Final Fantasy Tactics has returned after 28 years to phenomenal critical acclaim in The Ivalice Chronicles, with fans both old and new reveling in the improved gameplay and actor performances that weren’t possible in 1997. As Yasumi Matsuno, the creator of the original game, wrote in a moving Twitter post, Tactics comes to players in a time much like when the original was released–a time fraught with “inequality and division” that may leave many feeling “robbed of hope.” While Tactics is a fantasy story set in a fictional setting, developers did take a page or two out of real historical events, such as England’s War of the Roses in the mid to late 1400s. It’s bittersweet that history repeats itself now, but it does emphasize how relevant the evergreen themes of Tactics are, and how important Rapha and Marach Galthena’s involvement in the story is.
Although Israel and Palestine were also making headlines in 1997, the recent dramatic escalation of the situation has become a prominent global conversation today. With this escalation comes an uptick in anti-Arab sentiment, making Rapha and Marach’s involvement in The Ivalice Chronicles that much more special to South West Asian and North African (SWANA) gamers like me. It’s also very refreshing to hear actors Elham Ehsas and Lara Sawalha bringing these characters to life so authentically because it’s no secret that SWANA coded characters have, historically, not been depicted in the most flattering or nuanced light–especially in video games. From Metal Slug to Counter Strike, SWANA coded characters have been one of three things: belly dancers, camel-riding snake charmers, or just flat out evil terrorists. Rapha and Marach tell a very different story–one that allows room for nuance and mirrors many of the issues that our community faces internationally, which was saying a lot back in 1997 and says even more in 2025.
Rapha and Marach are orphans who were swiftly brought under the wing of Duke Barrington, a powerful man who intended to use the siblings for their rare mantra abilities. Duke Barrington not only recruited Rapha and Marach as child soldiers for his war efforts, but he also indoctrinated and trained countless other children too, by opening orphanages filled with “a pool of willing young minds.” This allowed him to select the very best to “mold and train,” as Ramza puts it. It may sound cartoonishly evil, but this is actually eerily similar to how the Taliban recruits today. It is commendable that instead of framing Marach and Rapha as roadblocks designed to be cut down on Ramza’s journey, they are given a humanizing backstory that explains why they end up on a megalomaniac’s side of the war instead of Ramza’s. Rapha especially plays a crucial role in highlighting just how misled she and her brother have been, and tries her best to make him see that, in spite of his initial obstinance.
Now, despite how much care is taken in handling the Galthenas’ story, there is room for critique as well. It’s worth noting that the siblings are the only characters in the game with mantra abilities; this feeds into an Orientalist trope, essentially exoticizing the only SWANA coded characters in the game. Additionally, the fact that Rapha and Marach are not well-optimized at all makes them much less popular with Tactics fans. While this is relatively easy to fix with some respeccing, it still isn’t immediately obvious how to best utilize both characters in combat, and that could ultimately dissuade players from including Rapha and Marach in their parties, which is unfortunate and reflects some carelessness on the part of Square.
The other major critique I have is one narrative moment that paints an unflattering picture of Marach, specifically. When Rapha and Marach are first introduced in The Ivalice Chronicles, they are mid-argument. Marach is angry with Rapha for saying disparaging things about the man who he thinks saved them as children. When Rapha tells him she knows Barrington is the one who made them orphans in the first place, Marach slaps her across the face and says he “will not abide [her] ill-mannered tongue”. This seems to suggest that Marach is a fervent supporter of Duke Barrington and is enraged that anyone, let alone his own sister, would say a negative word about him. What this moment also does, is play into a negative stereotype about SWANA men being ‘inherently more violent’, especially toward women. This scene makes even less sense when it is revealed that Marach actually wants to be free of Barrington, and is not intent on staying in service to him.
With all the changes and improvements that this version of Tactics went through, including a gorgeous script overhaul, I think there was room to remove the slap from Marach and Rapha’s argument to avoid unintentionally reinforcing a negative stereotype. It wouldn’t be the first time a character was re-examined in the Final Fantasy franchise. Cid in Final Fantasy 7 was originally implied to be abusive in the 1997 version of the game, and has since been reworked to be an endearing, upbeat southern gentleman in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.
While the original FF7 Cid was a pretty dour character overall, Marach, on the other hand, is a flawed character, but not a bad one. He genuinely cares for his sister, and even takes a bullet for her once he finally hears Duke Barrington admit to being the villain he has always been. After Rapha brings Marach back to life with the Scorpio Stone, the siblings both join Ramza’s party. For the first time in their lives, they actively choose what to fight for and who to fight alongside. It’s also revealed in optional dialogue when battling Hashmal/Folmarv that Rapha and Marach want that encounter to be the very last time they have to kill anyone ever again, which was unheard of for SWANA coded characters in the 90s and is still fairly uncommon now.
Although Rapha and Marach’s story is a bit of a short one in Tactics’ overall narrative, it is still impactful and continues to go against the grain by portraying SWANA characters as virtuous, imperfect people, like many other characters get to be. Would it be nice if their stats were better optimized? Sure. But in the grand scheme of things, the Galthena siblings are still great examples of how SWANA coded characters can be, and what I hope to see more of in future games.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.