Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade was arguably the most exciting part of Sony's otherwise-tame February State of Play livestream. In this seemingly meaty expansion for FFVIIR, you'll take control of Yuffie Kisaragi: a young, impulsive ninja who's delighted and vexed fans ever since her debut in the original Final Fantasy VII.
The good news about Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade is that you'll be able to take control of Yuffie, as well as a new character named Sonon, in a brand-new adventure, documenting a never-before-told part of the FFVII story. The bad news is that the expansion will be available only on PS5, making it a potentially very expensive add-on for PS4 gamers.
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Of course, the other good news is that Final Fantasy VII Remake will also get a substantial, free PS5 patch, which will improve resolution, performance, textures, lighting and load times. If you're one of the lucky few with a PS5, FFVIIR will look superb on it when the patch — and Intergrade — come out on June 10.
Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade
Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade looks like it takes place shortly after FFVIIR's main story, and shifts the focus away from Cloud and his party. Instead, players will take control of Yuffie Kisaragi: a materia thief, who has her own score to settle with the evil Shinra corporation. Along the way, she'll team up with a swordsman named Sonon. (We don't know what his deal is yet, as he's a brand-new character. Yuffie was a party member in the original FFVII.)
Gameplay-wise, Intergrade looks pretty similar to FFVIIR, featuring real-time combat, playable party members and environmental puzzle-solving. Yuffie herself will employ a shuriken for both melee and ranged combat; Sonon's sword looks a little more traditional. One particularly charming battle sequence showed the two of them working together to create a powerful whirlwind.
There's a stylish trailer that you can watch, which also gives us some hints about the story. It seems that Cloud has gone missing — but since Yuffie doesn't know Cloud yet, that's not her primary concern. Instead, she's come to the cyberpunk city of Midgar with a goal in mind, and she'll have to fight both monsters and human foes in order to achieve it.
Final Fantasy VII Remake PS5 update
The other big news is that Final Fantasy VII Remake will get a free patch on PS5 to make the game look prettier and run more smoothly on Sony's new console. At present, you can play FFVIIR on PS5 thanks to backwards compatibility, but the game isn't optimized for the system.
The FFVIIR PS5 patch will add the usual upgrades for optimized PS4 games. These include better textures, improved lighting effects and faster load times. Additionally, players will be able to choose between a Graphics Optimization mode, which will keep the resolution at 4K whenever possible, or a Performance mode, which will prioritize a 60 fps frame rate. Players will be able to carry their save data over, and the PS5 upgrade is free, provided you own a PS4 copy of the game.
Finally, the game will also get a photo mode, allowing players to pause the action and capture their favorite shots from a variety of angles.
Both the patch and the Intergrade expansion will be available on June 10 worldwide. While the patch won't cost any money, however, Intergrade will. How much, Square Enix will surely announce closer to the game's release date.
