This summer, fans can dive into Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade, all of its PS5 glory, and everyone's favorite ninja, Yuffie Kisaragi. Unfortunately, this does make any sort of Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2 proper releasing this year seem much less likely, but it does give fans some big answers.
For example, in the original game, Yuffie was entirely optional and only obtainable after a certain part. This DLC will be bringing her into the main story, specifically meaning the events are designated to take place during the main game. As a result, it is much less likely that Yuffie is an optional character, and it's likely to bring her into the game in more meaningful ways. For Yuffie, this is great, but hopefully, this is a one-off. There's a few reasons that this shouldn't happen to the other optional FF7 character: Vincent Valentine.
FF7 Optional Characters: Yuffie and Vincent Valentine
What this DLC seems to effectively do is provide new background information on Yuffie, thereby explaining and better situating her role in the story. This is all good and well, especially since it will presumably bring her back in a permanent role come Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2. On the other hand, there's no need to do so for Vincent Valentine. His relationship with Lucrecia, his knowledge of Sephiroth, and his desire for vengeance against Dr. Hojo are all motivators that need no further explanation; however, that's not to say he should remain optional either.
Right now, development is focused on Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2, not more DLC. Fans have no idea how far into the story Part 2 will make it, though, but it's possible it doesn't get far enough to introduce Vincent. Adding him as DLC between Part 2 and Part 3, as is Yuffie's role, would track as a bad pattern, but again, he doesn't need what Yuffie's DLC accomplishes. Instead, introducing him earlier in FF7 Remake Part 2 or even saving him for FF7 Remake Part 3 would be a much better move. It should be noted that these two characters are the only "optional" ones, but they are far from the only characters that could be milked in an episodic nature—the potentially bigger problem here.
Episode Yuffie and Episode Vincent Could Fall into FF15's Trap
If providing DLC to clue in key information/background information sounds familiar, it's because that's exactly what Final Fantasy 15 did. Episode Gladio, Episode Prompto, Episode Ignis, and Episode Ardyn all provided background info (Ardyn and Prompto) or filled in missing events from the story (Gladio and Ignis). The reasons were never fully explained, but some financial losses likely led Square Enix to cancel the Final Fantasy 15 DLC which followed: Episodes Aranea, Lunafreya, and Noctis. It stands to reason that, despite one supposedly dealing with an alternative end, they would have done the exact same.
The episodic nature of Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2 does cause some concern that smaller DLCs will be used to flesh out story beats or provide background info—all of which some will inevitably argue belong in the game proper. It's not hard to see a structure like "Final Fantasy 7 Part 1, Yuffie DLC, Part 2, Vincent DLC, Part 3, Zack Fair DLC, Part 4" almost ad infinitum. Instead, while it works for Yuffie and she also serves as a motivation in transferring Final Fantasy 7 Remake from PS4 to PS5, FF7 Remake Part 2 or even Part 3 should just use Vincent Valentine as what he should be: part of the main story
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2 is in development.