Despite the blockbuster reception to Sandfall's RPG, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 co-director Naoki Hamaguchi says that decisions astir Part 3's gameplay volition beryllium "based connected the director's determination himself," and it had not been "pre-determined yet."
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which boasts accepted JRPG-inspired turn-based combat, precocious confirmed income of 5 cardinal copies successful 5 months, making it 1 of the biggest hits of the year. But Hamaguchi isn't letting his caput beryllium turned by existent trends, it seems, and is focused alternatively connected "what crippled acquisition fans volition enjoy."
"Essentially for the Final Fantasy numbered series, the crippled plan is based connected the director's determination himself," Hamaguchi told TheGamer. "For the caller title, whether it's enactment oregon turn-based, that's not pre-determined yet.
"If you would inquire me, 'Is [my adjacent game] going to beryllium an RPG?', yes, determination is decidedly a possibility. But is it going to beryllium a turn-based RPG? We're taking this speech from the information that Expedition 33 was received well, we received a batch of 'JRPGs are back' comments. For me, I'm reasoning astir what crippled acquisition fans volition enjoy. That's the astir important point."
In July, Naoki Yoshida, the director/producer of Final Fantasy 14 and shaper of Final Fantasy 16, was asked successful an interrogation with AnimeNewsNetwork whether mainline Final Fantasy games could spell backmost to being turn-based, successful the aftermath of Clair Obscur's success.
"With this question of turn-based versus action, it tends to isolate the gameplay to conscionable the conflict system," said Yoshida. "That doesn't instrumentality into relationship what benignant of crippled the creators privation to present to players. For example, based connected a definite graphical prime we privation to contiguous to our players, oregon the communicative we privation to present to our players, it relates to however we acceptable up the game's systems astir it. This includes the conflict system, crippled design, and gameplay feel. It's not a clear-cut answer, whether it volition go each turn-based, oregon if it's going to go much action-based.
"[I'm] not needfully going to beryllium connected Final Fantasy 17, truthful we besides don't privation to obstruct oregon bounds our aboriginal manager oregon whomever volition beryllium producing the games similar 17 oregon adjacent 18," Yoshida continued. "We don't privation to enactment them connected a rail."
Best Mainline Final Fantasy Games
Best Mainline Final Fantasy Games
It aboriginal emerged that respective members of the Clair Obscur squad precocious visited Square Enix's offices and met with immoderate of the improvement leads there, including Hamaguchi and Visions of Mana manager Ryosuke Yoshida.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 crippled manager Guillaume Broche, shaper Francois Meurisse, and method manager Tom Guillermin, arsenic good arsenic steadfast Kepler Interactive's CEO Alexis Garavaryan, took the travel retired to sojourn the Final Fantasy publisher's offices. In a societal post, Hamaguchi described it arsenic a "creatively affluent speech of visions and ideas."
Hamaguchi, meanwhile, has besides assured fans that the squad moving connected the highly anticipated last instalment is "striking a balance" betwixt keeping the communicative moving and tightening the pacing. Though helium disagreed that immoderate sections of FF7 Rebirth were "longer than necessary," helium said: "As we enactment connected the decision to the trilogy, we are striking a equilibrium connected however communicative arcs are told and dispersed retired truthful arsenic to guarantee that the crippled feels a spot much concise."
Every IGN Final Fantasy Game Review
We cognize improvement of Part 3 started arsenic aboriginal arsenic June 2022, with Square Enix saying past twelvemonth that its extremity was to spot it motorboat by 2027, but RPG fans person been connected the hunt for quality astir the adjacent introduction successful the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy since its past installment, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, launched successful aboriginal 2024. Excitement for the 3rd and last section successful the trilogy grew adjacent much erstwhile the squad revealed that it had completed its communicative earlier this year.
Hamaguchi besides precocious assured fans that contempt Square Enix admitting past twelvemonth that Rebirth "did not conscionable expectations," the 2nd portion of the Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy has been "doing precise well" connected some PC and PS5, and the squad has been capable to transmission that occurrence into a "high-quality 3rd instalment." While we wait, you tin work up wherefore the Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 squad “will not cheat” erstwhile it comes to Final Fantasy 7’s iconic airship.
Vikki Blake is simply a newsman for IGN, arsenic good arsenic a critic, columnist, and advisor with 15+ years acquisition moving with immoderate of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's besides a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her astatine BlueSky.