The developers on the Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy wanted to create a world that felt real. To do that, they populated the world with different kinds of people living out their lives in all the diverse ways real people do. As Cloud and the gang journey throughout the series, they’re followed by a cadre of queer background characters living, laughing, and loving as a part of game director Naoki Hamaguchi’s vision to create a more authentic world. In an interview with The Gamer, Hamaguchi said including those queer romances was key to enhancing the realism of Midgar and beyond. “Rebirth is a game where you encounter many towns, cultures, and relationships throughout your journey,” he said. “In my view, the presence of diverse, authentic relationships within that journey also enhances the world’s realism.”
In the game, there’s a couple of women who start their relationship with a fight. Over time, players have noticed the two women have grown closer together eventually becoming a couple. Hamaguchi said such content was not added to check a box, but was done with thoughtful intention and he’s glad players have noticed. “Our goal wasn’t to add a same-sex couple just for the sake of adding it,” he said. “But to portray the stories of those inhabiting this world with sincerity and care.” It’s interesting to see such a thoughtful take on representing this kind of diversity within a Final Fantasy game. Just a few years ago, Naoki Yoshida, director of Final Fantasy XVI was criticized for his explanation of why that game lacked diversity, saying incorporating ethnic diversity in a game that features big-ass monster fights would violate “narrative boundaries”. Nice to see someone at Square Enix is a little more thoughtful than that.