I didn’t have much hope for that shoehorn expansion for the PS5 version of the Final Fantasy VII Remake released last year exclusively on PS4. Sony thus extends the exclusivity with Square Enix, as much as it is an open secret that will end up also coming out on Xbox and Windows.
Through Yuffie’s INTERmission, a more complete batch is condensed that adds two extra chapters with that intrepid ninja, apart from other content, a couple of final surprises and the obvious improvements that this version for PS5 entails. But is claim enough if we had completed the remake on PS4?
What’s new Yuffie brings to the FFVII remake
Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade can be differentiated into two products:
- The same remake of PS4 with additional improvements taking advantage of the power of PS5 to show more defined textures, as well as much more realistic lighting effects, in addition to reducing loading times.
- And the well-known expansion of Yuffie as an independent adventure, setting the story shortly before a certain disaster in the neighborhood of Midgar sector 7.
Whoever has completed the main story of Cloud and company will not have compelling reasons to replay it from scratch, especially considering that the PS4 game can be imported (yes, it is mandatory to do it from the game on PS4) to preserve our progress and even all trophies unlocked, automatically jumping from the main menu after doing this.
Although on a visual level the improvements are perceived , it is not an evolutionary leap worth mentioning compared to other games that have come out with the current generation in mind, such as the recent Ratchet & Clank: A Dimension Apart. Already the Final Fantasy VII Remake itself looked very good on PS4 , especially in relation to certain scenes and / or landscapes, but on PS5 it did not bring out its full potential .
It is with Yuffie’s INTERmission where this version is justified , which unfortunately is not available on PS4 as it is exclusive to PS5. And all because it acts as an expansion to cover details never seen in this long-awaited remake.
From the outset, her nature is again evident, when reinterpreting certain events of Final Fantasy VII of 1997, because Yuffie did not appear in Midgar, but we recruited her when we went abroad. If his remake of PS4 surprised us with certain licenses , with Yuffie this facet is exploited more if possible and some theories of the fans are confirmed in the face of its demanding and surprising final stretch.
Through two long chapters (several hours for each if we take it easy, as has been my case) we will revisit two areas of the remake (the aforementioned neighborhood plus a section of the Shinra building), with new routes enabled for the occasion so that the feeling of déjà vu is not so evident.
The absolute protagonist will be Yuffie Kisaragi , whom Sonon Kusakabe will accompany for a good stretch of the story, an interesting addition to this story in which there will be other faces that will debut for the first time in this remake, leaving for the end a couple of quite surprises crazy that we prefer to omit. We will only say that the universe of this Final Fantasy VII continues to expand .
Saving the good for last in this expansion
The structure of these two chapters with Yuffie and Sonon do not differ much from what is seen with respect to those of Cloud and company. The first follows the pattern of the longer chapters, by enabling findings as secondary missions, such as the posters of the Turtle Paradise or a new version of Fort Condor , one of the minigames that I least liked from the 1997 classic. .
To say that my mind had completely forgotten the original and that this commitment to a more current style following the fashion of the mobile sector with so many clones, where sacred cows like Gears of War are not even fought, has not convinced me either, It is evident that the initial section becomes a bit tedious if we are completists and leave the main mission aside. Although the truth is that it does not manage to shine if we go to the point, being a chapter (a priori) of filler.
If it becomes bearable, it is because of the charisma that Yuffie exudes , who we see in her sauce in her own adventure, standing out for her sympathy and the contrast of seeing her directing a mission at such a young age compared to Sonon, who does not fit no choice but to obey her superior, no matter how impetuous or clumsy she may be. Both form a tandem that gives a lot of play in the story, both in the conversations of journeys on foot and in scenes of greater emotional impact.
To this must be added the playable novelties that Yuffie brings , by being able to launch her shuriken to break boxes from a distance and thus obtain objects. And in the same way for combats, when using the triangle button to launch it and then press the square to continue making ranged attacks, to which we can apply elemental powers in order to take advantage of the opponent’s vulnerabilities. But the best are the combo attacks with Sonon .
Neither I liked Fuerte Cóndor in 1997 nor now in the middle of 2021 when it relapses in an exploited fashion.
By not being able to control Sonon directly (no, in this INTERmission we only control Yuffie) there is a special technique that we can activate to synchronize the attacks with our partner, giving rise to much more powerful attacks. Although this does not mean that we can give him orders manually, such as using skills, spells or objects with his BTS bar active.
In this way, it is compensated that during the entire adventure we only have two characters, seeing a Yuffie tremendously capable of facing all kinds of dangers thanks to the versatility that her shuriken offers.
The first demanding moment comes with that Gigantopod that Square Enix showed last May, being the boss who closes the first chapter. Until that scene the story is just right and with a new location in which a lot is played with Yuffie’s gadget to activate remote mechanisms : if there is any obstacle in between, the shot is missed, of course, so there is to find the ideal angle. And on this he will delve into a special minigame with boxes.
It is precisely in the second chapter where he changes radically, turning fully into the fighting . There are slight parts with mechanisms, but everything is more linear and with no possible way out: it is time to advance to the enormous surprise of its final stretch. There another license is taken that will affect the future of the story in the next parts of Final Fantasy VII Remake and that was never seen in its main branch … On a personal level I have loved it, apart from being a challenge …
Final Fantasy VII Remake as a game (on PS5)
As for the main story, I must say that I was one of the most reluctant in its day when Square Enix made it clear that it would split the story into several volumes, focusing first on Midgar. But in the end I had to eat my words because I came to remarkably enjoy this reinterpretation (quite enlarged) of what I experienced in the initial section of the mythical Final Fantasy VII . Nothing that my colleague Rubén did not say in his day when analyzing this remake when it debuted on PS4, in any case: one thing is to give an opinion from the outside and another to see what it really offers.
Being a fan of the classic, as much as my heart was taken by the Suikoden at that time, I thought the decisions in terms of design were correct, such as when renewing the turn-based fighting to make them more dynamic (optionally) , the episodic development (to replay each section directly when completing the adventure) or especially the changes in its history.
Because it was not a remake to use, but in the same way a reboot to tell things differently, with subtle changes at times, with nods to the original, but also without fear of offering interesting twists at key moments. And with an ending that I applaud for bravery. End of which, by the way, we will have an extended brushstroke in Intergrade , with a couple of cinematics that reveal what will happen next …
Enough to justify the purchase of this Yuffie INTERmission? That will depend on each one, although it will offer a series of extra challenges for Cloud’s main story after completing Yuffie’s. The problem is its starting price if we consider that the PS4 remake can be obtained without problems for 34.90 euros in physical form. If we buy the expansion directly (19.99 euros) it does compensate, otherwise we will be paying double.
If we are not interested in the expansion of Yuffie, the main game can be updated at no additional cost to the PS5 version (unless we have the version that was given in PlayStation Plus, which does not allow it), gaining in terms of performance. to the PS4 remake, of course. Already for this reduction in loading times (without getting to the anecdotes that result in Demon’s Souls when traveling) it is worth it, apart from the use that is given to the DualSense, as much as it no longer impresses as much as it did with Astro’s Playroom , one of those who made the best use of it.
It is a long adventure (almost 50 hours on my first lap) that leaves us with honey on our lips, it is true (since it is structured in several parts it is inevitable), but it offers a better version of the Midgar that marked us so much in the year 1997 .
In short, if you played the PS4 remake you will already know what awaits you, having to meditate very well if it pays to buy the Yuffie expansion in large numbers, which takes a long time to take off. If, on the other hand, you did not play it at the time, you have the ideal batch to fully exploit it on PS5. Not in vain are we facing the great reinterpretation of an RPG that marked a whole generation of people.
FFVII Intergrade
| Platforms | PS5 |
|---|---|
| Multiplayer | Not |
| Developer | Square enix |
| Company | Square enix |
| Launch | June 10, 2021 |
The best
- Remarkable reinterpretation of an entire legend
- Visually it is a delight. Same as your BSO
- It offers challenges to match, such as secret bosses …
Worst
- That we have to wait for the other parts …
- Yuffie’s DLC takes a long time to take off
- Fort Condor is still expendable
- RPG
- Analysis
- PS5
