Fans of Final Fantasy 7's cross-dressing segment can now see Cloud Strife wear a dress and makeup in many of the game's other sequences thanks to a mod. After being announced back in 2015, Final Fantasy 7 Remake finally came out earlier this year, and it did not disappoint. While the long-awaited remake of 1997's Final Fantasy 7 only covers the first few hours of the original game expanded to a full-length, 40-hour RPG, the new game was met with universal acclaim and strong sales numbers.
One of the most memorable sequences in Remake (and in the original 1997 game) sees Cloud disguise himself as a woman in order to gain access to the lair of the vile Don Corneo. On the original PlayStation, Cloud's dress is little more than a handful of polygons meant to symbolize a dress and pigtails, but the visuals on the new version allow the game to truly showcase Cloud's transformation, with three different full outfits consisting of new hair, makeup, and gorgeous fashion. Players can't wear the dress for the rest of the game, however, which is especially disappointing since a vast majority of the in-game cutscenes are all in real time, using the in-game engine.
Thanks to the efforts of a modder called Pryna, footage has emerged of Cloud in his bridal attire at various points in the game. According to Polygon, Pryna manipulated the in-game save data to trick the game into allowing Cloud to wear his dress outside of the original designated parameters, and now the modder has posted videos of the game's cutscenes onto Twitter, only with Cloud fully decked out in his feminine duds. Two examples can be seen below, and many more are present on Pryna's Twitter page.
Going into Final Fantasy 7 Remake, much scrutiny was placed on the cross dressing sequence. Though a pivotal moment in the original, it was vital for the remake to play up the moment for more than just its inherent humor and Cloud's obvious discomfort at having to embrace a style outside of his comfort zone. Save for the usual outliers on either side of the spectrum, the redone cross dressing subplot was widely accepted by the fan community, especially the Madonna-inspired dance sequence and new character Andrea.
The Final Fanasy 7 Remake journey has only just begun. Few can predict when the next chapter will arrive, or how many entries will comprise the complete journey, but if this opening salvo is anything to go by, the next few years are going to be an incredible time to be a Final Fantasy enthusiast.
Source: Polygon