Estinien (spoilers)

[Cilia]

The church isn't always evil in JRPGs. *Gesticulates wildly towards Dragon Quiest*

I'll trust ya, but I can't think of one where a church plays a major role in the story and isn't evil (or at least deceptive).

Lessee... Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy XIV, Tales of Symphonia, Tales of the Abyss... probably more, I just can't think of any off the top of my head.

[Kaiser-Ace]

I'll trust ya, but I can't think of one where a church plays a major role in the story and isn't evil (or at least deceptive).

Lessee... Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy XIV, Tales of Symphonia, Tales of the Abyss... probably more, I just can't think of any off the top of my head.

More specifically Every large religious orginization in all of Final Fantasy history has always been Lawful Evil (Yevon, The Sanctum , The Church of Glabados, etc) with several note worthy members being Chaotic Evil in their own right. (Seymour Guado, Barthandelus, Marcel Funebris, ect)

So The Ishguardian Orthodox Church and Thordin VII are but another example to the eternal constant in the Final Fantasy Multiverse that Churches are misguided at best to outright evil at worst.

[Cilia]

More specifically Every large religious orginization in all of Final Fantasy history has always been Lawful Evil (Yevon, The Sanctum , The Church of Glabados, etc) with several note worthy members being Chaotic Evil in their own right. (Seymour Guado, Barthandelus, Marcel Funebris, ect)

So The Ishguardian Orthodox Church and Thordin VII are but another example to the eternal constant in the Final Fantasy Multiverse that Churches are misguided at best to outright evil at worst.

Yeah, I forgot about the Sanctum in XIII... but then again, I never quite finished that one.

Makes me wonder why that is. Perhaps Shinto wasn't organized like the Catholic church is, and it seems weird to Japanese developers so they make all the churches corrupt in JRPGs? /confused

[Allyrion]

Yeah, I forgot about the Sanctum in XIII... but then again, I never quite finished that one.

Makes me wonder why that is. Perhaps Shinto wasn't organized like the Catholic church is, and it seems weird to Japanese developers so they make all the churches corrupt in JRPGs? /confused

I agree with Game Theory for some part.
They did a vid on FF being anti-religion.

For the most part, Buddhism, Shinto and Daoism while very different were able to blend more naturally together within Japan.
Judeo-Christian religions are very different from that and don't fit within that balance.

Their adaptations of those religions are based on a worldly nature.
The Judeo-Christian religions, as most of Japan knows it, is markedly anti-Worldly.
It doesn't fit that balance, or acknowledge the natural world (Shinto gods are based on elements and nature).

FF usually likes to use the Church in combination with light and darkness battle to symbolize the Dao (the yin-yang symbol).
When you go too far into the Light part, you find darkness (Hence the Churches are Lawful Evil).

A good few of the FFs also act like Godly desires are too far and above humans and so different from normal human thought that it's not in our best interest to follow it.
Especially since it usually doesn't value individual human life in most cases.

So FF likes to use the Church to be an extreme that either gets easily corrupted (darkness in light) or does something we can't agree with (still darkness in light).
The image of the Church is just very jarring next to other philosophies that are centered around balance.

Other pantheon religions are also represented.
I think they are given more friendly treatment because some are friendly and some are enemies, and that's more balanced and natural.

[Kaiser-Ace]

For the most part, Buddhism, Shinto and Daoism while very different were able to blend more naturally together within Japan.
Judeo-Christian religions are very different from that and don't fit within that balance.

Their adaptations of those religions are based on a worldly nature.
The Judeo-Christian religions, as most of Japan knows it, is markedly anti-Worldly.
It doesn't fit that balance, or acknowledge the natural world (Shinto gods are based on elements and nature).

FF usually likes to use the Church in combination with light and darkness battle to symbolize the Dao (the yin-yang symbol).
When you go too far into the Light part, you find darkness (Hence the Churches are Lawful Evil).

A good few of the FFs also act like Godly desires are too far and above humans and so different from normal human thought that it's not in our best interest to follow it.
Especially since it usually doesn't value individual human life in most cases.

So FF likes to use the Church to be an extreme that either gets easily corrupted (darkness in light) or does something we can't agree with (still darkness in light).
The image of the Church is just very jarring next to other philosophies that are centered around balance.

Other pantheon religions are also represented.
I think they are given more friendly treatment because some are friendly and some are enemies, and that's more balanced and natural.

Actually that sums up organized religion in general. There are like three different types of Islam, two different kinds of Judaism, and a countless amount of Christian/Pseudo-Christian factions. Small wonder Japanese view them (Especially Christian based systems like Ishguard's) as corrupt and Untrustworthy. Cause most of the time they are. (And this is coming from, and excuse the real world referencing, a "Maverick Christian that calls BS on all of the idiotic Dogmas that divide my faith")