Barret Wallace
Encyclopedia
is a player character
in Square Enix
's role playing game Final Fantasy VII
. Created by character designer Tetsuya Nomura
, he has since appeared in the CGI
film sequel, Final Fantasy VII Advent Children as well as other games and media in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
series. As of Advent Children, Barret is voiced by Masahiro Kobayashi
in Japanese and Beau Billingslea
in English localizations.
Barret is first introduced in Final Fantasy VII as a terrorist, leading the group "AVALANCHE
" to bomb power plants in the fictional city of Midgar to avenge the losses dealt him by the city's ruling company, Shinra, under the pretense of saving the planet. As the story progresses, Barret re-examines his efforts and focuses AVALANCHE's to pursuing villain Sephiroth to protect the planet and the future of his adopted daughter, Marlene. Elements of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII would later expand upon his character, detailing the character's history before and after the events of the original game.
The first black
playable character in the Final Fantasy series, Barret's portrayal through his appearance and sometimes profane speech has been heavily compared to that of actor Mr. T
, earning praise for this aspect but also heavy criticism and accusations of being a racist presentation of black people by sources such as IGN
. In contrast, others have defended the character's positive aspects, and publications such as Edge have described the character as bringing something new to the series.
and heroine Aerith Gainsborough
. During a phone call to project director Yoshinori Kitase
, the idea was suggested at some point within the game to permanently kill one of the characters, and after heavy discussion it was decided between Aerith and Barret to have Aerith die, as they felt Barret's death would be "too obvious".
Standing 6 feet 5 inches (197 cm) tall, Barret's name is a Japanese transliteration of the English word "Bullet", and was developed in mind to have the "Gunner" character class
. He appears as a black
large male (the first black playable character in the series) with a high and tight
haircut and full beard, and an earring on his left ear. His attire consists of a jacket with torn sleeves, dark green pants, boots, a fingerless glove on his left hand, and metal bands surrounding his abdomen and left wrist. His left upper arm is covered by a tattoo, designed with a "skull and fire" motif in mind. In early versions of Barret's design he had both hands and was armed with a wrist-mounted bowgun; this was later changed by replacing his right hand with a prosthetic gatling gun
(called a "Gimmick Arm") which he refers to as his "partner" in-game. He was also originally planned to have a medallion around his neck, described as a gift from his deceased wife despite in itself not being feminine looking. This aspect was later changed to a set of dog tags.
When developing Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, Nomura stated that because of heavy comparison between Barret's original design and Mr. T, they decided to take it in a different direction for the film. They used director Takeshi Nozue's suggestion to give him cornrows for his hair, while Nomura designed his face. Artist Yusuke Naora
influenced the design as well, also developing his attire, which originally planned to use white overalls before instead giving him a down vest. Barret's arm tattoo was changed as well, though retained the "skull and fire" motif of the original. Other aspects of his design included the loss of the metal bands around his body, a white sleeve extending from the middle of his right forearm to his elbow fastened by straps, a black band on his left forearm surrounded by a pink string and bow, and a fishnet shirt that ends in torn fibers below his waist. The dog tags were altered to a bullet and medallion supported by a chain around his neck, and three rings covered his left hand. His Gimmick Arm was modified into a robotic prosthetic hand, developed by Nomura with the only guideline of being also "a huge, over-the-top gun that transforms in a huge, over-the-top way". Nozue stated that these specifics made it difficult to work with, and decided to conceal the hand's transformation sequence into the gun as much as possible.
When choosing a voice actor for him, Nomura was initially unsure of having Masahiro Kobayashi
do the role of Barret or another character in the film, Loz. Kobayashi described his performance as treating Barret as "unrefined [...] but also dependable and unique", trying to keep his "upbeat character and good outlook in mind". He tried to give him a booming, confident sounding voice, though at times was instructed to "take it up a notch".
, armed with a gun grafted to his arm. Situated in city of Midgar, his group opposes the ruling company, Shinra, and their use of "Mako" energy from the planet as a power source. To this end AVALANCHE bombs their power plants, under the goal of saving the planet. To this end he hires Cloud Strife as a mercenary at the behest of his friend Tifa Lockhart
, nicknaming him "Spiky" in reference to his hairstyle. After the deaths of several members of AVALANCHE, he follows Cloud out of Midgar in pursuit of the game's villain, Sephiroth.
Along the way he encounters a former friend of his, Dyne, armed in a manner similar to him and who forces Barret to kill him. Through flashbacks its revealed that Shinra had desired to build a power plant in his home town of Corel, an idea Barret advocated. However due to an accident at the plant, Shinra razed the town, killing Barret's wife in the process, and causing Barret and Dyne to flee with Dyne's daughter, Marlene. Cornered, Dyne slipped off the cliff they stood upon and Barret grabbed his hand; Shinra soldier's opened fire, and destroyed Barret's and Dyne's right and left hands respectively, causing the latter to fall to his presumed death. Barret adopted Marlene as his daughter, had an "adapter" grafted to his arm to interface with prosthetic weapons to combat Shinra, and founded AVALANCHE. Dyne's death causes him to admit his grudge with Shinra is solely for revenge, with earlier claims of "saving the world" meant to convince himself as well. Barret shifts his goal to actually saving the world, doing so for Marlene's sake, and helps Cloud and his allies defeat Sephiroth to prevent the planet's destruction.
Early drafts of Barret's background featured subtle differences, such as Marlene intended to be Barret's biological daughter, and his wife executed in front of him by a then-undecided Shinra executive. The attack on Corel was initially written to be due to the discovery of Mako energy and Shinra's desire to keep its existence a secret. Barret's reunion with Dyne was also originally different, written to culminate in a duel between the two in Corel's ruins while Cloud and the others fought investigating Shinra soldiers.
, a 2005 mobile phone
-based prequel to the events of Final Fantasy VII, shown during the events prior to Corel's destruction. He helps the game's protagonists, the Turks, defend the power plant, believing it to be the town's future. It is revealed that the plant is under attack by the original AVALANCHE group, who are responsible for Shinra's attack upon the town. Unaware of their involvement, Barret uses their ideals to form his own branch of the group.
In 2005, Barret appears in the CGI
film Advent Children, which details the events after Sephiroth's defeat. Barret places Marlene in Tifa's care, travelling the world to rebuild the planet's infrastructure
due to the collapse of Shinra as well as find alternate power sources to replace Mako. He returns later to assist in combating the film's villains, the Remnants. He later appears in the 2006 video game Dirge of Cerberus, helping the protagonist Vincent Valentine
prevent Omega from destroying the planet.
A novella
entitled Case of Barret was released in 2007 exclusively for American and European audiences as part of Advent Childrens "Collector's Edition". Written by Kazushige Nojima
, it details the events between Final Fantasy VII and Advent Children, examining Barret's reaction to his weapon and belief it made him a monster. At the conclusion of the story, Barret visits the creator of the adapter on his wrist and receives the prosthetic hand/gun combination seen in the film, reasoning while he needs a hand he still needs a weapon to prevent others from needing to fight, and decides to return to Marlene.
argued in favor of this point, citing his use of "stilted slang", and stating that the character stands out amongst the cast because "his dialog is written as if it was run through a broken ebonic translator", further noting it as a trend in Japanese games to apply such dialogue to characters based on their skin color. Journalist Jeremy Parish agreed that it was a depiction of racism, though he argued that cultural gap between Japan and the United States and the lack of American translators for Final Fantasy VII may have been a contributing factor, citing that the likeness of Barret to Mr. T was possibly an attempt to make a character that appealed to Americans as the actor did.
In contrast on 1UP.com
, Parish argued in favor of Barret, noting that while on the surface he appeared to be the "worst kind of stereotype", he was a great character with complexity, having made "difficult decisions in his life, and agonized over his losses". Parish went further to describe Barret as the "first true father figure
the [Final Fantasy] series had ever seen", noting his relationship with his adopted daughter. RPGamer
's content manager Shawn Bruckner took the discussion further, arguing that claims of Barret's presentation being racist was over-simplification of the character's portrayal, and states that while he was in some aspects a stereotype, in others such as his compassion towards his daughter or guilt regarding his past actions, he was not. He added that Barret "shows us that a black man speaking in 'ebonics
' is not something to fear", and that his portrayal was not racist but instead the opposite.
Despite their criticism, IGN ranked Barret fourth "Top 10" best sidekick
characters in video games, stating he "took the videogame world by storm" when introduced and noting that his portrayal was also appealing, further adding that his past made him a visibly loyal character. Joystiq
named him one of twenty characters from the Final Fantasy franchise they wished to see in Square Enix's crossover
fighting game
Dissidia, noting a preference for his use of profanity and citing his combat abilities as easily suitable for the game. Edge praised Barret's introduction as something "new" to the series, citing both his use of a gun and being a "distinctively black" character, and further describing him as a "pseudo-nod" to similarly armed characters such as Mega Man
or Samus Aran
, who in contrast were either robots or encased in armor.
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
in Square Enix
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
's role playing game Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VII
is a role-playing video game developed by Square and published by Sony Computer Entertainment as the seventh installment in the Final Fantasy series. It was originally released in 1997 for the Sony PlayStation and was re-released in 1998 for Microsoft Windows-based personal computers and in 2009...
. Created by character designer Tetsuya Nomura
Tetsuya Nomura
is a Japanese video game director and character designer working for Square Enix , best known for his work on both the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts series.-Time before Square:Nomura was born in Kōchi, Japan...
, he has since appeared in the CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
film sequel, Final Fantasy VII Advent Children as well as other games and media in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Compilation of Final Fantasy VII is a series of games and animated features developed by Square Enix based in the world and continuity of Final Fantasy VII...
series. As of Advent Children, Barret is voiced by Masahiro Kobayashi
Masahiro Kobayashi
is a Japanese actor and seiyū from Yakumo, Futami District, Hokkaidō. He is a graduate of Yakumo-chō Ritsu Yakumochū School and Hokkaidō Hakodate Chūbu High School, and is a drop-out of the cinema course in the Nihon University College of Art. In 1995 he enrolled in the Seinenza Theater Company...
in Japanese and Beau Billingslea
Beau Billingslea
Beau M. Billingslea is an American actor and voice actor. He is best known as the voice of Jet Black from the popular anime Cowboy Bebop. In addition to voice acting, Billingslea has appeared in many popular TV series as a prolific guest actor...
in English localizations.
Barret is first introduced in Final Fantasy VII as a terrorist, leading the group "AVALANCHE
Avalanche
An avalanche is a sudden rapid flow of snow down a slope, occurring when either natural triggers or human activity causes a critical escalating transition from the slow equilibrium evolution of the snow pack. Typically occurring in mountainous terrain, an avalanche can mix air and water with the...
" to bomb power plants in the fictional city of Midgar to avenge the losses dealt him by the city's ruling company, Shinra, under the pretense of saving the planet. As the story progresses, Barret re-examines his efforts and focuses AVALANCHE's to pursuing villain Sephiroth to protect the planet and the future of his adopted daughter, Marlene. Elements of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII would later expand upon his character, detailing the character's history before and after the events of the original game.
The first black
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
playable character in the Final Fantasy series, Barret's portrayal through his appearance and sometimes profane speech has been heavily compared to that of actor Mr. T
Mr. T
Mr. T is an American actor known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series The A-Team, as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III, and for his appearances as a professional wrestler. Mr. T is known for his trademark African Mandinka warrior hairstyle, his gold jewelry,...
, earning praise for this aspect but also heavy criticism and accusations of being a racist presentation of black people by sources such as IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
. In contrast, others have defended the character's positive aspects, and publications such as Edge have described the character as bringing something new to the series.
Conception and design
Designed by Tetsuya Nomura, Barret was present in Final Fantasy VII since its early development, and one of the only three intended playable characters for the entire game, developed after protagonist Cloud StrifeCloud Strife
is a fictional character and the main protagonist in Square's role-playing game Final Fantasy VII and several of its sequels and spin-offs. His original design was created by Final Fantasy VII character designer Tetsuya Nomura...
and heroine Aerith Gainsborough
Aerith Gainsborough
— spelled Aeris Gainsborough in the English releases of Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy Tactics — is a player character in Square's console role-playing game Final Fantasy VII...
. During a phone call to project director Yoshinori Kitase
Yoshinori Kitase
is a Japanese game producer and former game director that has been working for Square Enix since April 1, 1990. He is mostly known for his work on the role-playing video game series Final Fantasy and is currently the manager of 1st Production Department....
, the idea was suggested at some point within the game to permanently kill one of the characters, and after heavy discussion it was decided between Aerith and Barret to have Aerith die, as they felt Barret's death would be "too obvious".
Standing 6 feet 5 inches (197 cm) tall, Barret's name is a Japanese transliteration of the English word "Bullet", and was developed in mind to have the "Gunner" character class
Character class
In role-playing games, a common method of arbitrating the capabilities of different game characters is to assign each one to a character class. A character class aggregates several abilities and aptitudes, and may also sometimes detail aspects of background and social standing or impose behaviour...
. He appears as a black
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
large male (the first black playable character in the series) with a high and tight
High and tight
The high and tight is a military variant of the buzz cut. It is a very short hairstyle most commonly worn by men in the armed forces of most countries. Due to the functionality of this hairstyle, it is also popular with law enforcement officers and other public safety personnel...
haircut and full beard, and an earring on his left ear. His attire consists of a jacket with torn sleeves, dark green pants, boots, a fingerless glove on his left hand, and metal bands surrounding his abdomen and left wrist. His left upper arm is covered by a tattoo, designed with a "skull and fire" motif in mind. In early versions of Barret's design he had both hands and was armed with a wrist-mounted bowgun; this was later changed by replacing his right hand with a prosthetic gatling gun
Gatling gun
The Gatling gun is one of the best known early rapid-fire weapons and a forerunner of the modern machine gun. It is well known for its use by the Union forces during the American Civil War in the 1860s, which was the first time it was employed in combat...
(called a "Gimmick Arm") which he refers to as his "partner" in-game. He was also originally planned to have a medallion around his neck, described as a gift from his deceased wife despite in itself not being feminine looking. This aspect was later changed to a set of dog tags.
When developing Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, Nomura stated that because of heavy comparison between Barret's original design and Mr. T, they decided to take it in a different direction for the film. They used director Takeshi Nozue's suggestion to give him cornrows for his hair, while Nomura designed his face. Artist Yusuke Naora
Yusuke Naora
Yusuke Naora is a Japanese video game art director and character designer working for Square Enix . He served as the art director for several Final Fantasy and Compilation of Final Fantasy VII titles...
influenced the design as well, also developing his attire, which originally planned to use white overalls before instead giving him a down vest. Barret's arm tattoo was changed as well, though retained the "skull and fire" motif of the original. Other aspects of his design included the loss of the metal bands around his body, a white sleeve extending from the middle of his right forearm to his elbow fastened by straps, a black band on his left forearm surrounded by a pink string and bow, and a fishnet shirt that ends in torn fibers below his waist. The dog tags were altered to a bullet and medallion supported by a chain around his neck, and three rings covered his left hand. His Gimmick Arm was modified into a robotic prosthetic hand, developed by Nomura with the only guideline of being also "a huge, over-the-top gun that transforms in a huge, over-the-top way". Nozue stated that these specifics made it difficult to work with, and decided to conceal the hand's transformation sequence into the gun as much as possible.
When choosing a voice actor for him, Nomura was initially unsure of having Masahiro Kobayashi
Masahiro Kobayashi
is a Japanese actor and seiyū from Yakumo, Futami District, Hokkaidō. He is a graduate of Yakumo-chō Ritsu Yakumochū School and Hokkaidō Hakodate Chūbu High School, and is a drop-out of the cinema course in the Nihon University College of Art. In 1995 he enrolled in the Seinenza Theater Company...
do the role of Barret or another character in the film, Loz. Kobayashi described his performance as treating Barret as "unrefined [...] but also dependable and unique", trying to keep his "upbeat character and good outlook in mind". He tried to give him a booming, confident sounding voice, though at times was instructed to "take it up a notch".
Final Fantasy VII
Introduced in Final Fantasy VII in 1997, Barret is introduced as the leader of the terrorist organization known as AVALANCHEAvalanche
An avalanche is a sudden rapid flow of snow down a slope, occurring when either natural triggers or human activity causes a critical escalating transition from the slow equilibrium evolution of the snow pack. Typically occurring in mountainous terrain, an avalanche can mix air and water with the...
, armed with a gun grafted to his arm. Situated in city of Midgar, his group opposes the ruling company, Shinra, and their use of "Mako" energy from the planet as a power source. To this end AVALANCHE bombs their power plants, under the goal of saving the planet. To this end he hires Cloud Strife as a mercenary at the behest of his friend Tifa Lockhart
Tifa Lockhart
is a player character in Square Enix's role playing game Final Fantasy VII. Created by character designer Tetsuya Nomura, she has since appeared in the fighting game Ehrgeiz and cameo appearances in other titles, as well as the CGI film sequel to Final Fantasy VII, Advent Children and related games...
, nicknaming him "Spiky" in reference to his hairstyle. After the deaths of several members of AVALANCHE, he follows Cloud out of Midgar in pursuit of the game's villain, Sephiroth.
Along the way he encounters a former friend of his, Dyne, armed in a manner similar to him and who forces Barret to kill him. Through flashbacks its revealed that Shinra had desired to build a power plant in his home town of Corel, an idea Barret advocated. However due to an accident at the plant, Shinra razed the town, killing Barret's wife in the process, and causing Barret and Dyne to flee with Dyne's daughter, Marlene. Cornered, Dyne slipped off the cliff they stood upon and Barret grabbed his hand; Shinra soldier's opened fire, and destroyed Barret's and Dyne's right and left hands respectively, causing the latter to fall to his presumed death. Barret adopted Marlene as his daughter, had an "adapter" grafted to his arm to interface with prosthetic weapons to combat Shinra, and founded AVALANCHE. Dyne's death causes him to admit his grudge with Shinra is solely for revenge, with earlier claims of "saving the world" meant to convince himself as well. Barret shifts his goal to actually saving the world, doing so for Marlene's sake, and helps Cloud and his allies defeat Sephiroth to prevent the planet's destruction.
Early drafts of Barret's background featured subtle differences, such as Marlene intended to be Barret's biological daughter, and his wife executed in front of him by a then-undecided Shinra executive. The attack on Corel was initially written to be due to the discovery of Mako energy and Shinra's desire to keep its existence a secret. Barret's reunion with Dyne was also originally different, written to culminate in a duel between the two in Corel's ruins while Cloud and the others fought investigating Shinra soldiers.
Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Barret appeares in Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VIIBefore Crisis: Final Fantasy VII
is a Japanese action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix in 2004. It was the first original game to be produced by Square Enix exclusively for mobile phones, and was released on NTT DoCoMo's FOMA iMode line of phones on a monthly subscription basis...
, a 2005 mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
-based prequel to the events of Final Fantasy VII, shown during the events prior to Corel's destruction. He helps the game's protagonists, the Turks, defend the power plant, believing it to be the town's future. It is revealed that the plant is under attack by the original AVALANCHE group, who are responsible for Shinra's attack upon the town. Unaware of their involvement, Barret uses their ideals to form his own branch of the group.
In 2005, Barret appears in the CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
film Advent Children, which details the events after Sephiroth's defeat. Barret places Marlene in Tifa's care, travelling the world to rebuild the planet's infrastructure
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
due to the collapse of Shinra as well as find alternate power sources to replace Mako. He returns later to assist in combating the film's villains, the Remnants. He later appears in the 2006 video game Dirge of Cerberus, helping the protagonist Vincent Valentine
Vincent Valentine
is an optional player character in Square Enix's console role-playing game Final Fantasy VII. Designed by Tetsuya Nomura, he also appears in various titles from the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, a series of prequels of and sequels of Final Fantasy VII, and is the protagonist in the third-person...
prevent Omega from destroying the planet.
A novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
entitled Case of Barret was released in 2007 exclusively for American and European audiences as part of Advent Childrens "Collector's Edition". Written by Kazushige Nojima
Kazushige Nojima
is a Japanese game scenario writer and is the founder of Stellavista Ltd.. He is best known for writing parts of Square Enix's Final Fantasy video game series—namely Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy X-2—and the Kingdom Hearts series...
, it details the events between Final Fantasy VII and Advent Children, examining Barret's reaction to his weapon and belief it made him a monster. At the conclusion of the story, Barret visits the creator of the adapter on his wrist and receives the prosthetic hand/gun combination seen in the film, reasoning while he needs a hand he still needs a weapon to prevent others from needing to fight, and decides to return to Marlene.
Critical reception
Barret's heavy comparisons to Mr. T by the media has resulted in both praise and criticism, most notably of the criticism being accusation of serving as a negative racial stereotype towards African Americans. IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
argued in favor of this point, citing his use of "stilted slang", and stating that the character stands out amongst the cast because "his dialog is written as if it was run through a broken ebonic translator", further noting it as a trend in Japanese games to apply such dialogue to characters based on their skin color. Journalist Jeremy Parish agreed that it was a depiction of racism, though he argued that cultural gap between Japan and the United States and the lack of American translators for Final Fantasy VII may have been a contributing factor, citing that the likeness of Barret to Mr. T was possibly an attempt to make a character that appealed to Americans as the actor did.
In contrast on 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
, Parish argued in favor of Barret, noting that while on the surface he appeared to be the "worst kind of stereotype", he was a great character with complexity, having made "difficult decisions in his life, and agonized over his losses". Parish went further to describe Barret as the "first true father figure
Father Figure
"Father Figure" is the U.S. number-one song written and performed by George Michael and released on Columbia Records in 1988 as the third single from the album Faith.-History:...
the [Final Fantasy] series had ever seen", noting his relationship with his adopted daughter. RPGamer
RPGamer
RPGamer is a media and news website dedicated to covering computer and video game RPGs. Its coverage includes North American game news, European game news, Asian game news, gaming industry news, game reviews, game previews, hands-on game impressions, gaming conventions, game merchandise, release...
's content manager Shawn Bruckner took the discussion further, arguing that claims of Barret's presentation being racist was over-simplification of the character's portrayal, and states that while he was in some aspects a stereotype, in others such as his compassion towards his daughter or guilt regarding his past actions, he was not. He added that Barret "shows us that a black man speaking in 'ebonics
African American Vernacular English
African American Vernacular English —also called African American English; less precisely Black English, Black Vernacular, Black English Vernacular , or Black Vernacular English —is an African American variety of American English...
' is not something to fear", and that his portrayal was not racist but instead the opposite.
Despite their criticism, IGN ranked Barret fourth "Top 10" best sidekick
Sidekick
A sidekick is a close companion who is generally regarded as subordinate to the one he accompanies. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, Sherlock Holmes' Doctor Watson, The Lone Ranger's Tonto, The Green Hornet's Kato and Batman's Robin.-Origins:The origin of the...
characters in video games, stating he "took the videogame world by storm" when introduced and noting that his portrayal was also appealing, further adding that his past made him a visibly loyal character. Joystiq
Joystiq
Joystiq is a video gaming blog founded in June 2004 that has since become one of the most successful sites within the Weblogs, Inc. family of weblogs. It is the centerpiece of WIN's own network of video gaming blogs, which also includes a blog dealing specifically with the popular MMORPG World of...
named him one of twenty characters from the Final Fantasy franchise they wished to see in Square Enix's crossover
Fictional crossover
A fictional crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders, or because of unauthorized efforts by fans, or even amid common...
fighting game
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
Dissidia, noting a preference for his use of profanity and citing his combat abilities as easily suitable for the game. Edge praised Barret's introduction as something "new" to the series, citing both his use of a gun and being a "distinctively black" character, and further describing him as a "pseudo-nod" to similarly armed characters such as Mega Man
Mega Man (character)
Mega Man, known as in Japan, is a cybernetic video game character, and the main protagonist of what has been referred to as the original Mega Man series developed by Capcom since 1987. The pixel art for the character was created by the designer of the original game in the series, credited under...
or Samus Aran
Samus Aran
is the protagonist of the Metroid video game series. Introduced in the 1986 video game Metroid, Samus is a female ex-army soldier bounty hunter usually fitted with a powered armor suit with weapons that include beams and missiles...
, who in contrast were either robots or encased in armor.
External links
- Barret Wallace character profile at the official Square Enix Final Fantasy VII website