Are you looking for a JRPG with Black characters? For main characters that have dark brown skin, well, you might as well get that notion out of your head. In a world as varied and diverse as ours, why don't more games reflect reality in their fantastical worlds? While this approach to game design is still common in the genre, some JRPGs are making the scene more inclusive.

Without getting into arguments with people who don't know the difference between race and ethnicity, there's a constant argument that, when summed up, basically states that JRPGs don't include Black people because they aren't prevalent in Japan. However, games such as 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth prove that argument is nonsense.

Of course, there's more to it, including unconscious bias, concerns about sales, and general backlash for Black characters leading games. A good example of this is complaints Forspoken was treated unfairly due to having a Black female lead. Jay-Ann Lopez of Black Girl Gamers mentions how some of the . With an audience that may be adverse to Black characters in games, how does a game like Final Fantasy 7 change that perspective?

I bring all of this up to lay out the causation before expounding on how some games have slowly started to find a solution. Final Fantasy, for example, has an interesting way of creating a party of characters that appeal to a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. When you first see Cloud, Tidus, Zidane, or Squall, for example, Western gamers will most likely relate to them as being white, with a separate ethnicity. Yet, they're designed in such a way that Eastern gamers can also see themselves in these same characters, with just enough specifics in their features and character designs to fall comfortably within a range of representation for several groups.

This comfortable design has worked for years, but it doesn't work for most Black and brown people who want representation in one of their favorite genres. Of course, there are outliers such as Fran in Final Fantasy 12 and Barrett in Final Fantasy 7 (an awakening that there was actually an option for Black characters to be in JRPGs), but recent years have provided games that deserve praise for going that extra mile when it comes to representation and inclusion of Black characters.

The argument of JRPGs not including Black characters because they aren’t in Japan, and therefore not in their purview, is continuously weakened by the presence of modern JRPGs that include diversity in a way that's natural without pointing the finger at just how amazing its inclusivity is. It's not the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Overwatch model of distracting🎐 the fans with a new character who is ostracized in society for whatever reason, but it is organic world-building and a natural understanding that a fully fleshed-out world has a diverse population.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake was the first time I realized that the argument of Black people not being included in JRPGs was farcical. There's a specific mission in which Cloud and Aerith have to save two kids from danger and escort them back to the safety of the orphanage they're from. From the outside, most players may not even realize the significance of those two children, but if you've been othered or excluded from JRPGs for most of your life, it's a special moment to see the little Black girl being escorted by Aerith and Cloud with her adorable ponytail, and you realize just how important feeling included is, even if it's just fleshing out the world and normalizing your existence.

While the same could have (and should have) been done for Final Fantasy 16, the168澳洲幸运5开奖网: exclusion due to historical accuracy, according to Naoki Yoshida, is just an example of th🌠e li🥀mited scope of understanding held by that specific team and their decision.

Jump to Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and the team once again proves that diversity matters. Not everything needs to be explic🍨it, and sometimes ꦫinclusion is more impactful when it normalizes the everyday lives of those on Gaia. Playing through the demo in Nibelheim, I was astounded to see that things were even better than they were in Rebirth.

Black characters had more Black-centric hairstyles this time around, giving them more individuality and personality. Black boys with curly-haired mohawks, Black women with locs, Black girls with adorable and familiar ponytail buns that any Black girl would recognize. All of this is just present walking around Nibelheim. If you didn't notice before, it's worth taking a second look to admire the diversity of the people in Rebirth.

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth is another example of a JRPG improving its diversity as it goes along. While I fell in love with Ichiban Kasuga and the crew in my first ever Yakuza title with Yakuza: Like A Dragon, my biggest complaint was the representation of Black characters. I wasn't expecting to see Black people walking around Yokohama, but I couldn't help but frown that every interaction with Black characters was as enemy thugs with bandanas over their mouths, holding their guns sideways at the gang - a ridiculous caricature.

With Infinite Wealth, Like A Dragon has improved its Black representation. Of course, this is attributed to Like A Dragon being in Hawaii, but from Chitose Buster Holmes, the strong Black woman that can kick the butt of any man, to the Black people in the background just living their lives, it's a breath of fresh air to be represented in more ways than just the typical thugs of the past titles.

You can even take a look at 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Pokemon Scarlet & Violet. Had you told me the Blueberry Academy had so many Black students and that I'd get an option to have a Pokemon haircut that was a fade with a Pokeball in it, I would never have believed you. A fade that encompasses the creativity and versatility of what Black barbers can do, Bantu knots and other protective styles that make you feel seen, and the diversity of the inclusive world all further proves the point that it's time for more companies to take note of how diversity and inclusion can be handled, that help make players feel seen and understood.

We need to celebrate the games that are going the extra mile for inclusion and representation, even if it's in the background. Especially if it’s in the background. Sometimes, background inclusion creates a better sense of identity and inclusivity than a forced Black character at the forefront.🍬 The queer representation in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is the perfect example of this same sentiment, something it does better than Final Fantasy 16, pushing a gay romance to the forefront that168澳洲幸运5开奖网: does nothing fo🧸r the characters involved. Alas, that's another conversation for another time. For now, we must celebrate our wins, and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is a big one.