Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergradeis only a couple months away, set for release on June 10th, and is bringing with it some changes to the original game’s story.Final Fantasy 7 Remakehas been no stranger to making changes to the story of the original PS1 classic, and part of the PS5 upgrade forFF7 Remakeis a new story chapter that centers around Yuffie Kisaragi, the materia-stealing ninja from Wutai. But the way Yuffie is being brought into the story ofFF7 Remakehas some surprisingly large implications for how the rest of the story will shake up.
Final Fantasy 7 Remakeis already very differentfrom the original game. Some previously small story beats have been expanded into full arcs, some side characters were given more time in the spotlight, and certain elements of the backstory have been broadened and emphasized. These changes are all without including the definitive moment at the end of the of the game where players literally defy fate itself. The wayFF7 Remake Intergradeis introducing Yuffie is yet another one of these changes, but the arrival of the young ninja should be a good way for the game to further flesh out something that didn’t get much time in the original.
Changing Yuffie’s Story Could Change Final Fantasy 7 Remake at Large
To start with the more obvious changes, Yuffie arriving early will likely change how she is introduced to the party at large. In the originalFF7,Yuffie was an optional character alongside Vincent Valentine. Players were likely to encounter Yuffie, as she was a random encounter in forested areas that populate the game’s overworld. However, whether Yuffie joined the party or not was based on making the correct choices in a series of dialogue options, most were instead robbed of their materia until they could find her again. Now in the first DLC in theyear sinceFF7 Remakereleased, it seems like Yuffie is going to feature more prominently.
It’s unlikely that Yuffie will join the main party by the end of the new story chapter inFF7 Remake Intergrade. While many things were changed from the original, that would be a drastic shift in the narrative prior to the defying of fate thatechoes so much ofVersus 13. So, it’s much more likely that Yuffie’s chapter will run parallel to the main story without directly crossing paths. But this does hint that Yuffie, being given a more prominent (and likely not optional) role in the next chapter ofFF7 Remakewill meet up with the rest of Avalanche fairly early. Focusing on Yuffie and her mission in Midgar further develops a new focus on the game’s backstory in a way that wasn’t as present in the original.
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Yuffie’s Impact on Final Fantasy 7 Remake
One thing that many veteran fansenjoyed aboutFF7 Remakewas the amount of extra attention given to fleshing out the conflict between Shinra and the country of Wutai.FF7 Remakeintroduced separate factions of the Avalanche group and did a lot to impress a general anxiety among the citizens of Midgar about imminent attack from Wutai. This extra layer to the narrative made the conflict feel more real for many players, as in the original visiting Wutai was similar to obtaining Yuffie as a party member. As more and moredetails have been released aboutFF7 Remake Intergrade, it seems that the new chapter will further explore that relationship.
Based on info provided aboutIntergrade, Yuffie and her companions have been sent into Midgar on a mission to reclaim the “Ultimate Materia” that had been stolen from Wutai during the war between it and Shinra. While there are obvious implications about other changes likeWeiss appearing inFF7 Remake Intergrade, Yuffie’s mission to reclaim such a powerful artifact could mean changes about what become important story beats. While it’s unlikely that the Holy or Black materia will be moved from their respective locations in the City of the Ancients or the Temple of the Ancients, what this “Ultimate Materia” is will have huge impact.
Some seem to point towards it being the Phoenix materia based on other details that the Fort Condor mini-game from the originalFF7has been changed to be an in-world board game. It’s likely that this board game would be based on actual legends inside the world ofFF7 Remake, but that remains to be seen. If that ends up true, it would make the Phoenix materia unique as the other summon materia are based on VR recreations of old legends as opposed to materializations of those legends themselves, as is generally accepted as their nature in the originalFF7.Untilmore details are released aboutFF7 Remake Intergradefans are left to speculate about the nature of the “Ultimate Materia.”
One of the other possibilities is that this “Ultimate Materia” is linked to Shinra’s obsession with controlling and developing their own Weapons. The titanic monsters that were created by the planet as a last line of defense were a subject of great interest to Shinra in the original, and this materia could be linked to that goal. This seems likely as the obviousDirge of Cerberuscontent that’s making its way intoIntergradehas led many fans to theorize about how those plotlines will be implemented in a game that’s already changed so much from its original source material.
Regardless of which of these theories, if any, end up coming true.Yuffie’s introduction inIntergradeis likely a good thingfor the overall story going forward. Further fleshing out the history of the conflict between Shinra and Wutai helps make the world at large feel more alive. Her quest to help restore the honor of her homeland being expanded would make her joining up with Cloud and the others feel more grounded, and the implications of what she is doing in Midgar could be huge. Especially given her new chapter will be used to introduce elements from the other games, it’s likely that Yuffie’s impact will change a lot of what fans are expecting to come from the continuing story ofFinal Fantasy 7 Remake.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergradereleases June 10th for the PlayStation 5.
