Naoki Hamaguchi, game director of Final Fantasy VII Remake and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, said that when working on the two parts, he was inspired by different games — from God of War to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
In an interview, he explained that Remake was conceived as a more linear and story-driven game, so the team took the example of PlayStation flagships — The Last of Us and God of War. According to Hamaguchi, his goal was to create an emotional story that immerses the player in the narrative as deeply as Sony projects do.
For Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the game director chose a different direction. Since the action goes beyond Midgar and opens up a huge world, he focused on games with an open structure — primarily The Witcher 3 and the Horizon series. These projects, he said, helped him understand how to combine exploration, storytelling, and emotional scenes in a more free format.
