{"id":137030,"date":"2026-05-01T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/#article-200601"},"modified":"2026-05-01T15:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T15:00:00","slug":"feature-its-rare-for-me-to-make-downtime-naoki-hamaguchi-talks-final-fantasy-viis-packed-and-eventful-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2026\/05\/01\/feature-its-rare-for-me-to-make-downtime-naoki-hamaguchi-talks-final-fantasy-viis-packed-and-eventful-development\/","title":{"rendered":"Feature: &#8220;It&#8217;s Rare For Me To Make Downtime&#8221; &#8211; Naoki Hamaguchi Talks Final Fantasy VII&#8217;s &#8220;Packed And Eventful&#8221; Development"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/f334d1c1a46a6\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/f334d1c1a46a6\/small.jpg\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n<figure class=\"picture\" data-uuid=\"f334d1c1a46a6\"><a class=\"scanlines\" title=\"FFVII Rebirth 1\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/f334d1c1a46a6\/ffvii-rebirth-1.large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/f334d1c1a46a6\/ffvii-rebirth-1.900x.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" alt=\"FFVII Rebirth 1\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"caption\"><em class=\"credit\"><span class><\/span> Image: Square Enix<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Mere months after the launch of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch-2\/final-fantasy-vii-remake-intergrade\">Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade<\/a> on Switch 2, Square Enix is following up with a port of its sequel, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch-2\/final-fantasy-vii-rebirth\">Rebirth<\/a>, in June.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s an impressive accomplishment given that the development team is also knee-deep in producing the third and final entry in the trilogy. The currently-untitled game has yet to receive a firm release date, but according to director <strong>Naoki Hamaguchi<\/strong>, work is progressing very well.<\/p>\n<p>This is just one of several topics we touched on in our recent interview with Hamaguchi-san, who kindly took time from his schedule to answer questions ahead of Rebirth&#8217;s launch. We discuss why Rebirth is launching so soon after Remake, how he relaxes during his downtime (or, to be more precise, doesn&#8217;t), and which first-party Nintendo game he&#8217;s particularly excited for in the months ahead.<\/p>\n<p><!-- cache: html:nintendolife.com\/ssl\/nintendo-switch-2\/related-articles:200040 @ 1777705901 --><\/p>\n<aside class=\"block object-related\"> <\/aside>\n<hr>\n<p><strong>Nintendo Life (Ollie Reynolds) &#8211; How has development gone for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth on Switch 2? Were you working on this alongside Remake?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Naoki Hamaguchi:<\/strong> Truthfully, from the moment we launched the Switch 2 version of Remake, the only thing I was thinking about was how to turn these other launches into a reality. This is because it wouldn\u2019t be fair to the players if the platforms were split partway through, given how this project was designed to be a trilogy. So, rather than saying we developed Rebirth in parallel, it\u2019s more accurate to say that we were operating with the assumption that we\u2019ll continue this path forward from the moment Remake proved to be viable on the Switch 2.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, this doesn\u2019t mean we were developing two entire titles simultaneously. However, the optimisation insights we gained from Remake and our growing understanding of the Switch 2 hardware were fed back into Rebirth from a fairly early stage. As a result, Remake and Rebirth ended up releasing on the Switch 2 within a relatively short time span. This wasn\u2019t because we prioritised speed, but rather, it was a decision driven by our top priority of avoiding a fragmented experience.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"picture\" data-uuid=\"018335c04104e\"><a class=\"scanlines\" title=\"FFVII Rebirth 2\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/018335c04104e\/ffvii-rebirth-2.large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/018335c04104e\/ffvii-rebirth-2.900x.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"FFVII Rebirth 2\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"caption\"><em class=\"credit\"><span class><\/span> Image: Square Enix<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>How did you find the transition from the more linear gameplay in Remake to the more open-ended structure in Rebirth?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The transition from Remake to Rebirth was essentially the accumulation of adjustments focused on answering one question: \u201cHow can we make this work?\u201d Because Rebirth features large-scale fields with heavy processing loads on rendering and streaming, it couldn\u2019t be ported to the Switch\u202f2 as is. That led us to take a step back and reassess things, from our approach to rendering techniques, to lighting, and background streaming.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"right\">\n<p>We were especially keen on ensuring that switching between handheld and docked modes never made players feel like they were playing a different game.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>We were especially keen on ensuring that switching between handheld and docked modes never made players feel like they were playing a different game. We prioritised stability and consistency of experience, exploring sensible solutions while keeping how games were played on the Switch 2 in mind. Through that process, we gained a very clear sense that an open-world experience of this scale can truly work across different environments. That realisation isn\u2019t limited to Rebirth; it serves as a major source of validation for us as we take this series to its finish line as a trilogy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>With Remake, you\u2019ve mentioned that lighting was crucial to ensuring the game looks so good on Switch 2. Was this the same for Rebirth, or did the open-world structure require a different approach?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Lighting is an important element in Rebirth, as it was in Remake. However, because Rebirth adopts an open-world structure with a much larger field scale, it\u2019s a title where the amount of information being rendered at any given moment is higher. As a result, rather than making significant changes to lighting in isolation, our approach focused more on how to balance the overall rendering load.<\/p>\n<p>The use of DLSS was indispensable in that regard and was readopted in Rebirth as it was in Remake. Neither of their modes relies on fixed resolutions and is instead designed based on dynamic resolution. In handheld mode, the internal resolution ranges between a maximum of 1344\u00d7756 and a minimum of 672\u00d7380. In docked mode, it ranges between a maximum of 1920\u00d71080 and a minimum of 960\u00d7540, the same as Remake.<\/p>\n<p>As for the compatibility between DLSS and hair rendering\u2014which was a topic of discussion with Remake \u2014 for Rebirth, we took a slightly different approach. We didn\u2019t fundamentally change the rendering technique itself, and applied subtle blur adjustments based on hair direction and density, aiming for the most natural balance possible under restricted conditions. While it\u2019s not identical to the technique used in the PS5 version, we believe you\u2019ll be able to feel the difference within the context of the Switch 2 environment.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"picture\" data-uuid=\"44417de8393f4\"><a class=\"scanlines\" title=\"FFVII Rebirth 3\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/44417de8393f4\/ffvii-rebirth-3.large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/44417de8393f4\/ffvii-rebirth-3.900x.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"FFVII Rebirth 3\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"caption\"><em class=\"credit\"><span class><\/span> Image: Square Enix<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Speaking of open-world, did the larger scale of Rebirth cause any development headaches on Switch 2? What would you say was the biggest challenge?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The shift to an open world means the scale of the world in Rebirth is significantly different. This difference became the greatest challenge for the Switch 2\u2019s port.<\/p>\n<p>For Remake, we were able to maintain 30fps through adjustments to post-effects and fog, but because Rebirth dramatically increases the number of rendered meshes, we couldn\u2019t implement the same thinking. For this reason, the background models themselves were optimised specifically for the Switch 2 in the port. We didn\u2019t simply reduce the polygon counts; we made adjustments to the overall game structure by redesigning from the LOD (level of detail) stage, and reevaluating materials with heavy rendering loads from the ground up, etc.<\/p>\n<p>We also adjusted the scale at which background LODs switch for the overall scene, ensuring the processing load wouldn\u2019t spike suddenly even as draw distances increased. On top of that, we addressed these issues by identifying the conditions where processing loads tended to concentrate, determining cutoff points for minimising rendering of non-visible areas and reorganising the rendering order for the overall environment, etc.<\/p>\n<p>By defining what absolutely needed to be preserved, then conducting tests based on real gameplay scenarios to identify and reproduce conditions where processing loads concentrated, we were able to address those issues one by one. It was through this cumulative process that we were able to achieve this stable frame rate.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Without going into spoilers, do you have a favourite scene or gameplay segment from Rebirth that you\u2019d like to highlight for players?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I think the minigames pair exceptionally well with the Switch 2. Because they can be played in short sessions, they give rise to experiences that draw players in before they even realise it.<\/p>\n<p>Take Queen\u2019s Blood, for example. What starts as \u201cjust one match\u201d flows into another. You think you\u2019ll make a quick tweak to your deck, but you end up continuing to play. Picking up the game in handheld mode starts an organic chain of play sessions.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"picture\" data-uuid=\"8ba3af110fc64\"><a class=\"scanlines\" title=\"FFVII Rebirth 4\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/8ba3af110fc64\/ffvii-rebirth-4.large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/8ba3af110fc64\/ffvii-rebirth-4.900x.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"FFVII Rebirth 4\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"caption\"><em class=\"credit\"><span class><\/span> Image: Square Enix<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>How do you find the balance between extending the story of FFVII into three games whilst staying faithful to the original vision?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The greatest challenge was thoughtfully evaluating, title by title, how far to push \u201cnostalgia\u201d and \u201cinnovation\u201d respectively, so they could work in balance.<\/p>\n<p>For players familiar with the original game, I think what matters goes beyond the story arc itself\u2014it\u2019s the relationships between the characters, and the emotions they felt upon discovering this world. Those are elements we can\u2019t afford to treat lightly. At the same time, for players discovering FFVII today, we needed to update the presentation and design to align with modern sensibilities; otherwise, the experience itself simply wouldn\u2019t resonate. For this reason, we adopted modern approaches to visual expression while preserving the emotional core and character relationships that were beloved by many in the original game.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"left\">\n<p>We want to capitalise on this cadence and moment to tie the experiences together without any gaps, from Remake to Rebirth to finally the third installment that lies beyond them.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Rather than framing this as a simple binary of whether to \u201cpreserve or change\u201d something, we\u2019ve continuously reevaluated how to interpret these notions of \u201cnostalgia\u201d and \u201cinnovation,\u201d and how to express them. As we\u2019ve expanded the story as a trilogy, that thinking has remained consistent. That\u2019s our approach to making the Final Fantasy VII Remake series as a whole.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rebirth is launching on Switch 2 just five months after Remake. What was the approach behind this, and does it feel like the right move?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The short span between releases was a deliberate choice. We view Remake and Rebirth not as completely separate titles, but as an experience unfolding within a single journey that follows one another. From the earliest stages of the remake project, each instalment was designed not to repeat the same experience, but to progressively expand the scale of gameplay. Remake focused on an experience that engages deeply with story and characters, while Rebirth continued that path and leaned even further into the sensation of journeying through the world.<\/p>\n<p>With large-scale titles like this one, it\u2019s common for a long gap to exist between the first and second instalments. However, because they were ports, we decided we could deliver them without leaving much of a gap. We want to capitalise on this cadence and moment to tie the experiences together without any gaps, from Remake to Rebirth to finally the third instalment that lies beyond them.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/features\/ive-been-brought-up-by-final-fantasy-naoki-hamaguchi-on-bringing-the-ffvii-remake-trilogy-to-switch-2\">When we spoke in 2025<\/a>, you mentioned that development on the third game was progressing well \u2013 you had finalised the story and begun working on the core gameplay. Without going into too much detail, can you provide an update on the game\u2019s progress?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re very excited about how the game is currently progressing. I have already completed over 40 full playthroughs! I can\u2019t wait for as many people as possible to experience the game for themselves, and myself and the team are working hard to ensure we can create an unforgettable gameplay experience.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"picture\" data-uuid=\"919a175155c63\"><a class=\"scanlines\" title=\"FFVII Rebirth 5\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/919a175155c63\/ffvii-rebirth-5.large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/919a175155c63\/ffvii-rebirth-5.900x.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"FFVII Rebirth 5\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"caption\"><em class=\"credit\"><span class><\/span> Image: Square Enix<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>You must be so busy overseeing such an ambitious project. What do you do to relax during your downtime?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To be honest, it\u2019s rare for me to make downtime with the intentional goal of \u201crelaxing.\u201d I play games and watch films, but sometimes I\u2019m not even sure whether I\u2019m purely enjoying them or engaging with them as part of my own creative process.<\/p>\n<p>As a way of clearing my head, I\u2019ve made it a habit to get off the train a few stops early and walk for about 30 minutes on the way home. While walking, my thoughts tend to connect in unexpected ways, and I\u2019m able to make sense of things as a result. It\u2019s also good for my physical health.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Are there any Switch 2 games you\u2019ve been playing recently, or perhaps any that you\u2019re looking forward to playing in the future?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Truthfully, the refinement work for the third instalment has been ramping up, and I haven\u2019t been able to spend time with the Switch 2 after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch-2\/donkey-kong-bananza\">Donkey\u202fKong\u202fBananza<\/a>. That said, there are a few titles that have piqued my interest that I\u2019ve kept myself in the loop for.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"right\">\n<p>For me, Final Fantasy VII is a truly special title that I\u2019ve deeply admired, even as a creator. Because of that, I\u2019ve always carried the belief that this remake series must live up to the expectations of fans who have continued to show their love for FFVII<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Among them, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch-2\/splatoon-raiders\">Splatoon\u202fRaiders<\/a> has particularly caught my attention. I\u2019m interested in how it leverages an existing IP while expanding the game design itself, and I\u2019m looking forward to seeing how it\u2019ll balance its action gameplay and field design from the perspective of a game designer.<\/p>\n<p><strong>As you look ahead to the conclusion of the Remake Trilogy, how does it feel to bring such a significant chapter of your life to a close?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When I look back, the finish line of this project felt unimaginably far away when it first began. But now it feels like time has flown by surprisingly quickly, partly because our days in development were so packed and eventful.<\/p>\n<p>For me, Final Fantasy VII is a truly special title that I\u2019ve deeply admired, even as a creator. Because of that, I\u2019ve always carried the belief that this remake series must live up to the expectations of fans who have continued to show their love for FFVII, and honour the efforts of my fellow creators who have run alongside me up until this point.<\/p>\n<p>I, myself, have been involved with this project for over ten years, but with this final instalment, I feel a deep certainty that we\u2019ll be able to deliver an experience that\u2019ll make people think, \u201cI\u2019m glad I stayed with the series until the end.\u201d That\u2019s something I feel in my heart. For the many fans who have supported us over this long journey, I sincerely hope that the time you\u2019ve spent following this story to its conclusion will stay with you, as something to cherish. My wish, from the bottom of my heart, is that we deliver a finale that\u2019s worthy of that.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"picture\" data-uuid=\"fff5adc6055d9\"><a class=\"scanlines\" title=\"FFVII Rebirth 6\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/fff5adc6055d9\/ffvii-rebirth-6.large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/fff5adc6055d9\/ffvii-rebirth-6.900x.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"FFVII Rebirth 6\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"caption\"><em class=\"credit\"><span class><\/span> Image: Square Enix<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<hr>\n<p><!-- cache: html:nintendolife.com\/ssl\/nintendo-switch-2\/related-articles:200448,192951,196050 @ 1777706209 --><\/p>\n<aside class=\"block object-related\"> <\/aside>\n<p><em>This interview has been lightly edited for clarity. A huge thanks to Naoki Hamaguchi for taking the time to answer our questions. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth launches on Switch 2 on 3rd June 2026.<\/em><\/p>\n<aside class=\"object object-youtube\">\n<figure class=\"youtube with-primis\" data-videoid=\"VZU9SxhXpyk\" data-start=\"0\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VZU9SxhXpyk?rel=0&amp;hd=1&amp;showinfo=0&amp;modestbranding=0&amp;autohide=1\"><\/figure>\n<\/aside>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Image: Square Enix Mere months after the launch of Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade on Switch 2, Square Enix is following up with a port of its sequel, Rebirth, in June. It&#8217;s an impressive accomplishment given that the development team is also knee-deep in producing the third and final entry in the trilogy. The currently-untitled [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-137030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137030\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}