With Final Fantasy VII Remake having been out for just over year, fans have been clamoring for news about the next installment to the story. To abate that hunger, players can jump back into the world of Midgar with the limited PS5 exclusive expansion, Intergrade.
Remake itself covers the opening hours of 1997’s original Final Fantasy VII, detailing the adventures of ex-SOLDIER Cloud Strife and the eco-terrorist organization known as Avalanche during their time in Midgar. Intergrade expands upon this story in many ways, mainly with the inclusion of Episode INTERmission—a brand new standalone story that follows the fan-favorite Wutai ninja Yuffie Kisaragi in Midgar.
10 The Expansion Is More Than Just A Standalone Yuffie DLC
Intergrade expands upon the PS4 version of Remake in several ways beyond the standalone Yuffie DLC. Several minor quality-of-life improvements have been added to the base game—graphics and textures have been polished and enhanced, world lighting has been significantly improved, and optimization modes have been added.
There are also a couple of enhancements players themselves have more freedom to control. While not as complex as Data Greeting from Kingdom Hearts III Re:Mind, Intergrade does offer players a photo mode to capture beautiful stills of the Midgar landscapes.
9 Yuffie’s Moogle Outfit Is A Callback To Dirge Of Cerberus
When players first see Yuffie in INTERmission, they may be surprised to find her sporting a Moogle outfit instead of her iconic green crop top and oversized legwarmers. Remake’s co-directors Naoki Hamaguchi and Motomu Toriyama revealed in an interview that the reason Yuffie dons this outfit is to disguise herself on missions like the one she’s on.
Yet Yuffie’s Moogle outfit in Intergrade operates as much more than a mere disguise—moogles appear in various forms throughout the Final Fantasy franchise, whether as shopkeepers, friends, or…outfits. Furthermore, this isn’t the first time Yuffie’s donned the Moogle costume; it actually first appeared in 2006’s Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII.
8 Da-chao Beans Are An Easter Egg For The Wutai Water God
For the eagle-eyed, INTERmission is littered with subtle references to Wutai, a location that appeared in the original Final Fantasy 7, ranging from Yuffie’s memorable theme music “Descendant of Shinobi” to the da-chao beans Yuffie keeps offering to everyone.
However, franchise veterans know that there is a deeper meaning to the name. In the original games, players are able to scale a monolithic status called the Da-chao Statue, which represents Wutai’s water god. And, since the statue is made out of stone, it goes on to make sense that Billy Bob and Polk find the beans to be hard as “rock.”
7 Mini-Games Make The Sector 7 Slums Feel More Lived In
One of the complaints fans had about Remake was the lifelessness of some of the more open areas of the games, like the Sector 5 and 7 Slums. This likely has to do with the monotonous nature of the many repetitive side missions that RPGs have come to habituate, whether it be mini-games like Whack-a-Box or combat challenges like Chadley’s summons.
Intergrade doesn’t necessarily fix this with the addition of more mini-games, several of which feel admittedly similar to the ones found in the base game, but it does include some different activities more immersed in the lore of the Final Fantasy VII universe, namely Fort Condor and the Happy Turtle flyer scavenger hunt.
6 Ramuh Makes A Return As INTERmission’s Only Summon
Remake features several base summons that are found throughout the Final Fantasy franchise like Ifrit, Shiva, Leviathan, and Bahamut. INTERmission continues to expand upon this base team with a reimagining of another summon: Ramuh, the Lord of Levin.
Being the only summon in Yuffie’s portion of Intergrade, Ramuh is a particularly useful summon because he specializes in lightning magic, which allows players to capitalize on the weaknesses of the games many steampunk bosses like Gigantipede and the Crimson Mare. Players looking to secure the summon can do so through Chadley while visiting the Sector 7 Slums.
5 Sonon Is A Preview For Playable Cid In Future Installments
At first glance, it may seem like Sonon Kusakabe and Cid Highwind share little to nothing in common. However, players who immerse themselves in gameplay will quickly find that Sonon and Cid have similar fighting styles: they both wield lance-like staves that allow them to effectively operate as the party’s Dragoon.
Although there has been no mention of the space-loving pilot from Rocket Town in the Remake continuity as of now, Cid plays an integral role in the original story and is likely to appear in future installments. Sonon’s moveset and arsenal from INTERmission gives players an idea of what Cid’s combat will look like in those sequels.
4 Yuffie And Barret Hum And Sing The Same Tunes
There seems to be a trend that the spritely, audacious characters in the Remake universe seem to enjoy humming or singing familiar Final Fantasy tunes during exploration and cutscenes. Barret Wallace most iconically (and frequently) sings Final Fantasy‘s victory fanfare after a battle, much to Cloud’s irritation and Tifa’s amusement.
Yuffie, too, will sing the victory fanfare when players control her during her two chapters in INTERmission. However, Yuffie also hums some other music as well, including her own theme during the first chapter, “Wutai’s Finest,” and the Chocobo theme at the DLC’s conclusion. Likewise, Barret also sings Wild de Chocobo immediately thereafter in the following scene.
3 Deepground Was Always Intended To Be A Part Of Remake
Remake director Tetsuya Nomura revealed in an interview that he had always intended for Dirge of Cerberus‘s Deepground to be involved in Remake‘s story in some capacity. He explains that because Sephiroth is such an iconic and powerful villain, he wanted another boss that could match the One-Winged Angel’s status.
The development team found that boss in Weiss, the Immaculate. While they could not add it to the original game as Nomura had intended, the Tsviet found his way into Remake through the Intergrade expansion. Furthermore, the team was able to make Yuffie’s encounter with the SOLDIERs of Deepground an organic experience that didn’t overly disrupt the main narrative.
2 There Are New Superbosses In The Shinra Combat Simulator
Keeping on with the subject of Deepground, Weiss can only be fought in the base game through the Shinra Combat Simulator found in Chapter 17 (and is only unlocked after beating Yuffie’s DLC). Players can find a new challenge in facing the Tsviet, and require patience and skill at dodging and staggering in order to bring this foe to his knees.
However, Weiss is not the only superboss that has been added to Remake. Yuffie and Sonon can experience their own gauntlet of “Top Secret” bosses like Cloud and company can in the main game. Being only a duo instead of a trio, the matchups for Yuffie and Sonon look slightly different, consisting of three rounds: Bahamut (and Ifrit), Ramuh, and Pride and Joy Mk 0.5.
1 Episode INTERmission Builds On Ending Shown In Remake
Perhaps the juiciest bit of content fans can get their hands on from Intergrade as a whole is the expanded ending beyond that which is shown in the base Remake. While Episode INTERmission takes place intermittently throughout the events of the base game (Chapters 8 through 12), the final few scenes work to emphasize the point in time the narrative jumps to.
Yuffie rides a chocobo somewhere out in the desert. Cloud, Aerith, Tifa, Barret, and Red XIII hitch a ride with Choco Bill to the village of Kalm. Zack Fair enters Aerith’s Sector 5 church only to find her not there. Unlike the ending of Remake, Intergrade makes it clear that the narrative is moving forward, teasing players with the possibility of where the story is heading next.
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