Final Fantasy VII Revelation, the concluding chapter in Square Enix's ambitious remake project, is set to release less than a year after its predecessor, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Directors Naoki Hamaguchi and Battle Director Teruki Endo sat down with IGN to discuss the development of the finale, shedding light on how the team is ensuring the game feels fresh, particularly in revisiting familiar areas and evolving the combat system.
To differentiate existing areas from their appearance in Rebirth, Square Enix has introduced new side quests and content. Director Naoki Hamaguchi explained that the impending meteor has caused seismic shifts, altering the geography of previously explored locations. "Even though they are continuously appearing from various games, it is going to look a little bit different from the previous game," he stated.
Exploration in Revelation is also being expanded with a greater emphasis on verticality. While Rebirth focused on the horizontal breadth of its open world, Revelation introduces vertical depth, allowing players to explore using the Highwind airship or Chocobos for aerial traversal. This, along with the ability to skydive from the Highwind and steer landings, aims to provide a more expansive feel to the world.
"The idea of the party parachuting down from the Highwind was something that we had pretty early on in the development of FFVII revelation," Hamaguchi noted. This mechanic was inspired in part by games like Fortnite, which have accustomed modern players to aerial drops, facilitating a seamless transition from air to ground.
Regarding the combat system, which was refined through Remake and Rebirth, Endo stated that the team felt it was already in a "perfect state" with the latter title. Instead of making fundamental changes, the focus for Revelation has been on expanding player flexibility and customization. This approach led to the development of new systems like FITS and the inclusion of Chocobos in combat.
A core theme for Revelation, according to Hamaguchi, is "resolve," which extends beyond the narrative to the overall player experience. "We want the players to make the choice themselves. We're going to offer them a lot of different options and choices," he said. This is reflected in gameplay elements such as allowing players to choose which party member to control in certain situations and the FITS system offering multiple combat approaches. The ability to choose different characters for specific side quests, potentially altering their outcomes, further emphasizes this player agency.
Hamaguchi also addressed the origin of the game's subtitle, "Revelation." While "resolve" was a central concept discussed internally in Japanese as "ketsui," it was not a contender for the English subtitle. The team ultimately chose Revelation after discussions with series Creative Director Tetsuya Nomura and the North American Square Enix team, who unanimously agreed it was the best fit among three final contenders. The other two options remain undisclosed for now.
Battle Director Teruki Endo highlighted Vincent Valentine's combat design as a personal favorite, specifically his ability to transform into the Galian Beast at will during combat. This feature was designed to give new characters unique and impactful gameplay experiences, differentiating them from established party members. "Vincent being able to switch back and forth between his human form and the Galian Beast form, it's essentially two characters packed into one because each form has its own unique movesets and motions," Endo explained.
On the topic of physical media, Hamaguchi expressed his happiness that Revelation will receive a physical disc release, despite the industry's shift towards digital-only. He acknowledged fan concerns regarding the necessity of internet downloads for parts of the game. "Realistically, the only choice that we had was to release this physical disc, but with certain sections of the game being a digital download format through the physical disc," he explained, citing the need to avoid compromising the game's fidelity and quality.
Looking back at the development of the entire Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy, which spans roughly eight years, Hamaguchi stated that the team's immediate priority is completing Revelation. While future projects are undecided, the experience gained from developing this trilogy is invaluable. "We are very much eager to utilize and leverage the experiences that we have made throughout these years of development of the FFVII Remake series," he concluded.