Final Fantasy VII Set the Standard That Led BioWare to Add Romance to Baldur’s Gate II

During a recent discussion marking Baldur’s Gate II’s 25th anniversary, former BioWare developers revealed how Final Fantasy VII directly influenced one of the studio’s most defining features: romance in RPGs.

According to Trent Oster, writing and design director James Ohlen decided to include romance elements in Baldur’s Gate II after being deeply impressed by Final Fantasy VII’s storytelling and character relationships.

“They had character interaction and romance, and he was scared shitless. He literally said, ‘Guys, these guys kicked our ass. This is how a game should be. We don’t know what we’re doing.’”

Oster explained that Ohlen’s reaction to Final Fantasy VII set a new standard for how BioWare approached character-driven design. Ohlen then tasked writer David Gaider with creating romance storylines, a feature that would later define many of BioWare’s games.

“It was handed to me and I was like, ‘James, I’m not a romance guy. Like, I’ll give it a shot, I guess, but [are] you sure you want romance?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, let’s try it.’”

Gaider admitted he was initially unsure, but the inclusion of romance helped set Baldur’s Gate II apart and became a signature feature of western RPG storytelling. The team credited Final Fantasy VII’s impact for inspiring BioWare to explore deeper emotional connections between characters.

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About FINAL FANTASY VII

First released in 1997 on the PlayStation® computer entertainment system, FINAL FANTASY VII celebrated its 25th Anniversary in 2022. The game is universally regarded as a hallmark title of the RPG genre. The original title received high praise for its epic storyline, unique characters, and movie sequences that utilized the most cutting-edge technology of the time. Since then, the game revolving around iconic hero, Cloud Strife and his pursuit of the antagonist Sephiroth has sold over 15.3 million copies worldwide and continues to receive widespread acclaim from critics and fans around the world. The popular game has even expanded into spin-offs, films and merchandise.

Now, Square Enix’s FINAL FANTASY VII remake project created by a team of original and new developers, retells the story of the genre-redefining RPG across three distinct, and standalone games. The first game of the trilogy, FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE is now available on the PC and the PS5® and PS4® consoles, will be available on Jan. 22, 2026 for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox PC, and Nintendo Switch™ 2 platforms. FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH, the second game in the trilogy, has been praised by both players and critics across the globe, earning more than 125 perfect scores from media and 40 Game of the Year awards, and is available now for PC and the PS5® console.