things we wanted to achieve with that content. First, we wanted to feature characters who were optional party members in the original game. Rather than keeping them as optional, they're now an integral part of the remake trilogy, so we wanted to tie their stories more closely to Cloud and the main party’s adventures. Yuffie Kisaragi, one of these previously optional characters, is introduced to the player in INTERmission, and we get to see how her storyline puts her on a collision course with Cloud and the others. Secondly, we wanted to create a story that links the first two games. INTERmission provides a storyline that smoothly connects REMAKE to REBIRTH. Finally, we wanted to introduce more of the wider FINAL FANTASY VII lore, such as the Deepground storyline which leads into INTERmission. That’s why INTERmission was structured and designed the way it was, to achieve those three things.

There are multiple ways to experience the game’s combat, such as real-time action-oriented combat and traditional turn-based style combat. How important was it to give these options to players?

Hamaguchi:
The approach that we took to the battles and the more action-style gameplay for the remake series was to increase the immersion, really making players feel like they're there in that world. To do that, we introduced more of this real-time, immediate visceral feedback from action-style gameplay. We felt that would be an integral part. There are a lot of players that respond to that really well and it's a really core part of the game for them.

At the same time, we’re also aware that there are lots of people who played and loved the original FINAL FANTASY VII. They might want to play the remake but aren’t necessarily familiar with or confident playing action games. That’s why we introduced Classic Mode, which feels like a real-time action game but uses menu-based inputs, for those types of players. This is to really appeal to both those audiences who are both looking for an action game experience and people who don't particularly want that but love FINAL FANTASY VII.

This game also features optional features that make it easier to progress through the game, such as the option to have all attacks deal 9,999 damage. Why did you choose to include these kinds of features?

Hamaguchi:
There were two schools of thought behind including these new streamlined progression mechanics. One of them is tied to the fact that we announced the whole of the remake trilogy is coming to Nintendo Switch 2, and all these games are going to be released in order. They’re also RPGs, which usually take quite a while to get through when playing them normally. There are people who want to experience the whole remake trilogy, but if they’re going to play through all of them normally, that's a lot of hours of gameplay to commit to. We want people to be able to enjoy and play all of them, so these features are a way of allowing people to get through that a bit quicker if they're a bit put off by the playtime involved.

The second thing – and this is perhaps a very personal reason – is that, as a game creator, I'm incredibly busy. I love games and I want to try out all kinds of different games, so I deliberately make time to play them, but when I do, I often find myself thinking, “Well, I'm enjoying this game and I'd really like to complete it, but I don’t have the time required to do that”. If there was a feature where I could progress a little bit quicker or didn't have to worry about grinding, I’d get further and might be able to complete the game. I imagine there are lots of people out there who might be pressed for time like I am who are looking for these kinds of features. That's a big part of why I decided to put these in there.

Speaking of finding time to play games, where do you like to play Nintendo Switch 2?

Hamaguchi:
I almost always carry my Nintendo Switch 2 in my bag wherever I go. Sometimes I play it on the train to work, when I have a bit of free time at work and at home, too. One of the great features of Switch 2 is that you can take it with you and play it anywhere when you have some spare time.

It’s been announced that other titles in the FINAL FANTASY VII remake trilogy are also coming to Nintendo Switch 2. What can fans expect to see from those future instalments?

Hamaguchi:
There's not a huge amount of information I can share in terms of future games, but I can reassure players that we’re working on the Nintendo Switch 2 version of FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH, the second game in the series, and the third game too. They are being worked on for Nintendo Switch 2 alongside the other platforms right now. One thing to reassure the fans who want to play these games on Nintendo Switch 2: I've got a personal policy where I don't want to make any versions of my games different or offer a different gameplay experience just because they're on different hardware. That might get confusing for players, and they might wonder which version of the game they should buy. That’s something I’d very much like to avoid. The Nintendo Switch 2 versions are being developed in a way that keeps the gameplay experience pretty much exactly the same as all the other platforms, so I hope this reassures Nintendo Switch 2 players.

Do you have a message to those looking to experience FINAL FANTASY VII for the first time?

Hamaguchi:
Even if you haven’t played or heard of the FINAL FANTASY VII, you might have encountered Cloud and Sephiroth in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and maybe you’ve been drawn to them without quite knowing who they are.

Through the remake series, you can discover the origins and stories of these characters. It's a really tight, focussed, story-driven experience that allows you to delve into and understand these characters, and hopefully come to love and appreciate them even more. So, if you're at all interested in these characters, this is a really great way to discover where they came from. I very much invite people to try out FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE on Nintendo Switch 2 just to experience these really cool characters.

And do you have a message for returning FINAL FANTASY VII fans, too?

Hamaguchi:
I was one of those people who played and loved the original game. I was wowed by FINAL FANTASY VII when it first came out all those years ago and really enjoyed playing it. Now I’m in the position as the director of the remake trilogy, and I'm very lucky to be in that position. I understand what the fans are looking for from the fan perspective. All those important memories, what was valuable to them about that game and what they really want to see again. I'm very much dedicated to bringing that to the fans: making it still authentic and still feel like FINAL FANTASY VII, while also making a new fresh experience at the same time. The whole development team really has that level of passion and excitement for remaking this game in that way. If you wanted to play FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE and you haven't had the chance, it would really be a great opportunity to pick it up on Nintendo Switch 2, and I'm very confident that we can deliver all that satisfaction and what the old school fans are really looking for in this game. I'm very confident and I'm proud of the passion of my team and what they’ve put into it, and I think you’ll have a really great experience of FINAL FANTASY VII all over again.

Mr Hamaguchi, thank you for your time and insightful answers.

FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE INTERGRADE is out now on Nintendo Switch 2.