FF7 Intermission beaten:

The beautiful, energetic, and childish kunoichi of FF 7, Yuffie, is so great they decided to give her her own game.  Whenever she beats someone at a game she likes to rub it in, when she introduces herself she does so with theatrical flourish, she's desirous of praise from everybody she meets, angers easily, moves with an abundance of quirky grace, doing more than she really needs to do to get the job done, and has a wonderful speech pattern that matches the constant jumpiness of her body and soul.

After all that it hardly matters that she's also really strong and fun to play as a character, with the unique ability to hit switches from afar making dungeon traversing easier than ever.  Yuffie would easily make for a great heroine/protagonist if not for the titans that overshadow her, Tifa and Aerith.  Instead people barely remember her, but wow, she's part of an all-star FF 7 cast and she herself is an all-star worthy of that cast.

The game also features lovely Final Fantasy 7 music and the wonderful environments and side characters from the Remake game, full of lively characters talking to each other about the day's events, which creates a totally immersive experience.  Midgar feels so real and alive.

I completely defeated the Fort Condor minigame and gained the Ramuh summon by besting him in the simulator after hours of failed attempts.  Ramuh does so many different attacks so quickly one after the other it's hard to get any offense in, but with luck and perseverance I at least once was able to dodge, block, and counterattack everything.

This short game featuring really only one character, Yuffie (Shinon exists solely as a foil and soundboard for her), is far and above better than the entirety of FF 16 or Star Ocean 6.  All it takes is a character you can actually like and a world you can actually believe in.  I can't wait for FF 7 Rebirth, which promises to be a lot more of stuff like this.  Overall, if the FF 7 Remake trilogy is done right, it could be the best game ever made.  It's still in the running despite the tough competition from Fire Emblem Three Houses.  This intermission is one more contribution to that goal.

Next up is FF 7 Crisis Core, which can also be considered part of FF 7 remake, since it got a shiny new PS 5 remake itself.  Unlike Intermission the gameplay sucks in Crisis Core, but I hold out hope that the plot, and the scenes of young Cloud and Aerith, make it worthwhile.