Gaming

Final Fantasy VII Remake Yuffie Episode: Short but satisfying

Will make you want to replay FF7R again

Published

June 22, 2021

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.

Gaming

Nintendo eShop will finally launch in the Philippines

The doors will open on November 10.

Published

October 27, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Filipino Nintendo fans, the wait is finally over! Nintendo eShop and Nintendo Switch Online are launching in the Philippines on November 10.

If you’re in the Philippines (or any other country without the service, for that matter), owning a Switch 2 comes with a modicum of difficulty. The country does not have access to Nintendo’s online services, prompting users to buy physical cartridges or switch their region to supported countries, which unfortunately leads to lopsided pricing.

Around the launch of the Switch 2, Nintendo promised that these online services will soon launch in more countries, including the Philippines. Finally, that date is nigh. On November 10, users can access the Nintendo eShop to purchase games digitally, and Nintendo Switch Online to play with friends online.

Besides that, we don’t know much else. There are still a lot of questions unanswered. For example, how will the games’ prices compare to prices in other regions? Since users in the country are forced to switch to another country’s store, they are also subservient to that particular country’s taxes and fees.

Either way, it’s a huge win for Filipino gamers, who no longer have to pretend they’re Singaporean or American just to access online games.

Gaming

HP OMEN Max 16 review: Gamer-maxxing in deep black

Peripherals deemed necessary to max this out

Published

October 23, 2026

Gab Orlina

It’s not every day that you come across a machine that looks good and plays even better. Oftentimes, subtle aesthetics take a back seat to sheer performance and power. Whenever a gaming machine looks sleeker, it seems to lack the power to push it forward. Simply put, you can’t have the best of both worlds these days.

But what if you could have it all? Not just money, fame, and other fortunes, but also a machine with everything you’re looking for! Gone are the days of wanting only power to keep you playing all day or wanting to look good while playing. On paper, this is what the HP OMEN Max 16 promises: the best of both worlds.

Unboxing a beast inside

When you first take it out of the box, the HP OMEN Max 16 looks unassuming in its overall design. It’s bulky yet sleek in its Shadow Black colorway, with nothing too fancy or flashy while powered down. From the outside, the machine screams premium, even though its dark color can attract more visible dirt than lighter finishes.

Opening it up reveals a 16-inch OLED display with a peak refresh rate of 240Hz, seamlessly connected to a base with a full-sized keyboard and a large trackpad. The bright, seemingly anti-glare display makes colors pop when watching or editing videos on the go.

Furthermore, HP places the ports in convenient spots along the rear and sides of the laptop. This makes it incredibly easy to set up and manage external peripherals while providing more room for ventilation under heavy loads.

Of course, the device’s biggest features lie in the hardware powering it from within. An Intel Core Ultra 9 processor, 32GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA RTX 5090 Laptop GPU should give you an idea of how well this machine can perform. It’s also a great combination for demanding productivity tasks and creative work!

Power that AI can only hope to replicate

The HP OMEN Max 16 lived up to many of our expectations in terms of performance. From startup to shutdown, it delivered on what its hardware promised. You can watch videos for longer, edit photos and videos to your heart’s content, and enjoy casual gaming without slowing down. Furthermore, the wide display gives you plenty of space to accommodate all these activities.

When you step up to more competitive gaming, the machine doesn’t miss a beat. Most titles deliver high frame rates regardless of the quality or performance settings you choose. With more advanced visual settings enabled, the RTX 5090 does a fantastic job of keeping supported games within a solid 40–50 FPS range. Pair it with a high-refresh-rate OLED display, and you get crisp details and faster input response to help you get ahead in ranked games all day long.

If there’s one thing to complain about, it’s the extra optimization required through the OMEN Gaming Hub. Features such as network prioritization, automatic power-mode switching, and system optimization are useful, but you’ll need to spend time configuring them during initial setup. The laptop also comes with OMEN AI, which promises to maximize FPS with a single click. However, it was only okay at best.

Runs longer, cools off smoother

Surely, a gaming laptop this bulky and powerful can’t last that long on battery, right? Well, the HP OMEN Max 16 averages around three hours of battery life during intensive gaming, which gives you a decent amount of playing time. For general use, battery life extends to around five and a half hours with Balanced power settings. It holds up reasonably well if you forget to bring your charger.

When you do have the massive 330W charger with you, charging doesn’t take too long either. During our tests, a full charge took two hours, with charging progressing slightly faster when we left the laptop idle. Charging the battery to 50% took around 20 minutes, giving you enough juice to squeeze in another game!

Another factor in prolonged use is how the device expels hot air through its sides and rear. We touched on this earlier, but it bears repeating: the laptop provides plenty of ventilation through its vapor chamber and multiple external vents. Instead of directing heat toward the keyboard, it pushes hot air through the vents, where it can hit your hands or peripherals. At least the keyboard stays cooler, right?

Is this your GadgetMatch?

At PHP 229,990, the HP OMEN Max 16 is a sleek-looking machine with incredible power under the hood. Despite its initial bulk, it delivers impressive performance for both casual and competitive gamers. Inside and out, it packs plenty of hardware and features to let you tailor the experience to your needs.

If you’re looking for a gaming laptop with decent battery life, this is a solid choice, but don’t expect it to last half a day. Of course, you wouldn’t use this machine entirely on its own, even if the unboxing experience might suggest otherwise.

Peripherals such as the HyperX Cloud Alpha Air and Solocast 2 Pro can further enhance the experience.

Overall, this is a Swipe Right for its features, performance, and premium design. However, if you don’t have an infinite money glitch to buy it right now, you’re better off saving up for this beast of a machine!

Gaming

FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE now available across major platforms

FINAL FANTASY HD-2D is here

Published

October 22, 2026

GadgetMatch

SQUARE ENIX has released FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE. It’s a new role-playing game that brings the franchise’s classic pixel-art aesthetic into the HD-2D era.

The game launches on October 22, 2026, for Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. The PC version will be available through Steam and the Microsoft Store on Windows starting October 23.

FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE reimagines the first story arc of the mobile game FINAL FANTASY Brave Exvius as a full-fledged RPG experience. It combines retro-inspired pixel art with 3D models and dynamic camera angles.

Strategic turn-based combat returns

Players will explore a world featuring familiar FINAL FANTASY elements, including crystals, airships, chocobos, espers, and moogles.

Combat revolves around exploiting enemy weaknesses to stagger opponents, break their defenses, and gain extra turns. Players can also unleash powerful Resonance attacks to turn the tide of battle.

The adventure features Visions, representations of familiar FINAL FANTASY characters who join the party with their own skills and abilities. These include Cloud, Tidus, and the Warrior of Light.

Beyond the main story, players can discover optional challenges and rewards, including encounters with the wandering swordmaster Gilgamesh, a monster-filled Colosseum, the Chamber of Arms, and Ultima Weapon.

Editions and platforms

FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE is available as a single-player RPG on Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

A Digital Deluxe Edition includes the base game and the Magitek & Grimoire Deluxe Pack. The bundle features a Magitek Armor Key for a chocobo, an exclusive Archwitch’s Grimoire, a Mastery Ring, and consumable items.

A Collector’s Edition includes the physical Standard Edition alongside an acrylic block set, a pixel-art book, a 120-track original soundtrack on CD, and an exclusive FINAL FANTASY TRADING CARD GAME promotional card.

Availability and release timing may vary by region. Check local digital storefronts for purchasing details.