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Barret Wallace
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==Critical reception== Barret's heavy comparisons to Mr. T by the media has resulted in both praise and criticism,<ref name="parish"/><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gamespot.com/features/vgs/universal/finalfantasy_hs/sec1_7.html |title=The History of Final Fantasy |accessdate=2009-06-29 |publisher=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref><ref name="IGN10"/> most notably of the criticism being accusation of serving as a negative racial stereotype towards African Americans.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.edge-online.com/features/why-are-black-game-characters-failing-audience?page=0%2C1 |title=Why Are Black Game Characters Failing the Audience? |author=White, Darion |publisher=''[[Edge]]'' |date=2009-02-08 |accessdate=2009-06-29}}</ref> [[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 it as a trend in Japanese games to apply such dialogue to characters based on their skin color.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://retro.ign.com/articles/960/960091p1.html |title=A History of Insensitivity |author=Buchanan, Levi |date=2009-03-06 |accessdate=2009-06-29 |publisher=[[IGN]]}}</ref> Journalist Jeremy Parish agreed that it was a depiction of racism, though he argued that cultural gap between Japan and the United States and the lack of American translators for ''Final Fantasy VII'' may have been a contributing factor, citing that the likeness of Barret to Mr. T was possibly an attempt to make a character that appealed to Americans as the actor did.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.rpgamer.com/editor/1998/q1/012498jp.html |title=Barret Racism Demonstrates Japanese/American Cultural Gap |author=Parish, Jeremy |work=[[RPGamer]] |publisher=Crave Online |accessdate=2009-06-29}}</ref> 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 [''Final Fantasy''] series had ever seen", noting his relationship with his adopted daughter.<ref name="parish">{{Cite web |author=Parish, Jeremy |title=XIII Things About Final Fantasy XIII, Part VI |url=http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8986639&publicUserId=5379721 |publisher=[[UGO Networks]] |work=[[1UP.com]] |date=2009-04-22 |accessdate=2009-06-29}}</ref> [[RPGamer]]'s content manager Shawn Bruckner took the discussion further, arguing that claims of Barret's presentation being racist was over-simplification of the character's portrayal, and states 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Over-simplification of Barret's Portrayal |url=http://www.rpgamer.com/editor/1998/q1/031498sb.html |author=Bruckner, Shawn |publisher=Crave Online |work=[[RPGamer]] |accessdate=2009-06-29}}</ref> Despite their criticism, IGN ranked Barret fourth "Top 10" best sidekick characters in video games, stating he "took the videogame world by storm" when introduced and noting that his portrayal was also appealing, further adding that his past made him a visibly loyal character.<ref name="IGN10">{{Cite web |url=http://ps2.ign.com/articles/698/698916p1.html |title=Top 10 Tuesday: Best Sidekicks |author=Staff |date=2006-03-28 |publisher=[[IGN]] |accessdate=2009-06-29}}</ref> [[Joystiq]] named him one of twenty characters from the ''Final Fantasy'' franchise they wished to see in Square Enix's crossover [[fighting game]] ''[[Dissidia]]'', noting a preference for his use of profanity and citing his combat abilities as easily suitable for the game.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://playstation.joystiq.com/photos/top-20/713856/ |title=Top 20 Final Fantasy supporting characters that should be in Dissidia |work=[[Joystiq]] |publisher=[[GameDaily]] |author=Staff |date=2008-03-21 |accessdate=2009-07-01}}</ref> ''[[Edge]]'' praised Barret's introduction as something "new" to the series, citing both his use of a gun and being a "distinctively black" character, and further describing him as a "pseudo-nod" to similarly armed characters such as [[Mega Man (character)|Mega Man]] or [[Samus Aran]], who in contrast were either robots or encased in armor.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.edge-online.com/features/this-week-japan-final-fantasy-special?page=0%2C2 |title=This Week in Japan: Final Fantasy VII |publisher=''[[Edge]]'' |date=2006-03-10 |author=Staff |accessdate=2009-06-29}}</ref> In a 1UP's article whose author, Bob Mackey, commented which actors should portray the ''Final Fantasy VII'' characters if a live-action film was made, Barret's actor was [[Wendell Pierce]], finding that Pierce's acting in series ''[[The Wire]]'' easily made him suitable to portray Barret.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3180043|title= Dream Casting: Final Fantasy VII|work=[[1UP.com]] |publisher=[[UGO Networks]] |author=Mackey, Bob|accessdate=July 15, 2010}}</ref>
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