Naoki Hamaguchi talks Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, Final Fantasy 14, and physical media plans: "It's a wonderful culture and it would be a shame to lose that"

Key Points:

• Final Fantasy 7 Remake series is officially coming to Final Fantasy 14 through a themed raid called Beyond the Lifestream, featuring supervision by original JRPG veterans Kazushige Nojima and Tetsuya Nomura, and a revamped Gold Saucer area inspired by Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.
• The collaboration was initiated about a year ago between Final Fantasy 14’s producer Naoki Yoshida and Final Fantasy 7 Revelation’s Naoki Hamaguchi to coincide with the release dates of Evercold and Revelation, aiming to energize the Final Fantasy franchise as a whole.
• Final Fantasy 7 Revelation introduces new gameplay features such as increased world map verticality with flying chocobos, clearer side content rewards aligned with activities, and the FITS system allowing characters to adopt different job roles, enhancing combat depth.
• The game’s endgame content is designed to challenge players using the combat system developed across the trilogy, with boss fights like Ruby and Emerald Weapon focusing on character progression rather than entirely new mechanics.
• Regarding physical media, Hamaguchi acknowledges the industry trend toward digital but hopes to maintain some form of physical edition for Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, with ongoing discussions about platform-specific formats and storage limitations.