During the newly released Nintendo of America Creator’s Voice Video, Naoki Hamaguchi, the director of the Final Fantasy VII Remake series, detailed plans to bring the entire remake trilogy to the Nintendo Switch 2.
Hamaguchi indicated that he was “very intrigued” when witnessing the Nintendo Switch 2 for the first time, and noted its improvements over the previous console, allowing for players to experience their games on the television as well as through the handheld mobile mode with “improved technical specs”.
Hamaguchi went on to explain that he felt the Switch 2 “would have enough power to run the Final Fantasy VII remake series” he has been creating, and with the consoles power allowing them to “recreate Midgar with full specs”, this convinced him to get involved with Nintendo to release the completed product going forward.
It seems like not only a positive business decision, but an exciting chapter for Hamaguchi as well, as he stated that this was his first time in over two decades of creating games to make a game for a Nintendo gaming system. As I’m sure many Nintendo fans are as well, he is looking forward to the different experiences that players on the Switch 2 will be able to enjoy with FFVII Remake Intergrade, including using GameChat to discuss the game with friends while playing in handheld mode and sharing the game in real time.
He went on to express his “high hopes” for creating a “strong partnership between Nintendo and the Final Fantasy brand”, hoping that Nintendo players are “looking forward to the Final Fantasy VII remake on the Switch 2”. With Sephiroth and Cloud already being familiar to Nintendo fans as playable fighters in Nintendo’s wildly popular Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and with the remake series being released on Nintendo’s new console, Hamaguchi hopes for the “two generations to connect and share a bond over the characters.”
Only time will tell if this will be a positive direction for the franchise, and it’s my hope that if the remake trilogy is successful on Nintendo as it has been so far on PlayStation, that one day fans of the series will be able to play on Xbox consoles as well. One can dream.
