The plot of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance has lead to interesting discussions among fans. While most Final Fantasy games are relatively straight forward with the player being the hero and the villains being the ones they fight, Tactics Advance doesn’t follow suit.
For some, Mewt is the clear villain. For others, Marche isn’t exactly hero material. Final Fantasy Tactics‘ story deals in shades of gray, making it difficult to tell who’s the real villain between Marche & Mewt.
10 Marche: Ivalice Might Be Real
Marche pretty quickly comes to the conclusion that the world of Ivalice is a fantasy and seeks to tear it down and get back home. This is somewhat backed up by the fact that beings from his world have suddenly been transported, but for other beings like the Moogles seem to have come out of nowhere.
It could be that when Mewt recited the incantation, it lead to the creation of a genuine world. That would mean many of the beings that originated in this world are actually real and not figments of the gang’s imagination like Marche assumes. If this is the case, he has caused a massive genocide of living beings.
9 Mewt: Ivalice Likely Isn’t Real
The other side of the coin would suggest that Marche was right and Ivalice really is an illusion, which would make Mewt the bad guy. Despite knowing it’s a fabrication, as he seems to be one of the few with prior memories intact, he keeps the illusion alive and never helps his friends realize the truth.
It’s likely he did this to prevent them from trying to escape as the only way out was to destroy everything. Keeping his friends in the dark to preserve his own fantasy is a selfish move no matter the reason and makes him the bad guy.
8 Marche: They Might Not Even Be Home
One interesting aspect of the story fans have obsessed over is the fact that destroying the crystals would result in a new world being born. Marche assumes this means they could return to the real world, but what if this simply resulted in the creation of a new dream world?
In this case they would have traded fantasies, only this time it would be of Marche’s design meant to resemble the real world. Marche would likely have some inkling it isn’t real but is choosing to accept it as real. This Inception-esque theory has Marche and Mewt switch roles, leaving everyone still trapped with no one realizing it’s a farce.
7 Mewt: Constantly Changes The Laws
As Prince of Ivalice, Mewt has the authority, or at least believes he does, to constantly change the laws to suit his needs. This is done to quell uprisings and hinder Marche & the gang’s efforts to escape to the real world.
This constant changing of the laws is likely leading to chaos for the citizens of Ivalice participating in duels and accepted forms of combat. Attempting to be law abiding citizens would be impossible when said laws are changing based on the whims of the leader. This likely has resulted in multiple unintended crimes and possible punishments as a result.
6 Marche: Knowingly Harms Mewt
Whenever a crystal is destroyed by Marche’s hands, he receives a vision of Mewt in intense pain. Marche has no way of knowing if this is genuine physical pain because the crystals are tied to him or something else. But of course, Marche assumes the latter and keeps going.
While Marche certainly has good intentions, there’s no effort to find a way to destroy the crystals without harming Mewt or looking for another way to escape. Marche simply keeps smashing crystals knowing it will cause his friend agony each time and determines the ends justify the means.
5 Mewt: Willing To Do Anything To Stay
Once Mewt realizes Marche’s intent, he does anything and everything to stop him and keep the dream world intact. This has led to many atrocities as he’s sent assassins to kill his friends, started wars, rounded up Moogles & Marche look alikes, and many other horrible crimes.
There’s no consideration that his friends could genuinely die as a result of his actions. Or maybe there was and he determined his fantasy was more important than their lives. In either case, this makes him the unmistakable villain.
4 Marche: Causes Chaos
Granted, if none of it was real, then nothing he does matters– but if it was real, Marche is responsible for committing a series of atrocities of his own. His actions throw a semi-stable world into chaos as he causes wars, economic disaster, and countless deaths.
One could only imagine the fallout if Marche hadn’t succeeded or was wrong about the crystals. It also paints a dark picture if there were aspects of Ivalice that were real and Marche bulldozed through with no consideration otherwise.
3 Mewt: No Intent To Bring Clans Together In Peace
A big indicator that Mewt was little more than a tyrant are the Engagements and the existence of the Clans. Instead of seeking to bring genuine peace to the land, he merely puts laws in place determining how combat plays out while making no effort to stop it.
He even builds a judicial system to support and uphold combat. This has lead to the rise of multiple factions vying for control and Mewt allows it to exist. Who knows how many deaths and tragedies occurred because Mewt tolerated the Clans and legalized combat?
2 Marche: Forces The Others To Leave
Marche’s efforts to force everyone to leave regardless of whether they wanted to can be seen as evil. While it is true they were living in a fantasy, he doesn’t give them the option of leaving. He simply sets out to destroy the world.
It’s fortunate for Marche that they came around as it likely would have caused unimaginable psychological issues for them to be ripped out of the fantasy world and back to reality without wanting to go. Doned likely would have never forgiven his brother for robbing his ability to walk and play, even if it was for the greater good.
1 Mewt: Escapism Doesn’t Solve Anything
Of course, the overall point of the story paints Mewt as the clear villain and Marche as the hero, even if they both had issues. Taking a break from reality every now and then can be healthy, but fully embracing that distraction or fantasy as reality isn’t.
While the fantasy world may have seemed to be a better reality for the gang, it caused them to avoid their issues instead of confronting them. As a result, none of them would have dealt with their psychological problems and never experienced that growth of character. Marche wanted to make them healthier people capable of facing their problems, Mewt wanted everyone to ignore them and remain weak.
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