Fort Condor is a mini-game side quest featured in Final Fantasy VII Remake INTERGrade — INTERMission Episode Yuffie. It features players attacking and defending… Erm… forts that look like condors using various units.

Here’s how Fort Condor works 

It’s a 1v1 battle and each person has a board. Each board is unique and contains various units that you can drop on the battlefield.

A player can have multiple boards. In the game, you’re able to check your opponent’s board so you can switch your board to something that may be more effective against that board.

Boards also usually have some materia equipped that you can use once during battle. Each materia behaves a little differently from how they do in the main game. For instance, the cure materia heals units in a certain area of the battlefield instead of applying directly to the units.

The units on the board provide different things and are associated with different colors. The colors are Blue, Red, and Green. There’s a rock-paper-scissors element to it:

• Blue beats Red
• Red beats Green
• Green beats Blue

Each unit has a corresponding ATB cost. Just like the regular battles. The more damage you deal or take, the faster the ATB gauge fills.

The base units take about two or three ATB gauges before they can be deployed. Meanwhile, the heavier damage dealing or higher defense units take five to seven ATB gauges before they can be deployed.

The fun part is figuring out which units to deploy and whether to deploy more base units now to make sure you can keep attacking, or to wait it out a little bit to unleash more devastating units.

Here’s a guide to the best units by game8 in case you really want to get deep into it.

Each match lasts for only three minutes. If the game is close, it goes into a sudden death mode where it then becomes a race to destroy the forts.

We weren’t able to record our own match but here’s one we found on YouTube

Why it’ll work as a mobile game

Mobile games, at least the one this writer tends to enjoy, are the type that you can play in the middle of a day to catch your breath from work or whatever it is that keeps you preoccupied.

The three-minute single match is perfect for something like this. But Square Enix can mix it up by making it a best two out of three game — like how some fighting games do it.

Additionally, they can incorporate a gacha element by being able to pull different boards, units, and materia.

Kyrie is one of the characters you’ll play Fort Condor with

In the game, the units are only Shinra soldiers and robots. But imagine if you’re able to pull main characters like Cloud, Tifa, or Barrett and maybe even Sephiroth, into the game to really turn the tide in a battle.

This wasn’t announced in their planned releases, but maybe Square Enix should really look into this as a potential mobile game that even non-fans of the Final Fantasy VII franchise can enjoy.

It’s been over a year since Final Fantasy VII Remake (FF7R) launched and just recently, a PS5 upgrade to the game — Final Fantasy VII Remake INTERGrade was made available. Along with it is the INTERMission Episode DLC featuring materia hunter Yuffie Kisaragi.

The Yuffie Episode INTERMission DLC has two chapters featuring Yuffie, a bunch of new characters that are also part of Avalanche, as well as your companion for this game — Sonon Kusakabe.

Yuffie appears in FF7R much earlier than she did in the original game. But as everyone who’s played the game has already known, this is not like your other remakes.

INTERMission DLC sees Yuffie arriving in Midgar long before she meets Cloud and the rest of the gang that blew up Mako Reactors 1 and 5. Notably from the Wutai clan, Yuffie teamed up with other members of Avalanche (Nayo best girl) to retrieve what they think is an ultimate materia that Shinra is hiding in their labs.

Nayo best girl. Can’t change my mind.

Accompanying Yuffie in this mission journey is Sonon Kusakabe — another Wutai clan member.

Same controls but unique for characters

If you played FF7R then you should have no problems picking up on the controls. It’s exactly the same button commands but Square Enix has once again managed to make it feel unique.

In terms of movement, the INTERMission DLC took advantage of Yuffie and Sonon’s backgrounds as actual ninjas of the FF7R world. Here, they’re able to move around the environment in a way that was not possible with Cloud, Barrett, Tifa, and Aerith.

It’s by no means a platforming challenge, but it’s both a clever and thoughtful addition that makes sense for the characters you’re playing as.

Another thing unique to Yuffie is she can throw her shuriken to Shinra boxes and objects from a distance. This makes you more aware of your surroundings and encourages you to look around if there’s something you can throw the shuriken at to gain items or move forward.

Shuriken and Ninjutsu

Same is true for combat. Somewhat. In the same way that it’s similar button presses but manages to feel unique depending on the character you’re using. Cloud and Tifa are close quarter combat specialists. Barrett and Aerith prioritize maintaining a distance. Meanwhile, Yuffie is somewhat a combination of both.

Yuffie can attack in a variety of ways. Pressing square lands a light attack. Pressing and holding square lands a combo of light attacks that has Yuffie creating distance from the enemy towards the end.

From a distance, Yuffie can then throw the Shuriken by pressing the triangle button. This lands a couple of hits on the enemy. You can retrieve the Shuriken by pressing triangle again.

When the Shuriken is away, you can compound the attacks by pressing square repeatedly to land ninjutsu attacks. Ninjutsu attacks can have elemental effects. Yuffie can use Fire, Ice, Thunder, and Wind ninjutsu.

Yuffie also has a pretty strong parry/block mechanic. However, you need to time it precisely just about before the enemy lands a blow to be fully effective. This writer’s timing in games (and life in general) isn’t impeccable so this wasn’t utilized in this playthrough as much.

Synergy with Sonon

Unlike in the main FF7R game, you can’t switch to Sonon. You can still issue him commands when his ATB meter fills up, but that’s about it.

To best utilize this suave ninja, you’ll want to use Synergy. You need to press L2 to activate synergy. With it, Yuffie’s attacks deal more damage as they are executed in tandem with Sonon.

The catch is that Sonon’s ATB gauge fills up much slower when in this mode even if you have ATB materia boost equipped. The game encourages you to go in and out of synergy for a dynamic combat experience.

Later on in the game, you’ll get a chance to equip a materia that lets you do a synergized attack that doesn’t cost ATB. This will prove useful in the final battle — which can be a headache compared to everything else in the game.

Nero was one tough battle

A quick but endearing adventure

Final Fantasy VII Remake INTERGrade — INTERMission Episode Yuffie tells an efficient story. It only has two chapters but it manages to endear you to both Yuffie and Sonon.

The brother-sister dynamic between the two is quite charming. Sonon’s generally more laid back personality provides a balance to Yuffie’s youthful energy.

Sonon’s reactions to Yuffie’s impulsive decisions are hilarious

The DLC feels like an anime OVA in that it doesn’t exactly affect the main story, but it’s a nice addition to the overall narrative of FF7R.

Spending time in the Sector 7 Slums with some familiar faces was also pretty fun and definitely makes you want to replay the entire game all over again.

Some familiar faces

At this point, you’ve probably already seen the spoilers, but we won’t say anything here. However, the ending — both on Yuffie’s end as well as the additional one featuring scenes with Cloud and the rest of the FF7R gang, provides plenty of things fans of the game will talk about until the sequel releases.

Fort Condor, hunting flyers, extras

There isn’t much side content to this game. The first one has you running around Sector 7 collecting flyers from a fellow Wutai native.

The other is Fort Condor which is a mini game also derived from the original Final Fantasy VII. It plays a little differently here and is one that Square Enix should probably release as a separate mobile game.

The Whack-a-box challenge is also present here which yields some cool rewards. There’s already a video on YouTube showing how you can beat this and score 50,000.

After your first playthrough, Weiss — a villain from the Dierge of Cerberus game — can be challenged in the battle simulator at Shinra.

Should you play FF7R INTERGrade — INTERMission Episode Yuffie? 

If you can, since it’s only available on PS5 which is still hard to get right now, you definitely should. FF7R INTERGrade — INTERMission Episode Yuffie takes you back to Midgar and introduces you to a bubbly character.

It certainly turned out to be a much more satisfying play than we earlier imagined. There’s enough new-ish things shown here to instill confidence that characters that have yet to be introduced will also be handled with a great level of care.

It’s short, satisfying, but most importantly, gets you excited for what else is to come for Final Fantasy VII Remake.

ASUS Republic of Gamers Philippines (ROG) released brand new gaming laptops equipped with the latest Intel 11th Generation CPUs. Lead by the award-winning ROG Zephyrus series, together with the crowd favorite TUF Gaming family. Released in their latest event, the ROG: Unleash the Legend Inside Digital Launch. With this, ASUS finally completes ROG’s roster of gaming laptop products this 2021.

ASUS ROG Zephyrus S17

Starting off with their newest lineup we have the ROG Zephyrus S17!

ASUS tweaked its gaming experience with its Rising Optical Mechanical Keyboard design, adding a 5-degree tilt to improve airflow by 25 percent. Having provided optimized typing comfort, this assures its user’s full control of any modification. They implemented ROG’s AAS Plus technology, together with the ROG Intelligent Cooling feature. Also with a new redesigned Arc Flow fans create a quiet and efficient airflow system. Having said this, it favors the Zephyrus S17’s thermal capacity. It maximizes cooling and performance for the laptop’s build.

Geared with up to the latest Intel Core i9 11th Gen CPU, paired with up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 GPU, the Zephyrus S17 delivers top performance to provide users the best experience in gaming and other heavy-duty tasks. With up to 32GB RAM and 3TB SSD storage, the Zephyrus S17 maximizes its hardware to perform at a high level. The laptop also has display options of 4K UHD, 120Hz refresh rate, or WQHD 165Hz. The Zephyrus S17 caters to both gamers and creators alike.

ROG Zephyrus M16

The latest addition to the Zephyrus M line, the ROG Zephyrus M16 arrives with the newest specifications, but also a renewed design. Designed within its prism aesthetics is a 16-inch screen display in WQHD resolution with 165Hz refresh rate, 3ms response time, and an Adaptive-Sync. Users can enjoy the 16:10 aspect with a 94 percent screen-to-body ratio. Having this said, it elevates their gaming experience to another level. Artists can also expect top-grade visuals with Pantone Validated colors across 100% of the cinema-grade DCI-P3 color gamut, supported by Dolby Vision. 

This gaming laptop can run through any application. The laptop is powered by the latest 11th Gen Intel Core i9 CPU and paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 GPU. The Zephyrus M16 brings powerful performance to deliver the best output and deliver it through its beautiful display. With RAM of up to 32GB and SSD storage of up to 2TB, expect quality performance across many applications. With its battery lasting about 10 hours, ROG produced the immersive experience in its thin-and-light form factor. Made possible thanks to its 90W Hour Battery and Thunderbolt 4. 

TUF GAMING F17/15

The TUF Gaming series has been known for its gaming performance at affordable options. This year, ASUS redesigns the TUF Gaming F17/15 with great value for the latest CPU and GPU specifications. Equipped with the newest Intel Core i7 11th gen CPU, with available options from the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 and 3050 Ti to RTX 3060 options. With a 144Hz refresh rate screen, users can experience high and stable FPS while playing their favorite games. 

New variants of the TUF Dash F15 are available. Now also equipped with the new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 GPU.

Price and Availability

The ROG Zephyrus line will be available in-stores starting 3rd quarter. In August 2021, the Zephyrus S17 will be coming with the following items: ROG Ranger Backpack, ROG Delta Headset, ROG Chakram Core Gaming Mouse, a Type-C PD Adapter, and a pre-installed Windows Office Home & Student 2019. The price starts at PhP 184,995. 

By the end of July 2021, the Zephyrus M16 will be arriving and comes with the ROG Backpack, ROG Delta Headset, ROG Chakram Core Gaming Mouse, a Type-C PD Adapter, and a pre-installed Windows Office Home & Student 2019. The price starts at PhP 129,995. 

The TUF Gaming F17/15 and the TUF Dash F15 with Intel 11th gen CPUs and RTX 3050 and 3050 Ti GPUs are already available in the market since June 2021. Both lines are available with the new design of the TUF Gaming backpacks. Price starts at PhP 54,995 

ASUS advised that coordination with your preferred store is convenient when ordering or reserving products.

To view the full price list click the link here.