It's 1997, and I'm sitting in my living room at the University of Wisconsin playing the latest releases The final concept of VII on my recently purchased PlayStation. Tifa is at the helm of a slumlord jerk named Corneo and it's my job, as a cloud, to save him. How do I do it? Putting it on a dress.
Placing a Cloud on a Wall Market outfit is probably one of the most memorable and bizarre places FFVIIThe first hours in Midgar. With the first game of more than two decades, the event dates back to a time when queenhood came together in a place very different from mass culture. With 2020's eyes on it, that part of the game hasn't matured yet. To deceive Don Corneo, Cloud is made of drag with Aerith's emphasis. Making that happen means wandering the Wall Market itself to collect its new dance arrows: a dress, a t-shirt, a perfume, a wig and a fun pair of underwear.
Discovering these items is a series of small works, and two of them involve classic and questionable line drawing. The wig comes from the owner of the gym in Drag with a right hook that can take a person out of the twenties. The underwear comes from a local block / club / what-do-you, Honeybee Inn. To get the best outfit, Cloud has to bathe in a selection of bodybuilders who are only wearing shorts, including their leader who looks like Freddie Mercury Mukki. The whole thing plays out successfully in the Japanese Japans culture culture queer masculinity and the actual scene itself is an extended joke of sexual assault. Not great.
From time The Final VII Remake It was announced that it would be released last week, many people – especially illegal players – have been wondering how this part of the game will go down. Director Tetsuya Nomura himself commented in a June 2019 interview with Famitsu that Wall Market needs a "modern arrangement" because doing it the original would not be "difficult."
That “modern fix” is chapter 9 of p FFVII Remake, extending what was a brief sidequest at the beginning of a long and conducive list of times when Cloud and Aerith need Corneo's "Trioo" permission to enter. One member of the trio is the new owner of Honeybee Inn, Andrea Rhodea. The result transforms what has been a jewelry search in what now resembles an interactive musical number complete with rhythm. Cloud has to work on the stage to illuminate the hologram laser and synth-pop to convince Rhodea to give him a don makeover.
Compared to the first joke of sexual harassment, a new section of the Honeybee Inn is exactly what Nomura said: a modern take that sees that by 2020 tradition, the old version will not fly. Instead of a comedy series on both people's costumes Cloud and queer, the new segment looks almost self-critical. the court Queer players. The Honeybee Inn now has a well-informed male receptionist who I can just call the "gay voice" (and I speak from that). Instead of just girls wearing a honeybee, the Rhodea & # 39; s Honeybee Inn also has “honeyboys”: cute top-wearing twinks in tuxedos. There is every indication that this new version of the club is designed to appeal to different sex and sex permits.
Then there is the dance and rhythm itself: Cloud and Andrea take the stage together and play an archetypal club dance song. This is a great show (thank you, Rocky Horror) begins with a song with conversational songs:
Life can be hard, it can be painful, but we can make it oh so sweet.
Here at Honeybee Inn is always a treat!
Go up and throw your fears aside!
Arise and rescue your soul with pride.
This late-1990s to early 2010s bored lesbian brief – everything from techno setup to song lyrics and even the inspiring dance that Cloud performs on screen are the songs of Madonna's music videos, in songs like Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" and Kylie's discography & # 39; s all. The songs are everything you can expect from that moment, to the encouragement of living with Pride ™. It's gay … but it's gay for the last 10 years, maybe old.
At the end of the musical number, Cloud is seated in the center of the stage, surrounded by dancing girls and fans. Newboyboy – who has another serious "gay voice" job – puts Cloud in tow and finishes its formation, noting that Cloud was "born for this." The stool climbs up the ladder like a cloud, now in whatever clothing the player has acquired during their time at Wall Market, he steps on to the grand excitement of the room, including Aerith, who does everything however shout "go, girl" (I was shocked that he didn't). As before, the outfit can range from pigs and brothers' clothing to what I've found: a full Disney Princess gear complete with tiara.
Holding it all removed, Andrea Rhodea steps on the stage, Cloud twist, and then drags her, groaning "almost" three inches to Death's face, as if they are about to kiss. "The real beauty is the manifestation of the heart," he said, as the incident made a huge applause. “The shameless thing, when the sexual fantasies don't work. Fear not, Cloud. ”
Despite the extremely high schmaltz, it's hard not to like it. I am a line talker for the last 40 years, however, most of these charms – techno club, camp drag, excellent & # 39; proud language & # 39; yours – was important… in my 20s, there for real FFVII it was new. What struck me is how expected a new situation felt: if I ever wondered how “the right person in 2020 would think that line experience as thiwill you go? I am confident that the outcome will be exactly what we have achieved FFVII Remake.
This new version is the same Will and Grace-The content of the most disturbing original content. It's like the TV show in question, which started about a year into the future FFVII
It may be tempting to say "that's why it's bad," but it's not. “Fair market abuse” is not a crime, and I suspect that most queer players may have fully enjoyed this new version. I'm a good player, and I've done it. At the same time, despite all this "be yourself, proud of the language and conversations, Cloud still looks confused and scared – it spreads its eyes around you and moves in a closed physical state – in this case, that is, to say nothing, forced to him are Andrea and Aerith. When they both meet Tifa later and see him, Cloud is worried that, perhaps in the game's most interesting dialogue line, "I nailed it, I know. Thank you, you continue. ”
I think we need to embrace this event for what it is: colorful and vibrant and fun, but not much more than that. It's great that Nomura and the company knew that this needed to be modernized, but the result was safe and uncertain in a world where RuPaul's race & # 39; s Drag The topic of cold water discussion for straight people.
The original Wall Market content was worn by queer players when it was new, and may continue to destroy them now. Many queer players have a rewarding experience with this trial of the original game, but as many find it is unwise to do so for others. It would be easy to say that this new, modern version will not be boring, but that is not true. In 1997, we had to establish ourselves in line with a series of transphobic and Homophobic comics but sometimes they began to dissolve. Now in 2020, we have to ask ourselves how our relationship is "funny but straight-friendly and safe". In any case, the answers are unclear, but at least this new, extremely annoying version gives us more space to search.
Todd Harper is a professor in the Simulation and Game Design program at the University of Baltimore, as well as a freelance sports writer, critic and speaker. Other accomplishments include making extremely delicious cookies and when she once told Jen Hale that yes, she was in for it Grandmother 2.
