Naoki Hamaguchi recently stated that Final Fantasy VII Remake was the most difficult title to develop in the remake trilogy. The difficulty did not stem from the project's scale, but from the team's need to build the development organization and workflow from scratch while producing the game.
Hamaguchi recalled that at the project's restart, there were only about 30 developers. The team had to expand personnel and refine the organization while advancing game development, effectively building the production system supporting the entire trilogy alongside creating the first title.
The first title also bore the responsibility of establishing the series' baseline standards. The team had to determine the appropriate level for visuals, gameplay experience, and overall quality, with the most challenging judgment being what quality level would meet player expectations.
With this foundational work complete, the subsequent two titles could leverage the existing framework for further expansion and refinement. Therefore, a larger scale does not necessarily mean a more difficult development process. Hamaguchi's assessment focuses primarily on the costs of establishing the team and production system, rather than ranking the content scale or final quality of the three titles.
Final Fantasy VII Remake was primarily directed by Tetsuya Nomura, with Naoki Hamaguchi and Motomu Toriyama serving as co-directors; Hamaguchi subsequently took charge of the following titles.