10 Craziest Unique Religions In Video Games
5. The Church of Martel (Tales of Symphonia)
Another entry in the "Evil JRPG Religion" canon, The Church of Martel is what happens when you combine an immortal lifespan with a psychotic level of determination.
The Church of Martel was an all-powerful, millenia-old religion founded by one Mithos Yggdrasil, who created the Church in honour of his deceased sister, Martel. (Something that must have made him insufferably smug at support group meetings. "Oh, you made a donation to charity in your dead brother's name? I mean, when ?? sibling died I created a global religion that dictated the course of society over thousands of years. But hey, you do you!".)
Naturally, Mithos had sinister intentions under his seeming benevolence. The Church turned out to be a millienia-long science experiment designed to do two things - stop discrimination by turning everyone into mindless monsters that resembled swollen purple cacti, and to create a suitable vessel for Martel's soul through 4,000 years of selective breeding.
Sadly for Mithos, his planning came to nothing. After four millenia of treating the people of the world as disposable lab rats, a newly-revived Martel was understandably horrified at what Mithos had done in her name. Martel called her brother out as the psychopath he was, leaving him utterly broken and defeated.
If only all gods could be so proactive in chastising those who commit evil in their name...