The snow sculpture diorama shown above features a Buster Sword-wielding Cloud Strife bearing down on Sephiroth, who seems relatively disinterested in the entire situation. It’s probably a small mercy that the military didn’t show a more emotional Final Fantasy 7 scene like a certain one with Aerith Gainsborough, or the tears from nostalgic gamers would probably have poured forth and created an unintentional skating rink to go along with the winter fare.
Some gamers may be wondering why the two snow sculptures have an almost ‘DeviantArt Uncanny Alley’ shaping to them, but there’s a reason why Cloud’s head seems so small on a comparatively large torso. Since snow is not exactly the most sturdy of building materials, the military decided to reduce the size of his spiky head, so that Snow Festival attendants wouldn’t bear witness to the protagonist of the most beloved Final Fantasy title beheading himself halfway through the week.
As if the size of the sculptures weren’t impressive enough, a light show is activated at sundown which provides a burst of color and movement to the otherwise canvas-like display. There’s also an official Square Enix shop located close to the festival, although it isn’t clear if this location helped bring Cloud and Sephiroth to the Sapporo Snow Festival in an official capacity. In any event, fans inspired by the behemoth rendition of Cloud can head there to try to get their own Cloud Strife costume.
The festival isn’t the only thing to make a large homage to Final Fantasy 7 this week, as Kingdom Hearts 3 made a direct reference to the title just 6 days ago in a cross-promotional effort. Little news has come forth about the long-awaited official Final Fantasy 7 remake, so fans will have to make due with a giant sculpture or two for the time being, both of which will remain in place until the end of the upcoming weekend.
No news yet on if next year’s Sapporo Snow Festival will include any of the franchise’s favorite heroines, though we wouldn’t mind seeing the show organizers attempt a Cactuar recreation either.
Final Fantasy 7 is available as a digital download for PS4 and PS3, with the official Final Fantasy 7 Remake expected to release later exclusively on the PlayStation 4.
