Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Director of 'FFVII Remake' and 'Kingdom Hearts III' says both are progressing

By
In a new interview with Weekly Famitsu, translated into English by Gematsu, Tetsuya Nomura discussed the development of both
Recommended Videos
Kingdom Hearts III and
Related
Final Fantasy VII Remake.

On the subject of Kingdom Hearts III, Nomura said, “While I can’t make a sweeping statement because the development process is different from what we’ve done so far, there are still worlds untouched. Production is progressing on unannounced worlds, in a state that we cannot show them off. In terms of the state of development, there is still some way to go.”

At this point, it’s not really surprising that Kingdom Hearts III is far from completion. In 2010, Nomura hinted at its existence in the Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Ultimania, an entry in the Kingdom Hearts informational book series. Sony officially announced Kingdom Hearts III at E3 2013. As each year passes, fans continue to wonder when they will receive the next mainline iteration of the Disney/Square Enix crossover, the first since 2006’s Kingdom Hearts II.

As for Final Fantasy VII Remake, Nomura was more vague. “We’re steadily progressing on production,” he said, before apologizing for the status of both titles. Final Fantasy VII Remake was revealed at E3 2015, after years of fans clamoring for an updated version of the iconic RPG. We have since learned that it will be a “Multi-Part Series.”

While it certainly sounds like these games won’t be available for quite awhile, the one spot of bright news is that Square Enix hopes to show both titles at events throughout the year.

Nomura may be the bearer of bad news, but it’s hard to be mad at him. He is currently undertaking the gargantuan role of leading two of Square Enix’s biggest projects. He has been the director of the Kingdom Hearts franchise since the beginning and has created characters for the Final Fantasy franchise since Final Fantasy V. Nomura was also the original director on Final Fantasy XV before switching over to direct Final Fantasy VII Remake.

Kingdom Hearts fans still have the disastrously titled, but hopefully good, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue to look forward to on January 24. Also, anyone who has not played the franchise can join those waiting for Kingdom Hearts III by picking up Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix on March 28.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Steven Petite
Steven Petite
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Steven is a writer from Northeast Ohio currently based in Louisiana. He writes about video games and books, and consumes…
Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis isn’t the faithful remake you’re expecting
final fantasy vii ever crisis beta impressions 7 fire

When Final Fantasy VII Remake launched in 2020, it was a revelation for me. The bold reimagining taught me that a video game remake can be much more than a nostalgic revisit, instead using the history of the original to tell a high-concept story about destiny. Though I immediately revered it as one of gaming’s greatest accomplishments, others weren’t so pleased. There’s a not-so-small collection of purists out there who simply wanted a 1:1 remake of the PlayStation version with pretty graphics.

Fortunately for that crowd, Square Enix is delivering that faithful remake with Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis. Well, maybe not as faithful as you're expecting.

Read more
Final Fantasy VII’s mobile battle royale game is shutting down
Final Fantasy VII The First Soldier

Square Enix has announced that its mobile battle royale game Final Fantasy VII The First Soldier will shut down on January 11, 2023.

"After almost a year of jumping around on chocobos, mashing it up in melee battles, and sniping from the rooftops of Midgar Undercity, it is with a heavy heart that we are announcing the end of service for Final Fantasy VII The First Soldier. We will be ending service at 07:00 UTC on January 11, 2023," Square Enix explains on the game's website.

Read more
Final Fantasy VII Remake is (almost) perfect on Steam Deck
Final Fantasy VII Remake running on the Steam Deck.

Square Enix surprise-launched Final Fantasy VII Remake on Steam during its 25th anniversary livestream, and it leaned heavily on the fact that the game is Steam Deck Verified. For good reason, too. Final Fantasy VII Remake is over two years old, and it's only been available on PC through the Epic Games Store for six months.

I bit the bullet and bought the game for a third time to answer one question: Is it worth spending $70 again just to play Final Fantasy VII Remake on the Steam Deck? It's a solid version of the game, much better than I expected it to be, but it still has one major flaw that I hope Square Enix addresses in a future update.
Playing on Steam Deck

Read more