One of the biggest strengths ofBaldur’s Gate 3is undoubtedly its cast of characters. Hearts have been captured by the likes of Astarion and Karlach, when fansaren’t shipping them with each other that is, and the rest of the cast is just as lovable. It took a while for the series to get to this point though, as writers for Baldur’s Gate 2 were apparently looking at titles such as Final Fantasy 7 for inspiration on how to create a memorable cast of characters.
In an interview withRock Paper Shotgun(thanksGamesRadar), former veteran BioWare writer James Ohlen reveals that the team working on Baldur’s Gate 2 were heavily influenced by Cloud and the gang. Ohlen explains that during a smoke break, an Interplay producer named Dermot Clarke mentioned that the characters in Baldur’s Gate weren’t nearly as developed as those in Final Fantasy 7.
After this, Ohlsen went away and played Final Fantasy 7 for himself, and came to the conclusion that characters in the original Baldur’s Gate were “a bunch of cardboard cutouts” in comparison. This then led the team at BioWare to double down on their efforts to create memorable characters and expand upon existing ones with deeper backstories for Baldur’s Gate 2, a couple of which have even been brought back for Baldur’s Gate 3 in the form of Jaheira and Minsc.
“I’m very competitive,” Ohlen says. “I went and played Final Fantasy VII and was like, ‘Oh my good god, these characters make ours look like a bunch of cardboard cutouts. This is terrible.'”
It’s not surprising that Final Fantasy 7 had some influence on the Baldur’s Gate series - the game was so massive that it’s likely influenced hunderds of other RPGS in the years since its original release. It’s interesting to speculate about what the Baldur’s Gate series would look like without the game’s influence though, and you may even see it in Baldur’s Gate 3 with character like Jaheira, who definitely has shades of Barrett thanks to her grizzled attitude and desire to protect the natural world.
Baldur’s Gate 3’s cast is so good, that some players can’t help but wish they could romance everyone. That has to be the case forthose that want to romance Enver Gortash, who was somehow one of the more popular choices among NPCs that player wish they could jump into bed with. Sure, he shares a history with your Dark Urge character making a potential romance fairly sensible, but he’s also a giant dickhead. Then again, this is a fanbase thathas romanced a Mind Flayer more than Karlach, so maybe I’m fighting a losing battle.
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