Gameplay will be expanded in the third part of the Final Fantasy VII remake — confirmed by the game director
Fans are still waiting on a full reveal of the third and final installment of the Final Fantasy VII remake. In the meantime Square Enix keeps dropping hints in interviews. The latest comes from director Naoki Hamaguchi, in a conversation with Jason Schreier at Bloomberg.
Hamaguchi confirmed the team is adding new gameplay systems to the trilogy sequel. The point, he said, is to avoid the feeling that each part is just a copy of the last — expect broader scope and new bits intended to keep things lively rather than repetitive.
He didn’t list everything. Known items so far: you’ll be able to pilot the Highwind (e.g., open flight), the original planet will be explorable again, and Vincent plus Cid will fully join the party.
In the interview Schreier ran a quick-fire Q&A:
- Will Rocket Town appear in the third part? Yes — it was one of the locales omitted from Rebirth.
- What about Wutai? It’s a major location. Yuffie had a notable role defending her homeland, so leaving Wutai out would rile folks.
- Will we be able to fly the Highwind anywhere? Flying the Highwind is an important element of the trilogy sequel. Beyond that he stayed tight-lipped.
- Will the Chocobo breeding mechanic from the original appear? No straight yes/no. There will be a Chocobo-related feature, but it won’t be a carbon copy of what Rebirth did.
- Will we fly into space? He kept that one under wraps. Still, Rocket Town being in the mix suggests possibilities…
- Will we explore underwater areas? He called that an interesting question and noted Motomu Toriyama is handling the underwater sections, so maybe — no firm confirmation.
- Will the Great Glacier area be as huge as in the original? He didn’t spell out dimensions. He did point out that after Rebirth’s ending we land in the Forgotten City, and in the original you could get from there to the Icicle Tavern — a hint at how part three might open. Players can draw their own conclusions.
According to Square Enix’s current timetable, the trilogy sequel is slated for release no later than 2027, i.e., within the next few years, so a formal announcement is likely this year. Also: the developers have dropped timed exclusivity, so the game will launch on multiple platforms from day one (see this note).