Monster Names

[MithrasInvictus]

Just because Garuda and Shiva have always been iconic names given to monsters by SE does not excuse the blatant disregard for the sensibilities of modern day Hindus. How would the Japanese like it if some western game developed had an iconic monster named Buddha?

Speaking of cultural insensitivity..................

Anyway, jabs aside, there is a concept called voting with your money. If you are offended by this game, then don't make the choice to actively support it through your subscription. You're being a hypocrite by both decrying and supporting simultaneously.

[Xieveral]

How would the Japanese like it if some western game developed had an iconic monster named Buddha?

Seeing as how they poke fun at Buddhism themselves, I don't think they care.

[Orophin]

Just because Garuda and Shiva have always been iconic names given to monsters by SE does not excuse the blatant disregard for the sensibilities of modern day Hindus. How would the Japanese like it if some western game developed had an iconic monster named Buddha?

I've seen a Japanese TV show that actually MOCKS Buddha for being a halfwit..so yeah.

Can't believe I bit on the bait.

[Felis]

Final Fantasy games are pretty blatant in their anti-religion stance, off the top of my head there's a guy in Camp Drybone that questions the whole Ifrit thing - "worship me or burn in hell for eternity, doesn't sound like much of a choice to me" which is clearly a dig at Christianity. There's probably way more that more observant players will have picked up on than that one snippet that caught my attention.

Nothing about christanity, it is just what ifrit do. Burn people to ashe or mindblow their brains (he use blue flames for this).

[JeniLinsky]

I thought the Wotan was how the modernday believers/followers identified themselves. I knew it was another name for Odin. But ya, looks like you got the point anyway!

That would be Asatru. And the answer is that most Asatru I know are fans of science fiction and fantasy, and though they / we may grumble about "bad lore," the truth is we recognize that Germanic Neopagans are a minority of a minority of a minority, and that most people see our Gods as amusing stories; we're happy just to see Odin (and Thor and Loki and so on) not completely forgotten by mainstream culture, even if they are only remembered through a bad lens.

[Lunavi]

I find it hard to see why anyone would be offended over this. If I had a religion I would be proud and happy over seeing it being recognized and honoured in the media I consume.

[Zantetsuken]

Final Fantasy games are pretty blatant in their anti-religion stance, off the top of my head there's a guy in Camp Drybone that questions the whole Ifrit thing - "worship me or burn in hell for eternity, doesn't sound like much of a choice to me" which is clearly a dig at Christianity. There's probably way more that more observant players will have picked up on than that one snippet that caught my attention.

This vid does a good job of putting together the pieces from previous titles- http://youtu.be/MLhiWw3pzQk

That video is full of cherry picking in order to support it's author's biases. He blindly confuses Religious imagery (which is used to flavor FF games), with story themes in FF games.

Final Fantasy (series) stories usually begin as anti-government/empire, and always boil down to either anti-Nihilism or anti-Determinism/fatalism.

• FFI - Chaos/Garland have world stuck in time loop. (**anti-Determinism/fatalism theme**)
• FFII - Emperor of Palamecia (*anti-Government/Empire theme*) is controlled by Demon who wishes to reduce the world to nothing with the power of hell (**anti-Nihilist theme**)
• FFIII - Cloud of Darkness wants to return the world to a state of nothingness (**anti-Nihilist theme**)
• FFIV - Cecil must free the world from his power-hungry King (*anti-Government/Empire theme*) and then must face Zeromus who hates and wants to consume all of existence(**anti-Nihilist theme**)
• FFV - Exdeath/Neo-Exdeath seeks to use the void to reduce all creation to nothingness. (**anti-Nihilist theme**)
• FFVI - Terra and the Returners fight the Empire (*anti-Government/Empire theme*) and then Kefka who is crazy and wants to destroy the world (**anti-Nihilist theme**)
• FFVII - Cloud and AVALANCHE launch attacks on Shinra Corp (*anti-Government/Empire theme*) and ultimately face Sephiroth who wants to call down meteor, destroy the world, and consume the lifestream. (**anti-Nihilist theme**)
• FFVIII - Squall and his friends battle their rivals and eventually uncover their own pasts and a Sorceress named Ultimecia who seeks to compress all time, devour all reality, and gain infinite power (**anti-Nihilist theme**)
• FFIX - Zidane and his band defy the power-hungry Queen Brahne (*anti-Government/Empire theme*) discover a maniac who wants to rule the world, and finally stumble upon Necron, a being who wants to destroy life and existence itself. (**anti-Nihilist theme**)
• FFX - Tidus and Yuna work set out on a pilgrimage to stop 'Sin' who perpetually reappears in a spiral of death (**anti-Determinism/fatalism theme**). Along the way they encounter Seymour Guado, who wants to become 'Sin' and exterminate all life on the planet. (**anti-Nihilist theme**)
• FFXI - The heroes face off against the Archduke of Jeuno and his brother who seek to rule the world by opening the 'gate to the gods' (*anti-Government/Empire theme*) and later fight Promethia who seeks to devour all life in Vana'diel. (**anti-Nihilist theme**)
• FFXII - Princess Ashe and a rogue band of outlaws set out to overthrow the Archadian empire (*anti-Government/Empire theme*) who conquered her kingdom of Dalmasca and killed her husband. They later uncover a plot by which the gods use stones of power to manipulate people and control history. (**anti-Determinism/fatalism theme**)
• FFXIII - Lightning, Snow and others are purged by the government of Cocoon 'Sanctum' (*anti-Government/Empire theme*) and must fight back against a fate imposed upon them (**anti-Determinism/fatalism theme**) by Barthandelus who attempts to use them to destroy himself and the entire world of Cocoon .(**anti-Nihilist theme**) in order to summon the 'Maker'

There are plenty of positive portrayals of religion/gods in FF games actually: From the prayers of the heroes in FFIV, to Altana in FFXI, to the generaly positive portrayal of the Churches and Gods of Eorzea, as well as Bhunivelze in FFXIII-3. Even Vanat's (FFXII) motivations could be considered to be altruistic depending on how you look at them.

So to say FF is thematically anti-religion is to be completely ignorant of the facts.

In fact, philosophically, FF's Anti-Nihilism might be considered Anti-Atheism as Atheism is ipso facto Nihilism

[Twiddle]

FFXI: SEA, need i say more? You are fighting the jailor's of the 7 "Heavenly Virtues"....

[Elrisivana]

Hello, folks! Thank you very much for providing your input on the gameplay content in FINAL FANTASY XIV. As this is one of the purposes of these forums, we appreciate your feedback. However, since this thread discusses real-life religion, I am going to close this thread but leave it viewable so that the development team can see your opinions. Thank you for your understanding, and have a great day.