“I Feel A Great Responsibility To Get It Right” – Naoki Hamaguchi On The Pressure Of Remaking Final Fantasy VII

Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade will finally make its way onto the Switch 2 early next year on 22nd January 2026.

For many, the 1997 original stands as one of the most iconic games of all time, and it’s certainly up there as one of the best entries in the long-running series. For Naoki Hamaguchi, the director of the Remake Trilogy (of which the latter two entries have also been confirmed for Switch 2), tackling such a monumental project comes with its own sense of pressure.

Speaking via an internal interview at Square Enix, Hamaguchi-san says that he finds himself “torn about how best to adapt it on a daily basis”, but nevertheless finds the whole thing a “worthwhile challenge” to undertake:

“Final Fantasy VII has always been a special game for me. When it was originally released, I was simply another player immersed in it and I was strongly drawn to the story of Cloud and Sephiroth. The game opened my eyes to the power of storytelling, something that’s stayed with me ever since. I feel it’s still at the core of what I do as a creator.

“I am now in the position of where I interact with Final Fantasy VII on the creative side and am working hard to bring Remake Intergrade to multiple new platforms and deliver the FFVII experience to even more people. I’m also right in the middle of developing the third and final part of the trilogy, the final phase where we bring the series to an epic conclusion – and a fitting culmination of everything in Final Fantasy VII.

“Because Final Fantasy VII is a game that fans have such a strong attachment to, I find myself torn about how best to adapt it on a daily basis. I feel a great responsibility to get it right. However, I believe this also makes it a worthwhile challenge to take on.

“Personally, I feel that the essence of Final Fantasy VII is the freedom to mix together many different elements and not get caught up in the restrictions of a single genre. How to bring that to the current generation is the challenge I’ve set myself at the moment.”

Judging from the reception so far, we reckon Hamaguchi-san and his team have been doing a pretty good job on the trilogy. If you’ve not played Remake yet, you’re in for a treat when it lands early next year. It seems that it’ll run remarkably well on Nintendo’s new console too, with Digital Foundry’s John Linneman recently stating that it’s “the best-looking thing I’ve seen on Switch 2”.

As for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and the untitled third entry, there’s no indication as to when they’ll release on the Switch 2, but you can bet we’ll be keeping a close eye on any potential developments in the coming months.