LectureMaster
Or is it just one of Adam's balls in my throat?
Final Fantasy 7 Revelation’s open world evolves another step beyond Rebirth. Director Naoki Hamaguchi on map design, player freedom, and new battle systems - AUTOMATON WEST
Interview with Final Fantasy 7 Revelation director Naoki Hamaguchi on the game's open world design, FITS system and more.
automaton-media.com
—I noticed the trailer specifically used the term "open world."
Hamaguchi:
Everyone tends to define "open world" differently, but in the case of FFVII Rebirth, while the map spanned multiple continents, those continents were still somewhat enclosed by an inland sea. However, in FFVII Revelation, the story unfolds across an entire planet where everything is truly connected. You'll be able to freely fly around the world aboard the Highwind. In that sense, I think this is an open-world game that expresses a sense of scale quite different from FFVII Rebirth.
—As you mentioned, the definition of "open world" tends to vary, and it's difficult to reach a consensus among gamers. As a result, some companies tend to avoid explicitly calling their games open world, but why did you decide to embrace it so openly this time?
Hamaguchi:
During FFVII Rebirth's marketing campaign, we never officially called it an open-world game, and we were actually quite nervous about what to call it. FFVII Rebirth represented a major shift from FFVII Remake, and personally, I believe the essence of an open-world game isn't whether everything exists in one giant seamless field, but whether players can freely enjoy and explore the world. By that standard, I think FFVII Rebirth already qualified as an open-world game.
Still, at the time, we debated endlessly about whether to call it an "open-area" game or an "open-field" game instead. But once the game launched, the media and fans started calling it an open-world game anyway. (laughs)
So with FFVII Revelation, we're confidently calling it an open-world game from the start. And it's not merely a rehash of what we did before; the scale of the experience has evolved another step beyond FFVII Rebirth, and I want players to really feel that. To be honest, I don't know whether "open world" is the perfect term, but I can say that we set out to create an "open world spanning the entire planet," with a scale surpassing FFVII Rebirth. It's not just about having a vast map, but an evolved experience where, depending on what a player chooses to engage with first, the way their adventure unfolds can differ significantly.
—Among the differing definitions of an open world, what kind of open world would you say is FFVII Revelation specifically?
Hamaguchi:
One key characteristic is that the game takes place across the entire world. The continents are separated by oceans, and I think that makes it stand out among other open-world games. Since we're adapting an existing story, we thought carefully about how to create a more open version of the FFVII world. Ultimately, we felt that having regions organized by continent while still maintaining a world where everything is genuinely connected would be more intuitive and appealing for players to engage with. I think that's one of the key things that sets FFVII Revelation apart from other open-world games.
—So "an open world spanning the entire planet" is one of the game's main selling points?
Hamaguchi:
Yes. In contrast to FFVII Rebirth, where you gradually unlocked new regions and eventually gained the ability to revisit previous areas, the story of FFVII Revelation takes place in a game field where the entire world is connected from the start. You'll be able to fly the Highwind anywhere. I hope players will come to experience just how different the scale is compared to Rebirth.
—Were there any open-world games that personally inspired or influenced you while creating FFVII Revelation?
Hamaguchi:
I'm always playing a variety of games to reference and draw inspiration from. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which I often mention, is one example, and there's also Hogwarts Legacy and the Horizon series. Games built around similar design philosophies often grapple with the same challenges, and each arrive at their own solutions. Seeing how other developers solve those problems broadens my perspective and helps me discover new approaches in my own work.
More recently, there's also Crimson Desert, which has been generating a lot of buzz. After playing it myself, I learned that "overwhelming scale" can be a powerful strength in its own right.
FFVII Revelation's open world won't feel sparse
—One common criticism of open-world games is that they can feel huge but sparse. How does FFVII Revelation tackle density?Hamaguchi:
Honestly, I don't think people need to worry about that at all. From my own playtesting, every region feels densely packed with content. One thing worth noting is that FFVII Revelation includes all of the continents from FFVII Rebirth. After all, if we suddenly announced that, say, Cosmo Canyon had been removed, people would be upset immediately.
So, with so many continents to work with, our biggest challenge for this project was to make sure all of them were tightly packed with content. We began designing content from a very early stage, and each area contains its own unique activities, gameplay mechanics, and interactive elements. Depending on where players choose to go first, their experiences can end up being quite different.
—So players will be able to revisit previous locations, including Cosmo Canyon?
Hamaguchi:
As a gamer myself, I know that simply being told, "You can go back to the same map," isn't very exciting if only a few minor details have changed.
—To be honest, revisiting an old area in a new game can sometimes feel more tedious than exciting if it's structurally identical.
Hamaguchi:
Exactly. That was actually one of the title's earliest challenges. We absolutely had to preserve the world map from previous games, but if the experience remained unchanged, those locations would end up feeling redundant. That's why we haven't simply reused the same areas as-is. Just as in the original game, the appearance of the Weapons has caused major changes across the world. The visual identity, atmosphere, and setting remain familiar, but the maps themselves are different from those in the previous game.
But even then, players might still go, "This feels kind of familiar," so we've experimented with changing the flow of exploration itself. In FFVII Rebirth, each region featured different types of Chocobos that altered how exploration felt. In FFVII Revelation, you'll travel alongside your companion Chocobo named Pico. As Pico grows, the way you explore the world changes as well, meaning players can have different experiences even within the same area.
Beyond Pico's progression, you'll also be able to parachute from the Highwind and interact with the environment in more vertical ways. Personally, I think that's one of the game's biggest attractions.
