Speaking with TheGamer, Final Fantasy 7 Remake co-director Motomu Toriyama has expanded upon the LGBTQ+ nature of the JRPG remake, as well as highlighting how Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part 2 set a new benchmark for diversity in the gaming medium.
While it was a rather harrowing experience, The Last of Us Part 2 broke a number of boundaries with a lesbian heroine, bisexual romance and a transgender character all featuring prominently throughout the unfolding narrative. It was a bold step forward in a number of ways, and it appears this influence has made its way over to the creators of Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
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“The Last of Us Part 2 really delivered on its consideration for diversity,” Toriyama-san tells us. “Right down to the UI, and I would imagine that the cost of debugging on that game was massive. However, having achieved that makes it a great game that sets a benchmark for the industry.”
It’s rare to see such a large Japanese studio talk so honestly about the important of queer representation, with Toriyama-san expanding further on the idea and how the team wanted to not only update Final Fantasy 7 Remake to take advantage of new technology, but to also respect and embrace the world we live in today. .
“I think that expressing diversity with LGBTQ+ inclusion is an important issue for everyone involved in making content, not just people making games,” Toriyama-san explains. “In Final Fantasy 7 Remake, we rebuilt the original game using the latest technology, but we felt that it should not stop at the technical side and we needed to update the story content being shown in line with modern sensibilities.”
You only need to glance at Honey Bee Inn to see how Final Fantasy 7 Remake is more than a little queer-coded, and it seems this was a deliberate act on the part of Toriyama-san and company. Time will tell whether the coming sequels will expand upon these ideas, but it seems that Square Enix is approaching its storytelling with the right attitude, which is one that isn’t afraid to explore diverse themes while building upon the original narrative.
Our full interview with Yoshinori Kitase, Motomu Toriyama, and Naoki Hamaguchi will be coming soon, so keep an eye out for that alongside a number of other fascinating tidbits on Final Fantasy 7 Remake and the future of the ambitious reimagining.
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