By toning down Sephiroth's "insanity," Square Enix could do a lot to help those with mental conditions feel similarly welcome at the FFVII Remake table.įinal Fantasy games are almost certainly not written with the intent to demonize the neurodivergent, but creatives are as fallible as any other person. Female characters have more agency, Barret was rewritten to be less of a stereotypically angry black man and, most notably, the Honey Bee Inn scene was turned into a celebration of gender non-conformity instead of a sequence of homophobic and transphobic jokes. The first part has already altered many aspects of the original story to make it more inclusive. It wouldn't be the first time this project has made such a change, either. This might seem like a drastic change at first, but it wouldn't require much rewriting. Part of why Sephiroth becomes a villain is because he concludes, based on faulty science, that he is a part of a special race entitled to own the world. By focusing more on that as opposed to his mental state, the game could keep his fear factor intact while ditching his problematic elements. However, it's that imperialism that provides a solution to the problem: instead of characterizing Sephiroth as losing his mind, FFVII Remake should portray him as someone radicalized into extremism. Considering that FFVII does such a good job of calling out large corporations for exploiting the planet, it can also feel like a betrayal of the story's themes to watch one mentally-unwell man become the biggest threat to the world while the imperialist billionaires that created him are humanized and let off relatively scot-free. The similarities between Sephiroth and real-world conditions are why it can be upsetting for some players to see him descend into cackling, mass-murdering supervillainy. Furthermore, his obsessively analytical and days-long exploration of his origins is reminiscent of autistic hyperfixation (wherein one becomes utterly consumed in an activity to the exclusion of all else), and these are just a few of his character traits. He reacts in a visible panic when he begins to fear he might be a monster. Sephiroth, however, goes further by being visibly more neurodivergent-coded even before his start of darkness. His lethargic and alienated attitude in the Nibelheim flashback could certainly be interpreted as signs of depression. Kefka became a crazed killer clown because of the magical experiments done to him, and Seymour's desire to end all suffering was born from the trauma he suffered as a victim of discrimination. The difference is that these aspects are usually something to overcome on the path to heroism, while a villain's turn to evil often coincides with their mental state taking a turn for the worse. This isn't to say that neurodiversity is exclusive to enemies. Much of Final Fantasy VII explores the psyche of its protagonist, Cloud, while FFVIII's Squall has traits that could be interpreted as depressive.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |