Naoki Hamaguchi Says Trophy Requirements “May Have Been a Bit Excessive”
- ⚡Xe⚡
- 4 hours ago
- 2 min read
In a recent interview with Restart.run, Naoki Hamaguchi discussed one aspect of the game he would approach differently today.
“Rebirth was a title where I poured all the creativity I had within me at that point, and I feel I did everything I could, even today. With that said, if I were to reassess one aspect, it’d be the design of the trophies.”
Hamaguchi explained that Rebirth was designed to give players the freedom to explore its large open-world content at their own pace. However, the trophy system ultimately encouraged full completion of the game.
“We prepared an incredibly diverse range of content as an open-world game for Rebirth, designing the overall game with a philosophy where the players could choose what they wanted to engage in. That said, the completion condition for trophies ultimately required finishing every element of the game perfectly, which may have been a bit excessive in hindsight. While our intention was to expand the freedom of the experience, we may have inadvertently introduced a different kind of pressure.”
He added that the final installment in the remake trilogy will include even more content variety, with adjustments already made to the trophy balance.
“The final installment of the remake trilogy features an even more diverse world and game design that’s packed with a variety of content. In line with this, we’ve made thorough balancing adjustments regarding the trophies, placing greater thought on whether earning them feels enjoyable in and of itself, or whether they restrict the breadth of the experience.”
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-⚡Xe⚡
About FINAL FANTASY VII
First released in 1997 on the PlayStation® computer entertainment system, FINAL FANTASY VII celebrated its 25th Anniversary in 2022. The game is universally regarded as a hallmark title of the RPG genre. The original title received high praise for its epic storyline, unique characters, and movie sequences that utilized the most cutting-edge technology of the time. Since then, the game revolving around iconic hero, Cloud Strife and his pursuit of the antagonist Sephiroth has sold over 15.3 million copies worldwide and continues to receive widespread acclaim from critics and fans around the world. The popular game has even expanded into spin-offs, films and merchandise.
Now, Square Enix’s FINAL FANTASY VII remake project created by a team of original and new developers, retells the story of the genre-redefining RPG across three distinct, and standalone games. The first game of the trilogy, FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE is now available on Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox PC, PS5® and PS4® consoles and PC. FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH, the second game in the trilogy, has been praised by both players and critics across the globe, earning more than 125 perfect scores from media and 40 Game of the Year awards, and is available now for PC and the PS5® console. It will launch on Nintendo Switch 2 and Xbox Series X|S and Xbox PC with Xbox Play Anywhere support on June 3, 2026.