While the early introduction of Yuffie is definitely the biggest talking point from the FF7R Intergrade trailer, the State of Play announcement also contained a few other interesting revelations. As well as the returning Dirge of Cerberus antagonist Weiss, fans were also given a glimpse of a brand new party member known as Sonon Kusakabe.

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Sonon will be accompanying Yuffie on her quest for new materia and seems set to bring with him some changes not just to the game's combat system, but also to the overall timeline of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. Right now, there's very little solid information about the mysterious ninja, although the trailer for the upcoming DLC does offer up one or two tasty nuggets.

Updated April 29th, 2021 by Thomas Bowen: Since Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade was first revealed at Sony's State of Play back in February, we've been given a slow trickle of information regarding Sonon and his upcoming adventures in Midgar. Promotional material released shortly after the trailer dropped provides a few additional tidbits about the character's background and interviews with the game's director have shed a bit more light on Sonon's fighting style. While there's still an awful lot we don't know about the new party member, we're at least starting to get a clearer picture of who exactly he is and how he might slot into the overarching story of Final Fantasy VII Remake.

Who Is Sonon Kusakabe?

An image of Sonon and Yuffie tweeted by Square Enix shortly after the announcement of Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade

Sonon was born and raised in Wutai and studied martial arts under the tutelage of Yuffie's father during his childhood. He then went on to fight in the Wutai War and became an enemy of Shinra as a result. The trailer suggests that he and Yuffie have never met before, although it's possible that their on screen introduction is more for our benefit than it is hers. His exact rank and status within the Wutai military aren't mentioned, but, given that Yuffie is the daughter of the nation's leader, it seems likely that Godo would send somebody that he trusts to guide and protect her on her mission.

Like Yuffie, Sonon is shown to possess some fairly unique skills when it comes to getting from A to B. We see the pair running along walls and swinging across hooks as they make their way through Midgar. This suggests that traversing the world of Intergrade will be a bit more action-oriented than earlier parts of the remake. It's also in keeping with Sonon's Wutai heritage, with the the nation having strong links to ninja training.

Sonon's Fighting Style

Yuffie and Sonon work together in combat; as shown in the trailer for Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade

Sonon fights using a staff and seems to have several abilities that allow him to assist Yuffie in battle. This could indicate that we'll soon be getting double and triple techs similar to the ones found in Chrono Trigger, although it may end up being something that's exclusive to Sonon and the Intergrade DLC episode. Either way though, it should definitely help to freshen up the combat system a little moving forward.

In a recent interview with the Japanese publication Famitsu, Tetsuya Nomura confirmed that players will not be able to control Sonon directly in battle and will instead need to issue commands to him through the tactical menu. Exactly how specific these commands will be remains to be seen, but we do know that he'll have his own limit and ATB gauges at the very least.

This is a very different approach than the one taken with Red XIII in the first part of the remake, with the sentient feline serving as an uncontrollable guest character rather than a true party member. Nomura also confirmed that the Avalanche cell that Yuffie and Sonon will be working with is not the same one that Cloud, Barret and Tifa belong to, although this had already been implied in the trailer.

Sonon's Background

Sonon from the trailer for Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade

Apart from his training and involvement in the Wutai war, very little is known about Sonon's backstory at this point. There are a few things that we can perhaps infer from the trailer though. Towards its end, Yuffie points out to him that she is not his sister which may well indicate that Sonon lost a younger sibling at some point during Wutai's struggles against Shinra.

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If so, his determination to protect Yuffie could be the byproduct of his guilt for failing to protect his sister. Of course, it could just as easily be a direct response to an earlier comment made by Sonon (perhaps in reference to the ongoing hostility between the peoples of Wutai and Midgar), although the grieving brother angle would definitely be in keeping with the themes and ideas that have long been staples of the series.

Sonon's Relationship With Yuffie

Yuffie and Sonon in the trailer for Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade

Despite Yuffie being the one in charge, the pair seem to share an incredibly casual relationship. She clearly respects his opinion and judgement, allowing him to decide whether or not to approach Barret and Tifa and following his lead without question. We see this again a little later on in the trailer too, when Sonon instinctively rushes to help a slums resident who is being pursued by Shinra troops.

While he generally comes across as a fairly easygoing guy though, his hatred for Shinra is clearly on display; especially through his insistence that they deserve what's coming to them. This is an attitude that both he and Yuffie seem to have in common, which is perhaps to be expected given their nation's troubled history with the infamous electric power company. The pair now seem dead set on exacting their revenge and seem to believe that a mysterious materia is the key to doing so. Thankfully, we should only have to wait a few more months to find out exactly what that materia is and whether or not the pair will be able to get their hands on it.

Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade will be coming to PlayStation 5 on June 10 2021.

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