Talking with IGN Japan at Tokyo Sport Present 2026, Final Fantasy 7 Revelation director Naoki Hamaguchi stated the sport will include an choice to let gamers mechanically stage up their characters, permitting them to expertise the story while not having to grind — however the broader gaming neighborhood is at odds with this concept.
Final Fantasy 7 Revelation, like each different sport within the sequence, may be very narrative-focused. Fortunately, there’ll be a characteristic for many who wish to breeze via robust battles and get to its main story beats, as informed by Hamaguchi at TGS 2026.
Throughout our conversation, he informed us that he’d obtained suggestions from gamers who claimed they’d a tough time getting via the earlier video games’ major story as a result of being underleveled, saying they didn’t wish to grind via the wealth of aspect quests to work their manner as much as the next stage.
“Naturally, as a result of we have ready a lot aspect content material, [a player’s] stage won’t fairly attain the requirement for the principle story. There have been voices [from players] saying, ‘Despite the fact that you say I haven’t got to do the aspect content material, if I do not do it and make my characters stronger, I find yourself struggling,’” he defined.
“For individuals who actually simply wish to do the principle story, we have included an possibility that asks, in case your stage shouldn’t be excessive sufficient for the advisable stage while you attain part of the principle story, ‘Would you wish to mechanically increase [your level] to the advisable stage?’”
This explicit comment has sparked a heated debate throughout the gaming neighborhood. The broad sentiment from critics argues that including such a characteristic makes the sport far too ‘hand-holdy,’ and moreover, presents a startling implication that younger gamers are now not being confronted with challenges in video games.
Veteran sport artist TheCartelDel offered probably the most viral argument towards including this characteristic, writing on X/Twitter, “We have to have a critical dialogue about how video games was a singular methodology to show youngsters and teenagers about endurance, delayed gratification, and dealing laborious to perform a purpose — and now we’re designing away the necessity to persevere in any respect. You will be taught to beat nothing.”
“I just like the FF7 remakes. I actually do. However every bit of stories I’ve been seeing about Revelation looks like they’re accommodating this sport for individuals who don’t like taking part in video games and it’s embarrassing,” one other consumer (*7*).
“Having choices to FACILITATE the expertise is ALWAYS good, however there is a distinction between facilitating and ELIMINATING the expertise,” one other argued. “In an RPG, getting misplaced in its world, exploring, combating, and leveling up is exactly the character of the style.”
We have to have a critical dialogue about how video games was a singular methodology to show youngsters & teenagers about endurance, delayed gratification, and dealing laborious to perform a purpose – and now we’re designing away the necessity to persevere in any respect. You will be taught to beat nothing. https://t.co/K0FOtDxa5n
— Del (@TheCartelDel) September 21, 2026
That being stated, FF7 Revelation goes to be a large sport, with Hamaguchi teasing that it’ll take completionists “a minimum of 100 hours” to completely end. It’s an open-world sport, in any case, with all kinds of aspect quests to finish and areas to discover. That’s why there’s a couple of methods gamers can navigate its world, both by dropping in from the Highwind (thanks for the experience, Cid) or traversing the panorama through Chocobo — or heck, even strolling on foot.
As a result of such a large open world can set off resolution fatigue from gamers preferring a extra linear expertise, Hamaguchi stated the event workforce is working laborious to discover a stability between offering sufficient steerage for many who struggled in exploration and people who wish to get lost on their very own, saying he’d obtained some suggestions calling the sport a bit too hand-holdy.
“There are individuals who wish to discover, and there are individuals who do not wish to get misplaced. So, I feel that for open-world video games right this moment, you want fairly a radical stage of steerage. Nevertheless, however, there have been additionally opinions from individuals who wished to find issues on their very own, saying that the steerage was a bit intrusive or in the best way. So, we’re at present contemplating issues like toggling that steerage on and off,” he stated.
Both manner, it seems that Hamaguchi is well-aware of considerations that the sport will do an excessive amount of heavy lifting on gamers’ behalf. It’s additionally value noting that many AAA video games today supply problem ranges particularly tailor-made to experiencing their story modes, so Hamaguchi’s computerized level-up possibility isn’t one thing completely new.
What’s your tackle this characteristic? Do you assume it’s heralding a problem with the subsequent era of video games, or do you assume the dialog has been blown out of proportion? Let us know within the feedback under.
Virginia Glaze
Information Editor
Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s Information Editor. With ten years of expertise reporting on video games and leisure, she’s acquired a storied background within the combating sport neighborhood, influencer information, and viral on-line tendencies. Discover her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze.