by MrStarbird » Sat Feb 18, 2017 4:08 am
Motavians by nature were nomadic people. I do see the similarities between them an both the Native Americans and Aboriginal Australians, but the entire planet of Motavia itself was barren and there were no official settlements by Motavians. The Palmans eventually colonized the planet but they didn't exactly force the Motavians out of their homes, because again, they were nomads.
That being said, by the time PS2 rolls around, Motavians do indeed seem out of place, feeling as they do not belong. The cultivation of Motavia meant that the means of survival that Motavians once had were gone. Though you don't see a lot of Motavians in PS2, you see them in a couple of towns and in Roron. However, keep in mind that on Motavia there are a LOT of farm domes that most likely used the Motavians as workers. You could suggest that social commentary could be used in that, but there is no evidence either way to support that Motavians were forced to work the fields, were hired to do so, or had nothing to do with them (considering that most of the farming could have been automated by Mother Brain anyway).
After the Great Collapse, Motavia started to return to its desert state and Motavians themselves wandered again, but eventually decided to settle down.
Dezolisans, on the other hand, were not very fond of Palmans colonizing their planet, but then again, Dezolisans were more or less a civilized race that could take care of themselves. I can see their unease about the Palmans, and because of the language gap, lived in fear of the Palmans and their advanced technology. Even if the Palmans never demonstrated aggression towards the natives, Dezolisans saw them as a ticking time bomb that could possibly eradicate them and their ways of life.
The whole thing with the Magic/Mogic Cap I will admit is a bit strange. Magic Cap lets you talk to Musk Cats truthfully, which was odd because you could understand them perfectly in Phantasy Star and Phantasy Star IV, whereas Mogic Caps did the same for Dezolisians (again, they all speak the same language in both 1 and 4, except for the enemies who you have to use a communication spell or item). The caps were a piece of technology or magic that translated different languages. However, if used on the wrong race, it would create a mis-translation and thus it would appear as though Rolf would be lied to.
I do see your point in social commentary. I don't think that was the intent of the developers (except possibly with the whole inhabiting a planet to mine for Laconia being similar to the Europeans heading to Africa for diamonds), but one never knows.