It has been over a year since Square Enix first released Final Fantasy 7 Remake into the world, and fans eagerly await news for the remake's second part. In the meantime, Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade just released, providing a next-gen upgrade for PS5 players. The co-director for Final Fantasy Remake, Motomu Toriyama, has recently spoken about his high regards for the representation delivered in Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Part 2.
Also released last year, The Last of Us Part 2 was met with critical acclaim, and has since gone on to become the most-awarded game of all time. A huge aspect of the game that resonated with many fans was the diversity in its cast, especially in regards to LGBTQ+ inclusion. Ellie in The Last of Us Part 2 is a lesbian, her romantic interest Dina is bisexual, and new character Lev is transgender. While some players balked at the amount of trauma shown in the game, many also praised Naughty Dog for its inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters.
In an interview with TheGamer, Toriyama brings up The Last of Us Part 2 to touch on the importance of representation in the video games industry. Toriyama thinks "expressing diversity with LGBTQ+ inclusion is an important issue for everyone involved in making content, not just people making games." The Last of Us Part 2 didn't need to add this representation in to make the story work, and that's part of the reason its still groundbreaking. A story with LGBTQ+ characters doesn't solely have to revolve around their identity.
Toriyama goes on to explain that while Square Enix rebuilt Final Fantasy 7 using the latest gaming technology, they felt that they needed to update the story to fit more in the modern world. The Honeybee Inn segment of Final Fantasy 7 Remake is the perfect example of Toriyama and the developers trying to find new ways reach different groups of people. This scene in the remake is inherently queer-coded, and was noticed by many fans to be a moment for the player, through Cloud, to toy with the notion of gender identity.
The Last of Us Part 2 had a impactful first year, winning tons of awards for its story, design, sound design, narrative, acting, and more. A major praise for The Last of Us Part 2 has also been for its accessibility features. Toriyama also commends Naughty Dog for that achievement, remarking that it really is a "benchmark for the industry.” In any case, the positive reception for The Last of Us Part 2's LGBTQ+ representation may even inspire the developers for Final Fantasy 7 Remake to add some in some more diversity to their next games themselves.
Source: TheGamer