Extra-long trailer for Square Enix’s hotly anticipated title also shows off Red XIII and other key characters for the first time.

Perhaps the biggest question about Final Fantasy VII Remake (aside from “Is it going to be ready in time for the new release date, or is it going to get delayed again?”) is what will and won’t be in it. Whereas the original Final Fantasy VII was written as a complete, start-to-finish narrative all on its own, developer Square Enix is producing the remake as a multiple-game project, and so certain fan-favorite scenes and characters won’t show up until the second remake installment.

However, one thing director Tetsuya Nomura made clear way back in 2015 is that protagonist Cloud, of spiky hair and Buster Sword fame, will wear a dress at some point in the first remake game, just like he did in the original. And now, some five years later, Square Enix has delivered on that promise, with a new trailer that shows the hero getting a fabulous makeover as part of his plan to dupe the sleazy owner of the Honey Bee pleasure club.

There’s more than crossdressing Cloud in the new preview, though. We also get plenty of action, some nice close-ups of archvillain Sephiroth’s mako-infused eyes, and our first looks at Red XIII, Final Fantasy VII’s talking lion-like creature with a tail that’s permanently on fire, and also Shinra’s weapon designer Scarlet and sinister scientist Professor Hojo.

The trailer also gives us some luxuriously long looks at the gorgeous combat visuals, with highlights being a side-view perspective for martial artist Tifa’s Blitz attacks that makes it look like Remake has transformed into a fighting game and a pair of summons: majestic Leviathan and the devastatingly cute/cutely devastating Moogle/Chocobo combo.

▼ Hey, Square Enix, I know you’ve got a lot on your plate already, but can we also have a whole game about these two? Please?

Square Enix showed impressive restraint by not simply calling the video “Final Fantasy VII Remake Cloud in Dress Trailer.” Instead, they went with “Final Fantasy VII Remake Theme Song Trailer,” since the visuals are accompanied by “Hollow,” the game’s ending theme.

▼ The Japanese-dialogue version of the trailer

Serving as composer for “Hollow” is none other than Nobuo Uematsu, the legendary video game musician who singlehandedly created the soundtracks for the first nine Final Fantasy titles (including the unmistakable “Prelude” piece that plays at the moment you start the original NES Final Fantasy), and who has contributed in various capacities to later entries in the franchise.

▼ A behind-the-scenes look at the making of “Hollow”

Final Fantasy VII Remake is scheduled for worldwide release on April 10, and we have a hunch we’ll be hearing “Hollow” on our visit to Tokyo’s Final Fantasy VII Remake cafe.

Source: YouTube/スクウェア・エニックス via IT Media
Images: YouTube/スクウェア・エニックス
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Follow Casey on Twitter, where he’s still worried about whether or not the Chocobo Theme music will be part of Remake.