FF7 Remake Lead: We Fought to Not Make It a Fan Project

Naoki Hamaguchi reveals the struggle of remaking Final Fantasy 7 without turning it into his own fan project, as Final Fantasy 7 Revelation nears its 2027 release.

Ever wondered what it takes to remake a game as legendary as Final Fantasy 7 without messing it up? Series boss Naoki Hamaguchi knows the pressure all too well. In a recent interview with Edge Magazine issue 429, he opened up about the tightrope walk of staying true to the original while crafting three massive entries.

"We haven't altered the core of the story based on reactions at any given time," Hamaguchi says. "It feels as though we've built up each title one by one without wavering from the central theme we established at the very start of the Remake series." That unwavering focus was crucial, especially when fan expectations could easily derail the project.

But it wasn't a walk in the park. Hamaguchi admits, "It wasn't easy. I felt it was absolutely essential to avoid turning a masterpiece like FF7 into something that felt like my own personal fan project." That's a relatable struggle for any creator handling a beloved franchise—you want to honor the source, not hijack it.

Of course, the remakes do take creative liberties, like the meta narrative device of the Whisper entities that shake up the original story. Yet Hamaguchi says the team didn't sweat the small changes; they agonized over the bigger question: what defines this trilogy? "The real challenge wasn't simply incorporating elements that differed from the original or introducing new interpretations. It was constantly asking ourselves whether what we were creating could truly be called FF7R," he explains.

That identity crisis is understandable when you're reimagining a game that's both a time capsule from the late '90s and a timeless tale of corporate greed and environmental ruin. The upcoming Final Fantasy 7 Revelation is set to tie the knot on this modern retelling, and it's due out April 8, 2027—so you've got plenty of time to catch up.

Whether you replay Remake and Rebirth or dive into the original 1997 JRPG, Hamaguchi assures newcomers can jump right into the remakes and still have a blast. He recently told GamesRadar+ that the original story "is very much enshrined within the story [and] the narrative of the Remake series as a thing in the world." Plus, the battle lead still doesn't know the "correct" way to balance real-time and turn-based combat—but that's why he's not "tired" of working on the trilogy.

So, what do you think? Are you happy with how the remake trilogy has balanced faithfulness and fresh ideas? Will you be picking up Final Fantasy 7 Revelation when it launches in 2027?