FF7 Revelation Director Wants Players To Feel Accomplished When Fighting Ruby And Emerald Weapons

Published Jul 30, 2026, 1:58 PM EDT Quinton is a Staff Writer from the United States. In his youth, Quinton was ridiculed for making video game ranking lists instead of paying attention in math class. In adulthood, people sometimes pay him for it. Life's a trip. Taking his first steps into the industry in 2020, Quinton has written for several digital publications, but his permanent literary home is right here at TheGamer. Before striking up a conversation with Quinton, consider the risks: he'll find a way to transform almost any topic into an analysis of either world history, Star Trek, or - at least this one's relevant to his career - all his favorite role-playing games. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is a GOTY-worthy game, to be sure. But the JRPG is stuffed with so many minigames that some fans have frequently opined that there are just far too many of them. Personally, I don't mind; I love a good minigame, so the more, the merrier. (Some, however, are not-so-good.) In any case, the sheer number of them in Rebirth has had more than a few folks bracing for a minigame-overstuffed Final Fantasy 7 Revelation. The concern has grown to the point that Remake trilogy director Naoki Hamaguchi has preempted worries that the final chapter's superbosses—which will officially include infamous megabeasts Ruby Weapon and Emerald Weapon—will rely upon minigames rather than "real" fights. "Obviously, What We're Making Is An RPG" In an interview with GamesRadar+, Hamaguchi-san put his foot down on rumors that the Weapon clashes will be QTE-centric or anything of the sort. "So, say you had this fight against a Weapon, a giant enemy, or something that's really exciting or cool," he says. "And you go into it, and it's just a completely new mechanic or mini-game." He then hits the nail on the head: "I think there are quite a few players who would come away from that feeling quite disappointed that it wasn't a reflection of the effort that they put into building something up to that point." The team wants players to feel rewarded for all the time they've spent leveling up, perfecting their materia line-ups, and mastering the party's special abilities. You know, all the stuff one would need to do to beat other Final Fantasy superbosses, like FFX's Penance—or, more to the point, the optional Weapon encounters in the original Final Fantasy VII. (I still have nightmares of the first time Emerald Weapon spotted me during my underwater adventures. Do you?) "I think one of the things that's fun about RPGs is having the characters you've leveled, you've customized, and you've brought them up where they are, and using them to overcome difficult situations," Hamaguchi reflects. That's not only universally true, but it's even been done in prior Remake series games. I still struggle against Remake Intergrade superboss Weiss even with an ace rollout, and the VR-amped version of Rebirth's summon battle gauntlet at Gilgamesh Island is just as ruthless. But these fights would be nigh-impossible without that glorious grind. This isn't to say minigame functionality won't be intertwined to some extent. "So there may be some mini-games involved in parts of [the Weapon battles]," the director notes. "Say, at the beginning of one of the fights or something like that, to mix things up a little bit. But the core battle is really focused on the characters that you have come through the rest of the game with as an RPG." We've actually seen this in FF7 Revelation's gameplay reveal trailer, where party members were lining up turret-like objects against Ultima Weapon in Mideel. That short clip caused alarm bells to ring, but it sounds like it's just an early part of the fight's flow. It makes particular sense since that's a story-mandated conflict that narratively boils down to, "Drive this terrifying creature away from town." There should be no shortage of great content in Revelation when it launches next spring, but those hungry for even more will be delighted to know that there's a pretty good chance the game will differ from Rebirth by featuring some form of expansion. Maybe they'll add a brand-new Weapon. Like, I don't know, Moogle Weapon. You've seen the Remake series' moogles, right? Nightmare fuel.