Baldur's Gate 2 wouldn't have romance without Final Fantasy 7

According to BioWare design director James Ohlen, Baldur's Gate 2's popular companion romances only exist because of the overwhelming success of Final Fantasy 7.

In celebration of Baldur's Gate 2's 25th anniversary, Beamdog head Trent Oster, veteran writer David Gaider and Forgotten Realms creator Ed Greenwood held a roundtable discussion with YouTube creator Slandered Gaming (good place, GamesRadar+).

Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate 2 were developed by BioWare, and later remastered by Beamdog.

Final Fantasy 7 set the bar high

Guider—who famously dislikes writing romance—asked Ohlen to do so. “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] Do you really want romance? And he was like, 'Yeah, let's try.'

Oster, a modeler on the original Baldur's Gate 3, said Ohlen had played Final Fantasy 7 and was very concerned about the quality of Square Enix's title.

“They had character interactions and romance, and [Ohlen] was scared,” reveals Oster.” He literally said, 'Boys, these guys kicked our ass. This is how a game should be. We don't know what we're doing.'

Oster continues by praising Ohlen, saying he was “tough on everybody, but a humble guy, and if he thought something was good, he fought hard to get something good in the game.”

Thankfully, Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn was critically acclaimed, with many reviewers calling it outright “the best RPG ever made”. Gaidar's writing, including a tenderly written romance, was highly praised. The locations were suitably varied, a step-up from the constantly rolling green of the original Baldur's Gate.

In fact, Baldur's Gate 2's spectacular locations left such an impression on fans that a large group of modders are creating a custom campaign for Baldur's Gate 3 that revisits many of these locations. Menzoberanzan's route will show the prologue city of Athkatla and the alias Menzoberanzan located in the Underdark.

Baldur's Gate 2 has Underdark features, but Menzoberranzan's Drow Capital does not. Instead, the party visits the city of Ust Natha, the first underground drow city.