Inside Out 2, there’s a bit of Final Fantasy in Pixar’s masterpiece

In the blockbuster cartoon Inside Out 2, Pixar included a quote that drove video game fans crazy, in particular those of the famous Square Enix saga, Final Fantasy. One of the almost forgotten characters trapped in protagonist Riley’s memories is Lance Slashblade, from a role-playing game that Riley and her friends played when they were younger. Lance Slashblade, who in the Italian version of the film is voiced by Stash from The Kolors, is a clear reference to Cloud Strife from the Final Fantasy video game series.

The character, with his early PlayStation-style graphics, dramatic voice and exaggerated personality, harks back to the video game era of the early 2000s. This stylistic choice is no coincidence: Lance Slashblade’s design and behavior are an obvious homage to the famous protagonist of Final Fantasy VII, recently back in the limelight with the PS5 title Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the second of a remake trilogy that is conquering audiences and critics.

As a retro video game character, Lance’s design emulates the graphics of a sixth-generation console (Sega Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and Xbox). This can be seen in his model, which has fewer polygons than the others, a lower resolution, grainy textures, jerky movements, he gets stuck on obstacles in his path, and even his hair has the typical issues with realism of the time. The voice of Lance Slashblade in the original version of the Disney feature film is Yong Yea, an established video game voice actor who has also collaborated on the Final Fantasy series. His performance adds authenticity to the character, strengthening the connection with the iconic Cloud Strife.