FFVII Revelation Director Says Every Rebirth Location Returns
Hamaguchi's answer explains the scale problem of a trilogy finale: keeping Rebirth's map intact only works if each returning location gets new content and a different feel, which is why the exploration tools carry the design rather than the map itself.
Reporting from 1 source: 4Gamer.net.
Square Enix director Naoki Hamaguchi told 4Gamer that Final Fantasy VII Revelation, the third and final part of the Remake trilogy set for April 8, 2027, will keep every location that appeared in Rebirth rather than cut areas the story does not revisit. The team concluded it had to build them all properly, adding traversal by chocobo, parachute, and the Highwind so returning regions play differently.
Revelation was dated for April 8, 2027 during the September 3 State of Play, and media hands-on sessions ran ahead of that announcement. Hamaguchi said the scenario team initially offered ways to close off areas, by example having a Weapon destroy Gold Saucer or sink Gongaga, but he judged players would not accept losing places they care about.
His technical background shapes the other half of the answer. Coming from an engineering role, he can argue feasibility with programmers directly and, when the obstacle is staffing, commit budget for more people.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.