Final Fantasy Tactics: No War But Class War - St Ajora is (not) dead

While many of the entries in the Final Fantasy series have important things to say about the place of organized religion in society, Tactics takes its examination one step beyond. This video will discuss the manner in which the game examines the Church, State and the nature of divinity itself.
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Sources
Barker, Juliet. 1381 The Year of the Peasants’ Revolt. Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 2014)
Cunningham, Michael. “An Interview with Former Square Enix Translator Tom Slattery”. Inside Gaming. archive.rpgamer.com/features/... (accessed Oct 7, 2020)
Davies, Richard G. “The Church and the Wars of the Roses”, in The Wars of the Roses. Ed. A.J. Pollard (New York, St. Martin’s Press, 1995)
Freedman, Paul. Images of the Medieval Peasant. (Stanford, Stanford University Press, 1999)
Grummitt, David. A Short History of The Wars of the Roses. (New York: , I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd., 2013.)
Johnston, Kyle. “Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions - Game Script. GameFAQs. gamefaqs.gamespot.com/psp/937... (accessed Sept 25, 2020)
Marx, Karl. A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right. (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1970.) www.marxists.org/archive/marx... accessed Sept 25, 2020)
McKinnon, Andrew M. “Reading ‘Opium of the People’: Expression, Protest and the Dialects of Religion”. Critical Sociology, Volume 31, Issues 1-2. 2005.
Nietzsche, Frederich. The Joyful Wisdom. Trans. Common, Thomas. (New York, The Macmillan Company, 1924). archive.org/stream/completeni..., accessed October 5, 2020.
Nietzsche, Frederich. Thus Spoke Zarathustra. en.wikisource.org/wiki/Thus_S... (Accessed October 6, 2020)
The Bible. King James Version. . www.biblegateway.com/passage/... (accessed oct 6, 2020.)
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Music
A New Beginning - Esther Abrami
Permission granted via KZbin Audio Library
Shasta Trinity - Jessie Gallagher
Permission granted via KZbin Audio Library
The Shadow Self - I Think I can Help You
Permission granted via KZbin Audio Library
Divine Life Society - Jessie Gallagher
Permission granted via KZbin Audio Library
The Blue Pearl - Jessie Gallagher
Permission granted via KZbin Audio Library
Tratak - Jessie Gallagher
Permission granted via KZbin Audio Library
Spirit of Fire - Jessie Gallagher
Permission granted via KZbin Audio Library
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[@boldbearings]

35:19 Revisiting this vid after giving myself the creeps thinking about this pic. What a terrifying creature. Your reveal timing is just right for horror writing. "Xenogears goes one step further, by having the player fight God..." [shows sketch]. That you chose a sketch instead of a screenshot from the game is another good touch, as there is still room for the viewers imagination to fill in blanks. It just falls together so effectively. 👌

[@dksu]

Great vid! I assumed the labelling of Ramza as a heretic was simply because the Church was in the habit of just labelling anyone who inconvenienced them heretics at that point lol

[@Flargenyargen]

Really interesting! I actually learned a lot and never thought to look so deeply into things. It's really great to step back and have another look at this game from this light.

[@StudyofSwords]

The depth of the game, it's story and themes, plus the remarkable degree of customization available in the actual gameplay, is the reason it has consistently been my favorite game in the series, if not in toto. I am happy you were able to get something out of my video!

[@ArtikDots]

Great Content, Saw your post on r/FFT and I feel like the video is great, but your Title could use some love as it isn't very friendly to people that are not aware of the Lore of FFT and St. Ajora. With the very well done references to religion you take lore I was not fully aware of and historical reference and mix them together beautifully.

[@StudyofSwords]

Yeah... I guess because while the videos do not necessarily need to be viewed in order, but are still in a series, I felt the title worked as a parody of sorts, and within the scope of the project over all. My expectation is that most of the viewers would have experience with the game, so they'd "get it". Same thing with the first video, I think even fewer people would be familiar with "Gallionne". Still, it is very helpful to be reminded that if I want to appeal to a broader audience, keeping these kinds of references to a minimum would be beneficial in the Title/Thumbnail. Thanks for the feedback, I really do appreciate it!

[@catchifyoucan232]

INCREDIBLY well done. It’s unbelievable to me how low your sub and view counts are based on the quality. The only thing I can think of that could relate into this video is how the Japanese view religion as a whole, how they view Western Ideology and Religion, and how it shaped this story which they have created. In any event, Bravo.

[@StudyofSwords]

Hey thank you very much for the kind words! And for the sub! Alas, Tactics remains in the FF series a niche title and I'm a small channel so, that's just the way it is.

[@kenhammscousin4716]

Thank you for this. The amount of work you did is impressive. Your knowledge of philosophy is as well. I enjoyed this series.

[@StudyofSwords]

Hey glad you liked it. The editing might have been very basic but I'm quite happy with this series of videos.

[@aspookyblunt]

I love this FFT content!

[@StudyofSwords]

Thank you, glad you liked it!

[@daehan8227]

Thank you so much for this interesting video. It does give more reasons as why I love FFT. Though oddly I will admit I had my own thought on Ultima and St Ajora as a kid. Thinking that Ultima could've been the r63 version of Lucifer with maybe St Ajora being some evil version of Jesus. Besides this embarrassing childhood memory I really did enjoy this video. I am looking forward to watching your other videos.

[@StudyofSwords]

Well I'm glad you enjoyed it! Again, it's always helpful to keep in mind that this is simply one reading among many of the "text" so to speak. The parallels between the Church of Glabados and the historic Roman Catholic Church (or perhaps a certain historical perspective on the Church) are pretty on the nose, so seeing Ajora as a Christ figure makes complete sense.

[@daehan8227]

Honestly I hope FF tactics war of the visions and Triangle Strategies does will so SE could bring back FFT and Ogre battle.

[@StudyofSwords]

@@daehan8227 We can only hope!

[@daehan8227]

@@StudyofSwords come to think of it. My thoughts of her being r63 Lucifer was kind of true. I remembered some Ivalice game expanded on her lore and was revealed that she created by the Ocuria from FF12 and apparently she rebelled much like the fallen angel rebelling against God. Even though I am Christian I find this game to be amazing and still relevant to this day knowing chaotic our world has become

[@catchifyoucan232]

Stylized Gallows? To me it always looked like a stylized cross. I can picture a character being crucified on it.

[@StudyofSwords]

Oh for sure, you could, of course, crucify an individual on a variety of structures. It's just that given the information provided by the narrative of the game, specifically that St. Ajora was executed by hanging, it tracks that a gallows would become the symbol of the Church of St. Ajora, Ivalices "not Christ" figure.

[@catchifyoucan232]

@@StudyofSwords I haven’t played the Original or War of the Lions in an age… I’m quite rusty on details, so if you say it’s hanging, it’s hanging. Maybe I should pull it out. I LOVE this game. My original copy was broken by my sister, so I bought a replacement on eBay in 2000, then I went through a phase that every time I found a copy I bought it, because I never wanted to be without it, so I have 5 copies of the original, plus one copy of War of the Lions, plus the original strategy guide plus the War of the Lions strategy guide.

[@StudyofSwords]

@@catchifyoucan232 Well, I'm not sure what your current console situation is like, but all of the footage in these videos is from my own playthrough (well almost all anyway ;D) of the Android version of WOTL emulated via Bluestacks on PC. It's fixed the lag issues with the PSP version, albeit there is an issue with summon animations being incredibly fast.

[@yokothespacewhale]

Every year I play this game on my ps1 and I think to myself, I played this in 3rd grade, and I have not heard anyone, and I mean anyone, properly discuss the themes of this game... I am commenting early but I am hopeful a few minutes in. Lastly I would suggest the original to newbies because the story is punchier, even with the wacky mistranslations and fewer OP job classes 23:17 in and as someone who had to study a bit of theology, it is heavily implied in the “original language” that they actually raped their dad... at least that’s what I was taught in uni. also loving the video so far

[@StudyofSwords]

Glad you enjoyed it. Yeah with regard to the Noah/Ham issue, one of the implications/interpretations was certainly of him having raped his father, I focused on the medieval interpretation which would have been common in period. Cheers!

[@Alboreoh]

You should totally post your videos on r/breadtube. It's a popular subreddit for sharing leftist KZbin videos. Sorry if you already do lol, it just crossed my mind. Anyway, another great video! Edit: I also wanted to say thanks for sharing sources, that's extremely helpful.

[@StudyofSwords]

Thanks! And yes, I do share to a couple of reddit subs, r/breadtube among them. Self promotion is really the only means of getting people seeing your content so, gotta self promote (but also participate in said subs, because they are good 👍)

[@Alboreoh]

@@StudyofSwords For sure! I thought of checking to see if you'd posted there before I said anything, but I was in the car and figured it was worthwhile either way lol. I keep sharing your stuff on some of the Discords I'm in, hopefully it makes a difference. I really think that your videos are a great way of getting these ideas across to people that might normally not care or might be straight-up opposed. Also, I just fucking love Final Fantasy Tactics and it's great to hear someone analyze things in a way I never had before. Keep up the great work dude.

[@dksu]

Breadtube is petit-bourgeois opportunism ;)

[@StudyofSwords]

@@dksu hey, if we can learn anything from Tactics it's that being a class traitor is good actually. ;)

[@dksu]

@@StudyofSwords why Ramza is the best FF hero haha

[@KazBeoulve]

This series is going to become my own opium.

[@StudyofSwords]

Glad you enjoy it.

[@KazBeoulve]

@@StudyofSwords Is a great trip down memory lane while I work. I might listen to the whole series a few times. Gives great insight to the game I love.

[@StudyofSwords]

@@KazBeoulve Well it is basically a podcast with some visuals so, mission accomplished.

[@KazBeoulve]

@@StudyofSwords Haha, is true, but I will also watch it with visuals... eventually.

[@johnnyscifi]

I thought Über, roughley translates to English, as "above"? Please note, I'm not speaking from any sort of authority. Genuine questions...:)

[@StudyofSwords]

Über, can translate to "over", but it can also translate to "above" or "across". In English, through the introduction of the concept of the übermensch via Nietzsche, and then adapted via Siegel and Shuster into "superman", the prefix "Uber" has come to mean "superlative", "irresistible" or "exceptional". So fans started colloquially refering to Ramza's "Heretic Squire" job as "Uber-squire".

[@ValiumSadfemmeMcGirlBoss]

algorithm commente

[@johnnyscifi]

Final Fantasy Tactics, AND Karl Marx. This is made for me!!!

[@StudyofSwords]

Hey glad you liked it!

[@boldbearings]

Marvelous write-up 😍 "St. Ajora/Ultima as the closest the world has to God," but arent we overlooking Ajora's human form job title "False Saint: Agitator who deceives people with lies and masks. Don't underestimate him, but can't match the power of a real saint...."? Mightn't this angelic form and title be only Ajora's personal wish, similar to Lucifers coveting of Gods throne? Also the Archaic demons summoned by Lucavi, described as "Existing before the time of God...." Mightn't the devs be after Catholicism, instead of all churches?

[@StudyofSwords]

Glad you enjoyed it! Well, given the tentative parallel time period is prior to the Protestant Reformation, then yeah The Church of Glabados can be seen as being representative of the Roman Catholic Church. The job descriptions, of course, are all written by Arazlam, so they're operating from the perspective of the player cum historian, as opposed to the worldview of the people of Ivalice during the events of the game .

[@boldbearings]

@@StudyofSwords Azralam's job titles? I never realized. Why do you say that?

[@StudyofSwords]

@@boldbearings Ah, okay. I go into this in more depth in the fourth video in this series, but the framing of the game is that you (the player) are acting as Arazlam's assistant and are researching the events of The War of the Lions. As such, from the perspective of the meta-narrative of the game, all of the character/ job descriptions are being written from the perspective (if not figuratively the quill) of Arazlam centuries removed from the events of the game. So while the "true" history (and again the framing posists that Arazlam is a historical revisionist and so at odds with the Church of Glabados in his own time) is woven into the game's narrative, outside of Ramza's small circle and the Templarate cum Lucavi, no one in the period is aware that Ajora is a "false saint".

[@boldbearings]

@@StudyofSwords Yes. Brilliant😁 ...Araz could draw refs from Ramza's battle records, maybe reports left at Igros....or the papers of his ancestor Olan killed for his report. But the events in the Airship Graveyard. Olan wouldn't speculate, neither would Azra. Who could have given an account? High Confessor died, no?

[@StudyofSwords]

@@boldbearings Well, that's kind of a point I discuss in the fourth video - effectively we already know that Arazlam has two published works, one on the War of the Lions and one on the Durai Papers (which were already cited as being popular works), so while the common interpretation is that he's reading the Durai Papers as the story unfolds, my position is that "The Zodiac Brave Story" is his third work, and therefore based on the Durai Papers and other documents which are not overtly discussed in the narrative (i.e. a record from Ramza/ Alma).

[@heltonteddy]

why did you use sorbo

[@StudyofSwords]

Each of the titles in the series has a musical motif, and for the one exploring religion, "God's not dead" seemed like a good fit, so the aesthetic of the thumbnail also reflected that.

[@StudyofSwords]

But, I think you are the first person to ask about that so, first I've mentioned it.

[@bytemarx8520]

Hi there I saw your ad on the serfs and I started watching your videos. Would you be interested in doing a collab? Do you have an email I could reach you on? I don't have twitter

[@StudyofSwords]

Thanks a lot. Would it be alright to use the "contact us" feature in your web page to share that info?

[@bytemarx8520]

@@StudyofSwords Sure. Send me an email. I'd like to have a talk and you can contact me on the youtube channel page. I look forward to hearing from you

[@StudyofSwords]

@@bytemarx8520 Will do.

[@johnnyscifi]

I remembered the title as "the gay science"...

[@StudyofSwords]

Yes, "The Gay Science" is a common translation of "Die fröhliche Wissenschaft", but the translation I used had instead "The Joyful Wisdom", which is slightly less common.

[@cryptocracia3479]

So the genocidal religion ingame drinks from actual genocidal ideology (communism)

[@StudyofSwords]

It's nice to see that a 2 year old video can still trigger the chuds, lol.

[@cryptocracia3479]

​@@StudyofSwords You just swallowed the bait and confirmed what I feared: You are a sellout to the billionaires, a MODERN supporter of the GENOCIDAL ideology that killed more than 200 million people since being born in the late 1800's, even now ignoring these deaths even with the TRUTH blasting out in your face. Any of the hellspawned theories that came out of marxism are more or less the same set of envious, terraplanist (in economical terms) ideas. You are analyzing the world of FFT and comparing it to an alternative, a braindead ideology that does not work economically (economical calculus is impossible to apply) nor politically (eternally divising classes killing each other and wanting more privileges instead of uniting and understanding each other, while being used in this class conflict to the BENEFIT of the RULING PARTY that cashes in all that conflict by providing "solutions" that augment state) In fact, kind of running in circles, because just like in Cuba, you kill all the ruling class / nobles just to replace it with ANOTHER TYRANNIC DICTATORSHIP - one that most times is EVEN WORSE. The same would apply to the comparation with FFT: Just like the soviets killed the royal family and declared the russian revolution, only to after this revolution, to erect a MUCH WORSE communist dictatorship, that eventually purged even its most loyal followers under the BOOTHEEL of Stalin, the people of IVALICE would endure the same destruction and famine they were accostumed to (when they were peasants being abused by the monarchy), while as well being killed in the hundreds of thousands by the party - be it the purges, or the PROPOSITAL famines like the HOLODOMOR that the soviets enacted upon UKRAINE (denied to this day by the fake intellectuals that defend the same GENOCIDAL shit that you do) and having their PROPERTY, WEALTH, WORK LABOR and EVEN THEIR CHILDREN (see what the russian government is doing RIGHT NOW to the children they got custody in Ukraine) stolen by the party as well, to live eternally as slaves of the regime.

[@StudyofSwords]

Lol.