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Games based around world mythology or folklore

INACTIVEUSS Einstein

INACTIVEUSS Einstein

Fleet Captain
Fleet Captain
I like putting together lists, and one thing I like to look for is games that are based on mythology, folklore, folk religion, cultural epics, etc. The genre is done best in Japan, by far, and obviously literally every game ever made in the fantasy RPG genre incorporates aspects of western mythology. There is also a lot of crossover with history, especially in Chinese mythology, where books like Journey to the West mythologise real historical figures like Xuanzang.

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Every mythology / Carl Jung / Psychology
  • - Shin Megami Tensei Series
  • - Shin Megami Tensei: Persona Series
  • - Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner Series
  • - Dark Souls Series
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Japanese Shintoism / Buddhism / Folklore Complex
  • - Nioh
  • - Onimusha
  • - Onimusha 2
  • - Onimusha 3
  • - Okami
  • - Muramasa: The Demon Blade
  • - Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4
  • - Ninja Gaiden
  • - Otogi
  • - Otogi 2
  • - Kuon
  • - Blood Will Tell: Osamu Tezuka's Dororo
  • - Warriors Orochi
Too many others to list....

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Chinese Shenism / Buddhism / Taoism / Folklore Complex
  • - Jade Empire (another BioWare masterpiece)
  • - Dynasty Warriors Series
  • - Saiyuki: Journey West (Journey to the West)
  • - Suikoden Series
Various Chinese-language RPGs....

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Indian Hinduism / Buddhism / Animism / Folklore Complex
  • - Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga (Hinduism / Yoga chakras)
  • - Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga II (Hinduism / Yoga chakras)
  • - Treasure of the Rudras
  • - Skyblazer
  • - Uncharted 2
  • - Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
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Pacific Islander / Maori / Hawaiian / Samoan / Polynesian
  • - Mark of Kri
  • - Rise of the Kasai
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Middle Eastern / Eastern Christian / Egyptian / Arab / Persian / Muslim / Zoroastrian
  • - Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
  • - Prince of Persia: The Forgotton Sands
  • - Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
  • - Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
  • - Prince of Persia (Persian / Zoroastrianism)
  • - Shin Megami Tensei II
  • - El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron
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Western / Celtic / Norse / Greek / Arthurian / Western Christian
  • - Dungeons and Dragons Series
  • - The Banner Saga
  • - The Banner Saga 2
  • - The Banner Saga 3
  • - God of War
  • - God of War II
  • - God of War III
  • - God of War: Chains of Olympus
  • - God of War: Ghost of Sparta
  • - God of War: Ascension
  • - God of War
  • - Jeanne d'Arc
  • - Viking: Battle for Asgard
  • - Rise of the Argonauts
  • - Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
  • - Warriors: Legends of Troy
  • - Devil May Cry
  • - Devil May Cry 2
  • - Devil May Cry 3
  • - Devil May Cry 4
  • - Rhiannon: Curse of the Four Branches
  • - Dante's Inferno
  • - Age of Mythology
  • - Too Human
  • - Odin Sphere
  • - Xenogears
  • - Valkyrie Profile
  • - Shin Megami Tensei III
  • - Shin Megami Tensei IV
  • - Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
Too many others to list....

Hopefully that proves of interest to some people here, especially retro gamers looking to track down games with the same feel as Nioh, Onimusha, etc, featuring a lot of Japanese mythology. Please add more suggestions if you know some - I'm certain I've forgotten some.
 
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USS Einstein said:
Western / Celtic / Norse / Greek / Arthurian / Western Christian
  • - Dungeons and Dragons Series
  • - The Banner Saga
  • - The Banner Saga 2
  • - The Banner Saga 3
  • - God of War
  • - God of War II
  • - God of War III
  • - God of War: Chains of Olympus
  • - God of War: Ghost of Sparta
  • - God of War: Ascension
  • - God of War
  • - Jeanne d'Arc
  • - Viking: Battle for Asgard
  • - Rise of the Argonauts
  • - Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
  • - Warriors: Legends of Troy
  • - Devil May Cry
  • - Devil May Cry 2
  • - Devil May Cry 3
  • - Devil May Cry 4
  • - Rhiannon: Curse of the Four Branches
  • - Dante's Inferno
  • - Age of Mythology
  • - Too Human
  • - Odin Sphere
  • - Xenogears
  • - Valkyrie Profile
  • - Shin Megami Tensei III
  • - Shin Megami Tensei IV
  • - Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
Click to expand...
  • Titan Quest
 
I'd love to see a modern remake of Jade Empire, or even a sequel. I think it sold well for Bioware at the time, so I find it surprising that many years later, we don't have a sequel or a remaster of the original game. I played the game a few years ago, and found it amazing how so many of the things we take for granted in their games had their roots in this game.
 
Jade Empire was amazing.

I was thinking of doing a thread devoted specifically to retro gaming, as I genuinely think that is where the real value is now that AAA games arn't so much games anymore, as con schemes with paid loot crates.

Historical Halloween IMPRESSIONS: Kuon

Kuon. It is a Japanese word for “eternity”. It is also the name of a rather obscure PlayStation 2 game developed by From Software and released in North America by Agetec all the way back in 2004. Kuon is a survival horror title created during what one might argue was the heyday of the genre. The age of Silent Hill 2 and 3, Fatal Frame and Fatal Frame II, and the GameCube Resident Evil remake.

Though I had heard of the game at the time of its release, I never actually played it, but my curiosity remained. That curiosity had only grown stronger over the years since, and the Internet has done little to sate it. Performing a Google search for “Kuon” today brings up very little. Beyond the official Agetec site, which is remarkably still up and running after nearly eight years, a sparse Wikipedia page, and the requisite Youtube and Google Image links, there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of actual text on the game in any form.

While Youtube could certainly come to the rescue in a case like this, I felt it would be better to finally give the game a try myself. Earlier this year, I found a copy for sale on Amazon and bought it with the intent to save until the month of October. Since the time has come, I cracked the case open, slid the disc in my PS2, and began to explore. And though I still have much left to play as of the time of this writing, what I have found thus far has turned out to be a rather fascinating history lesson.

It had been many years since I had last played a survival horror game of this type, but as I set about learning the controls and how to play, a great deal began to feel very familiar. Thankfully, it doesn’t go too far back; the tank controls of Resident Evil are absent, but other genre hallmarks of the era remain, such as the fixed camera angles that shift as the player moves from room to room and the heavy focus on inventory management. Kuon even features the requirement of using an expendable item to access save points.

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These old games often had greater artistry than the bland stuff Activision-Blizzard, Ubisoft, EA, Warner Bros, etc, put out. But, this thread probably isn't the right place.
 
Owain Taggart said:
I'd love to see a modern remake of Jade Empire, or even a sequel. I think it sold well for Bioware at the time, so I find it surprising that many years later, we don't have a sequel or a remaster of the original game. I played the game a few years ago, and found it amazing how so many of the things we take for granted in their games had their roots in this game.
Click to expand...

It did not sell well. JE's sales were disappointing.

It was nowhere near the level of a Mass Effect or a KOTOR or even a Dragon Age, which is how it would've had to sell to spawn a franchise.
 
Really? Hmm, maybe it's one of those that became a cult-favourite long after their release. I constantly hear about it whenever Bioware is talked about, so they must have done something right. But even then, that's not entirely surprising, given that I don't think their games became really popular until later, with KOTOR being the first one to really hit mainstream, and you see a lot of KOTOR in JE. I think JE had somewhat of a limited audience compared to some of their other games though.
 
Owain Taggart said:
Really? Hmm, maybe it's one of those that became a cult-favourite long after their release. I constantly hear about it whenever Bioware is talked about, so they must have done something right. But even then, that's not entirely surprising, given that I don't think their games became really popular until later, with KOTOR being the first one to really hit mainstream, and you see a lot of KOTOR in JE. I think JE had somewhat of a limited audience compared to some of their other games though.
Click to expand...

Sales aren't a comment on the quality of the game. JE is certainly well-liked, and a cult classic at this point. But most things that are cult classics did very poorly at their initial release, and JE is no exception.

Like it or not, how a game sells in its first year (or even first month!) determines a lot about whether it has any future as a franchise.
 
Kind of like cult-favourite movies; movies that didn't do well financially but are well-liked, like the original Blade Runner.
 
You'd probably like Persona 5 as well, OP.

Bayonetta, despite how extremely over the top it is, actually has some very very detailed lore on witchcraft, religions and such in its in-game tomes and what not too. Interesting reads and insane to think that despite its face value appearance, how steeped in lore it really is.
 
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