“What Matters Is The Feeling Of A Diverse Group Of People Inhabiting This World” - Naoki Hamaguchi On The Realism, Diversity, And Charm Of Final Fantasy 7 Revelation

Final Fantasy 7 takes place in an utterly fantastical world filled with monsters, magic, and all sorts of mythical things. But ever since the 1997 original, it has always sought to feel real and grounded in the context of its bold narrative. Just like our own world, most normal people are simply trying to make ends meet while greedy corporations suck life from our planet with an unrelenting thirst for dominance.

Square Enix always intended for this to be a deliberate political reflection of how unchecked powers would sacrifice millions of lives and let our planet burn if it meant infinite profits, and now more relevant than ever, the Remake trilogy places this part of the narrative at the forefront. But it also seeks to depict people, relationships, and everyday life in a more honest and realistic way.

To mark the recent launch of Rebirth on Nintendo Switch 2 and Xbox consoles alongside the reveal of Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, I caught up with game director Naoki Hamaguchi to dig deep into the diversity, easter eggs, and fan service of this ambitious RPG experience.

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation’s World Wants To Feel Diverse And Authentic

An element of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth that I come back to during every playthrough is a same-sex couple who travels across the open world much like Cloud and company do. It begins with an aggressive slap fight on the streets of Kalm, before evolving into a sapphic relationship as these two women leave the men in their lives behind before falling into the arms of each other. Neither of these characters have names, but watching their romance develop over the course of my own adventure was an unexpected delight.

When I asked Hamaguchi about this specific part of the game, he was equally surprised and thrilled to hear about the reception it had among players: “To us, what matters is the feeling of a diverse group of people inhabiting this world in an authentic manner. Rebirth is a game where you encounter many towns, cultures, and relationships throughout your journey. In my view, the presence of diverse, authentic relationships within that journey also enhances the world’s realism.

“As such, it feels closer to say that even for these two characters, our goal wasn’t to add a same-sex couple just for the sake of adding it, but to portray the stories of those inhabiting this world with sincerity and care. In truth, it made us incredibly happy as the development team to see players paying close attention even to these subtle interactions and shifts in relationships.”

We’ve seen more games move in this inclusive direction, so I ask if Hamaguchi believes that LGBTQ+ representation in Japanese video games in particular has become more authentic in past years, using Rebirth’s brief yet welcome character moments as small examples:

“Rebirth is a game where you encounter many towns, cultures, and relationships throughout your journey. This is why I believe the atmosphere of the world — where such individuals simply exist and go about their lives — ultimately enhances its realism. In truth, my impression is that players also pay close attention to not only whether these depictions are there, but also their detailed nuances, like the emotional distance and conversational tone between characters.”

You also stumble upon a woman in the game world who talks about being tired of dating men and deciding to give women a try instead. There’s an awful lot of lesbians in Final Fantasy 7...

Hamaguchi continues: “Especially following the shift to an open world, we were keen on conveying the sense that a truly diverse group of people inhabit this world, through the towns’ details and the mundane dialogue that unfolds outside the main story. As such, it feels closer to say the presence of these relationships didn’t feel like a distinct depiction for us, but rather a result of building FF7’s world in an authentic way.”

But It Also Wants To Delight And Surprise In Equal Measure

While they represent a very different sort of realism, the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy allowed Hamaguchi and his team to fill the world with subtle details and easter eggs that aren’t just easy opportunities for fan service, but make the world feel more alive. I ask how the developers decide what things should be included, and how tasteful it needs to be for fans to appreciate them.

“The FF7 series truly has a long history, including not only the original game, but also the various spin-offs. Within those, there are fans who feel attachments towards different entries. For some, Crisis Core is special; for others, Advent Children was memorable. There are even those who’ve never forgotten small moments from the original game,” Hamaguchi explains.

“Because of this, whenever we make easter eggs and small details, there’s an abundance of options for which memory from which game might delight players. I view this as one of the unique strengths of the series. What’s also interesting is how many members of the current development team are, quite simply, fans of FF7 themselves. ‘Someone will definitely notice this,’ or, ‘I want to include this easter egg,’ are truly routine conversations."

That being said, Hamaguchi also notes that he doesn’t want to stuff the trilogy with oodles of hidden details or deep-cut easter eggs purely for the sake of it — instead be incorporated as part of each game’s overall world building. There are familiar characters, imagery, or even sounds that diehard players will recognise and cling to, so making sure all of these are positioned in the right place is paramount.

I bring up a few specific examples, namely posters that depict the Weapons set to feature heavily in Final Fantasy 7 Revelation and NPCs paying homage to Tifa and Scarlet’s now infamous slapfight, which Hamaguchi confirmed will be coming in the third game.

“This remake series was designed to be a single, cohesive work spanning the overall trilogy from the outset, so we’ve put considerable and detailed thought into how much to show right now versus what we shouldn’t show just yet. In particular, I believe the more a player is familiar with the original game, the more likely they’ll infer the future based on small details. That’s why in Rebirth, we intentionally left room for people to speculate, ‘Does this maybe mean?’

It was also confirmed to us that outfits from Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth should be making a return in Revelation, while many additional costumes will also be made available. But you won’t be able to express your eccentric fashion during key story moments.

Hamaguchi is right on the money, especially with a trilogy that has gone out of its way to subvert expectations and play around with the original narrative. Regardless of how small the details might be, players are going to read into them and likely expect them to pay off in small or massive ways. In the case of the slap fight and Weapons, however, these are both going to play a significant role in Revelation.

“The Weapon poster is one such example of this. From the early stages of development, our aim regarding Weapons was to leave a lingering presence of earth-shattering entities within the world itself. That said, we didn’t want it to be straightforward, ominous foreshadowing either. If anything, because this was a world that’s lost its reverence towards the planet, images of once-feared entities are instead consumed as pop culture motifs. We wanted to capture that subtle air of irony.

“On the other hand, I’m sure the interaction between Tifa and Scarlet likely made those familiar with the original game think, ‘This is definitely leading up to that moment’. Of course, that showdown is depicted with the care it deserves in the third installment. We hope you look forward to seeing how these elements scattered as homages will ultimately tie into one another.”

I also had to ask whether the scene in which Elena from The Turks indulges in a Sea Salt ice cream was a deliberate reference to Kingdom Hearts. Bad news: it isn’t.

“It might be disappointing to hear this, but Elena’s ice cream isn’t a homage to Kingdom Hearts,” Hamaguchi laughs. “In Japan, there’s a very popular soda-flavored popsicle called Garigari-kun, which we’ve actually referenced quite a bit during development. As such, it’s closer to say we were envisioning a slightly nostalgic popsicle, reminiscent of the summer.”

How Much Content Is Too Much Content In Final Fantasy 7?

One of the common criticisms levied towards Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth was how much content it had to offer. Don’t get me wrong, most of its minigames were terrific fun and its open world regions weren’t as vast and empty as the worst triple-A culprits, but I wouldn’t blame anyone for skipping over certain distractions because they simply didn’t have time.

It turns out this was actually a part of the overall design philosophy and became a consistent conversation across the team throughout development. Many felt this feeling of utter abundance was part of what made the original Final Fantasy 7 so special. It might’ve ended up backfiring a little bit, though.

“For FF7 Rebirth, we were particularly keen on not only following the main story, but also creating a sensation of inhabiting this world. For example, you might set out to advance the main story but end up playing several rounds of Queen’s Blood, dressing up your Chocobos, or exploring the world map instead. I consider this to be a quintessential FF7 experience, including the sensation of getting sidetracked by the journey itself.

“In truth, though, that overwhelming feeling was felt by the development team, too, not just the players. Especially with the shift to an open world, an exorbitant number of elements were developed simultaneously, such as minigames, side quests, easter eggs, exploration, and dialogue events. Truthfully, I’m sure many staff members felt worried during the early development stages, wondering, ‘Would we really be able to finish all of this...?’

“That’s why I made it a point to solidify the overall game design very early in development: where and when to place each minigame, where to leave room for side content pacing, and where to include easter eggs. This gameplay blueprint was something we laid out very clearly from the outset.”

When I ask if there are any hidden secrets or easter eggs that players seemingly haven’t discussed on social media yet, Hamaguchi mentions the Komainu (lion-dog statues) at the Gilgamesh Island entrance and how they’re actually modelled after Enkidu, canine companion of Gilgamesh who appears in many other Final Fantasy titles.

When all of these elements are brought together — whether it be the diversity and realism of its imaginary world or the frequency of easter eggs and hidden discoveries — Hamaguchi is hopeful that once we reach the end of Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, it will feel like we’ve also concluded a pilgrimage that has been decades in the making.

“By having this complete picture, the team was able to share the sense that this game will come together if we build things up until this point. As such, it feels closer to say that this isn’t a game that simply features a large amount of content, but rather one where we challenged ourselves with how to turn this massive scale of gameplay into a single, cohesive journey.”

This interview is a part of our Final Fantasy 7 Day coverage. Be sure to check out the rest of our articles diving deep into the beloved classic here.

TheGamer Presents: Final Fantasy 7 Day