It's been an exciting week for Square Enix fans, with new E3 announcements for tons of new Final Fantasy content and Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade launching before the big event even kicked off. However, in the case of the Intergrade update for PS5, for everything it does right, it just continues to ramp up the hype for the Part 2 that is likely still a ways down the road.
That being said, neither the PS5 update nor the Intermission DLC are in any way bad or disappointing on their own, when looking at this latest release of Final Fantasy 7 Remake as a single game on its own. The issue that this new series of improvements brings to the game is more about how the episodic release is now leaving players anticipating a series of cliffhangers for a story that had already been seen over twenty years ago.
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To start, by saying that the worst part of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade release is how it isn't the next game, this is really to point out that it brings out nothing but improvements and makes players hungry for more. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that the time spent optimizing the remake for PS5 and including a new introduction for Yuffie was a waste of time on Square Enix's side. Considering the improvements that came with this new PS5 release and the hours of new content, especially for players interested in hunting down trophies and optional bosses, it's a quality holdover.
Not only did the new Yuffie DLC start stepping into the realm of more mature content, but the PS5 optimization managed to address player requests and fix Final Fantasy 7 Remake's door glitch. Then there are the new, optional bosses that have been added to both the base game of Intergrade as well as a revamp of the Pride and Joy fight balanced for Yuffie's new combat. This new combat system itself even shows a new format that the next parts should look at for ways to improve each upcoming game in the ongoing series.
The best aspect that Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade added to the original game is Yuffie's combat method that has been built around the concept of only controlling one character. This is done by giving Yuffie both melee and ranged combat, centered around both her giant shuriken and the newly introduced ninjutsu magic that gives her a chance to back off and attack from afar. However, in an attempt to make the magic more manageable with only one character to choose from, Square Enix may have accidentally improved the game's magic by breaking it.
Essentially, by giving Yuffie's combat in Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade a way to actively disregard the elemental materia, players can now key elemental advantage into any build while also supercharging stats. Seeing as how Yuffie's weapons and armor don't give her many materia slots for a majority of the DLC, being able to keep some slots free for options like HP and MP up or the new Ninja Cannonball skill can be huge for making powerful gearsets. Then that's not even mentioning the fact that having all elements available from the beginning of each fight means that players are always ready to take full advantage of enemy weaknesses right away.
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Unfortunately, while this PS5 update and Yuffie DLC deserves all of this praise, it is still only two extra chapters for players to burn through as they wait for Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2. Now, with the new DLC having arrived and Square Enix's recent E3 presentation passing with little new information on the remake or even the next highly anticipated entry in the Final Fantasy series, it looks like Part 2 isn't coming anytime soon. Still, this latest revisit of Midgar and all of these characters only proves to increase the hype for what comes next for the adventures of Cloud and co., along with newcomer Yuffie.
All of that being said, there aren't even any whispers of Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2 being on the way, other than periodic confirmation from Square Enix that development is currently in progress. However, that rarely matters for fans who are still excited to see what comes next and will be carefully watching for every time Square Enix event hints at what is to come next. Over a year out from the remake's initial release on PS4, this just means that the fan excitement for Part 2 has been reignited as players either replay the updated version of the game or begin to explore the new content of the Yuffie DLC.
The worst part about all of this extra hype building up for the next episode is that Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2 is likely a year off at least, if not still farther down the road. With no news coming at the E3 presentation, and the current wave of marketing and announcements still focused on the release of Intergrade and the Yuffie DLC, fans shouldn't expect the next game until at least 2022. Of course, while a lack of updates from the developer to let fans know when the game is coming can be frustrating, it's probably best that Square Enix remains quiet on the current state of development of the next episode of the remake.
Considering how overhyped the game already is, without Square Enix constantly poking at the community with lofty promises and optimistic development progress, any news either way could catch among fans like wildfire. In the wake of the last few years of high-profile delays among AAA games, development updates can often be misleading, both to the publishers excited for an early release date, as well as fans making plans to see their new favorite game come out. For now, fans can speculate on what form Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2 will take in the future, but they should also be prepared for a long wait to come.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake is available now for PS4 and PS5.