Naoki Hamaguchi, the director behind the Final Fantasy 7 remakes, has recently addressed fan speculation that content from the original Final Fantasy 7 will be removed in Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3. The fan speculation was the result of one Hamaguchi’s previous comments, but the director has since assured fans that all story content from the original game will be present in the remake. Instead, the remake will improve upon the original game’s pacing to make the story a more enjoyable experience.

In an interview with ScreenRant, Hamaguchi addressed player-critiques regarding the pacing of previous installations in the Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy. Some fans felt that certain sections of the game, such as Costa Del Sol in Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, were unnecessarily long and felt intentionally drawn out. 

In response to these criticisms, Hamaguchi responded that he didn’t “believe that [the sections] were longer than necessary” and that players “have too much to do and too much to play; so they often feel the urge that something has to be concluded quickly.” However, Hamaguchi did acknowledge the critiques of his playerbase, and vowed to “[strike] a balance on how story arcs are told and spread out so…the game feels a bit more concise.”

After hearing Hamaguchi say that the game was going to be more “concise,” some fans assumed that story content in the original Final Fantasy 7 was going to be cut from the remake. However, in a recent interview with VGC, the director clarified that there is no such cause for concern. Instead, his previous comments were describing improvements to the game’s pacing. He further clarified that such adjustments are completely unrelated to the amount of content, and that instead the team is focusing on adjusting the story’s speed so  that “the story progresses at feels right, and it is fairly quick and feels like you can get through it at a reasonable pace.” 

While it is currently unclear when Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 will be released, Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade will be ported to the Xbox series and Nintendo Switch 2 on January 22nd, 2026.