In 2006, Naoki Hamaguchi began his work on the Final Fantasy series at Square Enix, where he served as a programmer and visual effects artist. By 2020, he was co-directing one of the biggest games in the company’s history: Final Fantasy 7 Remake. I can’t imagine the amount of institutional knowledge a company like Square Enix must have; suffice it to say, it’s a lot.

Hamaguchi sat down with ScreenRant to talk a bit about the Switch 2 and Xbox porting processes, as well as dish a bit on the origins of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake project, and confirm a few things to us along the way.

Hamaguchi And His Team Pulled Off A Smooth Port

We’re Waiting To See How The Xbox Version Handles, Too

I tried out Final Fantasy 7 Remake on Switch 2 at PAX West, and was incredibly happy with how it performed. It felt like playing the original PS5 version of the game, which is something you want to see out of more Switch 2 ports in general. Hamaguchi explains the secret sauce behind the port: “I think that for Final Fantasy 7, we were able to pin these positive previews to our rendering programmers who optimized it for the Switch 2. It is true that the handheld mode does sometimes sort of minimize the full specs of the Switch. But we focused on how best to optimize for this. And, succeeded in kind of enabling a very fluid, stable, 30 FPS with stunning graphics. And I think these are, these are all thanks to the effort of the development team. I’m very much proud of that. In terms of optimizing for the Switch 2, I’m excited to be able to share more of the details well.”

According to Hamaguchi, it was all about figuring out the lighting system, to better bring out the character’s expressions, which were key to the experience: “So our rendering engineers and I discussed this, and we felt very much that the character expressions ultimately hinge on the lighting. There was also a concern that if we need to align the lighting more closely with the console we’re working on. And so our aim was to align more towards the lighting that we see in the PS5 version, and then we also kind of balance this by aligning more towards the sort of switch to post-effect and fog. And in this way the user is not really able to make out a huge difference, in terms of the post effects, but then we’re able to strike that great balance where we’re not really compromising on the graphics and visuals. And I think in that way, you know, this earned us that positive feedback.”

It’s very early in the Switch 2’s total lifecycle, but Square Enix pulled something off here that could serve as an example for other publishers who are looking to port games. Hamaguchi agrees: “Earlier, you also mentioned how smooth the game was.. I can pretty confidently state that I think this Switch 2 version of Final Fantasy 7 will kind of turn out to be one of the model HD games for Switch 2 ports. I want players to see and judge this for themselves. We do have a demo coming out at the end of the year.”

But what about the Xbox port, which is also coming next year? Apparently, it was no sweat: “So in terms of Xbox, S and X, there weren’t really major differences or anything that made something, you know, impossible in one or the other. But I think something we did work on was memory-related issues. And I think that’s something every developer might also go through. And yes, that’s something that we worked on until, until close to the end.”

FF7 Rebirth On Switch 2 Is In A “Working State”

Expect It At Some Point

The biggest bombshell that we discovered in our interview is full confirmation that Square Enix is working on FF7 Rebirth for Switch 2, and that it’s “moving and operating.” Although there have been leaks, rumors, and suggestions that Rebirth would be coming to Switch 2 eventually, Hamaguchi paints a more precise picture of where they’re at: “So the dev team is already working on the Switch 2 version of Rebirth, and it’s at the point where it’s already moving and operating. Our work on Remake, it really allowed us to accumulate a ton of knowledge. It gave us a solid foundation. And I think for Rebirth, we’ll be able to offer an experience that’s going to be one where people are pleasantly surprised by it.”

So what about the game-breaking “Streamlined Progression” system, which essentially serves as a series of cheat codes for the game? While Square Enix initially announced it for new platforms, we did get confirmation that they should be coming to older platforms, eventually: “Our desire was to be able to ultimately offer and serve all of the platforms available. But we are developing part three [of the Final Fantasy Remake series] as well. So when we made the decision, we decided to prioritize the Xbox and Switch 2 in terms of Streamlined Progression. When the PC version launched, we were able to put an update in that enhanced and upgraded the lighting. With the PS5 version, that’s not represented yet. But it came to the point where it looks like this is also going to be feasible for PS5, and we hope to do that soon. And so at this time, we can’t confirm or promise an exact timing of when these will be implemented, but overall, our desire is to be able to offer all of these features and updates to all of our platforms.”

Hamaguchi Reflects On FF7, And An Unlikely Influence

We Have Lived Through Many Remakes

Custom Image by Lee D’Amato

Toward the end of our interview, I picked Hamaguchi’s brain to see if there were any connections we missed and what led to the overarching philosophy of the remake series in general. Without spoiling anything, while the FF7 Remake series does draw upon the core of the original, it changes quite a bit in terms of details and even a few broad strokes.

Hamaguchi was happy to oblige: “Something that we were particularly mindful of for the Remake, was thinking of all of the fans of the original, of the FF7 IP. How much should we be reconstructing in today’s modern expression that would continue to satisfy the existing fans. At the same time, when development was happening, the Beauty and the Beast movie remake was released. That movie, the original, was one I watched as a child. And then they now had the live action that’s a remake…I saw that the overall story and world itself was not altered, but it was completely deconstructed in a way to really entertain today’s viewers, which was deeply satisfying.”

He continues, musing on Part 3 of the Remake series, which is still in the works: “Watching this movie for me, at the time, poses a great reference in our creative works, and going forward, part two and part three of our Remake series. Now we have this foundational experience. We’re thinking, more so, how can we surprise and entertain our players, as an extension of that. I think really delving into that has led to the success of Rebirth. For Part 3, we’re thinking in terms of how can we pique that curiosity and maintain interest. That’s been the focus for us in development, and I believe we’re going to be able to provide something that’s really going to make an impact in people’s hearts as they play.”

In any case, the original Final Fantasy 7 is still widely available on multiple modern platforms, but I’ll be playing the Remake series for years to come. If our interview is any indication, it’s in great hands with Hamaguchi and his team.

Released

April 10, 2020

ESRB

T for Teen due to Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, Violence

Developer(s)

Square Enix Business Division 1

Publisher(s)

Square Enix

Engine

Unreal Engine 4