Final Fantasy 7's original director wants the series to keep going even after he's left

Yoshinori Kitase, the director of the original Final Fantasy 7 and producer on Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, has said he hopes the series doesn’t end with the remake trilogy, even if he’ll no longer be involved with it.

This comes from the Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Ultimania book, which recently released in Japan and provides additional context and insight on the characters and story. It also includes comments from key staff members like Kitase, which have been shared on X (formerly Twitter) by noted translator Audrey.

According to her, Kitase hopes “the world of FF7 may continue on even after finishing the FF7 Remake Project trilogy.” Said project began with 2020’s Final Fantasy 7 Remake, with the second installment—FF7 Rebirth—launching this past February. Does this mean the story won’t wrap up with the third game? No, Kitase has also said he wants to bring the trilogy “to a close,” and even hopes to see Cloud and his companions get a happy ending, which they absolutely deserve after all the trauma and heartbreak they’ve endured so far.

Given the popularity of the Final Fantasy 7 series, it wouldn’t be surprising if Square Enix kept things going with new spin-offs once the remake trilogy is done and dusted. I wouldn’t say no to seeing Tifa get her own game, or how about remaking the Vincent Valentine-centric Dirge of Cerberus? Any such projects likely won’t involve Kitase since, due to his age, he thinks part three of the remake trilogy will be his last involvement with Final Fantasy 7. This is the reason why he wants to “finish the trilogy on a positive note without leaving behind any unfinished business.”

Details about the third remake are incredibly slim, but there’s plenty to be excited about. Aside from continuing the emotional rollercoaster of a story and clearing up that whammy of a cliffhanger in FF7 Rebirth, we’ll be seeing Vincent and Cid become fully playable party members. Plus, we should gain access to an airship, much like in the original FF7, so we can freely fly around the world, though it’ll be interesting to see how this will be implemented for the remake. In fact, in another translated post by Audrey, Rebirth director Naoki Hamaguchi said he’s “wondering how exactly to represent the freedom of flying in an airship with a game in such high graphic detail.”