Final Fantasy VII Remake’s Cloud (dress version) is getting the high-end figure treatment【Photos】

Relive your memories of Cloud’s tactical makeover.

With a 23-year gap between the original Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VII Remake, the latter version of the franchise’s biggest hit was able to take advantage of some serious advances in video game hardware. Sure, the old-school Final Fantasy VII looked extremely impressive for its time, but the limits of the PlayStation 1 technology meant that the cast of characters spent much of their time as blocky and abstract polygon models. Fast forward to Remake, and those same characters’ in-game models could now be rendered in previously unimaginable levels of detail.

So naturally when publisher Square Enix was picking which member of the cast would get a new, high-quality figure, they chose one who benefited more than most from the two decades-plus of graphics advancement, and that’s none other than protagonist Cloud Strife…in a dress.

Square Enix has just unveiled the Final Fantasy VII Remake Play Arts Kai Cloud Strife Dress Version, a 27.6-centimeter (10.9-inch) memento of the time when stoic swordsman Cloud had to disguise himself as a lovely lady in order to infiltrate the den of Don Corneo, the notorious, and lecherous, gangster who controls the Wall Market entertainment district of Midgar.

Cloud can actually end up in one of three different dresses in Remake, but the black-and-blue version seen here seems to be the one that’s left the deepest impression on players. The figure recreates all of its fashionable frills and flourishes, as well as Cloud’s twin-braided hairdo that’s part of his tactical makeover.

As with many high-end figures, you get an alternate-expression face plate and a selection of hands. A unique touch is that the designers made sure to include a single piece with the two hands clasped together, so that Cloud can strike this demure pose.

So why was it that Cloud (dress version) got a particularly big upgrade between the original Final Fantasy VII and Remake? Each playable character in the original had three different character models. The first, used in the game’s map environments, was the least detailed. A step up from that were the more detailed models for when the characters were fighting battles, and at the very top were the models used for non-interactive cutscenes. However, Cloud doesn’t wear a dress in any battles or cutscenes in the 1997 game, making his Remake appearance the maximum possible leap compared to the older game.

The figure can be pre-ordered through the Square Enix E-Store (here, priced at 19,580 yen) or through Amazon Japan (here, listed at 18,162 yen) with shipping scheduled for March of next year.

Source: Final Fantasy Portal Site via Denfami Nico Gamer via Livedoor News via Otakomu
Images: Final Fantasy Portal Site
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