At a recent State of Play on February 25th, Square announced a PS5 upgrade for 2020's Final Fantasy 7 Remake, one of the most celebrated JRPGs of last year and of the generation. Along with numerous graphical improvements and quality of life changes, an additional story episode is set to come out following Yuffie.
While an optional member of the roster in the original Final Fantasy 7, she is just as beloved as the rest of the cast and her absence in Final Fantasy 7 Remake was noted. The trailer and press release tell us some great things to look forward to, but we still have some questions we want answered before release.
10 What We Know: Only On PS5
The passing of time has let more and more people get their PS5s, but plenty of people are still having trouble snagging one. If you are a Final Fantasy fan, you better try hard to get one soon, because this upcoming DLC episode will only be available on PS5. As of now, there are no plans to bring it to PS4. While this is disappointing, we hope it means the new story will take full advantage of the PS5 hardware and show us things the PS4 simply is not capable of doing.
9 Burning Question: How Long Is It
Sources say Yuffie's episode will be two chapters. However, this does little to tell us how long it will actually be. Just look at the main game. Some chapters are about two hours or so, but more open ones can go on for six or seven hours depending on how many side quests you decide to do. We hope it feels like a decently beefy DLC expansion. It would be somewhat of a letdown to wait a year for new content only for it to be over in about three hours.
8 Know: Takes Place During Final Fantasy 7 Remake
While story details are sparse at the moment, we know it takes place during the course of Final Fantasy 7 Remake. The trailer shows Yuffie and some of her cohorts spying on Barret, Tifa, and Biggs, which tells us the main cast has yet to escape Midgar. Of course, this being Final Fantasy 7 Remake, there very well could be something weird and crazy going on underneath the surface which will reveal itself at the end, changing everything we thought we knew about Final Fantasy 7.
7 Burning Question: How Much Will It Cost Separately?
Those who already own Final Fantasy 7 Remake will receive the upgrade for free, but they will not automatically be able to play the new story. You will have to pay a small price to play Yuffie's episode.
However, at the moment we are currently in the dark as to how much it will cost. Those who do not own the game will pay $70 for the PS5 version, so maybe it will be ten dollars to makeup the difference.
6 Know: Release Day
This new story comes out the same day as the PS5 upgrade becomes available, June 10th, 2021. While it is the start of the summer, this date will no doubt come sooner than expected. Final Fantasy 7 Remake is a free PS Plus game for March, which will no doubt lure in new players, giving them plenty of time to beat the base game and get hyped for June 10th. At the moment, the June release schedule is rather barren, but maybe that will change in the coming months.
5 Burning Question: How Will The Combat Be Different
This new episode promises additions to the combat, but what those are exactly remains a mystery. Looking at the trailer reveals some hints. For example, we see Yuffie interacting with her partner in combat for what appear to be cooperative techniques like in Chrono Trigger. If we had any say, we'd also let players save Materia loadouts, because always having to re-equip these takes hours.
4 Know: Yuffie Goes Through Some Wardrobe Changes
In one part of the trailer we see Yuffie wearing a cloak with a Moogle hat, reminiscent of her look from Final Fantasy 7: Dirge of Cerberus. Later on in the video, she is without the accessory, revealing a look similar to what she has in the original Final Fantasy 7. We wonder how much of the segment she'll be with the cloak until she decides to change it up. While purely an aesthetic thing, it will still be a cool moment to see her in her iconic outfit.
3 Burning Question: What Does Dirge Of Cerberus Have To Do With This?
Yuffie's aforementioned cloak is already a visual nod the the third-person shooter spin-off, Dirge of Cerberus. A bigger hint is at the end of the trailer when a mysterious silver-haired figure shows up. This is Weiss, an antagonist from the 2006 game starring Vincent Valentine. Them bringing elements from this game gives us hope that characters and events from Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core for the PSP will receive lip service and a proper interpretation.
2 Know: Only Yuffie Is Playable
While Yuffie is accompanied by a partner throughout this extra episode, you will only be able to control the lovable thief. You can give commands to the other character, but you cannot freely switch between him and Yuffie like you can with the party in Final Fantasy 7 Remake. This probably won't have too big an affect on gameplay, though. Since Yuffie is the iconic character and the partner, Sonon, is brand new, most will want to stick with Yuffie anyway.
1 Burning Question: Will There Be More DLC?
While this episode is still a few months out, we cannot help but already wonder if this is all Square has planned for DLC or if more stories are in the pipes for this game. Maybe we'll get stories exploring Vincent Valentine's origins, or even something following Reeve and Cait Sith. As nice as new episodes would be, we'd rather have all hands on deck for the sequel to Final Fantasy 7 Remake.