Square Enix, specifically the developers of its popular role-playing game Final Fantasy 7, recently revealed that one of the title's main characters, Barret Wallace, was supposed to have a different weapon than his well-known gun-arm. Being the faction leader of the game's terrorist group Avalanche, fans will likely find it interesting to know a bit more about what the devs were considering when conceptualizing popular Final Fantasy 7 characters like Barret.Though Barret may not be as popular as Final Fantasy 7's main hero Cloud Strife, the Avalanche leader likely has a number of long-time fans. Square Enix seems to also deem him to be fairly important and popular since the company regularly produces official merchandise of the character. What's more, with the new generation of Final Fantasy 7Remake games, more people will be exposed to Barret's personality and compelling story, likely adding more members to the fanbase that appreciates the abrasive gunman.On Twitter, Square Enix shared a post dedicated to Final Fantasy 7's Barret Wallace. In the post, several screen captures from the original PlayStation title were shared featuring Barret with his daughter Marlene and the title's protagonist Cloud. According to the caption, the development team had considered giving Barret a bowgun instead of his iconic gun-arm. The explanation behind this thought was that the game's world view had not been decided yet, so the team seemed to be toying with the idea of a different weapon for the character. Unfortunately, the team did not share an image for fans to see what Barret would look like wielding a bowgun instead of his gun-arm.
The post also shared that the devs had planned for a short scene or "episode" between the Final Fantasy 7 Avalanche group members discussing their wishes to visit the game's Cosmo Canyon together. One of the images in the post depicted this conversation between the characters Jesse, Wedge, Biggs, and Barret. However, the scenario did not make it to the original game nor the remake. The development team also did not provide any insight as to why the scene was excluded from both versions of Final Fantasy 7.
Nevertheless, fans are likely interested in learning more about the ideas behind Final Fantasy 7's Barret, especially since his gun-arm can easily be identified by the gaming community. With Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's launch window nearing, fans should follow the franchise's official channels for more interesting trivia and informational tidbits about the RPG.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake is available on PC, PS4, and PS5.
