Square Enix has revealed new information about how the Fort Condor minigame will function in Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade. Fort Condor was a full-blown location in the original Final Fantasy 7, but it appears to have been removed from FF7 Remake Intergrade and its FF7R Episode INTERmission DLC chapters.
In Final Fantasy 7, Fort Condor once housed a Mako Reactor. A giant condor takes care of its egg on the fortress, preventing the Shinra Corporation from reaching the reactor within. A group of freedom fighters takes control of the fort and is able to hold off invaders. Cloud is able to support this group with funds, allowing them to hire mercenaries. It seems this story point has been removed from FF7 Remake, as Fort Condor is now described as a popular board game that was based on a Shinra military campaign, suggesting that the battle for Fort Condor is already over.
The new version of Fort Condor is now a minigame that Yuffie can play in the INTERmission DLC in Intergrade, and Square Enix has fully detailed exactly how it works. The player selects a board to use, with Polk from Avalanche HQ providing Yuffie with a Starter Board. Each board has units, Materia, and ATB charges that come with it, and the goal of the game is to destroy the enemy's Headquarters unit, which is on the opposite end of the board.
The player can spend ATB charges to place units on the field, with the ATB meter gradually filling up over the course of the battle. Once a unit is placed, it will move towards the enemy base and engage opposing units it faces. At the start of the match, the player can only place units in their half of the board, but once a unit enters enemy territory, then they can start placing units further inland. Materia are powerful spells that can be called on at any time, which can damage enemies or heal units, but they can only be used once per battle. There are three types of units: vanguard, defense, or ranged, and they are effective against different types of enemies.
There are only two story chapters in FF7R Episode INTERmission only contains two story chapters, so fans have been wondering how long it will take to complete. The new Fort Condor minigame has the chance to drastically increase the runtime of INTERmission, especially as the new character who runs the Happy Turtle will give the player rare items in exchange for condor coins, suggesting there is a material benefit to playing the minigame. This means that Final Fantasy players might have a new minigame to fill the Chocobo Hot and Cold-shaped hole in their hearts.
Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade and FF7R Episode INTERmission will be available for PS5 on June 10, 2021.