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Games that retell legends or signify a subject.


Salluz
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- SO worth the watch!

If you have played enough of the Chrono Trigger or have beaten it (twice :P), you will notice some commonalities between the Bible and Chrono Trigger. Some you may have seen it as clear as day, whereas for others, you'd have found the parallels only if you know enough about the Bible AND looked deeper after noticing the way-too-obvious Biblically inspired themes.

Obvious ones are: Crono being the savior of the past, present and future; the cosmic arrival, role, and apocalyptic return of Lavos (basicaly the Devil, and 1999, lol, Y2K anyone?), the war between the mystics and humans (the crusades), Magus' being a prophet (not false nor being the Devilhead) with an HP level of 6666 in the (first?) battle (if I am not mistaken) + (almost-spoiler: I won't tell the full secret, but DO NOT fight Magus the 2nd time he proposes to, for good reason on both his end and yours); the ending of prehistoric life and dinosaurs, an ice age, an Atlantian or Solomon-like kingdom (that might be a stretch, and the link doesn't say that), the three gurus with gifts, and so on.

I'm sure that there are more parallels between games and legends, conspiracies, theories, philosophies, etc. Like with the Legend of Zelda and mutli-incarnation/spirally chronological reoccurence, SMB, and more.

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Terranigma was about sacrifice and resurrection - it's probably filled with biblical references as well, but I suck at pulling references from memory. If you haven't played it, I'd recommend doing so, cuz it will blow almost all of Chrono Trigger's themes out of the water =p (still love CT don't get me wrong)

And the ending will definitely mind-fuck you =p

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Terranigma was about sacrifice and resurrection - it's probably filled with biblical references as well, but I suck at pulling references from memory. If you haven't played it, I'd recommend doing so, cuz it will blow almost all of Chrono Trigger's themes out of the water =p (still love CT don't get me wrong)

And the ending will definitely mind-fuck you =p

Xenogears and Xenosaga.

See you next year. >:D

I really need to get around to playing both of those series. I've heard pretty much nothing but good things about them.

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There is a short story called "The Spider's Thread" , which is basically a Buddhist parable. Here's the Wikipedia synopsis:

The Buddha Shakyamuni is meandering around Paradise one morning, when he stops at a lotus-filled pond. Between the lilies, he can see, through the crystal-clear waters, the depths of Hell. His eyes come to rest on one sinner in particular, by the name of Kandata. Kandata was a cold-hearted criminal, but had one good deed to his name: while walking through the forest one day, he decided not to kill a spider he was about to crush with his foot. Moved by this single act of compassion, the Buddha takes the silvery thread of a spider in Paradise and lowers it down into Hell.

Down in Hell, the myriad sinners are struggling in the Pool of Blood, in total darkness save for the light glinting off the Mountain of Spikes, and in total silence save for the sighs of the damned. Kandata, looking up by chance at the sky above the pool, sees the spider's thread descending towards him and grabs hold with all the might of a seasoned criminal. The climb from Hell to Paradise is not a short one, however, and Kandata quickly tires. Dangling from the middle of the rope, he glances downward, and sees how far he has come. Realizing that he may actually escape from Hell, he is overcome by joy and laughs giddily. His elation is short-lived, however, as he realizes that others have started climbing the thread behind him, stretching down into the murky depths below. Fearing that the thread will break from the weight of the others, he shouts that the spider's thread is his and his alone. It is at this moment that the thread breaks, and he and all the other sinners are cast back down into the Pool of Blood.

Shakyamuni witnesses this, knowing all but still with a slightly sad air. In the end, Kandata condemned himself by being concerned only with his own salvation and not that of others. But Paradise continues on as it has, and it is nearly noontime there. Thus the Buddha continues his meanderings.

One of the dungeons in Skyward Sword, the Ancient Cistern, is heavily influenced by this story.

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Romance of The Three Kingdoms is based on the novel from 14th Century China.

The Devil May Cry games borrow a lot of elements of the Divine Comedy (See also, Dante's Inferno)

The Prince of Persia games use some mythology from Zoroastrianism.

Batman: Arkham City pays homage to Cain and Abel. In fact, the ending is given away in a Catwoman mission where you have to steal something from behind a painting if I recall correctly. That painting is a picture of Cain carrying Abel the same way Batman carries Joker's corpse in the end.

The new Tomb Raider is entirely based on the lost kingdom of Yamatai and Queen Himiko.

The first Fatal Frame game is a retelling of a Japanese ghost story.

Resident Evil: Revelations' setting very clearly inspired by the Bermuda Triangle.

Not all of those example are necessarily "re-tellings" of legends, but rather they draw inspiration from it. Close enough.

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Okami basically retells Japanese mythology, but with more puppies

I recall that King of Fighters has some ties to Japanese mythology too, mostly the inclusion of Orochi as an antagonistic force in the early games

Isn't Dynasty Warriors set in Feudal Japan?

There are some parallels to Christian stuff in the Megaman Zero series, including a lot of sacrificial death, and some of the villains being very antichrist like (both Weil and Copy X)

Seth in Street Fighter IV has a yin yang symbol in his stomach... does that count? :P

EDIT: also, the Silent Hill series is drowning in religious symbolism, especially the ones that involve the cult (1, 3, 4, Homecoming, Origins). It's kinda like if they really missed the point of Christianity lol

Edited by Zerothemaster
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