Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 3 is set to redefine the series' scope with the inclusion of the Highwind airship, but even in terms of combat gameplay, the third and final entry in the series is set to deliver the best experience of the trilogy, going by what series director Naoki Hamaguchi has teased in a recent interview with German publication ntower.
"We’ve designed each character to have their own unique appeal, so we didn’t create the game with the intention of having just one character stand out above the rest," Hamaguchi-san said to a question asking about his favorite character. "However, if I had to pick one, Yuffie was designed as a standalone protagonist for the DLC, so she has an excellent balance of long-range and close-range attacks, as well as physical and magical abilities. As a result, she’s turned out to be a very versatile character. I always include her in my party during battles myself."
"Also, I can’t say too much (laughs), but in the final game, both Vincent and Cid have been designed with incredibly appealing combat capabilities. They’re characters I can’t wait for everyone to actually try out," the Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 3 director concluded, teasing the remaining two party members.
As Vincent is a very unique character archetype in the original, mixing long-range combat with his Limit Break transformations (of which we got a small glimpse in Rebirth) and one of the highest magic stats in the game, I am really curious how all this will be adapted for the action-oriented gameplay of the remake trilogy. Cid, on the other hand, should be a more seamless transition, as his Dragoon combat identity lends itself perfectly to an aerial combat style.
Besides finally featuring the full party in playable form, Naoki Hamaguchi also teased the reimagining of two of the most iconic elements of the original Final Fantasy VII: the Knights of the Round summon and Sephiroth's devastating Supernova.
"There are many elements that symbolize FINAL FANTASY VII, and I definitely think the Knights of the Round and the visual effects for Sephiroth’s Supernova are among the most iconic. However, I can’t go into specifics at this point regarding how these elements will be handled in the trilogy or what decisions have been made. I believe these are all themes that require very careful consideration, especially when balancing them with the modern gaming experience," Hamaguchi-san said. "That said, speaking not only as a developer but also as a fan who played the original, I’m personally very curious about how best to recreate those iconic moments for today’s audience. I’d be thrilled if you could play the game yourselves and see for your own eyes what conclusions we’ve reached."
Going by this statement, it's easy to conclude that both will obviously be featured in Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 3, but in a slightly altered form that will likely take into account the increased interactivity and player agency in combat the remake trilogy has over the original. Hopefully, the team will have balanced the spectacle of both with the gameplay requirements as masterfully as they have so far, in my opinion.
During the interview, Naoki Hamaguchi also talked about the soon-to-be-released Nintendo Switch 2 port of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, which received a playable demo last week. In regards to the Nintendo current-generation system, Hamaguchi-san said that NVIDIA DLSS is a crucial technology for the system, but that requires intervention to address its widely documented struggles with rendering finer detail properly.
"Given the performance of the Nintendo Switch 2 in Handheld Mode, it’s honestly not easy to realize every visual element in its ideal form. In that context, DLSS is an essential technology for balancing expansive environments with stable performance," he said.
"On the other hand, when it comes to elements that handle extremely fine detail between frames, such as Cloud’s hair, issues tend to arise when combined with reconstruction techniques like DRS or DLSS. In fact, from FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE to REBIRTH, we’ve taken a more in-depth approach to hair rendering, making iterative improvements to increase its density and natural appearance. We’ve also introduced measures such as applying a slight blur, depending on the direction and density of the hair, to prevent edges from becoming overly pronounced. Within the constraints of Handheld Mode, our focus has been on achieving a presentation where any artifacts remain unobtrusive."
With the Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 3 director talking about the game so often, excitement for the trilogy's conclusion (and the continuation of Zack's story) is shooting through the roof. Amidst these teases and high-effort leaks whose credibility remains to be verified, there's no doubt the community is ready to learn more about one of the most anticipated JRPGs launching in the hopefully near future.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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