Square Enix shared a new interview with FFVII Remake Co-Director Motomu Toriyama focusing on its Honeybee Inn segment in Wall Market. In it, he went over the step-by-step elements that led to the rhythm game segment and dance scene appearing in the game. It also went into how exactly it was filmed. For example, professional dancers were hired and at one point pole dancing would have appeared.
First, Toriyama talked about the FFVII Remake Honeybee Inn scene’s structure. He noted that it involved five parts, which are “the opening show, the three stages of the dance-off, and finally the ending scene.” First there was storyboarding, then music, visuals, and choreography. He also mentioned that getting the music to match the motion capture took time. He mentioned Mitsuto Suzuki, the game’s composer, went to Roppongi in Japan for ideas.
It’s when Toriyama talked about the choreography that the potential FFVII Remake Honeybee Inn pole dancing scene came up. He noted concerns about the game’s rating led to it being cut. Here’s his full statement on the performance.
Yes – for this scene, we commissioned a team of professional dancers that create burlesque shows and choreography. They proposed changing the concept and choreography for each section of the dance-off.
We actually went through multiple recordings and corrections when making the 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!
Toriyama also talked about creating the scene in general. Here’s what he had to say about its new depiction, compared to the original game’s.
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. 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.
Final Fantasy VII Remake is available for the PS4, while FFVII Remake Intergrade is available for the PS5.
