The true potential of Final Fantasy VII Remake has been unlocked with the power of PlayStation 5. Square Enix has released their PS5 version known as Intergrade. With all the upgrades and additional content it feels like a brand new experience.
Yuffie Shines as the Star of the PS5 Version
One of the biggest draws of Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade was the addition of the DLC, INTERmission. The DLC story runs parallel to the main storyline as Wutai ninja Yuffie Kisaragi infiltrates Midgar to seek out Shinra’s top secret, all powerful materia.
Throughout her story, she meets up with her fellow Wutaian Sonon Kusakabe and the real Avalanche group. In fact, we learn from the real Avalanche members that the Avalanche composed of Barret, Tifa, Wedge, Biggs, and Jessie are actually a splinter cell. They broke off from the rest of Avalanche because they didn’t think the group was doing enough to stop Shinra. Meanwhile, the real Avalanche thought their methods were too extreme. Considering everything that happens in Final Fantasy VII Remake, they may have been right.
With the help of Avalanche, Yuffie and Sonon are able to sneak into Shinra HQ and take on formidable foes not seen in the main Final Fantasy VII Remake story. Enemies like Shinra’s Director of Advanced Weaponry Division, Scarlet and Deepground’s Nero (first introduced in Dirge of Cerberus), who is basically the human embodiment of Final Fantasy X aeon Anima. I won’t go into everything that happens in Deepground, but there are some powerful moments that show Yuffie’s range. This continues once the mission ends and Yuffie witnesses the horrifying events of Sector 7 plate falling. It was a shocking new perspective of one of the most tragic moments in the entire Final Fantasy VII story.
Yuffie’s attitude and personality are what really pulled me into this story. Her goofiness and child-like wonder are refreshing given how tormented and complex the mainline characters are. Despite saying she wasn’t a child, she was very much the hero we all aspire to be when we’re children, cartoonish and over-the-top.
For example, Yuffie has about three different big reveals, in which she usually tries to deliver a rehearsed speech from atop something high for effect. However, it usually ends up failing in some form or fashion, as people don’t react how she wants. Overall, though, her speeches, failures, child-like excitement, stubborn attitude, and her obsession for materia are a charming addition to the Final Fantasy VII storyline that was missing in Midgar.
In addition to Yuffie’s wonderful disposition, INTERmission also features gameplay and combat mechanics that are unique to these new characters. Yuffie’s trademark 4-point Shuriken is both a debilitating weapon and a handy tool, as it’s able to attack enemies and break open crates from long-distances. Also, they added a cool effect for how Yuffie stows her massive shuriken away. She simply presses a button and it folds into a tiny star. I never knew that I needed to know that but I’m glad I now do.
In battle, Yuffie uses her shuriken to both attack from afar and get close to her enemies. By throwing her shuriken, she can let the shuriken do the brunt of the work while she hangs back and cast ninjutsu on her enemies. However, the combat gets even faster when you hit to retrieve the shuriken. Yuffie will leap to her trusty weapon, grab it, and perform sick close-combat combos.
Speaking of sick close-combat combos, while you can’t fully control Sonon, you can enact synchronized combat with Yuffie and Sonon. Once enacted, the two characters will come together to perform devastating combos and abilities that are incredibly fun.
My last note on combat has to do with the awesome limit breaks that are unique to both characters. Yuffie’s limit break is called Bloodbath (which is a nod to one of her original limit breaks Bloodfest). With Bloodbath, Yuffie performs an impressive combo with her shuriken that deals a massive amount of damage. As for Sonon, his limit break is called Dance of the Dragon where he will summon a water dragon to deal a decent amount of damage.
Finally, INTERmission hosts a list of enjoyable minigames for players to enjoy and get addicted to. One is the Happy Turtle flyer mission where you must find and bring back all six Happy Turtle flyers to the eccentric Wutaian bar owner. Another is a new VR Mission with Chadley that will unlock the insanely powerful summon materia, Ramuh. Although, the most enjoyable and addicting activity of them all has to be Fort Condor.
Fort Condor was originally a mini-game in Final Fantasy VII Remake that saw Cloud, Tifa, Barret, and Aerith attempt to stop Shinra from invading Mako Reactor, which has a massive condor incubating its egg at the top. For INTERmission, Square Enix adapted this concept for a new mini-game that takes a lot of nods from popular mobile games.
In Fort Condor, you summon soldiers and all kinds of other infantry to attack and defend against the enemy’s soldiers. Then, once your opponent is unable to summon soldiers, your soldiers will attack the condors perched at the back of your opponent’s territory. The strategy of the game comes in using the paper, rock, scissors method of the game. Vanguard troops beat Ranged soldiers, Ranged soldiers beat Defense units, and Defense units beat Vanguard troops. Having a balanced crew of powerful fighters and a board that quickly compiles ATB are crucial for winning Fort Condor.
Once I unlocked Fort Condor, everything else got put on pause. It was the only thing I wanted to play. It was challenging, but so much fun. Unfortunately, though, there aren’t many people to play against. I hope Fort Condor becomes what the card game in Final Fantasy IX was and allows players to play the game against anyone in Final Fantasy VII Remake Part II.
Overall, the INTERmission DLC wasn’t all that long, but it was the highlight of my time in Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade. Yuffie and her lovable personality, along with the context of seeing things from an outside perspective served to enhance the overall experience. Furthermore, the mini-games and unique, fast-paced combat were an absolute joy to experience.
Before Intergrade released, Final Fantasy VII Remake Director Tetsuya Nomura told Famitsu they hadn’t intended on making a DLC for Final Fantasy VII Remake. Rather, they just wanted to make a PS5 port to prepare for development of Part II. Even though they may not have meant to, I for one am glad they did. It added a ton of character development and excitement for the next game, where hopefully we’ll get even more Deepground and Yuffie, along with a visit to her homeland of Wutai.
4K and 60fps is How Final Fantasy VII Remake Was Meant to Be Played
In addition to Yuffie’s DLC INTERmission, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade hosts a ton of enhancements for the PS5 version of the game. Enhancements like improved textures (doors have detail!), lighting, a photo mode, and insane load times, just to name a few. The enhancements that I believe had the biggest impact on the game were Graphics and Performance Modes.
Final Fantasy VII Remake was already a beautiful game on PS4, so I didn’t expect that Graphics Mode on the PS5 would add much in terms of visual quality. I am happy to report that I was very wrong. Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade in 4K is an exceptional visual experience. The amount of detail, textures, lighting makes for an impressive and immersive experience the likes of which the PS4 version can’t hold a candle to.
While Graphics Mode was visually appealing, Performance Mode was where I spent most of my time. In this mode, the game clocks up to 60 frames per second. This makes movement and combat so much smoother and it’s a noticeable difference compared to the PS4 version. That’s not to say it was bad by any means but 60fps is better than 30fps by leaps and bounds. Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade benefits greatly from it.
When you compare the two versions of the game, the PS5 version of Final Fantasy VII Remake just feels like this was how Square Enix intended the game to be from the start. It’s an incredibly smooth, well-detailed experience. The PS4 version was impressive in its own right but Intergrade is on a whole different level.
Additional Content Sets Up Part II & More
Along with enhanced features, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade adds some new content for Final Fantasy fans to sink their teeth into. We’ve talked a lot about INTERmission and Yuffie but it’s very much the catalyst for a lot of the new content.
Aside from the DLC story, INTERmission introduces players to Deepground’s Weiss, the commander of Deepground and brother of Nero. He was first introduced in the Vincent Valentine Final Fantasy game, Dirge of Cerberus. Here, though, he’s a bit of a mysterious figure as players don’t get to know him outside of a couple of quick cinematics. His primary function in Intergrade is to serve as a secret boss in the Shinra Combat Simulator.
As a boss, Weiss is incredibly vicious and fast. Beating him takes a lot of well-timed dodges and coordinated strikes with both physical abilities and magic to get him staggered and ultimately take him down. He is extremely tough to beat as he wields two swords and then switches to a massive gun of sorts. That said, once you’ve got his pattern down, and a cooperative strategy in place, it’s not impossible. Plus, the end cinematic is just confusing enough to want to witness.
It hints at more to do with Weiss down the road. In fact, the whole DLC involvement with Deepground makes you think that Square Enix has a lot more in store with this intriguing group.
Finally, one of the things that Tetsuya Nomura said when he announced that there would be no more DLC is that Part 2 starts right where Intergrade ends. True to his word, Square Enix added a new end cinematic featuring Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Aerith, and Red XIII leaving Midgar on their way to Kalm. It includes some funny moments and gorgeous scenery. It even adds a little more with Zack Fair that makes you further question what is going on in Final Fantasy VII Remake.
From top to bottom, the additions and enhancements brought to Final Fantasy VII Remake made what was already an exceptional game an even better experience. Yuffie was incredible, the visuals and combat were impressive, and the end cinematics had me so ready for more. If you have a Playstation 5 and played Final Fantasy VII Remake on PS4, Intergrade is well worth a playthrough. Just remember to download both versions of the game to transfer save data.
Now, if you’re someone who was on the fence on playing Final Fantasy VII Remake in the first place, I can’t stress enough that this is a must-play title and one of my personal favorites from 2020. The enhancements made for Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade further stress that this is a one-of-a-kind gaming experience you can’t miss out on.
