I'm playing FF13 and just started playing the FF7 remake last night, so I'm getting to experience the two Black characters of FF side by side.

I don't know why non-Black people are so adamant in their defense of Barrett when the general characterization of FF7 leans realistic.

in FF13, the VO direction and VA allow Sazh to take the dialogue and perform it from a Black perspective, giving it a realistic and identifiable AAVE (African American Vernacular English) feel. It works because they put in the tiny amount of effort it takes to care.

Barrett doesn't work, and has pushed a lot of Black people away from FF7. People like to point to Mr. T as his inspiration, but that's a flimsy excuse for the HIGHKEY minstrel performance that is half of Barrett's character.

What really drives home the problem is that Barrett is one of the coolest characters in the story. He represents the people who have seen what capitalism and reckless industrialism does not only to the planet, but to HUMAN BEINGS. He molds his disability into a weapon. GAHDAMN.

If you haven't heard me yell about the fan retranslation, a big reason I push people to play that version is because Barrett is much more HUMAN and far less minstrel.

It really is a shame that SE chose to make the problem far worse in a game that is truly so beautiful and fun.

For many Black people like myself, we have to grit our teeth and push through the constant reminder that both designers and naysayers think that we don't matter. That we haven't come as far as we have hoped. And that there are people who find minstrelization normal and right.