Whether it’s the studios’ profiles or the characters in the games, diversity is currently the focus of many discussions in the video game industry. Over time, Japanese production has sometimes been highlighted for its perceived lack of sensitivity to minorities or the use of stereotypes. When one of the thinkers behind one of the greatest Japanese games in recent years talks about diversity, that’s pretty fascinating.
Also read: Final Fantasy VII Remake: The Coralizer gives clues for the future
The site The player recently had the opportunity to meet with Motomu Toriyama, co-director of Final Fantasy VII remake
The Last of Us Part 2 really appreciated its way of looking at diversity. And that can be felt in the user interface. I can imagine the debugging cost of this game was enormous. With that said Having done this makes it a great game that sets a benchmark for the industry.
Of course, when it comes to the connection between minorities and The Last of Us Part II, discussions are not limited to how the game is accessible to people with various disabilities. They also deal with the representation of ethnic and sexual minorities in adventure.
Can and will do better
As for Final Fantasy VII Remake, Motomu Toriyama explains that the game’s creators didn’t try to evade these issues:
I think expressing diversity through LGBTQ + inclusion is an important topic for everyone involved in content creation, not just people who make games. In Final Fantasy 7 Remake, we recreated the original game using the latest technology. But we told ourselves that we shouldn’t stop at the technical part and that we should also update the story that is presented to players to bring it in line with modern sensibilities.
Without going into details for those who haven’t played Final Fantasy VII Remake, the Honey Bee Inn sequence immediately springs to mind when it comes to how the game developers approached subjects. And the feedback on this passage of the RPG has not been unanimous within this community.
In any case, attitudes also seem to be changing in Japan and Japanese developers are also showing problems that they were not aware of or that did not necessarily deal with the consideration expected by the communities concerned.
What do you think of these statements by Motomu Toriyama? do you agree with him? How do you rate what was done against minorities in Final Fantasy VII Remake? Let us know what you think in the comments below.