Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 3 Progress and Director Insights

Naoki Hamaguchi, the director of the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy at Square Enix, has provided a progress update on the development of the series’ third and final installment. In recent interviews with outlets including IGN and Nintendo Life, Hamaguchi confirmed that the project is proceeding on time and on schedule.

The director expressed a high level of confidence in the game’s current state, noting that development is going extremely well. According to reports from GamesRadar+, Hamaguchi indicated that the title is shaping up nicely and that a significant portion of the JRPG is already playable.

Iterative Testing and Development

Hamaguchi’s approach to finalizing the trilogy involves an intensive cycle of internal testing. He revealed that he has already completed over 40 full playthroughs of the third game to ensure the experience meets the necessary standards before public release.

The director described the development process as packed and eventful, stating that It’s rare for him to have downtime given the scale and complexity of the project. This rigorous iteration follows a pattern established in the previous entry, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, which underwent a structural overhaul compared to the first part of the trilogy.

Challenges in Archival Preservation

Despite the modern technology used to build the remake, Hamaguchi highlighted a significant hurdle: a lack of historical documentation from the original 1997 game. Speaking with Eurogamer, he explained that because game development in the mid-1990s was more akin to the Wild West, very few design documents or written plans were preserved.

There’s almost no documentation left over from that period at all, practically none. Game development back then was a lot more Wild West – a lot of material was just not kept. Data management wasn’t done to modern standards, so yeah, there’s basically nothing.

Naoki Hamaguchi, Director, Square Enix

Hamaguchi noted that the team relies primarily on character design sketches and information found in published Ultimania guides, as internal design documents from the original production period are virtually non-existent.

Future Outlook

While the focus remains on the conclusion of the Final Fantasy VII saga, Hamaguchi has touched upon the possibility of future projects. He indicated that the team intends to move on to a new project after the third part is complete, though he declined to specify whether that would be a new IP or something new within the FF series.

For now, Hamaguchi has urged fans to look forward to it just a little longer as the team works toward the final release of the trilogy.