At gamescom asia x Thailand Game Show 2025, we got a chance to chat with Teruki Endo, the Battle Director of FF7 Remake Intergrade, and we asked about the development of the game’s combat, along with their plans for the Switch 2.
Just last month at Tokyo Game Show 2025, we got to have a quick hands-on session with Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade on the Switch 2, after which we also got to ask questions to the game’s director, Naoki Hamaguchi, regarding what to expect with the Switch 2 version that’s coming this January.
As the Switch 2 version is coming out in just a few months, details about Square Enix’s plans for the FF7 Remake project on the platform were what we wanted to ask Endo when we got to attend a media roundtable interview with him at Thailand Game Show. Before asking that though, because Endo is the FF7 Remake Battle Director, we also wanted to get some insight from him regarding the game’s development.
Years ago, when FF7 Remake was released, I wrote about why I thought it was one of the best games of its generation, combat-wise. This is thanks to its great mix of action and strategy. It also helped that the game’s characters felt distinct in combat, making switching between them a lot of fun.
Even though the first game didn’t have as many playable characters yet, we imagine that balancing the characters was a difficult task, as it’s easy to make one character overpowered, meaning you don’t have a strong reason to switch mid-combat.
In terms of their approach to desiginign the characters, Endo said:
“The most important part is designing the concept of what makes each character shine in ways that others can’t, and then balancing all the characters around that feeling.
If the concept is well defined, we can fine-tune the numbers to balance a character’s strength without diminishing their individuality. But if the initial concept is unclear, adjustments can easily result in one character simply becoming a stronger version of another. That leaves some characters unable to shine at all, which makes proper balance very difficult to achieve.”
FF7 Remake Intergrade Battle Director, Teruki Endo.
Based on the final result, the team has definitely succeeded in balancing the characters in FF7 Remake. Of course, the challenge didn’t end there as Episode INTERmission introduced Yuffie, while Rebirth added even more characters. In a way, INTERmission helped them with Rebirth, as Yuffie’s skillset was tough to balance. That’s because they were able to focus on Yuffie’s skillset, without having to think about how she would work balance-wise with the other main characters.
Along with character design balance, the team is also putting a lot of thought into integrating the action and strategy elements, especially as the FF7 Remake project continues. This is in part because of the feedback they received for players, as some players tried to play the game mostly as a typical action title.
Endo explained:
“It might not be surprising, but we did receive feedback that players who try to approach the game purely as an action experience can struggle, especially with the bosses. Of course, we want players to enjoy the action as well, but we also made a conscious decision to balance the game in a way that highlights the strategic elements.
Making strategy and planning accessible to as many players as possible through clarity and thoughtful adjustments has been a key focus throughout the entire project, from Remake to Intergrade, and now to Rebirth.”
Given how Rebirth further enhanced the battle system introduced in Remake, while still making it accessible (and not daunting to learn, importantly), we’re definitely excited to see how the series’ combat will evolve with the third installment.
Part 3 of the FF7 Remake project is still quite a ways away, but soon, Switch 2 players can experience part 1, with the release of Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade on the platform.
As the Switch 2 has enough power to run the first part, there’s hope that the entire series will eventually make its way to Nintendo’s console. We asked Endo about future Switch 2 release plans for the next remake project entries, and he responded:
“We can’t go into the details just yet, but we are aiming to give Switch 2 players enough time to enjoy the experience leading up to Final Fantasy Rebirth. In the meantime, we also want them to enjoy Intergrade before the third installment comes out.
We hope to guide players into the final title in a way that feels natural and satisfying for everyone.”
While he didn’t say much yet, we are cautiously optimistic that, based on Endo’s answer, Square Enix is aiming to release the entire remake project on the Switch 2 eventually. Fingers crossed that’s the case, as that’ll mean more players can experience the FF7 Remake series.
Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade will launch on Nintendo Switch 2 on January 22, 2026.