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Games inspired by British/Irish fairy tales

MoioinkMoioink Registered User regular
edited June 2009 in Games and Technology
The English fairy tale aesthetic and mythology is something I am very fond of with its various pagan influences. Sadly it's kind of rare in gaming which is too bad because I love these throwbacks to my childhood. Here are the games I know of that really nail the atmosphere I am looking for:

Fable 2

Fable_2--screenshot_large.jpg

Despite being very disjointed and having a population that was dumber than a sack of bricks Albion was a really beautiful world to be in. A proper open world Fable 3 that treats the f***** ending as canon is one of my most wanted games.

Folklore

939540_20070516_790screen005.jpg

I am yet to play more than the demo (finding a copy is tricky but I should have one soon) but that was enough to sell me on Folklore. It seems to take place in an English coastal village where fairies of various sorts come out at night. It even has a henge that has a portal from which the land of the dead can be accessed during samhain.

Anyone else a fan? :)

Moioink on

Posts

  • CherrnCherrn Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Hooo, this is a tough one. I guess the first two Suikoden games would qualify; northern European settings with a strong Celtic vibe. It's pretty much impossible to find Suikoden 2, but the first one is on the PSN store, so you could check it out if you haven't already.

    Other than that? Hmmm, Shadow Hearts is based primarily on gothic horror, relying heavily on folklore and fairytales, though not strictly of the English kind.

    Can anyone vouch for the quality of Folklore? I always thought it looked cool, but I haven't heard a whole lot of praise for the game.

    Cherrn on
    All creature will die and all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai.
  • AroducAroduc regular
    edited June 2009
    Through the Looking Glass is a British fairy tale... if you get where I'm going.

    Aroduc on
  • DuffelDuffel jacobkosh Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Quest 64 supposedly was influenced a great deal by ancient myths from the British Isles and was designed by an Irish team IIRC.

    Unfortunately it's pretty old, kind of rare and it also kind of sucked

    Duffel on
  • PurpleMonkeyPurpleMonkey Why so derp? Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Technically Cait Sith from FFVII is based on a creature from Scottish and Irish mythology (which is why he speaks with a Scottish accent in Advent Children if anyone was wondering)

    But something tells me FFVII isn't exactly what you're looking for

    PurpleMonkey on
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    XBL, Steam & Tribes: elmartino333
  • emnmnmeemnmnme Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Orphan Feast!


    ....pip, pip, cheerio! and all that rot.

    emnmnme on
  • FirmSkaterFirmSkater Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Duffel wrote: »
    Quest 64 supposedly was influenced a great deal by ancient myths from the British Isles and was designed by an Irish team IIRC.

    Unfortunately it's pretty old, kind of rare and it also kind of sucked

    I played the shit out of this game when I was 12 years old.

    FirmSkater on
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  • CronusCronus Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    FirmSkater wrote: »
    Duffel wrote: »
    Quest 64 supposedly was influenced a great deal by ancient myths from the British Isles and was designed by an Irish team IIRC.

    Unfortunately it's pretty old, kind of rare and it also kind of sucked

    I played the shit out of this game when I was 12 years old.

    For sucking so hard it did have an odd lure. I think it was the art style. Very brightly colored and pretty open areas. It looked quite good for a 64 game at the time. The cartoony look worked well for them.

    Cronus on
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    "Read twice, post once. It's almost like 'measure twice, cut once' only with reading." - MetaverseNomad
  • XagarathXagarath Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    No, sadly very few, though there are a few games based more on the Grimm approach (Overlord: Dark Legend, the original Simon the Sorceror)

    Xagarath on
  • MoioinkMoioink Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Cherrn wrote: »
    Hooo, this is a tough one. I guess the first two Suikoden games would qualify; northern European settings with a strong Celtic vibe. It's pretty much impossible to find Suikoden 2, but the first one is on the PSN store, so you could check it out if you haven't already.

    Other than that? Hmmm, Shadow Hearts is based primarily on gothic horror, relying heavily on folklore and fairytales, though not strictly of the English kind.

    Suikoden unless I am very mistaken is very much an Eastern game. I really can't see much Celtic influence at all.

    Shadow Hearts isn't exactly what I am looking for but it looks close enough anyway so thanks, I'll give it a go. :mrgreen:

    Moioink on
  • KalTorakKalTorak One way or another, they all end up in the Undercity.Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Aroduc wrote: »
    Through the Looking Glass is a British fairy tale... if you get where I'm going.

    I was going to say Alice.

    KalTorak on
  • robotaftrobotaft Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Moioink wrote: »
    I am yet to play more than the demo (finding a copy is tricky but I should have one soon) but that was enough to sell me on Folklore. It seems to take place in an English coastal village where fairies of various sorts come out at night. It even has a henge that has a portal from which the land of the dead can be accessed during samhain.

    This is a nitpick, but Folklore takes place in Doolin, which is a real village on the west coast of Ireland. Whether or not the game takes any great advantage of the somewhat unique locale, I have no idea - I've only played the demo myself.

    I enjoy the kinds of settings you mention too, but funny enough I've never really thought about the use of them in games. Hmm. Maybe you could count Dark Age of Camelot, depending on how much of a disfiguring of mythology you're willing to tolerate.

    On second thought, no, I'm sorry; I take that back :P

    robotaft on
  • Canada_jezusCanada_jezus Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Is folklore the ps3 game? Cause if so i might have to pick that up.

    Canada_jezus on
  • bsjezzbsjezz Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Cherrn wrote: »
    Can anyone vouch for the quality of Folklore? I always thought it looked cool, but I haven't heard a whole lot of praise for the game.

    it's very good with the exception of having to play through areas twice with separate characters. that stole the momentum away for me. other than that, trapping new folk to use in manic combos against other folk is a really satisfying core mechanic

    bsjezz on
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  • SkexisSkexis Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    bsjezz wrote: »
    Cherrn wrote: »
    Can anyone vouch for the quality of Folklore? I always thought it looked cool, but I haven't heard a whole lot of praise for the game.

    it's very good with the exception of having to play through areas twice with separate characters. that stole the momentum away for me. other than that, trapping new folk to use in manic combos against other folk is a really satisfying core mechanic

    That's one of the bigger complaints about the game, but I haven't had a problem with playing and simply going back and forth on the characters rather than playing completely through as one and going back to play through the other.

    My personal complaint was that the time spent in the real world really dragged compared to the dream world. They played it as somewhat of an adventure game, but I couldn't find much reason to keep talking to anyone other than to get the item I needed to go back to the dream world. There was no incentive to explore the cool-looking environments, which was kind of sad.

    It has that collect 'em all vibe to it when you're not in combat, but I'd say the good of the game really is mostly about the art style and feel of the whole thing.

    Skexis on
  • DuffelDuffel jacobkosh Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Cronus wrote: »
    FirmSkater wrote: »
    Duffel wrote: »
    Quest 64 supposedly was influenced a great deal by ancient myths from the British Isles and was designed by an Irish team IIRC.

    Unfortunately it's pretty old, kind of rare and it also kind of sucked

    I played the shit out of this game when I was 12 years old.

    For sucking so hard it did have an odd lure. I think it was the art style. Very brightly colored and pretty open areas. It looked quite good for a 64 game at the time. The cartoony look worked well for them.

    I also played it a lot back in the day. Some of the areas were pretty fun to explore - the desert in particular IIRC - but the plot was just really really bad. The main character was a mute, which wasn't that uncommon back then, but you expect them to be evened out by NPCs who have lots of personality. It also had a very, very sudden ending.

    It wasn't a bad game for the era, but if you were to take it down and play it again today I doubt you'd enjoy it nearly as much. The N64 had a fairly anemic library to begin with and Quest was not a standout title.

    Duffel on
  • MoioinkMoioink Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    robotaft wrote: »
    Moioink wrote: »
    I am yet to play more than the demo (finding a copy is tricky but I should have one soon) but that was enough to sell me on Folklore. It seems to take place in an English coastal village where fairies of various sorts come out at night. It even has a henge that has a portal from which the land of the dead can be accessed during samhain.

    This is a nitpick, but Folklore takes place in Doolin, which is a real village on the west coast of Ireland. Whether or not the game takes any great advantage of the somewhat unique locale, I have no idea - I've only played the demo myself.

    Wow, I had no idea it was a real place! :) That's pretty neat.
    2004Doolin.jpg

    930085_20070825_790screen005.jpg
    930085_20070825_790screen006.jpg

    0.jpg

    Moioink on
  • emnmnmeemnmnme Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    If EA can publish a game based on Dante's Inferno, some publisher might step up and start work on a game starring Cuchulainn. That scrapper was so hardcore that, when he was wounded in battle, he tied himself to a boulder between waves of enemies to help prop himself up and continue fighting.

    emnmnme on
  • CherrnCherrn Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Moioink wrote: »
    Suikoden unless I am very mistaken is very much an Eastern game. I really can't see much Celtic influence at all.

    It is a JRPG, if that's what you mean. But, I mean, the primary thrust of the story is about assembling an army and liberating the land. It's a fantasy game, but I find it's a very non-Japanese take on European history and lore... through the lens of Chinese literature.

    It's hard to describe, but the way the world is created is reminiscent of this kind of culture. Runes, spirits, mythical races, etc. I guess it is a stretch, but it's a fantastic game nonetheless :P

    Cherrn on
    All creature will die and all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai.
  • ErgandarErgandar Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Moioink wrote: »
    robotaft wrote: »
    Moioink wrote: »
    I am yet to play more than the demo (finding a copy is tricky but I should have one soon) but that was enough to sell me on Folklore. It seems to take place in an English coastal village where fairies of various sorts come out at night. It even has a henge that has a portal from which the land of the dead can be accessed during samhain.

    This is a nitpick, but Folklore takes place in Doolin, which is a real village on the west coast of Ireland. Whether or not the game takes any great advantage of the somewhat unique locale, I have no idea - I've only played the demo myself.

    Wow, I had no idea it was a real place! :) That's pretty neat.
    2004Doolin.jpg

    930085_20070825_790screen005.jpg
    930085_20070825_790screen006.jpg

    0.jpg

    Ahahah

    I've visited Doolin, and the pub in the picture resembles closely the one I enjoyed lunch at.

    Ergandar on
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  • MoioinkMoioink Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Cherrn wrote: »
    Moioink wrote: »
    Suikoden unless I am very mistaken is very much an Eastern game. I really can't see much Celtic influence at all.

    It is a JRPG, if that's what you mean. But, I mean, the primary thrust of the story is about assembling an army and liberating the land. It's a fantasy game, but I find it's a very non-Japanese take on European history and lore... through the lens of Chinese literature.

    It's hard to describe, but the way the world is created is reminiscent of this kind of culture. Runes, spirits, mythical races, etc. I guess it is a stretch, but it's a fantastic game nonetheless :P

    I meant more the setting, weapons, clothing and story, all very Chinese to me on the surface. You're right that does sound like quite a stretch (even if there's spirits and mythical races they're going to be based on Chinese mythology) but I've heard good things about it anyway, sounds like an ideal PSP RPG. :)
    Ergandar wrote: »
    Ahahah

    I've visited Doolin, and the pub in the picture resembles closely the one I enjoyed lunch at.

    Nowt better than a pub lunch and a pint in some village you've never been to before.

    Moioink on
  • DelzhandDelzhand Hard to miss. Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    I did not enjoy Folklore at all. It's beautiful, but the story plays out in incredibly slow comic-book-page style cut-scenes, iirc.

    Delzhand on
  • KazhiimKazhiim __BANNED USERS regular
    edited June 2009
    Two out of the three factions (and their respective lands) in Dark Age of Camelot are heavily based on Irish and English folklore. The third is norse, which is just as good.

    Kazhiim on
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  • MoioinkMoioink Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Delzhand wrote: »
    I did not enjoy Folklore at all. It's beautiful, but the story plays out in incredibly slow comic-book-page style cut-scenes, iirc.

    Other than the completely redundant "press X to exit" I quite liked it.

    Moioink on
  • CherrnCherrn Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Moioink wrote: »
    I meant more the setting, weapons, clothing and story, all very Chinese to me on the surface. You're right that does sound like quite a stretch (even if there's spirits and mythical races they're going to be based on Chinese mythology) but I've heard good things about it anyway, sounds like an ideal PSP RPG. :)

    Actually, it is strictly European, with a tinge of Asian influences in some areas. It doesn't become full-on Japanese until the fifth entry. The first two games deal with medieval aristocracies, armed knight rebellions and the visual/character design reflects this. They essentially comprise a fantasy version of the 100-years war.

    Cherrn on
    All creature will die and all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai.
  • solsovlysolsovly Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    952300.jpg
    I'm on the case!

    MMO: Dark Age of Camelot - You could play as member of the Albion(English), Hibernia(Celtic) or Midgards(norse). Some interesting locations, classes and races. Not sure if you want to invest the time in exploring an MMO though.

    Anyone play Lionheart? That sounds like it could fit the bill.

    solsovly on
  • AroducAroduc regular
    edited June 2009
    Lionheart was a terrible drunkard piece of crappy nonsense and I will not have its name spoken of here ever again.

    Aroduc on
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