FF7’s Third Installment Has Noticeably Worse Graphics Than Rebirth — Dumbed Down for Weaker Hardware?

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The story

Footage of “FINAL FANTASY VII REVELATION” (releasing April 8, 2027) was shown during a State of Play, and 5ch users quickly pointed out that the graphics look inferior to its predecessor, Rebirth. Some speculate this is due to development being built around a multiplatform release alongside the Switch 2, while others suggest it reflects a design shift made in light of how troubled Rebirth’s Switch 2 port turned out to be. Beyond the graphics debate, the thread’s discussion expanded into Japan’s dependence on the domestic market and Nintendo, as well as the shifting relationship between Sony and the Final Fantasy series.

What people said

1AnonymousSep 3, 2026 22:57
It's been downgraded
just so it can run on that garbage hardware.
6AnonymousSep 3, 2026 23:00
It's because of the Switch 2's crappy performance.
7AnonymousSep 3, 2026 23:01
I thought the trilogy was already finished.
Guess it wasn't.
8AnonymousSep 3, 2026 23:01
Rebirth and Remake were both trash though?
9AnonymousSep 3, 2026 23:01
Guess that just shows what mid-range hardware is capable of.
10AnonymousSep 3, 2026 23:01
"Baseless slander," they keep saying ("ワンパ" — shorthand for "same old recycled complaint") — but this hardware barrier is causing genuine, real harm.
11AnonymousSep 3, 2026 23:02
Is Barret's voice actor not going back to the original one?
12AnonymousSep 3, 2026 23:02
Sure, it's the PS version so resolution and framerate are better, but the base game design and density feel cheap — totally last-gen. Honestly, it's a step down from Rebirth.
13AnonymousSep 3, 2026 23:02
Probably just because they made it open world.
17AnonymousSep 3, 2026 23:03
Re: #13
Wasn't Rebirth the same way?
16AnonymousSep 3, 2026 23:03
You're not even gonna buy it, yet here you are nonstop complaining.
21AnonymousSep 3, 2026 23:04
The Switch 2 port of Rebirth was hell, after all.
It probably drove costs way up, and despite that the downgrade was still brutal.

Feels like this time they avoided that by building the game from the ground up as a simultaneous multiplat with the Switch 2.
22AnonymousSep 3, 2026 23:04
It's the fault of everyone who didn't buy the PS5 version of Rebirth.
23AnonymousSep 3, 2026 23:05
Looked like graphics some no-name studio ("猫," lit. "cat" — derogatory slang for a cut-rate subcontractor) slapped together remastering a PSP game.
28AnonymousSep 3, 2026 23:08
If we're talking graphics, Rebirth already looked worse than the PS4 Remake.
https://youtu.be/TZb-rhwsc7E?si=opRa0P8DS1uEf2Az
32AnonymousSep 3, 2026 23:10
Re: #28
Right, wasn't there also that thing about "self-proclaimed Cloud" guy's face…? (a recurring 5ch in-joke nickname, exact reference unclear)
34AnonymousSep 3, 2026 23:11
This is the dilemma Japanese publishers face.
If you're focused purely on the overseas market, you can ignore Nintendo entirely, but once you factor in the domestic market, that's not an option.
37AnonymousSep 3, 2026 23:13
Re: #34
Because of Nintendo, Japan's game industry risks getting left behind by the rest of the world.

Compared to Western, Chinese, and Korean developers who've dropped Nintendo hardware entirely to focus on PS5, the development environment here is at a huge disadvantage.
85AnonymousSep 3, 2026 23:55
Re: #34Re: #37
Overseas markets are shifting to Steam too, you know, and PlayStation's overseas sales are dropping right along with it.
Also, FF became "washed up" in Japan first, and that dragged Western sales down with it.

That doesn't mean it's fine to neglect the domestic market — and honestly, why should Japanese gamers even have to care about a game company's business circumstances in the first place?
What Japanese gamers want is games made for Japan.
39AnonymousSep 3, 2026 23:14
It's a letdown that the airship and the actual field are separate.
Especially after seeing Crimson Desert.
41AnonymousSep 3, 2026 23:15
Re: #39
Crimson Desert isn't seamless either though — it fades to black when you move between the upper and lower areas.
42AnonymousSep 3, 2026 23:15
[Head all warm and fuzzy]
I can't stand watching this.
Who's supposed to play a game with this kind of vibe?
90AnonymousSep 4, 2026 00:01
Re: #42
They're still doing that painfully cringey vibe?
Photorealistic visuals with that anime-style acting is the worst possible combo.
Feels like Square Enix has people with zero interest in games just throwing random stuff together, assuming it'll be a hit.
43AnonymousSep 3, 2026 23:16
Re: #37
That has nothing to do with Nintendo though.
You could just ignore them.
59AnonymousSep 3, 2026 23:26
Re: #43
That's exactly the point — Japanese publishers depending on the Galapagos-like domestic market, where Nintendo holds a huge share, are at a massive disadvantage.
54AnonymousSep 3, 2026 23:22
So even FF, after all its devotion to PlayStation, has become PlayStation's enemy?
56AnonymousSep 3, 2026 23:25
Re: #54
Well, when something's inconvenient, all you can do is brand it the enemy…
63AnonymousSep 3, 2026 23:31
Rebirth flopped, so the budget got slashed.


Happens all the time.
95AnonymousSep 4, 2026 00:11
Re: #63
Also, judging by how half-assed Sony's presentation of this FF was, it looks like Sony money has been cut way back too.
Did Sony finally realize that PlayStation declined because they kept marketing games like this as flagship titles?
Japan's a country that loves anime, so at this point the only way for PS to make a comeback is to push something like Persona 6 as the flagship title.
64AnonymousSep 3, 2026 23:34
If I can't adventure with Aerith, it doesn't matter whether she's alive or dead.
Like that old legendary glitch, I was hoping they'd let you bring her past the Forgotten City.
I'm done, I'm exhausted.
What was even the point of this remake?
97AnonymousSep 4, 2026 00:14
Re: #64
Not only can't you adventure together — she ends up getting stolen away by some tacked-on spin-off protagonist instead.
66AnonymousSep 3, 2026 23:36
Impressively, they've flushed about 12 years' worth of time and money down the drain.
69AnonymousSep 3, 2026 23:39
Re: #66
They'd have been better off just making two or three new numbered mainline entries instead.
86AnonymousSep 3, 2026 23:58
Even on State of Play it got shown at kind of an awkward, low-key time slot — feels like Sony's already half given up on FF, doesn't it?
Square Enix itself is ending service for FF7 Ever Crisis next month without even waiting for the finale to release, so they don't seem to have much intention of actually selling this.
89AnonymousSep 4, 2026 00:01
Re: #86
You can tell Hamaguchi wants to wrap up the FF7 series as soon as possible.
101AnonymousSep 4, 2026 00:23
It's not FF14, so why are there now jobs/classes?
And the Highwind is painfully slow.
103AnonymousSep 4, 2026 00:25
Re: #101
It really felt like they developed this purely by listening to the loudest voices on gaming forums ("ゲハ").
Zero thought given to whether it actually fits the game's world.
102AnonymousSep 4, 2026 00:24
https://www.4gamer.net/games/013/G101385/20260903077/

Square Enix announced during today's (September 3, 2026) episode of PlayStation's "State of Play" program that FINAL FANTASY VII REVELATION will launch on April 8, 2027.

https://www.4gamer.net/games/013/G101385/20260903077/TN/002.jpg

youtu.be/ti5msVTpaNM
youtu.be/Bb0UNmbBH3Q

Background and Key Points of the Discussion

FINAL FANTASY VII Remake launched for PS4/PS5 in 2020, and its sequel, Rebirth, followed in 2024, later receiving a Switch 2 port as well. The newly announced conclusion to the trilogy appears to have been developed from the outset with a Switch 2 multiplatform release in mind, and the central theory in the thread was that the graphics look inferior as a result of being tailored to lower-performance hardware. At the same time, some pointed to increased costs from going open-world, or to design changes made in response to lessons learned from Rebirth’s troubled Switch 2 port, so no single cause has been settled on. It’s worth noting that what was shown here is only announcement-stage footage — the final in-game performance and visuals haven’t been confirmed, and the release itself is still a ways off, in April 2027. Some also pointed to the short amount of time the game got during State of Play as a sign that FF’s standing within the PlayStation camp may be shifting, though that too remains speculation.

※This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Hardware/Industry (Geha)) thread “[Sad News] FF7’s Third Installment Has Noticeably Worse Graphics Than Rebirth — Did They Dumb It Down for Weaker Hardware?“.

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