With the launch of Final Fantasy 16 fans of the long-running RPG series have finally placed confirmed queer representation at the forefront with Dion Lesage. While Dion stands out as an openly gay character, this does not mean that he is the first queer character in the series by a long shot. With Final Fantasy being such a long series, with so much focus on characters and their development, it would be difficult for the series to avoid any references to queerness.
Of course, when it comes to queer representation, the quality is just as important as the inclusion. So, let's look at the most prominent queer-coded moments throughout the history of Final Fantasy and see which are the best.
9 Bartz Klauser - Final Fantasy 5
While the potential bisexuality of Bartz Klauser, protagonist of Final Fantasy 5, is by no means the focus of the game's narrative, it's a detail which keen-eyed fans might notice.
There is a moment in Final Fantasy 5 where the main character Bartz is shown to be attracted to Faris Scherwiz. Throughout Final Fantasy 5 Faris is presented as androgynous, and at the point where Bartz expresses his attraction, the main cast still believes that Faris is male. Later on, Bartz still shows attraction to Faris when they are presenting more feminine, further cementing a bisexual interpretation of Bartz's character.
8 Mukki At The Honey Bee Inn - Final Fantasy 7
One of the more well-known queer moments in Final Fantasy history is in the original Final Fantasy 7. As part of a quest to save Tifa, our main character Cloud has the option to visit a brothel in Wall Market called the Honey Bee Inn.
When entering the group room, Cloud meets bodybuilder Mukki alongside his friends. In this scene, Cloud isn't given much choice but to bathe with the group in a hot tub and is then gifted some underwear which Cloud reluctantly accepts thinking it could help him save Tifa.
The scene is remembered humorously by some fans, but the dubious consent is seen as controversial by others, so it is no wonder that the Honey Bee Inn was re-imagined in the 2020 remake of Final Fantasy 7.
7 The New And Improved Honey Bee Inn - Final Fantasy 7 Remake
The incarnation of the Honey Bee Inn for Final Fantasy 7 Remake is hardly recognizable from its origins, but most fans had little issue with this. Instead of Mukki and his friends, Cloud participates in an impressively choreographed rhythm-game section to get a makeover from new character Andrea Rhodea.
While details of Andrea's sexuality are not made explicit, his flamboyant style and unique flair gives the character an obvious subtext. Throughout the re-imagined Wall Market section of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, you can run into this character a few more times, like challenging Tifa in the new pull-up mini-game.
6 Adel - Final Fantasy 8
A lot of famous queer representation throughout history comes in the form of queer-coded villains, and while this trend is not common in Final Fantasy, it has been recognized by some fans of the series in Adel from Final Fantasy 8.
Adel is not the main antagonist, but they are still an important part of the narrative, and the confrontation against them is one of the most impactful moments in Final Fantasy 8. The reason why a lot of fans see Adel as queer is through the way her gender is presented. While Adel is referred to using female pronouns in most versions of Final Fantasy 8 (with the French translation being a noticeable exception) their appearance is shown to be more androgynous.
5 Quina Quen - Final Fantasy 9
Quina Quen is one of the playable characters throughout Final Fantasy 9, and their race, the Qu, are shown to be entirely genderless. Because of this, Quina is referred to using both male and female pronouns throughout the story.
While Quina serves as comic relief throughout the narrative of Final Fantasy 9, with most of their personality revolving around their insatiable hunger, they are still a main character and have a fun development you can witness. They have plenty of memorable moments throughout Final Fantasy 9, but with their insatiable interest in food, some players did find the character to be occasionally grating.
4 Vanille & Fang - Final Fantasy 13
Vanille and Fang are both female playable characters in Final Fantasy 13, and while nothing is explicitly confirmed within the game, their relationship has been seen as heavily queer-coded. The pair is shown to care deeply for each other and share plenty of close intimate moments.
Of course, with there being no official confirmation, this has been dismissed as more of a platonic or sisterly relationship by some. However, one of the main pieces of evidence towards their potential relationship is that during development of 13, Fang was originally intended to be a male character having a more explicit relationship with Vanille. So, while Fang's gender may have changed, a lot of the writing for their relationship with Vanille remains.
3 Same-Sex Marriage - Final Fantasy 14
Before Final Fantasy 16, the most explicit queer representation fans of the series received was in Final Fantasy 14. This still massively popular MMORPG did not launch with same-sex marriage being an option, but soon after this controversial omission was noticed, it was consciously added by the developers as a choice to give the players more options.
Soon after this patch to Final Fantasy 14 was announced, a massive group of players planned a pride parade to take place in game to celebrate the change that was being made.
2 Dion Lesage - Final Fantasy 16
That brings us all the way to Dion in Final Fantasy 16. While Dion is not introduced immediately in 16, they become a major player in narrative around the middle point of the game. Unlike some of the more subtextual representations of queerness in Final Fantasy history, Dion's relationship with his lover Terrence is not left ambiguous.
Dion's arc in FF16 is heavily intertwined with important plot developments, so discussing specific moments with this character, as well as his relationship with Terrence, can easily stray into spoiler territory. But for queer gamers who are used to having to squint to recognize themselves in games, with fleeting moments and easily missable side-characters, characters like Dion are a refreshing change of pace.