Final Fantasy 7 Revelation director Naoki Hamaguchi has offered a nuanced answer to one of the biggest questions facing people interested in Square Enix's ongoing reimagining of its landmark RPG: should newcomers play the original 1997 Final Fantasy 7 before beginning the modern trilogy?
His answer is not a simple yes or no. Hamaguchi believes players who know the events of the original game have an important extra layer to enjoy, because that story remains deeply embedded in the narrative foundations of the Remake project. At the same time, he stresses that the newer games were designed to work for people with no familiarity with Cloud, Sephiroth, Materia, Midgar, or the history of Final Fantasy 7 at all.
In other words, the choice of starting point can meaningfully alter the experience, but neither route is inherently wrong. For some, the original's context may make Revelation and its predecessors more rewarding. For others, seeing this world for the first time through the modern trilogy's presentation could provide a stronger immediate emotional connection.
The Original Final Fantasy 7 Still Matters to the New Story
The 1997 Final Fantasy 7 is not merely an old version of the same tale that can be safely set aside before playing the new games. Hamaguchi says its storyline is effectively preserved within the narrative identity of the Remake series. That makes veteran awareness particularly valuable when the newer installments invite players to notice familiar moments, altered circumstances, and the possibility that events may not follow the path fans remember.
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This has been one of the central conversations around the modern trilogy from the beginning. Final Fantasy 7 Remake did more than update environments, combat, character performances, and cinematic storytelling. It also created room for uncertainty. Players with memories of the original RPG can approach scenes with expectations, then question those expectations when the new narrative introduces changes or suggests that the future is no longer fixed.
That tension is a distinctive part of the project. A first-time player can experience the story as an unfolding fantasy epic, learning its stakes and mysteries in real time. A returning player, meanwhile, may find additional meaning in recognizing a reference, anticipating a major development, or realizing that an expected development could now happen differently.
Hamaguchi says that players who understand the original storyline will have more to take from the Remake trilogy because they can identify what appears to be changing. It is an approach that turns long-standing fan knowledge into part of the experience without making that knowledge a mandatory requirement.
Why Veteran Players See More Than References
The appeal for players familiar with the 1997 release is not limited to spotting callbacks. The newer games have repeatedly played with the notion of fate and with characters confronting what seems destined to occur. That creates a relationship between old and new which is more involved than a conventional scene-for-scene remake.
For longtime Final Fantasy 7 fans, there is suspense in knowing the broad outline of the original while being unable to assume that every chapter will resolve in exactly the same way. An event that once seemed certain can become a question. A character's role can gain a different emphasis. Even moments that closely resemble the older game can take on another meaning because of the wider story being built around them.
This is also why some fans have interpreted the trilogy as potentially being something more complicated than a straightforward remake. Its use of alternate timelines and its awareness of the original game's events have encouraged theories that the project may ultimately function in a meta-sequel-like fashion. Revelation, as the concluding entry, will be the game that determines how far those ideas go and what the complete trilogy is actually saying about Final Fantasy 7's legacy.
Hamaguchi does not present prior knowledge as a barrier to entry. Instead, he describes it as a way to gain another perspective. Someone who has finished the original can observe the new trilogy in conversation with that earlier RPG. They understand why certain deviations are noteworthy, why characters may react with added significance, and why the concept of destiny has particular weight in this version of the story.
Newcomers Are Still Welcome in Revelation
Crucially, Hamaguchi says the Remake trilogy was built so that people who have never played the 1997 game can still enter and have a satisfying time. That is an important reassurance for an RPG with an enormous cultural footprint, especially when the original's reputation can make newcomers feel as though they have years of required homework ahead of them.
The modern series is not intended to be exclusive to players who already know every plot development or piece of terminology. A newcomer does not need to arrive knowing what Materia is, how the original's world worked, or why particular characters and locations are important to longtime fans. The trilogy is structured to introduce its world and drama through its own storytelling.
That approach reflects the unusual challenge behind revisiting Final Fantasy 7. Square Enix is speaking to a passionate audience that has carried the original with it for decades, while also trying to create an entry point for players whose first experience with the series may be through the new games. If the trilogy relied entirely on nostalgia, it would risk shutting out the people it is also trying to reach. If it ignored the original altogether, it would lose much of the creative tension that makes the project distinct.
Hamaguchi's comments suggest the team sees these two audiences as compatible rather than opposed. Veteran players receive a story enriched by comparison. New players receive a modern, self-contained route into the setting. The experience may differ depending on where a person starts, but the goal is for both groups to find value in the journey.
The Case for Beginning With the Modern Trilogy
While many fans may instinctively recommend beginning with the 1997 RPG, Hamaguchi also makes a case for going in the opposite direction. For a person with no attachment to Final Fantasy 7, starting with the Remake series can mean encountering its story, characters, and major turns for the first time through contemporary production values.
He points to the graphical presentation of the modern games as a possible advantage for first-time players. A highly detailed world, cinematic staging, expressive character performances, and modern technology can make emotional scenes more immediate for an audience that is used to current large-scale RPGs. The original remains a foundational classic, but its visual language and technical limitations naturally reflect the era in which it was made.
This is not an argument that the older game lacks emotional power. Its continued importance plainly shows otherwise. Rather, it recognizes that different players connect with games in different ways. Some may find the original's historical design, pacing, and imagination especially compelling. Others may respond more readily to the scale and visual detail of the new trilogy.
For a new player, beginning with Final Fantasy 7 Remake, continuing through Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and eventually reaching Revelation may also preserve a particular kind of surprise. They can meet the cast without advance knowledge and discover the stakes without constantly comparing each revelation to a decades-old memory. Afterwards, returning to the 1997 game could offer an entirely different perspective: not as preparation for the modern trilogy, but as a chance to see the influential source story that helped shape it.
There Is No Single Correct Play Order
The key point from Hamaguchi is that the question is ultimately one of preference. Players who enjoy studying how an adaptation transforms beloved material, noticing narrative changes, and carrying the original's context into every new development may want to begin with the 1997 RPG. That route gives the Remake trilogy an added dimension and makes its engagement with fate, expectation, and altered possibilities easier to appreciate.
Players who would rather approach Final Fantasy 7 with no preconceptions can begin with the modern trilogy without feeling they are doing it incorrectly. The series is intended to support that experience as well, offering an accessible introduction to its characters and world through a visually ambitious presentation.
There is also no need to treat the decision as permanent. Someone can start with the original, move to the new games, and enjoy the comparisons as they emerge. Another player can start with the new trilogy, then visit the classic later to understand its historical and narrative influence. Each path changes what the player notices, but both can lead to a fuller appreciation of Final Fantasy 7.
As Revelation brings the trilogy toward its conclusion, that flexibility may be more useful than ever. The final game carries the responsibility of resolving questions raised across the modern project, including the significance of its departures from the original narrative. For returning fans, it may answer years of speculation. For newcomers, it is positioned as the continuation of a story they can experience on its own terms.
Hamaguchi's advice, then, is refreshingly straightforward: choose the approach that best fits what you want from Final Fantasy 7. The original can provide invaluable context and extra meaning. The Remake trilogy can provide a polished first encounter with one of gaming's most enduring worlds. Neither path excludes the other, and Revelation is being made with both kinds of players in mind.
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