Tetsuya Nomura, the director of Final Fantasy VII Remake, discusses bringing Yuffie back to life in a new interview. The fan-favorite Wutai Ninja returns to Final Fantasy VII Remake Episode Intermission.
Final Fantasy VII has come a long way since its original release on the PS1 in 1997. After 23 years, the classic returned last year with improved graphics, incredible voice talent, a revamped combat structure, and new looks for its iconic cast of characters. To date, the remake has sold over 5 million copies worldwide.
Yuffie’s return
Yuffie was an optional character that you could skip entirely without affecting the main story in the original game. She will make an appearance in this new episode where you must play as Yuffie Kisaragi and the other main characters of the game. as you infiltrate Shinra Corporation.
In addition to bringing new combat and gameplay mechanics with her flashy attacks and unique abilities – such as the Wutai ninja’s iconic massive shuriken ability – Yuffie’s appearance in this re-release of the game brings back signature elements of her unique design along with her new costume.
As can be seen in the Remake, the characters have been significantly redesigned while retaining the physical aspects and personalities of the original game. Square Enix took the character design to an incredible level. They managed to capture how we imagined the characters and adapted it to the high level of detail that we expect in the industry today.
Tetsuya Nomura interview
In an exclusive interview with the official PlayStation Blog, game director Tetsuya Nomura discussed what his ideas are and how Yuffie will be implemented in this new episode for Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade on PS5. Nomura was asked about Yuffie’s design for the Remake and what they wanted to achieve with it. The Japanese game director was also asked about the fact that in the game, we already saw Weiss and an homage to the Moogle outfit from Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII.
In regards to her new appearance, Nomura commented:
While Cloud and company do have youthful-looking faces too, I wanted to make Yuffie look even younger and not fully grown up so that compared to her, Cloud and crew would look more mature to an extent.” Nomura also said that “I wasn’t necessarily aiming to pay homage, but I did want Yuffie to appear in a disguise at first. I had recalled that she was dressed like that in Dirge of Cerberus – Final Fantasy VII, and so I gave her a similar look here. The same goes for Weiss—I chose him because he is a powerful enemy outside of Sephiroth.
All of the Final Fantasy Remake VII characters have a recognizable personality. Each of them is well presented to the player. We can appreciate each difference every time we play with a character or see some cinematic. As we saw with Cloud, Tetsuya Nomura wants to do the same with Yuffie – being one of the most beloved characters by fans, despite not having had much prominence in the original game. He wants the Wutai ninja to become one of those symbolic characters of the game after this new episode.
Nomura said about this aspect:
When considering Yuffie in a large group, you can’t help but notice how energetic she is, but I think she is also a character whose inner workings become more visible the closer you get. In this episode, you will mainly be following Yuffie and a new character, her partner Sonon. So, I believe that you will be able to get closer to Yuffie than usual.
For the uninitiated, Final Fantasy VII Remake launched last year on the PlayStation 4 to critical acclaim. Square Enix will bring it back better than ever as Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, an enhanced and expanded version exclusive to PlayStation 5 on June 10. This new version includes a wealth of graphical, gameplay, and system enhancements, including improved textures and character models. Expect Graphics Mode for 4K with HDR support, Performance Mode enabling 60 frames per second, and a newly added customizable Photo Mode.
For users who download the free Final Fantasy VII Remake PlayStation 5 enhancement update, the new episode featuring Yuffie, titled FF7R Episode Intermission, will be available as a separate purchase at PlayStation Store for $19.99 starting on June 10, 2021.
