The wait for the next episode continues, though it seems Square Enix isn't entirely through with the first chapter of Final Fantasy 7 Remake just yet. Alongside the PS5 "Intergrade" release, it seems an additional Yuffie-focused episode is coming to Final Fantasy 7 Remake this summer. This is huge for a number of reasons, not only in terms of significant graphical and performance upgrades over the first game, but it also includes some additional story implications as well. Similar to expectations with The Last of Us 2, many would've expected a comparatively simple PS5 optimization for Final Fantasy 7 Remake, but it seems Square Enix is going the extra mile.

Bringing additional content to the base game this early could potentially be a double-edged sword for Final Fantasy 7 Remake in a few ways. Yuffie stepping into Square Enix's remake this early is certainly unexpected, especially for fans of the original Final Fantasy 7 Remake. This is, from the get-go, a sizable narrative diversion from the original game. While changes are a pretty big reason why Final Fantasy 7 Remake exists, the reception of Yuffie's standalone episode will be very important. However, even more important from this announcement is the solving of the PS4 version's notable performance issues, including low-res textures and long loading times.

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Generally, there are a surprising amount of graphical improvements and overhauls being made with Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade. Square Enix's wonderful naming conventions aside, this Intergrade edition features next-gen improvements to textures, lighting, fog effects, ray tracing-like reflections, loading times, and more. Additionally, the PS5 upgrade will bring several different quality of life adjustments as well, including resolution/performance modes and a photo mode. Final Fantasy 7 Remake certainly runs quite well on PS4/PS4 Pro, but it was certainly not flawless. Any visual issues from the original release seem to be solved in the PS5 upgrade.

Starting with graphical improvements, several key changes are welcome improvements over the original. Some fans may remember Final Fantasy 7 Remake had some questionably low-resolution backgrounds and textures in the original release due to hardware complications. Based on the trailer alone, those strange issues with blurry background images and muddy environmental textures are solved. In that same vein, faster loading speeds solves texture pop-in, as well as abysmally long loading/saving time on PS4. Plus, all the bells and whistles of true 4K resolution and/or 60 FPS make Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade the definitive version of the game.

However, another significant change coming in Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade is the addition of a standalone episode focused on Yuffie. Acting as an optional party member in the original game, it seems the remake is intent on injecting Yuffie Kisaragi into the Final Fantasy 7 Remake story much earlier than expected. Not only that, but it's pretty obvious at this point that Yuffie may no longer be an optional character like in the original game. Even more interesting is that, along with Yuffie's earlier introduction, it seems Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade is bringing in plenty of lore content from the Compilation of Final Fantasy 7 as well.

Yuffie's own story in a standalone episode is certainly a nice cherry on top of Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade on PS5. Being able to play as the fan-favorite Wutai ninja, even if briefly, will hopefully tide over fans until the next episode of Final Fantasy 7 Remake is released. However, Yuffie's episode is really where the double-edged sword comes into play. Undoubtedly, this episode can serve as evidence that Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part Two (or whatever the next chapter is called) is much farther away than fans may have initially expected. Based on this content coming to the PS5 version, this soon after Final Fantasy 7 Remake's original release, it may be a while.

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Depending on the length of Yuffie's story, it's hard to really judge whether this standalone episode will be enough for anxious fans, but it's at least something new. In fact, this approach of various new Final Fantasy 7 Remake content is starting to resemble the beginnings of what Square Enix did with Final Fantasy 15. This is without even mentioning the Final Fantasy 7 battle royale, or the Ever Crisis mobile game. Granted, Final Fantasy 15 took a much more ambitious and strange approach than what Square Enix seems to be doing with Final Fantasy 7 Remake. This is just one extra episode tagged onto one of the most critically-acclaimed games from 2020.

Although it's arguable whether or not this franchising approach to new games is better than no news for several years at a time. Square Enix used to be notoriously silent mid-development for franchises like Kingdom Hearts, and other mainline Final Fantasy games. Adding this kind of short-form content to Final Fantasy 7 Remake, while the full-on second chapter of Final Fantasy 7 Remake is in development, could be very well received in the short-term. It remains to be seen whether this approach could adversely affect the second portion of Final Fantasy 7 Remake's already ambitious storyline. That being said, Intergrade is a welcome surprise for a PS5 enhancement.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade releases on June 10, 2021, for PS5.

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