Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion voice actor says Square Enix repeatedly told him to stop being too sexy: "We need you to tone it down"

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion voice actor Shaun Conde, who played Genesis Rhapsodos in the English dub, was seemingly too sexy for Square Enix and repeatedly told stop sounding so seductive. 

In a recent interview accompanying gameplay from Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion focusing on Genesis (timestamped here), Conde said: "A fun note, little bonus, is with both characters I did with [voice director Kirk Thornton]," referring to his portrayal of Shiba in NEO: The World Ends With You, "I got the note several times, 'it's sounding too sexual. It sounds like you're seducing. We need you to tone it down a bit.'"

"'People of Shibuya, I've got some red hot news," Conde says in a quite sexy voice indeed. "But especially [Genesis] because it's playful and he is a little flirty. Just a little flirty."

What I'm hearing here is that, along with Neil Newbon - who similarly was told to tone down his horniness when voicing Astarion from Baldur's Gate 3 - the duo could collectively break the internet in a single scene together. I don't know who needs to make this happen –Square Enix, Larian, or some VA studio – but it needs to happen regardless.

Despite fan wishes and plenty of speculation in the lead-up to release, Genesis doesn't actually appear in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, which puts a bigger focus on Crisis Core Reunion star Zack Fair than the 2020 Final Fantasy 7 Remake.

While we're on the topic, why not check out our picks of the best JRPGs you can play right now?