Square Enix has officially begun development on the third and final part of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth director Tetsuya Nomura, scenario writer Kazushige Nojima, and composer Nobuo Uematsu all sat down for a Special Talk Session on Square Enix's Music YouTube channel yesterday (April 1) to discuss the development of the ongoing trilogy and the recent release of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.
The trio of developers reflect on plenty in the video, including Uematsu's work on the Final Fantasy series, writing Aerith's theme song, as well as how the character Vincent Valentine "wasn't included in the game until halfway through development" before he was finally added.
At one point, Uematsu tells Nomura, "It has to be mentally taxing, trying to recreate something you put to bed decades ago, but with the latest technology, and for a whole new generation." Nomura responds by saying, "Years ago, during the planning phase, I knew the kind of commitment a project like this would require."
"Part of me didn't want to do it," he continues. "I could already see how much work this was going to be, and once we got started, there was no throwing in the towel halfway through. You can't leave things on a cliffhanger. You're stuck now. It's a massive undertaking. From the moment production started, I wanted it to end. At least now we're finally past the midway point."
Later in the discussion, Nomura says that he'd liked to be done with the trilogy due to the sheer scale of it, saying, "Personally, I want to be done with this absolute marathon of projects."
Following some earlier talk about the trilogy's music, the creative director turns to Uematsu and says that since he worked on the first and second games, "it stands to reason that you have to come back for the third," to which the composer said, "It'd be my honor," despite previously stating (via VGC) he doesn't think he'll ever compose another full game again.
It wasn't until later on in the video did we finally get confirmation that the final installment in the Remake trilogy is officially in development, with Nomura confirming that he and Nojima are already "hard at work" on the third game, adding: "We're off to the races already."
Nomura jokes how Uematsu is going to "surpass the songs you've already composed for us" and if he's up for the challenge. The composer simply says, "For starters, I'm gonna take a vacation."