Loz. Kobayashi described his performance as treating Barret as "unrefined [...] but also dependable and unique," trying to keep his "upbeat character and good outlook in mind." He tried to give him a booming, confident-sounding voice, though at times was instructed to "take it up a notch." In the remake, Square wanted to show Barret as a mature person, contrasting him from the younger Cloud when interacting with others. In the English dub of the Final Fantasy VII remake, John Eric Bentley did the voice of the character. During localization of the game, Bentley did not know the exact media in which he would portray Barret but was sure it had to do with the remake. Bentley made research in order to portray Barret properly. He was aided by the translators for the Japanese version who gave him the context of the scenes he had to record. For him, one of the biggest challenges in his work was "representation" and claimed that Barret was more than a one-dimensional character. In regards to the story's mission to destroy the Mako Reactor 5, Square aimed to show Barret as a fitting leader for AVALANCHE as well as to show how his relationship with Cloud is improved across it. Appearances Final Fantasy VII First seen in Final Fantasy VII in 1997, Barret is introduced as the leader of the eco-terrorist organization AVALANCHE. Situated in the city of Midgar, his group opposes the ruling company, Shinra, and their use of "Mako" energy as a power source, believing it to be killing the Planet. To this end, AVALANCHE bombs their Mako reactors, with the specific goal of saving the Planet. When the game begins, they have just hired the mercenary Cloud Strife at the behest of his childhood friend and AVALANCHE member Tifa Lockhart, nicknaming him "Spiky" in reference to his hairstyle. After the deaths of several members of AVALANCHE, Barret follows Cloud out of Midgar in pursuit of the game's villain, Sephiroth. Along the way, he encounters a former friend of his, Dyne, armed in a manner similar to him, who forces Barret to fight him. Upon Barret defeating Dyne, Dyne kills himself. Through flashbacks it is revealed that Shinra had wanted to build a Mako reactor in his hometown of Corel, an idea Barret advocated. However, due to an accident at the plant, Shinra razed the town, killing Barret's wife in the process,