Are Final Fantasy game anti-religious?

I've only played FFVII, VIII, IX, X and XII.

None of these seemed anti-religious to me. FFX seemed anti-corrupt religion, FFIX didn't require a religion 'You don't need a reason to help people'. The other two I know less well, although FFVII had a church.


Ive also heard that FFT has some anti-religious themes. Xenogears had them as well, so I hear (yes, I know its not FF).

Personally, I think the religious views in each game vary depending on who's in charge. But since Japan is a mostly non-religious/weakly religious nation, the games from SE often have those kind of themes.

So, discuss Final Fantasy and religion.

I'm pretty sure that Zidane quote doesn't have any anti-religious undertones.

My expertise is in the earlier games, and they mostly revolved around an invented style of world that drew it's existence from the power of elemental crystals.

Monsters, towns, and artifacts all appear to be semi-nonrandom characters from popular mythology.

Basically, calling itself fantasy and acting like that only seems to be really blasphemous in regards to such gods as Zeus or Tiamat.

^Im not really talking about stuff like that. I mean the subtle undertones that sometimes portray corruptness in religion or certain forms of religion.

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Originally Posted by Mirage

I'm pretty sure that Zidane quote doesn't have any anti-religious undertones.

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I never said it did.

But religion gives people reason to act in certain ways. Zidane says you dont need a reason to help someone. So, while the quote doesn't promote anti-religion, it does highlight the lack of the need for a religion.


I think the more obviously anti-religious stuff is in FFT. Although I heard somewhere that FFX might be pro-religious, although I never noticed it. Have you ever noticed certain religious ideologies being condoned in any FF games?

I dont see them as anti-religous but to be honest i dont think it would matter if they were:rolleyes2

Well they all portray magic as something positive, which is pretty much blasphemy in a can.

Well the english versions censored out the crosses on revivication houses in the original ff1

FFVII had elements of religion in it. I mean, Aeris -did- go pray at the church everyday, she -did- pray to save the world. She prayed to a higher being in order to be granted a wish or a miracle, thus a religion, and if anything the fact her prays did get through to the higher power would make FF7 the most anti-religious game there is.

If you hope for something, if you pray and put your belief in something, it is bound to come true. Basic knowledge for most "good" based relgion.

Not to mention, in any game there will -always- be some form of anti-something, be it anti-religion, anti-politics, anti-something, just because it's there's no anti-tone to a game, the pro-tone will be too dominate and become stale.
FFXII was anti-politics for sure.

But then again, showing the corruptness of some form in a method of entertainment isn't actually being "anti", it's being satirical.

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Satire is strictly a literary genre, although it is found in the graphic and performing arts as well as the printed word. In satire, human or individual vices, follies, abuses, or shortcomings are held up to censure by means of ridicule, derision, burlesque, irony, or other methods, ideally with an intent to bring about improvement. Although satire is usually meant to be funny, the purpose of satire is not primarily humour in itself so much as an often quite angry attack on something the author strongly disapproves, using the weapon of wit.

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FFXII is so political that it basically gives all politics a corrupted ideal because you can see nearly every form of politics in the game, yet, it is done in a fashion in which we A.) Don't realize it until we can associate it with something else and then say "Isn't that ironic". or B.) We are so entertained by it that we can never look past the entertainment aspect.

I don't really see them as underlying themes, maybe for FFX, but if anything pro-relgion is -very- well placed in FFVII once you realize that everything that occured from point A to point B happened because of aeris' "holy beliefs".
I never noticed anything in FFIX, or even FFVIII.

FFVI has alot of christian elements in it, leaning more towards the rapture years. Terra's mother was named "Madonna" in the english version. Madonna = Virgin Mary, Terra had 12 companions in the game, Jesus had 12 disciples. Kefka's final battle form is the literal "fall of satan" or "Rise of the Antichrist" from Teir one to Teir Four. Terra was said to be the single ray of hope, as the return of Christ is to be in the rapture. Yay FFVI.

Maybe FFT and FFX were anti-religous, but if you ask me, FFX was just the gospel in a video game.

A lot of RPGs do have those undertones.

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Originally Posted by the grand list of console role playing game cliches #89

Well, That About Wraps It Up For God
All major deities, assuming they actually exist and weren't just made up by the Church to delude its followers, are in reality malevolent and will have to be destroyed. The only exception to this rule is the four nature spirits who have preserved the land since time immemorial, but now due to the folly of mankind have lost virtually all of their power and need you to accomplish some ludicrous task to save them.

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But FF games really don't do that as much as other RPGs. At least not any FF games I can think of off the top of my head (granted I'm not giving it a lot of thought right now). That is, unless you count the Final Fantasy Legend series for gameboy, in number one your party decides to kill God at the end for no apparent reason. Really the perfect end to a game that feels like being on an acid trip to begin with. Not that I know what that's like.

I'm sure that the churches will dislike the game purely on the word magic. But they don't seem anti-religion. At least not against real world religions.

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Originally Posted by Jiro

I'm sure that the churches will dislike the game purely on the word magic. But they don't seem anti-religion. At least not against real world religions.

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Not all churches are radical enough to have hate on the concept of magic.

The one's that are usually have some kind of news or political ties to keep things taken down.
Like the church saying harry potter is the devil.

One set of my cousins are catholic, the other set Methodist.
You can guess which church bothered them with a speech about how magic is evil and which kept church about god and not how "blasphemous" concepts should be banned from the modern world, the methodist church basically cared less, as stated in one of their sermens, they weren't going to bother with something that wasn't something that was going to change the morals and ideals of humanity and their love for jesus and god.

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Originally Posted by Vivisteiner

Ive also heard that FFT has some anti-religious themes. Xenogears had them as well, so I hear (yes, I know its not FF).

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Yes. Final Fantasy Tactics deals with the corruption of governmental and religious organizations.

It goes as far to show the player that the entirety of the predominant religion is a vast conspiracy; however, it does play entirely into atheistic themes because it incorporates supernatural entities — good and evil — allowing the player to choose for himself what is right and wrong in Ivalice.

Dirge of Cerberus proved to me there is a Devil and that he ruins game series. Square is obviously trying to teach me that hell is powerful enough to disrupt my hobby.

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Originally Posted by LunarWeaver

Dirge of Cerberus proved to me there is a Devil and that he ruins game series. Square is obviously trying to teach me that hell is powerful enough to disrupt my hobby.

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Wait, FFX-2 didn't teach you that?

FFXII also had the Occuria, who were God like figures which were effectively corrupt/ruthless. FFIX and FFVIII really had no mention of religion. FFIX deals a lot with philosphy though, life and death. It had the cycle of souls and all that. I found it interesting that there was no mention of religion in the whole game.

Prayer often works in FF as Avarice-ness mentioned earlier. You pray to the summons in practically every game. But then summons are observable entities.

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Originally Posted by Laddy

Maybe FFT and FFX were anti-religous, but if you ask me, FFX was just the gospel in a video game.

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But I thought the gospel was boring...

What is FFX-2 then?


Anyway, I think you'll find that FFIX is the true religious 'text'. It chroncicles the ascension of Steiner into heaven where he sits on the right hand side of Beatrix, the father almighty.

technically the early Final Fantasys could be considered alot more religious than we take them for. Not christianity though. Most of the early Final Fantasies, and hell even IX, revolve around a balance of the elements of nature (and the crystals that represent them). Thats a very basic part of the Shinto religion which is part of Japans culture.

FFI, III, IV, V, IX all involve some kind of balance of nature, elements and crystals, and to some extent parts of FVIIs ideals fit into Shinto as well (living as one with the planet type thing)

^You could say thats more of a philosophy than a religion. Apart from it mentions the planets life force and stuff like that, but its factual - Iifa tree, instead of being an unfounded belief.


But yeah, it does have some ideological similarities with Shinto, which isnt at all suprising.

Of course FF is anti-religion. Why, after playing just one game I burned the Local Church. The message of FF is just that powerful.

I wouldn't say so...though FFX did recieve some criticism from some religious groups :p

No, no, no, far from it in fact. 7 is a perfect. There is so much Buddhism mixed in there. You'd never know it unless you studied it. 10 reminded me a lot of how a church can get too much power and control and rule the world instead of helping people live a better life. The Catholic church had time in history where it was operated like that. 10 reminded me a lot of that history in fact.

I wouldn't say that FF was anti-religion, but X was definitly anti organized religion. Apart from the organized religion, X (and most other FFs that I know off) is filled religious ideas of dead, unsent, Lifestream, Pyreflies, Gaia etc.