Also, middle-earth was supposed to be a mythology for England... naturally the 'men of the west' would be English (white)? Anyway, I always thought 'mysterious

Also, middle-earth was supposed to be a mythology for England... naturally the 'men of the west' would be English (white)? Anyway, I always thought 'mysterious dark-skinned bad guys from the south' was cultural legacy from the Moorish invasion & Christian reconquest of Spain. EDIT: Then again, we're talking about a Japanese video game (albeit with the trappings of traditional European fantasy) so I'm not sure how much of the above applies.