Square Enix has now completed the story of the third and final part of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy.
Speaking to Famitsu and translated by Eurogamer, Final Fantasy series producer Yoshinori Kitase and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth director Naoki Hamaguchi said development on the highly anticipated conclusion is progressing smoothly.
“I’m very satisfied with [the story], so I’m sure fans will be satisfied with the final chapter,” Kitase said, adding that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth creative director Tetsuya Nomura gave him “homework” to ensure this was the case.
The story of Part 3, which currently lacks an official name or release window, was required to have a respect for the original Final Fantasy 7 alongside a new level of satisfaction not felt in that game, Kitase said.
Square Enix announced its plans to release Final Fantasy 7 Remake as a trilogy in June 2022, following the release of the first game which had fans questioning if the entire story would need a dozen parts to be told properly. This is because Final Fantasy Remake itself only adapted the opening few hours of the original game, up to the point where the party leaves Midgar.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth expanded the scope significantly, however, introducing the open world and thus covering myriad locations such as Costa del Sol, the Golden Saucer, and many more, including some new ones.
It brought the overall story up to the end of Disc 1 of the original Final Fantasy 7, which closes in both games with what’s arguably the most iconic moment in video game history.
Part 3 will pick up immediately after this, though very little is known about it so far. Development began in June 2022 but Square Enix hasn’t said when it will end, only vaguely noting it hopes to release Part 3 by 2027.
Something it has said, however, is that it “will not cheat” when it comes to the Highwind airship. This allowed the party to quickly move around the map in the original game but, now in the world of fast travel, many fans wondered how the iconic ship could be implemented.
“We will not cheat with the airship system [in Part 3] but take the challenge head on so it can freely fly all over the game map,” Hamaguchi said in November.
In our 9/10 review of the last game, IGN said: “Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth impressively builds off of what Remake set in motion, both as a best-in-class action role playing game full of exciting challenges and an awe inspiring recreation of a world that has meant so much to so many for so long.”
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
