Yoshi-P Warns Final Fantasy 6, 8, and 9 Remakes Might Need Four or Five Parts Each

During the Final Fantasy 14 Fan Festival in Berlin on Sunday, Naoki “Yoshi-P” Yoshida, director-producer of Final Fantasy 14, invited Naoki Hamaguchi, director of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake series, on stage for a 75-minute discussion. The two developers talked about their motivations, upcoming FF7/FF14 crossover content, and the series' future. However, one comment may have dashed fans' hopes for remakes of Final Fantasy 6, 8, or 9.

The topic arose when Hamaguchi named Final Fantasy 6 as a major influence on his life. “Final Fantasy 6 is the reason I wanted to work in the game industry and it will always have a special place in my heart,” he said. He added that mentioning this in interviews always sparks hopes and headlines that he will remake FF6, which he constantly has to deny.

Yoshida responded, “I understand fans’ feelings. But please think about it.” He then explained why such remakes would be enormous undertakings.

“Final Fantasy 6 is an incredibly huge game, and the same goes for other titles like Final Fantasy 8 and Final Fantasy 9. Since Final Fantasy 7 Remake, I understand why people ask for these remakes. But if we did remake these other games, we would probably have to release them in four or even five installments.”

Some interpret Yoshida's comments as pouring cold water on the chances of further remakes in the style of Final Fantasy 7. They echo what Final Fantasy 6 director Yoshinori Kitase said in 2024: a Final Fantasy 6 remake akin to FF7's could take around 20 years to complete. Kitase noted that due to FF6's depth, with so much content and many characters, it would take twice as long as FF7 Remake to develop and release.

Hamaguchi then praised the Final Fantasy Remake trilogy team for their dedication and for sticking with him for over 10 years. “Not only was it a matter of timing, I think it was a miracle that we were able to get these people who were willing to stick around and keep motivated to work on so many of these titles back-to-back,” he said. “So that’s why I can’t just say, ‘Yeah, I’ll remake FF6,’ as it's not quite that simple.”

At the end of the talk, Yoshida noted that after mentioning the difficulties of remaking FF6 and other titles, many livestream viewers commented, ‘I want this guy (Hamaguchi) to make Final Fantasy 17,’ which Yoshida called “the highest praise you could get.” Hamaguchi replied, “Can I respond to that? If I do…” but Yoshida waved him away.

This sparked excited speculation among viewers about whether Square Enix has already decided to make Final Fantasy 17. Some even interpreted it as a sign that Hamaguchi may already be slated to work on FF17, but that seems tenuous, especially since he is still busy with the upcoming Final Fantasy 7 Revelation.

Yoshida then asked Hamaguchi about his most difficult and rewarding experiences working on the franchise. As a manager of a large team, Hamaguchi said the hardest part is uniting everyone behind the same vision and ensuring they head in the same direction. The most rewarding thing, he said, is making games with the support of a huge, global fanbase. “I don’t think anything could make me happier,” he added.

Reflecting on his career, Hamaguchi recalled spending ages fine-tuning fire effects on Final Fantasy 12 when he started as a programmer at Square Enix 24 years ago. “As an individual creator, it’s very satisfying to get immersed in your work. However, I think that’s something you’re able to do more earlier in your career. Later on, the satisfaction comes more from leading a team and getting them to utilize their abilities,” he explained. “This doesn’t change how I feel about the games. I still want to make something amazing.”

Yoshida and Hamaguchi then discussed the new FF7-themed content coming to FF14, including the Keybound Brawler game arriving at FF14’s Golden Saucer in October, plus new Barret and Tifa-style outfits. Their teams are working on the crossover raid Beyond the Lifestream, which will bring the FF7 remake series to FF14. It’s scheduled for version 8.01 of Final Fantasy 14 (release date TBC but set before Final Fantasy 7 Revelations comes out in early 2027).

Regarding Final Fantasy 7, Hamaguchi reiterated that the remake trilogy aims to bring FF7 to a new generation of players, many of whom never experienced the 1997 PS1 classic. “We want to introduce new players to Final Fantasy 7 in a way that they can really understand what made the original so great. So we went into more depth on the depiction of the world, the lore, characters and all these elements in the remake trilogy,” he said.

Throughout the talk, both developers praised each other's work and achievements, revealing they don't need much sleep and remain enthusiastic about the Final Fantasy series. Yoshida called Hamaguchi the best at Square Enix in terms of team, task, and schedule management. Near the end, Hamaguchi expressed hope that their teams could collaborate more in the future.