Game Director Naoki Hamaguchi on the Queerness, Diversity and Easter Eggs of the Remake Trilogy

Final Fantasy 7 takes place in a completely fantasy world full of monsters, magic, and all kinds of mythical things. But since the 1997 original, it has always managed to feel real and grounded in its bold storytelling. Like our own world, mostly ordinary people are just trying to make ends meet while greedy corporations suck the life out of our planet with an unrelenting thirst for dominance.

Square Enix has always had this deliberately political reflection on how unchecked forces sacrifice millions of lives and let our planet burn if it means infinite profits, and now more relevant than ever, the remake trilogy takes this part of the story forward. But it tends to portray people, relationships and everyday life in a more honest and realistic way.

To mark Rebirth's recent launch with the reveal of Final Fantasy 7 Revelation on Nintendo Switch 2 and Xbox consoles, I caught up with game director Naoki Hamaguchi to dig deep into the diversity, Easter eggs, and fan service of this ambitious RPG experience.

Final Fantasy 7 wants the world of light to feel diverse and authentic

One element of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth that I keep coming back to during each playthrough is the same-sex couple who travel through the open world as Cloud and company do. It begins with an aggressive slap fight on Kalm's street, before evolving into a sapphic relationship as these two women leave the men in their lives behind before falling into each other's arms. None of these characters have names, but watching their romance develop over the course of my own adventure was an unexpected joy.

When I asked Hamaguchi about this particular part of the game, he was equally surprised and thrilled to hear about the reception among the players: “For us, what's important is authentically the feeling of the diverse group that inhabits this world. Rebirth is a game where you meet many cities, cultures, and the presence of differences in my journey, the relationship between. That journey also enhances the realism of the world.

“So, even for these two characters, it feels close to say that our goal is not just to pair a same-sex couple, but to portray the stories of the people who inhabit this world with honesty and care. In fact, that made us incredibly happy as a development team.

We've seen more games move in this inclusive direction, so I ask if Hamaguchi believes LGBTQ+ representation in Japanese video games has become more authentic, especially in recent years, using Reincarnation's brief but welcome character moments as small examples:

“Rebirth is a game where you meet many cities, cultures and relationships on your journey. That's why I believe that the environment of the world – where such people live and live their lives – ultimately enhances its realism. In fact, my opinion is that players pay attention to whether they are depicted, but also to the distance between their characters and interviews.”

Hamaguchi continues: “Especially after the change to the open world, we were keen to express the feeling that this world is inhabited by a truly diverse group of people through the details of the cities and the mundane dialogue that unfolds outside of the main story. As such, the presence of these relationships didn't feel like we were distracted. The world of FF7 in an authentic way.”

But it also wants to delight and surprise in equal measure

While they represent a very different kind of realism, the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy allowed Hamaguchi and his team to fill the world with subtle details and easter eggs that are not only easy opportunities for fan service, but also make the world feel more alive. I ask what things the developers should include, and how tasteful they need to be for fans to appreciate them.

“The FF7 series has a really long history, including not only the original game, but also various spin-offs. Within them, there are fans who feel attached to the various entries. For some, Crisis Core is special; for others, Advent Children was unforgettable. There are also those who have never forgotten the small moments of the original game,” explained Hamaguchi.

“Because of this, when we make Easter eggs and small details, there are many options that players can enjoy from memory. I see this as a unique strength of the series. It's also interesting how many members of the current development team are, quite simply, fans of FF7 itself. 'Someone definitely wants to include this egg,' it wants to be aware. Regular conversation.”

That being said, Hamaguchi also noted that he doesn't want to fill the trilogy with hidden details or deep-cut Easter eggs purely for the sake of it — but rather include each as part of the game's overall world-building. There are even familiar characters, imagery, or sounds that diehard players will recognize and stick to, so making sure these are all placed in the right place is paramount.

I'll cite a few specific examples, namely the posters that depict the weapons in the Final Fantasy 7 revelation and the NPCs paying homage to Tifa and Scarlett's now infamous slapfight, which Hamaguchi confirmed will be coming to the third game.

“This remake series was designed from the beginning as a single, cohesive work spanning the entire trilogy, so we've had enough and detailed thought about how much to show now versus what not to show. In particular, I believe that the more familiar players are with the original game, the more they'll guess the details based on why we're 'sitting in the left room' in the future. To guess, 'Could this mean something?'

Hamaguchi is right on the money, especially with a trilogy that has gone out of its way to subvert expectations and play around the original story. No matter how small the details, players are going to read them and probably expect them to pay off in some small or big way. In the case of slap fighting and weapons, however, both of these are going to play an important role in light.

“The Weapons poster is an example of this. From the earliest stages of development, our intention with Weapons was to leave a lingering presence of Earth-shattering entities in the world itself. That said, we didn't want it to be a straightforward, ominous foreshadowing either. If anything, because it was a world that was consumed as a culture rather than an Earth culture. We wanted the motifs to capture that subtle air of irony.

“On the other hand, I'm sure that the interaction between Tifa and Scarlett will make those familiar with the original game think 'this definitely leads to that moment'. Of course, that showdown is depicted with the care it deserves in the third installment. We hope that you will see how these elements scattered as tributes will eventually come to the next one.

I also had to ask if the scene where Elena of Turks indulges in sea salt ice cream was an intentional reference to Kingdom Hearts. Bad news: It's not.

“This may sound depressing, but Elena's ice cream is not a tribute to Kingdom Hearts,” laughs Hamaguchi. “In Japan, there's a very popular soda-flavored popsicle called garigari-kun, which we actually referenced quite a bit during development. As such, it's close to saying that we were envisioning a slightly vintage popsicle reminiscent of summer.”

How much content in Final Fantasy 7 is too much content?

One of the common criticisms leveled towards Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth was how much content it offered. Don't get me wrong, most of its minigames were terrific fun and its open-world areas weren't as vast and empty as the worst triple-A criminals, but I wouldn't blame anyone for skipping a few distractions because they didn't have time.

This is actually part of the overall design philosophy and was a consistent conversation across the team throughout development. Many felt that this feeling of sheer exuberance was part of what made the original Final Fantasy 7 so special. It may have ended up backfiring a bit though.

“For FF7 Rebirth, we were keen not only to follow the main story, but also to create the sensation of living in this world. For example, you can set out to advance the main story but play multiple rounds of Queen's Blood, dress up your chocobos, or explore the world map instead. I consider it an experience with a side of FF7F7. The journey itself.

“Actually, though, that overwhelming feeling was also felt by the development team, not just the players. Especially with the shift to open world, a large number of elements were developed simultaneously, such as minigames, side quests, easter eggs, exploration, and dialogue programs. To be honest, in the early stages I felt that many members of the development team were winning. 'Are we really going to be able to finish it all…?'

“That's why I made it a point to solidify the overall game design early in development: where and when to place each minigame, where to leave room for side content pacing, and where to include easter eggs. We had this gameplay blueprint clear from the beginning.”

When all these elements are brought together – whether it's the diversity and realism of its fantasy world or the frequency of Easter eggs and hidden discoveries – Hamaguchi is hopeful that once we reach the end of Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, we will also feel like we have completed a pilgrimage that has been going on for decades.

“By having this complete picture, the team was able to share the feeling that if we build things up to this point, the game will come together. As such, this is not a game that simply contains a large amount of content, but rather one where we've challenged ourselves to figure out how to transform this massive scale of gameplay into a single, cohesive journey.”

This interview is part of our Final Fantasy 7 Day coverage. Be sure to check out the rest of our articles diving deep into the beloved classic here.