Square Enix’s Final Fantasy 7 Remake will bring the original game’s dated graphics and storytelling into the modern age, but one of the biggest questions still unanswered is whether the developer can do the same for its notorious cross-dressing scene. While Square Enix has revealed more “modern” scenes will be included for Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s cross-dressing sequence, it’s hard to tell how successfully it has been reworked.
In the original Final Fantasy 7, protagonist Cloud wants to help his friend Tifa, who is inside crime boss Don Corneo’s manor. To get around the manor’s “employed men only” rule, Cloud needs to disguise himself as a woman. The actual cross-dressing itself is handled fairly well: no one points out any “mannish” features that might keep Cloud from passing as a woman, and Cloud acts reluctant but mostly OK with the whole affair. Still, one could argue that - on a meta level - the Final Fantasy 7 cross-dressing scene is played for laughs. The sequence’s ideal outcome is that Don picks “tough guy” Cloud to accompany him to bed, possibly to imply he’s foolish for believing Cloud is a woman. But Aerith doesn’t seem to be poking fun at Cloud when she calls him cute, and other characters seem totally open to the idea of a man wanting to wear a dress. Rather than having Don pick Cloud because Don is stupid, it’s more likely the developers let Don pick him because Cloud is genuinely pretty.
The more clear-cut problems with the sequence lie in the events leading up to Don’s mansion. In the original game, Cloud needs to collect various traditionally feminine clothing and accessories from locations in Midgar’s Wall Market. The sequence features some transphobic and homophobic undertones, but the latter become overtones at Final Fantasy 7’s infamous Honey Bee Inn. The search for makeup and underwear brings Cloud to this dilapidated brothel, where he can receive lingerie from the “&$#% Room.” He passes out after a strange hallucination, waking up to the suggestively onomatopoeic massaging of a muscular man named Mukki, who calls Cloud “bubby” and stands over him on a bed. After Mukki leaves, Cloud breaks the fourth wall and gives the camera an exaggerated shrug. Alternatively, Cloud can enter the “Group Room,” where it’s implied that Mukki and several other muscular men strip Cloud of his clothes, exclaiming, “Wow! Would ya look at that!” Cloud then reluctantly counts down from ten as they all squeeze into a bathtub, and Mukki asks if Cloud wants to join his “young bubby’s group.”
These blatantly homophobic scenes and implications of sexual assault have all likely been removed by the same ethics department that advised Square Enix devs to “restrict” Tifa’s chest in Final Fantasy 7 Remake. In a recent new Final Fantasy 7 Remake trailer, Square Enix revealed the extravagant Honey Bee Inn cabaret bar that will offer a replacement for them. It looks like Cloud will go through his entire disguise transformation there, via a musical number performed in front of the bar-goers. The sequence has a much more inclusive tone, highlighted by a message from the man (perhaps Remake’s version of Mukki) running the show.
At the musical number’s end, the man gets close to Cloud’s face and says, “Perfection.” This all points to a sincere celebration of beauty, regardless of gender, but there is still potential for problems. Cloud seems to only participate in the transformation for its practical use. He just goes along with the show, expressionless, and then demands Aerith say “not a word” once she finally sees him. Square Enix has the perfect opportunity to show one of gaming’s most iconic protagonists embracing non-standard gender expression, but it doesn’t seem to be taking that extra step. Sure, even a Final Fantasy 7 Remake version of Cloud likely wouldn’t show outward excitement about anything at this point in the game, but just a momentary hint of reluctant enjoyment would make all the difference.
“True beauty is an expression of heart, a thing without shame, to which notions of gender don’t apply.”
Next: Everything We Know About The Final Fantasy 7 Remake
Final Fantasy 7 Remake will be released for PS4 on April 10, 2020.
