It was recently announced that the third part of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy will be released in the spring of 2027. Titled Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, this third and final part will finally conclude the series after seven years. Although Final Fantasy 16 was released after FF7 Remake, and we have seen spinoff titles like Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, it really feels like the landscape of Final Fantasy games has been dominated by the remake trilogy for some time now.
With the FF7 Remake trilogy coming to a close, Final Fantasy is likely about to enter a new era, but what it looks like is going to be interesting. Today’s Nintendo Direct did give us one hint at what the future of the series may look like, but it’s hardly the whole picture. Square Enix has a few directions they could take the series, and with a lot of recent conversation surrounding RPG mechanics, I’m excited to see what the future holds.
It’s worth taking a look at the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy as it exists now, the reaction to it, and its impact on the series when considering where things will go from here. As such a major part of the series in recent years, it will likely inform where things go next.
Final Fantasy Is Closing The Book On A Historic Chapter
When Final Fantasy 7 Remake was released back in 2020, it became the fastest-selling PS4 exclusive, even outperforming Marvel’s Spider-Man at release. This popularity isn’t too surprising. After all, the original Final Fantasy 7 was a massive achievement for the franchise, and is one of the most beloved games of all time. Still, the game itself proved worthy of the attention.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake proved to be an excellent blend of more classic Final Fantasy combat mechanics with more fast-paced action RPG elements. Aside from revamping the gameplay, FF7 Remake also added depth to its characters — perhaps best exemplified by the complete reimagining of side characters like Jessie Rasberry — and created stunning new versions of Midgar’s most iconic locations.
Although Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth didn’t have the same impressive sales numbers at launch, the game still managed to update the original in exciting ways. Its massive open world captures the feeling of adventure found in old school Final Fantasy games, but does so in a fully-realized and interconnected 3D world, instead of relying on an overworld map.
These games have reshaped what I consider possible for a Final Fantasy game. As a result, the FF7 Remake trilogy coming to an end feels somewhat surreal. I’ve spent so much time enjoying these games and looking forward to the next installments that I’m left unsure of what will come next as this chapter of the series ends.
Will We See More Grand Scale Final Fantasy Remakes?
I think a natural question to consider following the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy is: will we be getting any more Final Fantasy remakes on the same scale? Many fans of the series likely have their personal wishlist of games they’d love to see get the same care and attention. I’d love to see a full-scale Final Fantasy 6 remake, I’m aware of how impractical that might be. For a while, there was a lot of buzz surrounding a possible Final Fantasy 9 remake, but there is still no confirmation on that front either.
Whether this happens will likely be partially reliant on sales of Final Fantasy 7 Revelation. With Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth reportedly underperforming upon its release, it seems unlikely Square Enix would risk another multi-game remake saga if FF7 Revelation is similarly disappointing. However, if the third game in the series proves as popular as FF7 Remake was on its initial release, then it may be a different story.
Square Enix will also have to consider how much of their time and attention they want to give to remakes. Previous to the remake trilogy, we didn’t see as big of gaps between mainline Final Fantasy games as we have since. There was a seven-year gap between Final Fantasy 15 and 16‘s release dates, and now three years after FF16, there is still no word of a new mainline game. It’s very possible Square Enix may want to take the series in a new direction, instead of continuing to rely on remakes.
What’s Next For Final Fantasy?
Earlier today, Final Fantasy Resonance was announced during a Nintendo Direct. The game is heralded by Square Enix as the “first HD-2D Final Fantasy game.” Now, it’s hard to see the word “first” there, and not assume that means there will be more HD-2D Final Fantasy games coming in the future. These could be original titles like Final Fantasy Resonance, but this could also be a way to remake older games at a less ambitious scale than the FF7 Remake trilogy.
Square’s HD-2D style is perhaps one of my favorite innovations in gaming presentation styles. It captures the retro feel of pixel-art games, but still allows players to feel fully immersed in beautiful and detailed environments. If future Final Fantasy remakes of the first through sixth games utilized this style, instead of going big like FF7, it would allow Square to release them as a single title, and not risk sales dropping off. It would likely also put less of a strain on developers, and free up space for new Final Fantasy titles.
Since the success of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, there has also been a lot of discussion regarding turn-based combat in RPGs. It will be interesting to see if this has any effect on the Final Fantasy series going forward. This isn’t out of the question, seeing as Expedition 33‘s creators visited Square Enix to exchange ideas.
Whatever direction the Final Fantasy series takes from here is uncertain. However, with the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy wrapping up, there’s no doubt that the series’ future is already on the mind of Square Enix. I’m torn on whether I’d like to see another massive remake series like we got for FF7 or if it would simply be better for the series to move forward. Either way, I’m excited to see what’s in store.
- Released
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April 10, 2020
- ESRB
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t
- Developer(s)
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Square Enix
- Publisher(s)
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Square Enix
- Engine
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Unreal Engine 4