How FFX killed a God and is after Santa Claus now

Dec 22, 2009

In today’s society, where atheism is the new black, religion is more a state of mind than a lifestyle. Most people run the routine of attending their church duties on holidays, or for special events like a wedding or a funeral. We worship media fixtures over the prospect of a holy figure, and the world is divided heavily due to differing beliefs and religions. Video games often exploit the aspects of fantasy, what with your dragon slaying and the impossible metal thongs that a heroine may wear that’ll protect her as good as a full plate of armor. But one subject has been swept under the carpet in lieu of incorporating into a storyline: Religion. Square-Enix, often the forerunner of pushing-the-envelope when it comes to graphics, gameplay and character development, saw the untapped potential in Final Fantasy X to incorporate such a touchy subject.

The game does not cast a friendly light on a Judeo-Christian religion belief system. Instead, the most negative aspects are thrown in front of the player, such as secrecy, greed, and forced martyrdom. Die for Sin and become a hero — die for your faith and become a Saint. To further implement those points, the protagonist of the story is a total stranger, an outside perspective, and is someone who sees no use in any form of belief.  FFX uncovers a lot of concern surrounding religion while presenting it in a clashing way against modern day mentality.

Yevon was the fundamental religion and cultural link in the world of Spira. It was created as a way to combat the threat of Sin, a destructive force capable of wiping out the world’s population. FFX’s primary plot involves Tidus and how he deals with the events in Spira, after being hurled one thousand years into the future. His quest happens upon a young Summoner named Yuna who, along with a select few, set out on a pilgrimage to stop Sin and bring The Calm, which will last ten years until another Sin is born. Their weapon against Sin was through using the power of the Fayth, incredibly powerful beasts that the Summoner controls. It’s very frowned upon to quit their pilgrimage, and those that do are shunned by society.

FFX is amazing in its passivity how the story satirizes the views of society during Renaissance and Medieval times. Clergy and religious fixtures intentionally prevented the use of technological and scientific advances, stating that they were heretic and bred for corruption. What is truly corrupt in that statement is how religion influenced itself negatively on the people, encouraging ignorance. It’s in this same breath how Yevon banished the use of Machina, machines often used to make every day life easier or for warfare, painting technology in poor strokes which resulted in the persecution of the Al Bhed.

The Al Bhed are a race in Spira that have been forced to dwell in a desert wasteland just to escape the cursory eye of Yevon. They saw Yevon as a manipulative tool and opted for another way of life, trusting in technology. Because of this, the unified society in Spira despised the Al Bhed and their ’sacrilegious’ way of living. With this, the Al Bhed became global scapegoats, forcing their race to flee.

As time passed, however, desperation began to arise in the ranks of Spira. With the acceptance of a new Maester to proctor over Yevon and the people, that being Maester Seymour, the Al Bhed were looked upon finally as part of a solution. After all this time, Sin was never truly defeated, and the people of Spira were willing to look for another option. The use of Machina was brought to the battlefield in an effort to dispel of Sin, and this act was clearly frowned upon by people who followed Yevon but easily brushed aside BY Yevon. Later in the game as the truths about Yevon are uncovered, a twisted scenario is presented.

Machina, long since banished for being the reason why Sin appeared had actually been in use inside the sacred temples of Yevon for centuries. Even worse, several of the reigning Maesters over Spira were in an undead state which violated a law of Yevon that all deceased must be sent to the Farplane. They never wanted to give up their ruling right, so they practiced hypocrisy in order to continue living.

A particularly bold motive was the true role of Summoners. Although they went on a pilgrimage to reach Zanarkand, the end of the world and where the last Fayth resided, the truth was hidden from the player and Tidus until midway through the game. Summoners were meant to be sacrificed in order to bring a ten year Calm. Also, a willing Guardian would give their life in the process of becoming a Fayth. The Guardian would then become Sin, enabling Sin to continue its carnage.

Like a Christ figure, they were so desperate for peace that they willingly died for Yevon. In truth, as they sacrificed their lives, it only meant that in the process Sin would assimilate them and grow even stronger. That is why The Calm never lasted.

With the coming and going of FFX-2, the people of Spira were divided into factions, one being New Yevon. Although they preach a new way to govern the people, deep inside the Catacombs of their temple is even further proof of their twisted philosophy throughout the ages. A Machina was created during the Zanarkand wars, a thousand years ago, called Vegnagun. Instead of it being destroyed once Yevon spread around the world, they kept it locked in the bowels of Spira. So once again, the secrecy of Yevon created peril for the dwellers of Spira.

The mastery of presenting the corruption of Yevon while displaying it against 21st century beliefs pays off.  In fact, once Sin is destroyed, the Fayth also plead for rest. Not only do you destroy the makings of a God, the belief system of using faith as a tool for hardship is no longer an option. As Yuna sends the spirits of the Fayth to their rest, Spira must now embrace a way of life without a faith structure.

Granted, this speculation is taken from a Christian standpoint, emphasizing the role of the Catholic church and their version of a Messiah, coming in the form of Jesus Christ, but this game goes a lot deeper than that. The whole of Final Fantasy X has an Eastern appeal, from the attire of the people to the temples and their version of an afterlife, by way of the Farplane, which would be our Purgatory. However, being from an obvious Asian industry, their culture can be identified in the character models and in other  plot devices. The game map is modeled after Okinawa, which consists of tropical islands with dark skinned Japanese people like Tidus. The island actually does contain temples like the ones in FFX. Also, the island is tied in with the whaling industry, which explains why Sin resembles a giant whale and must be harpooned by boats

When Buddhism began to evolve, they taught that the soul is in an endless cycle of Rita, which leads into the explanation of past lives since your soul is in an unending circle of creation. A new way of thinking introduced the idea of Moksha, a liberation from the cycle so a soul could be at rest. This is important, because it is basically how Sin operates.

In a way, the dissipation of Tidus (who was a dream made by the Fayth) and Sin, both a cycle in itself, created Moksha. Buddhism observed the idea of Moksha as heretic, since the infinite cycle of birth and rebirth, Samsara, had been the crux for their spirituality. Yevon, also, found the idea of ending the cycle in Spira as being detrimental, because although the cycle was a never ending spiral of death, it would be infinite. Yevon didn’t have to deal with the anxiety of change, and the religion they forged gave people hope.
It’s also no small coincidence that Spira = Spira(l). It was always an unending spiral of death and rebirth, with Sin at the very center of everyone’s lives.

Although FFX can easily be critiqued as having linear game play, just the fact they had the balls to attack a religion and its fanatics is enough to make me appreciate it.