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Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade Stars Yuffie In New Story Content; Free PS5 Upgrade Included

Final Fantasy 7 Remake's big content drop is coming in June, delivering all-new story content and improved frame rate and visuals for PS5 players.

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The PlayStation State of Play did not disappoint when it came to Final Fantasy 7 Remake, revealing the PS5 version as a free upgrade for existing owners on PS4. This new version, called Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade, also includes new story scenarios to introduce Yuffie and new character Sonon. PS5 owners will also get options for visual and performance improvements like higher resolution, better textures, visual effects, and 60fps gameplay. A few other features will be added to the game as well, such as a photo mode and new difficulty setting.

The update and story content both launch on June 10--the next-gen upgrade will be free for all owners of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, but the Intergrade story content must be purchased separately after upgrading to the PS5 version. If you haven't played it yet, one of March's free PS Plus games is the PS4 version of Final Fantasy 7 Remake.

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Now Playing: Final Fantasy 7 Remake PS5 Update Reveal Trailer | PlayStation State of Play

Story And Gameplay Of Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade

In a surprise reveal, the original Final Fantasy 7 character Yuffie will be making her Remake debut in new story content called Intergrade. She arrives in Midgar and teams up with another character named Sonon. They seem to have a close sibling-like relationship and will be in a party together as you play through brand-new scenarios within Midgar.

According to a translated interview with Famitsu, director Tetsuya Nomura further explained what's happening in Intergrade and what we can expect from Yuffie and Sonon. "In the main story it was occasionally touched upon that there were other cells of Avalanche at work apart from Barret’s group, and in this episode we see Yuffie infiltrate Midgar and work together with another Avalanche group to undertake a mission in order to achieve a certain materia-related objective," Nomura said.

Yuffie will fight alongside newcomer Sonon in a story that's parallel to the events of FF7R.
Yuffie will fight alongside newcomer Sonon in a story that's parallel to the events of FF7R.

He continued by saying that this story runs parallel to what Cloud and Barret were doing, essentially being a new journey along the same timeline. Nomura further explained the duo, saying, "Sonon is a member of Avalanche and appears in this episode as Yuffie’s partner. Incidentally, the moogle hood that Yuffie wears is there to show that she is on a secret undercover mission, but it is also a homage to DC [Dirge of Cerberus] FFVII."

Nomura also mentioned that you will only take direct control of Yuffie, although you can still issue commands for Sonon in wait mode. There will also be a new feature where you can coordinate team combos or partner attacks, and it's said to provide a slightly different dynamic to the core combat system.

You may have also caught the reveal of Weiss, who was character in the spinoff Dirge of Cerberus. He will be a new boss fight in the combat simulator, and he's said to be a tough challenge. As for integrated the character into the core story, Nomura said we'll have to wait for future announcements.

You can see Yuffie in combat in the Intergrade reveal.
You can see Yuffie in combat in the Intergrade reveal.

What You Get From The PS5 Upgrade

All owners of FF7 Remake and a PlayStation 5 will be able to access the upgraded version of the game for free. However, the Yuffie episode will be a separate purchase--it's included in the $70 standard edition of FF7 Remake Intergrade on PS5, though the individual pricing for the new content has not been confirmed. Based on information from the trailer, it seems that Intergrade's story content is exclusive to PS5.

The PS5 version of the game will include improved textures, faster load times, better visual effects, and higher frame rates. You'll have two options, however: graphics optimization for 4K resolution and performance optimization that targets 60fps.

Other features will also be coming to FF7 Remake, including a photo mode, quality of life changes, and a new difficulty setting to let you focus on issuing commands without worrying about the real-time action, if you wish. There will be partial support for the DualSense's adaptive triggers--Nomura said in the aforementioned interview that full adaptive trigger support will be in the next entry when they can build it from the ground up.

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Updates On The State Of Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2

There hasn't been any news about when we might see the next full chapter for , but Nomura did comment on some changes for the development for Final Fantasy 7 Remake's second part. Nomura stated, "I have more projects on my plate at the moment than ever before. For Remake, the core gameplay direction has now been worked out and we can see the points that need improving, so I will hand over directorship to [Naoki] Hamaguchi (co-director on Final Fantasy 7 Remake) for the next game and continue to be involved in all FF7-related projects, such as the remakes and mobile games, as overall creative director. The way I am involved in the development work will basically not change though."

Nomura also said that the next game is being worked on at a normal pace, and that the team originally planned Intergrade to be a smaller episode than it turned out to be and said that it'll be something unmissable.

Following the State of Play where Intergrade was revealed, Square Enix confirmed two new mobile FF7 games: Ever Crisis and The First Soldier.

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