‘Final Fantasy VII Remake’ Director Says Third Game Won’t Launch With Streamlined Progression Mode
In recognizing how Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade‘s new ‘cheat code’ level easy mode may not be the best fit for brand-new experiences, series director Naoki Hamaguchi says that the final entry in Cloud and crew’s remixed story will not release with its predecessor’s newly-released Streamlined Progression difficulty option.
Set to makes its debut in the game’s upcoming Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series X|S port, Remake Intergrade‘s new streamlined progression mode ensures that those players who choose to use it will “always have maximum HP and MP, always deal 9,999 damage to enemies, and always have max number of items (with some exceptions)”.
As explained by Hamaguchi in an interview with Square Enix, “The Streamlined Progression Feature is there to let players experience the game’s story more smoothly, in line with their individual lifestyle needs or preferred playstyles.
“Final Fantasy VII Remake has a strong focus on the narrative, and while there are many people who want to spend hours playing through everything the game has to offer, others just want to experience that story. We introduced the Streamlined Progression Feature and power-up options to accommodate these varied needs.
“These features can also be used to recap the story at a good pace when playing through again – and I think they’ll allow players to increase their understanding and lead to new discoveries.
“Basically, I feel that the barrier to entry has been lowered with the addition of the Streamlined Progression feature. We can now give those who might have stayed away because of the time required to play, or the difficulty level, a way to experience the game’s amazing story.
“You can now easily jump into the world of Final Fantasy VII, even if you had previously wanted to play but felt you don’t have the time. I hope this new flexibility brings the game to even more players than before.”
And while many players feared this new difficulty mode would set an unbearably dull gameplay standard for the series’ eventual third and final entry, Hamaguchi has no intention of sacrificing a satisfactory conclusion for a few extra game journalist brownie points.
In a recent interview with Automaton’s English-language Editor-in-Chief Amber V, the director explained, “Personally, I like to try many different games just to keep myself up to date, but I don’t really have the time, so I only get so far. Sometimes it makes me wish I had access to debug functions so I could cover more.”
“If we were to add it to the third installment at launch, it would probably spark controversy. We’d risk disrupting the experience for fans who have been waiting the longest and deserve to enjoy it the most (through spoilers coming out early and similar).”
After noting that Streamlined Progression mode could allow Remake to be beaten “in under 10 hours, maybe around 7 to 8 hours if you’re quick”, Hamaguchi concluded, “Naturally, when we announce features like these, we get responses like ‘This is sacrilegious!’ Even within the dev team, there are people who feel that way. But unless someone takes the initiative, it doesn’t happen.”
“I personally believe that, with digital entertainment today, the player should have the choice in how they interact with content,” he concluded. “That’s why I pushed for it.”
