tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-268660459652553228.post5367299207681281730..comments2024-02-26T20:52:27.680-08:00Comments on Thinking Inside the Box: General RPGs' Odd ProtagonistsThe RPGeniushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02752937839502693108noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-268660459652553228.post-61334647791196162272011-10-07T19:00:50.780-07:002011-10-07T19:00:50.780-07:00Well make no mistake, I have no misconceptions abo...Well make no mistake, I have no misconceptions about whether Marche is a good person. He certainly is. He fights for what is true and right, refusing to let comfortable lies stand in the place of reality (which, by some theologies, is pretty much THE ultimate form of goodness). He does the right thing for the right reasons, and I certainly do consider him <i>heroic</i>. My point is just that, from the perspective of nearly everyone in the game's main setting, as well as the perspective of Final Fantasy tradition, the role Marche occupies is that of the story's villain. He may BE heroic, but his role is not that of a hero, just as his role may BE that of a villain, but he is not villainous. But I can see how you would see it differently. Either way, though, he's definitely a protagonist of note!<br /><br />Thanks for the comment, by the way! I hope you'll gift with some more if you find any other rants here of interest.The RPGeniushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02752937839502693108noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-268660459652553228.post-81096323890333032152011-10-07T17:47:40.826-07:002011-10-07T17:47:40.826-07:00It's interesting how you define villain by the...It's interesting how you define villain by the virtue of whether or not they work to preserve the existence of the world that the game spends the most time in. I would argue that what separates heroes from villains is simply whether they are good or evil - if their intentions and impacts are benevolent or malevolent. Whether or not the world's existence SHOULD exist is rarely questioned in the other FF games besides this one, which to me seems to allow so many people to consider Marche a villain. FFTA throws a curve-ball in this case because Ivalice wasn't really "reality" for Marche and his friends, per se, but rather a fantasy that Mewt concocted because he didn't want to face the "real," bleak reality of his home life. By doing this, the conflict is a lot more personal than any of the other world-encompassing plots of the various other FF games; it's less about saving the world, and more about getting your friends to understand that there is a failure, a personal defeat, behind Mewt's conception of Ivalice. I feel that Mewt is a villain not only because he changed the world around him for his selfish gain and (he pretty much made puppets of the population for his entertainment), but that he was creating a false utopia to deceive himself. Marche seemed to be the only one in the group who could discern this - separating illusion from what really was at stake - to demonstrate that it's not okay to use others for your own ends and that you can't just run away from your problems. Despite wanting to stay in Ivalice, Marche's adherence this very moral idea even as his friends violently oppose him is what makes him heroic to me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com