Since the first entry in the Final Fantasy VII Remake series took place entirely within the confines of Midgar, Square Enix had a lot to play with in terms of adding and expanding on content from the original game. One such example of this was the Honeybee Inn, which is almost universally praised as one of the best parts of the remade experience. Said experience almost included a scene where Cloud is shown pole dancing, apparently, though it was ultimately cut from the final product.

In a recent interview with Final Fantasy VII Remake co-director Motomu Toriyama over on the Square Enix news site, Toriyama explains that the entire Honeybee Inn scene was an immense undertaking for the studio. “The whole scene took a long time, from the initial idea, to composing the music, taking the motion capture, and adjusting the music and motions to fit together,” he said. “I was incredibly nervous until it finally all came together!” Toriyama goes on to explain that the team ended up commissioning professional dancers to choreograph the dance mini-game from start to finish. The co-director later reveals that some notable changes were made to the dance-off thanks to the choreography team, with one change being the removal of a pole-dancing scene.

Initially, for example, there was a pole dancing scene included, which meant that filming began on an elaborate set. We decided to take that part out due to the impact on the rating!”

Given how the entire event turned out, a pole-dancing scene featuring Cloud still likely would’ve gone over quite well. Aerith certainly would have enjoyed it, that’s for sure. On a more serious note, Toriyama goes on to explain that the Honeybee Inn ended up playing a significant part in overcoming stereotypes in regards to gender roles and cross-dressing.

“Given how famous the cross-dressing was in the original FINAL FANTASY VII, we were aware that people would have high expectations for the remake,” Toriyama said. “We knew we had to do it in a way that both lived up to those expectations, but took modern sensibilities into consideration.”

For example, fans these days expect stories and dialogue in games to go beyond stereotypical depictions of gender. Through Andrea’s lines and the lyrics of the backing track, Stand Up, we tried to build in a positive and supportive message for Cloud during his cross-dressing scene.”

Fans can check out the Honeybee Inn scene in glorious 4K in Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, which is now available on PS5.

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