The upcoming Final Fantasy 7 Revelation will feature a streamlined job system with just four classes per character, and director Naoki Hamaguchi has opened up about the challenges behind this design decision. In a candid interview at Final Fantasy 14 Fan Fest Berlin, Hamaguchi explained that the process of creating the game’s FITS system—Function Integrated Tactical Suitwear—served as a stark reminder of how exponentially more difficult game development has become in the modern era. While longtime fans might remember earlier Final Fantasy titles offering dozens of job options, the realities of contemporary game production have forced developers to make strategic compromises.
Final Fantasy 7 Revelation represents the culminating chapter of Square Enix’s ambitious trilogy, remaking the final act of the beloved 1997 PlayStation classic. The FITS system reaches deep into Final Fantasy’s storied history, drawing inspiration from the job-switching mechanics that defined entries like Final Fantasy 5 and Final Fantasy Tactics. Each character in Revelation’s ensemble cast can equip four distinct FITS, fundamentally altering their combat capabilities while also providing visually striking new outfits. Early previews have showcased protagonist Cloud Strife dressed as a traditional Warrior class, while fan-favorite Tifa Lockhart has been spotted wielding the devastating magic of a Black Mage.
The Rising Complexity of Modern Game Development
Hamaguchi’s reflections on development difficulty touch on a broader industry-wide phenomenon. “It did make me realize all over again how hard it is to develop games these days. When you look at some of the early Final Fantasy games that have job systems, you could put a lot in there,” he told GamesRadar+ through a translator. His observation carries significant weight when examining the franchise’s history. Final Fantasy 5, released in 1992, featured an impressive roster of over 20 interchangeable jobs for each party member. However, those characters were represented by simple pixel art sprites that performed basic, universal animations regardless of their equipped class.
The contrast with modern development is staggering. Every playable character in Final Fantasy 7 Revelation requires individually crafted, motion-captured animations for each job configuration. Character models must be rendered in photorealistic detail, with unique outfits requiring separate modeling, texturing, and rigging work. Combat animations, idle poses, cutscene interactions, and environmental movements all need to be created from scratch for each FITS combination. What once took a small team mere weeks to implement in the 16-bit era now demands months of work from dozens of specialized artists, animators, and programmers.
Lessons from Ongoing Live Service Games
The director drew an interesting comparison to games that can more easily support expansive job systems. Having 20 or 30 jobs in a standalone release “just isn’t really feasible” in today’s development landscape, Hamaguchi explained. The exception, he noted, comes from “ongoing titles” that add content “bit by bit” over extended periods. Final Fantasy 14, Square Enix’s massively successful MMORPG, exemplifies this approach perfectly. Since its 2013 relaunch, the game has gradually accumulated over 20 distinct jobs through multiple expansions, each addition supported by subscription revenue and years of iterative development time.
This reality reflects broader trends across the gaming industry. Development budgets for AAA titles have ballooned dramatically, with major releases now routinely costing hundreds of millions of dollars. Teams that once numbered in the dozens have grown to encompass thousands of developers, artists, quality assurance testers, and support staff. The pressure to deliver technically impressive experiences while managing these enormous undertakings has forced studios to make difficult decisions about scope and feature sets. Square Enix’s approach with Revelation demonstrates a philosophy of quality over quantity—fewer options, but each one meticulously crafted.
Strategic Depth Despite Limitations
Despite the constraints, Hamaguchi expressed confidence in the FITS system’s contribution to gameplay variety. “The FITS system has four different outfits for each character, and each of those is quite a defined role. In the end, that has added quite a lot of breadth of strategy for players to engage with,” he explained. The director believes this focused approach has actually resulted in “a really good addition to the battle system” that meaningfully expands upon the combat foundations established in Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth.
The mathematics still work in players’ favor when considering the full picture. “Even though we only have four FITS, we have a lot of characters, so it was quite a lot of work,” Hamaguchi acknowledged. With Revelation’s expansive cast of playable party members, the total number of unique job implementations adds up quickly. Each character’s four FITS combinations create numerous strategic possibilities for party composition, allowing players to tailor their teams for specific encounters or preferred playstyles. Hamaguchi has also confirmed his commitment to “concluding the series” definitively with Revelation, with any future DLC focusing on “untold stories” rather than extending the main narrative.
Expert Opinion: The constraints Hamaguchi describes represent a critical inflection point for the RPG genre, where visual fidelity expectations increasingly conflict with the systemic depth that defined classic entries. Studios must now choose between breadth and polish, and Square Enix’s decision to prioritize quality over quantity may establish a new template for how beloved franchises adapt their signature mechanics for modern audiences. This trend suggests future RPGs will likely feature fewer but more deeply realized character customization options.
