Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade brings an updated version of the game to the PS5, along with an exclusive piece of DLC focusing on the budding ninja Yuffie Kisaragi. Running alongside the main story, Episode INTERmission provides some interesting details about the world of Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
[Warning: Spoilers for Final Fantasy 7 Remake Episode INTERmission below]
The new DLC is a bit of a reimagining for Yuffie, as before now fans had never seen what she'd been up to before meeting Cloud's party. It also introduces a few brand-new characters, like the new party member and Wutai operative Sonon Kusakabe. One of the other more interesting elements in Episode INTERmission is the introduction of Deepground to the Final Fantasy 7 Remake timeline, as the organization was first introduced in the FF7 spinoff Dirge of Cerberus.
Just like with the base game, however, Final Fantasy 7 Remake Episode INTERmission's story can be a bit mind-bending near the end. The implications of the story are still a bit ambiguous in terms of how it'll play out, but there's still a bunch of details and context to dive into.
FF7 Remake: Yuffie's Journey to Midgar
Yuffie heads to Midgar as an operative of the Wutai government, and she's actually the daughter of the nation's leader. Wutai's role looks greatly expanded in the timeline of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, as the original game simply featured it as an optional location. Yuffie's mission is to infiltrate Shinra's Advanced Weaponry department and steal the so-called "Ultimate Materia" the company is producing.
An interesting detail worth pointing out involves a short conversation between Yuffie and Sonon, as Yuffie mentions the Avalanche they're working with is much different from the Avalanche members she met in Wutai. These references events from the prequel spinoff Before Crisis: Final Fantasy 7, when Avalanche set up its headquarters in Wutai. After working with Avalanche to get Shinra IDs, Yuffie and Sonon manage to infiltrate the Advanced Weaponry department, where they meet and do battle with Scarlet. After defeating her the ending starts to take shape, and the mysterious forces of Deepground appear.
FF7 Remake: Deepground and the Ultimate Materia
After defeating Scarlet she tells Yuffie that the Ultimate Materia is being made by Shinra, but is nowhere near complete as other projects took precedence. The Ultimate Materia likely refers to the Protomateria from Dirge of Cerberus, which allows its wielder to tap into the power of Chaos and Omega, beings that can hold the salvation or the destruction of the planet. FF7's Vincent Valentine is host to the entity Chaos because of Professor Hojo's experiments.
Deepground, on the other hand, is a secret project housed in the Sector 0 reactor under the Shinra building. Originally built as a medical facility for wounded soldiers, Shinra started running devious experiments on its subjects, turning them into supersoldiers. At the head of Deepground are the Tsviets, an elite group exposed to particularly brutal experimentation. The Tsviets have overwhelming power nearing the most powerful SOLDIERS in Shinra. Yuffie and Sonon battle Nero the Sable, who has the power to control and manipulate darkness.
Sonon sacrifices himself to save Yuffie after the battle, and it appears that Nero kills or at least incapacitates him, then retrieves the body. It seems to suggest that Sonon may appear again and that Deepground has plans to experiment on him. Yuffie manages to escape the Shinra building just in time to see the Sector 7 plate crashing down on the slums.
Yuffie's mission suggests that Vincent Valentine's role in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake will also be greatly expanded, and Deepground may come to play a more important role as well. Considering Sephiroth in this timeline may know the future, it makes sense he'd try to involve Deepground's powerful forces. On the other hand, Rufus Shinra may also decide to use Deepground as Shinra's best weapon in combatting Sephiroth.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake and The Road Ahead
The final scenes of Episode INTERmission show Yuffie leaving Midgar on a Chocobo, before switching to some new scenes of Cloud and the party. The group is walking along the road from Midgar, deciding their next destination should be the town of Kalm. While the scenes have some charming character moments, the only real impact is to show that the story of Final Fantasy 7 Remake continues to follow the general outline of the original PS1 game.
The much more interesting scene comes at the very tail-end, showing Zack Fair standing outside of Aerith's church, deciding how he's going to say hello to her after such a long time. The original ending for Final Fantasy 7 Remake suggested Zack was still alive, and this all but confirms that's true. What's not clear, however, is if Zack is alive in the same timeline as Cloud and the party, or in a different one.
As Zack opens the doors to the church he sees a crowd of citizens wracked in grief, likely from the destruction of Sector 7. Interestingly, Zack seems to have no idea what's going on, and the scene ends with him quietly saying "Aerith?" This new ending shows Zack Fair is absolutely going to play a major role in Final Fantasy 7 Remake's future, but exactly what that role is remains to be seen.