Your God is called what?: Breath of Fire II and Religion
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If I had one sentimental favorite RPG, it would be Breath of Fire II. Fortunately, I have several, but Breath of Fire II holds a special place in my heart, first for its retro aesthetic and second for its understated story about religion. (This is an article full of spoilers. But let’s face it: you’re probably not chomping at the bit to play Breath of Fire II.) I grew up in a religious household. My mother works for the Catholic parish I grew up in, and when I was a boy I bought entirely into Catholic theology. I was an altar boy. I went to Catholic school for thirteen years, from preschool up until my last year of high school. Somewhere in there, in 2002, I stopped believing in the theology. Subconsciously, I like to attribute that to Breath of Fire II, however sad that sounds. It follows in the grand Japanese tradition of evil, monolithic churches. In the second town of the game, a minion of said church not only makes you fight “with a girl” (much more impressive as a motivator in the mid nineties, and a trope subverted by the game itself) but wants you to kill her “for his god”. He’s running a crooked gladiator ring because his god enjoys watching people suffer. You know, it’s heavy handed like that. Later, when you gain the ability to sail about the world map (on the back of a whale; it’s a whimsical game), you see a massive, oppressive black structure on a horrible high mountain and yep, that’s this evil church’s equivalent of the Vatican. When you finally go there with a rebel group intent on destroying the religion, evil church’s pope executes the rebel’s leader in some sort of horrible black mass. Eventually their god, the awkwardly named Deathevn, becomes the final boss, and you wonder how the entire game’s game world could worship something called “Deathevn”. I mean, it’s kind of like if Christians worshiped “BabyKilr”. Kind of awkward, and not just from the spelling. There is, however, one slightly drawn character, one redeemable character in a church full of wackos. Early in the game, in the same town as the gladiator, you meet Ray, a former orphan just like you and priest of St. Eva (apparently “Deathevn” is short for “Deathevan” and that shortens to “St. Eva”). A little later on, you meet Ray and you help him save a bunch of people trapped down a well with giant beetle like monsters. In a game where religion is increasingly the enemy, Ray is seen as a friend, a genuinely good guy who teaches any member of your party a revive spell after you help him save villagers.
Of course it’s not an overly complex portrayal, but it had a profound impact on me. Here was a good man operating within a corrupt system. He wasn’t the only one, too: while you often saved at Dragon God statues (worshiping the old god of the original Breath of Fire), you also could save at various St. Eva churches; you could also cure various status ailments there. While I don’t know if it was intentional, what it does is it presents a nuanced view of religion: the people involved aren’t bad, just the (literal, skull encrusted) monsters in charge. This is pounded home later in the game, when Ray becomes a boss. You see, he was taken in by the head honcho of the religion and brainwashed as a child – while his overall good nature makes him a good guy, when you lead an assault on the church towards the end of the game Ray is forced to fight you. Turns out he’s a dragon, just like you (classical JRPGs could sure be heavy handed), and he helps reveal your true power. It’s a fascinating arc for a game from the early nineties, by many accounts a throwaway title. Here’s this character who almost completely mirrors your evolution: he’s an orphan, and he’s also a dragon. He’s you, except placed into a different setting by chance. Hell, his name is only one letter off from your default name, Ryu. You can see yourself in him, and he, in the end, sees himself in you, too. It’s only through your descent into crime, through the power of friendship that you avoid being on the other side of this battle between good and evil. It’s a view that profoundly affected me. I could see myself in this character Ray: someone who, through no fault of his own, ended up in a religious family, indoctrinated into something they didn’t fully understand or even agree with. I imagine it’s a character a lot of people could empathize with, whose blanks they could fill in without even trying. Here’s a guy who represents the best and the worst of religion, in one breath: he was a fantastic, kind individual, but one who was, at his core, utterly destructive, utterly ruined and ultimately destroyed by this adherence to a wretched god forced upon him by another person. I can’t say Breath of Fire II changed how I think about religion, but it was definitely in the back of my mind, a kind of formative experience that to me has stood the test of time. Going back and replaying it it hasn’t aged gracefully, but it’s a game I love because of the things it showed me about myself and the character of Ray that resonated with me, specifically. |
And thus, a third way through, Faith Month begins.
This mentality fits with everything. There are good people working for bad companies, governments, religious institutions, and minor organizations.
There are also bad people working for good organizations too. A question to ask is whether an organization is bad, or just the people who lead it.
The answer, of course, it that the organization is not good or bad because it is merely a concept given root by IDs, taxes, structure, etc. The best questions is this:
Is the result of what they do good or bad?
We’re timely! Actually, this is pretty timely for us. xD
To be fair, I think the best question is, “Did Capcom intend for any of this to be the message of the game?” and “Did the translators actually speak both English and Japanese?” Really, I’m amazed BoF2 has any sensible plot to speak of.
Of course this is why we write about it and not games with clear narratives.
I moved from BoF2 to organizations in general. I’m a strong believer that original intent of an artist is not worth a damn. However it is interpreted is what really matters.
Reminds me of Shining Force. A certain general fights your team not because he is evil, but because it is his duty (that game hasn’t aged well either btw. End game is more a question of how many times the enemy can dodge before they die). I never played BoF2, so all I know is what you’ve said, but you point out a theme of circumstance. Fate. Things moving us apart that we do mot even understand, or might not even be understandable. We are destined to conflict because we just happen to be working for different teams.
*cough*RVB*cough*
But with Red Versus Blue there is an overhead choosing who goes on what side. With BoF2? Shining Force? Good and Evil are facing off, but why one side is good and one evil is circumstance of what we define as good and evil.
Capcom chose who was good and evil. Without knowing it, they made a coming-of-age game. Not for the character, but for the gamer. You mentioned yourself that you had it on your mind when you transitioned out of Catholicism. You realized that just people good people truly believed in something, it didn’t make that thing good.
I am a Christian. I’m not knocking on the Catholics. I’m just saying that not everyone with good intentions is actually doing good. These people are in these situations because of circumstance. That is the message of BoF2, Shining Force, and to a dumb extent, DA2.
I think that is one of the appeals of making your own character in a game. You get to choose who you are, not God (or chance, or whatever you wish to call what caused you to be who you are).
I may have gotten off topic someone where in there. I can’t really tell.
affected. The view did not bring you about, it influenced you.
Ffffffu I avoid those words entirely because they break my brain but one slipped through!
Great article! Breath of Fire II remains one of my favorite games of all time. It’s truly an underappreciated gem. People may go “oh, evil religious, how cliche” but Breath of Fire II did that angle back in 1994!
I like what you got out of Ray’s character, the whole idea of good people existing in a group tainted by corruption. I’m personally a Catholic through and through but I’m also aware of the issues that exist with those in authority. Despite this, it doesn’t change the fact that I still believe in the ultimate rule of showing one another love and respect, no matter who they might be.
Breath of Fire II truly deserves a remake, but unfortunately Capcom’s not paid much attention to the series. If you’re interested in playing the game with a better (more English) script, try Ryusui’s retranslation of the game. It really goes to show just how mature and sinister the game’s plot was.
There is always the temptation to throw the baby out with the bathwater when it comes to religion.
In Breath of Fire II’s case there’s really no way out as far as St. Eva’s religion goes, because not only is their god real, he’s real evil! I’m not sure what I’d do if I discovered that God was real, and not only was he real, he was hell-bent on my destruction.
You would be hard pressed to take the microscope to any one of the major world religions and find it to be inherently evil at its core. And given that not a single one of these religions espouse the perfection of man, the fact that man consistently fails to exemplify the virtues of the religion they subscribe to should come as no surprise to anyone.
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