Final Fantasy 7 Revelation confirms big change from previous two entries

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation director Naoki Hamaguchi has teased a big change to the way the game will handle difficulty compared to the previous two entries.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth featured multiple difficulty settings, with players being able to select one of four difficulty levels to tailor how easy or hard the experience is.

However, Hard difficulty was only made available to players with a completed save file, meaning you had to finish the game first before you could play with tougher enemies.

This doesn't seem like it'll be the case with Final Fantasy 7 Revelation though, as series director Naoki Hamaguchi has confirmed that Hard difficulty will be available from the get go.

Speaking to Hardcore Gamer, Hamaguchi says that "Hard Mode does indeed exist in Revelation; however, it won’t function in the same way as it did in Remake and Rebirth. In Revelation, we’ve reimagined the high-difficulty experience to align with the new game design."

Hamaguchi explains, "Hard Mode is selectable from the very start of this game. Therefore, players who want to tackle challenging battles and high-difficulty gameplay right from the beginning can enjoy that experience from their very first playthrough."

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Final Fantasy 7 Revelation new difficulty changes explained by Hamaguchi

As for the reasons why the change was made, he adds that "unlike Remake and Rebirth, Revelation offers a wide variety of end-game content even after you’ve beaten the game. Rather than relying solely on the traditional flow of challenging Hard Mode after beating the game, we aimed to create a game where players can enjoy various new content and challenges even after completing the main story."

Another reason why this may be preferable for players is due to the sheer length of the game. Final Fantasy 7 Revelation is said to be longer than Rebirth, which was a game that could already take over 100 hours to beat.

Some players who want a harder experience from the start of the game may not necessarily want to spend over a hundred hours completing the game just to go through it all again on a greater difficulty, so it's good that this change has been implemented from the beginning.

Hamaguchi also confirms that Dynamic Mode has been retained for Revelation, where enemy levels scale to the player's level, so fights will always feel challenging but fair, and returning to earlier areas later in the game will have those same enemies buffed up.

"In Revelation, we’ve created a challenging environment that will thoroughly satisfy those seeking high difficulty, while also expanding players’ freedom and strategic options," Hamaguchi explains. "We hope the fans looking forward to that higher difficulty level content will feel reassured and excited to take on the challenge."

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation will be released on April 8, 2027, for PC, Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

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