Barret Wallace - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

Barret's comparisons to Mr. T in the media has resulted in both praise and criticism, with most of the criticism accusing the character of serving as a negative racial stereotype of African Americans. IGN 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 a trend in Japanese games to apply such dialogue to characters based on their skin color. Journalist Jeremy Parish agreed that the character was racist, although he argued that cultural gaps between Japan and the United States, plus the lack of American translators for Final Fantasy VII may have been contributing factors, arguing that the likeness between Barret and 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 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 oversimplification of the character's portrayal, and stated 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 that he "took the videogame world by storm" when introduced and noting that his portrayal was also appealing, 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' crossover fighting game Dissidia Final Fantasy, 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" in the series, citing both his use of a gun and his "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.