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Revision as of 07:46, 26 January 2015

La Scuola di AteneGenji monogatariG a custer


Brief Introduction

For most of us, it's back to College time (or has been in January, rather). So in an effort to seem educated, here's some games based on mythology, legends, or olden stories. Note: Most of these games are altered from their original stories. So don't expect to play these and pass your next history exam. This is just a way to blow off steam, while often being a historical badass. You might consider showing some of these games to your instructors. They'll often consider playing them, or at least find them interesting.

Why not just "Mythical" or "Historical" Games?

Either one is too fucking restricting and doesn't allow for a lot of good games that would be in the other, but little to do with myth. It was my original intention for that anyway, but I had second guesses.

For the Record

The more a game has ACTUAL elements from history OR myth and legends, the better. Example: Shiva as a motorcycle is NOT relevant in either way. Glory of Heracles III, despite not following any one myth, but still has ancient Greece, the gods, and so forth, IS Mythical. Oregon Trail, while slightly exaggerated, is quite relevant to Historical events. So, no Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, or Zelda (Although several Zelda elements are based on myths). LotR is also kind of pushing it, but something like a good Beowulf game (If one existed) wouldn't be. Storybook games such as Aladdin and Sonic & the Secret Rings are questionable, mostly because of their heavily altered, but still somewhat relevant, roots, but adding Sonic and the Black Knight is just silly.

A comparison of game vs their mythical based roots has been done by GamesRadar: http://www.gamesradar.com/f/how-faithful-are-mythology-based-games/a-20100204131847258056 for those who'd like to see just how bad/good the games do with the material. (above link can be used as reference of new games to add to this list, also notice how close this section of the wiki appeared and when this article was done, strange isn't it?) Actually, I had no idea this existed when I made this (though it would have helped a lot...). SO, NO, IT'S NOT STRANGE AT ALL.

Prehistory (Loosely before modern language and the like was conceieved.)

Games about Cavemen and Dinosaurs. Science has shown cavemen and dinosaurs weren't around during the same era, but for the sake of fun and good games, this mix will be allowed in this category. The closer a game gets to "actual" prehistory the better though.

  • Positive Metacritic Reviews
  • Neutral Metacritic Reviews
  • Negative Metacritic Reviews
  • No Review Listed
Box Art Title Genre Description System of Choice Historical Origin
Evo E.V.O. Search for Eden RPG/Platfomer Condensed history of the evolution of man, from fish to lizard to caveman. Spend E.V.O. points to evolve portions of your body to greater forms. These combinations get really interesting when you get into the mammalian eras. Bit of a grind and gets very hard at points. A spiritual successor to this can be found in "Seventh Cross Evolution" for Dreamcast, but opinions are mixed on that SNES ???
586259 38927 front Joe and Mac (Caveman Ninja) Platformer The women of your straw hut village have been taken by neanderthals. You get to be bad enough cave-dude to save the babes by using stone wheels, fireballs, boomerangs, stone-axes, and good old clubs to get them back. Ported to home consoles, but the arcade version is generally the best. Look for it in Data East Classics, an arcade collection for current gen consoles. Arcade ???
588406 40253 front Joe and Mac 2/III Platformer This J+M entry takes a more console-based route. As a result, it is far less arcade-y and a few beat'em up elements have been downplayed abit. However, you can buy items and stuff, and there's a password system. Whether this change is for better or worse is up to you. There was Caveman Ninja 2, A.K.A. Congo's Caper, starring Joe and Mac's Missing Link ancestor, Congo, thus, the name confusion. (C.C.'s kinda iffy though, only recommended for the curious.) SNES ???

The historical era of Myth and Legend (loosely before 500 A.D./B.C.E.)

Games about Ancient Greece, Rome, China, Japan, and possibly the early western world if you can find any relevant games for that.

Box Art Title Genre Description System of Choice Historical Origin
Battleofolympus Battle of Olympus, The Platformer/Adventure Your gal pal has been kidnapped, and it's up to you to get some help from the Greek gods of Olympus to save her. Plays like Zelda 2 and Faxanadu. Can get pretty hard and confusing early on if you decide to go where you're not recommended to. So while it is non-linear to an extent, you should consider sticking with the advice of others to avoid getting killed. Note: A Game Boy Version also came out, but was altered slightly. It's a pretty decent alternative to this though. NES Greek
Destiny of an Emperor Cover Destiny of an Emperor RPG Take control as Liu Bei and recruit worthy warriors to reunite China and restore the Han Dynasty. Essentially a mix of Dynasty Warriors and Dragon Warrior but what makes it unique is the auto-attack option which speeds up battles and the fact that you can recruit enemy warlords to your side. You can even make Lu Bu an ally!(He does betray you later though...) There is a sequel, Tenchi wo Kurau II, which is a bit more faithful to the actual source material. NES Chinese, Three Kingdoms era
Goh2box Glory of Heracles II: Titan's Downfall RPG The first Glory of Heracles game to see a translation and the first to resemble its later sequels. You play as a mortal Greek soldier who must find the hero, Heracles, so he can prevent the Titans from resurrecting. Plays like a Greek cross between Dragon Quest 2 and 3, but without the annoying OPEN DOOR and CLIMB STAIRS of the NES era. Pretty hard early on, but there's a few neat elements to this that make it worth finishing. While the series includes mythological figures, the stories re-adapt or play with the actual stories for original purposes. NES Greek
Goh3 Glory of Heracles III: Silence of the Gods RPG The first "modern" GoH game, now with enough differences from Dragon Quest to make it feel like it's own series. Technical aspects of learning magic from Greek Temples and weapon mastery from instructors aside, the series's writing got a notable boost in quality and the music now has an operatic feel about it, creating a very cool experience. You play as an immortal man who allies with other immortals but all of you are unable to remember WHY you are immortal, until... SNES Greek
Goh5 Glory of Heracles V: Proof of the Soul RPG The first of the Greek-themed RPG series to make it overseas, and an excellent entry. Takes elements from previous GoH games and adds new ones. It features OPTIONAL touch-screen power boosts to your skills and magic (think Mario RPG). An intriguing adventure done by an ace team of old-schoolers. Takes elements from 3, but is mostly it's own game and story. DS Greek
1113367118-00-1- God of War Beat 'em up Be Kratos, an asshole from ancient Greece who wants to kill everyone because he killed his own family. Traverse through nicely rendered Grecian level-scapes as you hack 'n slash your way to the top of Mount Olympus with two blades attached to long chains to kill Ares. Very similar to Rygar: The Legendary Adventure, although this came a few years later so it's much more polished and is thus better for it. Plus Kratos is soooo much more grimdark than Rygar is. Made quick-time events popular. Your Biggest enemy in this game will be the unmovable camera. PS2 Greek
Cover 7ac2ded519907f8cd706cd4fb965fc7d l-1- God of War II Beat 'em up You want more God of War? Here's more God of War. Watch Kratos get butthurt and start ripping things to shreds again with his Blades of Chaos. Better than the original. PS2 Greek
God of War Chains of Olympus NA version front cover-1- God of War: Chains of Olympus Beat 'em up God of War on the PSP, complete with everyone's favorite button-mashing, quick-time-eventing, gory bald albino Spartan. The graphics are amazing and it has the feel of a full God of War title. Protip: This game was the first to use the full 333MHz of the PSP's processor, in order to render the HELLA SWEET GRAFIX. PSP Greek
Front1-1- Gods Platformer Great platformer with unique atmosphere of pseudo-Greece. Involves you playing as Hercules/Heracles in a curious story involving the Greek gods. Ported to consoles and sped-up a bit, making those releases harder as a result. PC Greek
Hercadventures Herc's Adventures Action/Adventure Spiritual successor to Zombies at My Neighbors. Play as Hercules, Atalanta, or a young Jason, each of which has a particular specialty of Strength, speed, or a balance of the two. A silly send up of myth and humor not meant to be taken seriously. Save Persephone after Hades rapes her. NO, NOT THAT KIND OF RAPE. PS1, Saturn Greek
Hero-of-sparta-ti1 Hero of Sparta Beat 'em up A God-of-War style action game for iPod Touch/iPhone, PS3/PSP Minis, DSiWare. Good graphics, decent controls, and the cyclops-decapitating QTE's that we've all come to know and love. The second is better, but available on less platforms. iPhone, PSP, DSi/3DS Greek
Nyxquest Icarian/NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits Platformer Platformer that allows the player to interact with the environment through Wii IR. Think LostWinds, but more so. Different powers and a good deal of challenge. Nyx's fiancé, Icarus, gets lost, and the gods offer Nyx their powers as help in finding him. WARNING: This game is not a cakewalk by any stretch of the imagination. Wii (WiiWare) Greek
Master of Olympus - Zeus Coverart Master of Olympus: Zeus Sim Sierra goodness. Build a city in ancient Greece, protect the inhabitants from diseases, enemy armies and obtain the favour of the gods. Call in heroes to kill mythical creatures that estabilished on your land, and stuff like that. The Poseidon expansion adds a couple of tweaks. PC Greek
Pinball-pulse-the-ancients-beckon-20091012074131446 640w Pinball Pulse: The Ancients Beckon Pinball This Ancient Greek-themed pinball game is about as close to real pinball as you can get. The physics are spot on, there are LED displays, and scoring events that take place. Sadly, like a real machine, there's only one table. On the bright side, this was made by the team that worked on Metroid Prime: Pinball, which assures you're getting a quality pinball title. DS (DSiWare) Greek
Rygar Rygar Platformer This is like a mix of Zelda and Metroid. It's fun and challenging to collect all the items you need to defeat enemies and solve puzzles in a platforming environment in a fantasy world resembling a mishmash of Greece and Rome (Grome?). The only problem is there's no fucking saves or passwords which is just god-damn ridiculous. Recommended in ROM format for savestates. NES Greek
RygarTLA Rygar: The Legendary Adventure Beat 'em up? A spiritual remake of the Arcade/NES title Rygar, you are put in the shoes of the titular hero as you travels through levels in the land of Argool, a fictional island province of ancient Greece, to destroy the Titans who have scoured the land. Your main weapon is a shield known as the Diskarmor, which can be thrown and summoned back via a long chain, and shreds foes with spikes protruding from it's sides. It's usually accepted that God of War ripped off paid great homage to this game, though nobody likes to talk about that. There is a Wii version but the port is terrible. PS2 Greek
SpartanTWbox Spartan: Total Warrior Hack and Slash Part of The Creative Assembly's push into consoles following the Sega buy-out, this is basically a really cool Ancient Greece themed hack and slash. Doesn't have the same sense of art-direction or polish as the God of War games but nonetheless it's especially with all the satisfying finishing moves and the focus on fighting in largish battles amongst a myriad of soldiers with smaller skirmishes to balance it out. PS2/XBOX/Gamecube Greek
Okami-boxart Okami Adventure Mostly set in a world of anachronistic mythlogical creatures, settings and such but, like Muramasa, is a must get purely for awesomeness. Innovative and inspiring. Wii/PS2 Japanese
Odinsphere Odin Sphere Action RPG / Platformer Inspired by Norse Mythology, Odin Sphere is a side-scrolling action game with RPG elements. It also boasts some absolutely amazing hand-drawn graphics. PS2 Norse
Dynasty Warriors 5 Dynasty Warriors # Beat 'em Up / Strategy All the games are pretty much the same, with differences and improvements made throughout the series. However they take alot of REAL people and the rumors and legends about them, and make them into incredibly powerful warriors. Doesn't make alot of sense, but cool nonetheless. Any Chinese, Three Kingdoms era
1820036-box rottk9 Romance of the Three Kingdoms # Turn Base Strategy Based off of the Epic of the same name and the turn-based strategy version of Dynasty Warriors, take control as a nation during China's Three Kingdoms era and annex the others in order to reunify the empire. Any Chinese, Three Kingdoms Era

Good Medieval Knights, the Age of Discovery, and the Samurais-ing Sun (loosely 500 to 1799 A.D./B.C.E.)

Games about Knights and Samurai usually fall around this era, don't forget about continental exploration as well.


Box Art Title Genre Description System of Choice

Historical

Origin

Jaquette-anno-1404-pc-cover-avant-g Anno 1404 Sim, RTS An RTS set in the early 1400's, good for anyone who enjoys the building aspect of RTS games. Build your own city from scratch, progress socially, and get more stuff and better stuff to build. The whole game is played out on islands, leading to competition over resource-rich islands. Combat is less ZERG RUSH and more focused on territorial expansion and economic disruption. Watch out, it's super-easy to get locked into over three hour long campaigns while playing. PC European Exploration
Assassins creed ps3 Assassin's Creed Action/Adventure/Stealth You play as Thomas Anderson Desmond Miles, who is forced to re-live as his ancestor who's an assassin in the middle east during the Third Crusade. Blend in with the crowd to get closer to your target seconds from killing him and discover the secrets behind the the Templar Knights. PS3, XBox, PC The Crusades
Assassins creed2 ps3 Assassin's Creed II Action/Adventure/Stealth This time you're an assassin back in 15th Century Italy who takes the gig because your family got murdered. A great improvement over the first game, showing that Ubisoft actually paid attention to complaints. The repetitiveness of its predecessor was done away with. It combines stealth, action and platforming very well, while being visually gorgeous. As with the other games in the series, it tends toward a simple 'intuitive' control system and combat, while better, can still be pretty dull.
PS3, Xbox 360 and PC The Italian Renaissance
Acbrotherhoodps3 Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Action/Adventure/Stealth Assassin's Creed 2.5. Once again you play as Ezio, though mostly in Rome to begin the liberation from the Borgia dickheads.
PS3, Xbox 360 and PC The Italian Renaissance
634528711134339753assassins-creed-revelations-ps3 Assassin's Creed: Revelations Action/Adventure/Stealth Ezio's back! Even more bolder and older than before. Anyway the game revolves around Ezio, Desmond, and Altair. The PS3 version contains the original Assassins Creed (only the first print run) so now you've got something else to play after this one. PS3, Xbox 360 and PC The Italian Renaissance (takes place in the Ottoman Empire though)
Muramasa The Demon Blade Muramasa: The Demon Blade Action RPG / Platformer Spiritual Successor to Odin Sphere. Shares it's stunning graphics. Where Odin Sphere was inspired by Norse myth, Muramasa takes it's inspiration from ancient Japan although takes place during the Tokugawa Shogunate. Wii Japanese, Sengoku Era
NapoleonGBA Napoleon/L'Aigle de Guerre RTS You control Napoleon as you lead his army to victory. You also have CPU support commanders, who can lead groups of troops instead of you doing so one at a time. Some liberties were taken as Napoleon's army later fights ogres and yetis for some reason. A French to English patch for the main game exists, but it doesn't change some minor details or the extra modes. GBA French
Age of Empires Coverart-1- Age of Empires RTS Pretty much the best RTS you'll ever play. Pick a civilaztion, advance through ages and get new technology. PC, Mac Several
Samurai Samurai Showdown # Fighting Most characters are Samurais or Ninjas of some sort. However, not all of them are from Japan. As the name might imply, much fighting involves weaponry, buckets of blood, all set to music based off of songs from the time, with instruments like Shakuhachis and Shamisens being prominent. Neo Geo Japanese
24e3 Cossacks: European Wars RTS Cossacks is a mix between Age of Empires and the Total War series. You gather 6 resources to craft weapons, construct buildings and set up your army. Commanding your army requires tactics (formations, different unit types) and strategy (you don't want to run out of ammo during battles etc.) PC European battles
Crusader Kings 2 Crusader Kings 2 Strategy This incest and murder simulator gives you an insight into medieval nobility. Strategically marry your sister or a member of another noble family to gain more influence, the right to claim land or just the legacy of a whole kingdom via offsprings. You can also murder your neighbor with the help of traditional intrigues or just simple warfare. Also prepare for jihads and crusades everywhere. Not as deep as Victoria 2 but still fun. PC European dynasties

Steampunks, the Wild West, and the rise of the Japanese Westernization (loosely 1800-1900 (up to 1912-ish at the latest))

Law-keeping Cowboys, out-of-work Samurais searching for new lives, and jolly old England and its steampunk jetpacks, robots, and whatever else they pull out of their gentlemanly top hats.

Box Art Title Genre Description System of Choice

Historical

Origin

Gunmanproof Gunman's Proof Action-Adventure In 1880, on a western little island, the space police came after a space outlaw. With your help, they persue him and his posse. Hardly historical (then again...), but it keeps with the western theme very well, despite alien-caused anachronisms, such as bazookas and alien mecha. Very comical, but still a fun game styled like Zelda, but much more action-inspired. You can even crawl and strafe for better gunning, and find an invincible donkey to ride. Strangly, you can also learn a Shoryuken-esque uppercut.Though Japanese, the ROM has a translation patch in full english. SNES Wild West
2488-1 Red Dead Revolver Shootan / Being a Dickhead Play as multiple Wild West characters and kill everyone. Multiple characters with different playstyles/weapons make for an interesting single-player and multiplayer experience. Make money and buy new weapons by playing well. Most likely the best Wild West game that's been made yet. PS2 U.S. Wild West
957923 119990 front-1- Red Dead Redemption Shootan It's essentially Grand Theft Horse. Multiplayer leaves a lot to be desired, just like GTA. There's also bear huntin'. PS3 U.S. Wild West
Samurai Western Samurai Western Arcade/Beat 'Em Up/Being A Badass Actually a spin-off to the Way of the Samurai series, this game places you in the shoes of a Samurai named Gojiro who travels to the old west to kill his brother. That's fucking awesome. Actually has a level system making it similar to the beat em up's of old (although I would call it a slash 'em up), with a score card and everything. Character customization is present, and so is multiplayer, but it's sub-par and has to be unlocked. Can be quite challenging. You can slice through cowboys like a knife cuts through warm butter, and the opening intro wants you to KNOW how badass you are. You can play as other, gun wielding characters in other modes. PS2 U.S. Wild West/Steampunk
Steel empire Steel Empire Horizontal Shmup You fly through an alternate history that involves flying a blimp or plane to take down steampunk flying fortresses. It isn't exactly clear what country you are fighting for, so the historical origin is a mystery. Genesis Steampunk ???
Sunset Riders Sunset Riders Run 'n Gun YEEEEEEHAW! A fantastic and challenging R'N'G by the folks at Natsume, straight from the arcade, Sunset Riders is a multiplayer must-have. Fantastic visuals, gameplay, soundtrack, and fun, you truly haven't hit puberty till' you've played this manly-manfest of a game (wanna restore health or ammo? Sleep with a sexy prostitute, pardner). Also on Genesis, but heavily altered from the original source and shorter, too. Cormano duel wields shotguns! SNES U.S. Wild West
Lastbladecd The Last Blade 1+2 Fighting The original Last Blade games were well-loved for their incredible gameplay, and were a shining example among fighting games. As the cover illustrates, this actually takes place in the later 1800's with many characters being some of the last few practicioners of inherited older fighting styles. It is also loosely tied to mythology as the series-centric main characters have inherited powers from the Four Symbols of eastern mythology. There is also an EXCELLENT NGPC port that mixes aspects of both games, though the console experience is always best.. Neo-Geo consoles Japanese Bakumatsu
Victoria2boxart Victoria II Grand Strategy Spanning history 100 years, starting with the Texan revolution in 1836, choose a nation (ANY NATION) during the time period and lead it to glory. Like its predecessor, Europa Universalis 3, the game can be rather complex, although this one less so. Includes a very detailed political/diplomatic system. PC Victorian Era (Duh)
Way of the Samurai Way of the Samurai Action/Adventure/Being A Badass The entire point of this game is to be a samurai. Do whatever you want within a day and a half of game time, as a samurai. Side with whoever you want, kill whoever you want, just do whatever you want. As a Samurai. Very interesting game with varied endings depending on your actions, and since it's short, you can keep replaying the same character over and over, improving his wardrobe, sword's stats, etc. You can also take the weapon of fallen enemies/allies and store it or use it yourself, which adds a very interesting collection aspect. Really underrated classic. PS2 Japanese Bakumatsu
Way of the Samurai 2 Way of the Samurai 2 Action/Adventure/Being A Badass The sequel to Way of the Samurai is just a great improvement, with the same great game-play, time and freedom, but with a new set of stories, characters, longer playtime, and a bigger world. A lot more swords to collect too. Story-wise it's actually a prequel. The better of the two, but it's really just worth it to own both since they have different locales. Some people prefer the first game because they feel this game has weaker stories, but again, both are worth owning. PS2 Japanese Bakumatsu
Way-of-the-samurai-3 Way of the Samurai 3 Action/Adventure/Being A Badass Continues the same gameplay and style as the first two (which are on the recommended list of PS2 games), but now has a stronger emphasis on 'good vs. evil' (not unlike KotOR), though here it's more 'honorable vs. greedy'. The only real flaw of the game is graphics, they're not bad by any means, but they could be much, much better for a seventh generation game, however, it is still highly recommended unless you disliked the first two. PS3/Xbox 360 Japanese Bakumatsu
Way of the samurai 4 Way of the Samurai 4 Action/Adventure/Being A Badass The fourth in this series of highly replayable, sandbox style samurai games. This one takes place in post-isolationist Japan, and has a lot of 'British' characters... who all speak horribly mangled english by Japanese voice actors. Whereas WotS 3 felt closer to the original game in it's rural setting, this game harkens back to WotS 2, and it's more 'urban' setting. The graphics are still kind of shit, but this series was never "AAA" anyways. Also of note, there is now a minigame mechanic to get laid. I'm not joking. PS3 Japanese Bakumatsu

Recent History (1901-1960-ish)

Will likely have to do with World Wars, but there are other possible subjects to explore as well.

Box Art Title Genre Description System of Choice

Historical

Eras

1943 1943 Shmup An excellent Capcom shmup that's fairly easy on beginners to the genre. WWII themed, obviously. An updated version was released on Xbox live arcade. NES World War II
Boogie wings 01 Boogie Wings Platformer/Shmup A curious game that has you start in a plane, but you can continue on foot if it gets damaged. While in the plane you can use a roped hook to grab and throw nearly anything. While on foot, you can ride a number of vehicles, some of which change the way your weapon fires. Remains rather faithful to its era, despite the killer giant robot Santa Claus boss. Arcade World War I era
SMTRaidou Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army Action RPG Spinoff of the Shin Megami Tensei series. You are a detective in Showa era Japan investigating paranormal activity. Summon demon allies to help you out in your quest to uncover a conspiracy bent on altering the history of the world. PS2 Showa Japan/Pre-World War II
Devilsummoner2 Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon Action RPG Raidou is back and ready to gum-shoe and kick more ass. Many improvements have been made to gameplay, such as better combat, demon negotiation, and the ability to summon two allies by your side at once. If you liked the first, you'd be a palooka not to pick this one up, see? PS2 Showa Japan/Pre-World War II
Medal of honor Medal of Honor# FPS Mostly set in WW2 but also spans the other well known wars any applicable most popular wars
MGS3 subs Metal Gear Solid 3 : Subsistence Being A Badass/Stealth Become the badass you've always wanted to be. Eat wild animals. Meet strange and violent new people. Be groped and tortured by large men! Reconsider your mental stability! Kill the people you love and be PROUD OF IT. The Subsistence edition comes with two modes of camera (classic and behind-the-back) switchable at any time during gameplay, plenty of neat extras (a theatre, Ape Escape minigame, and others), "online play" (not available anymore), and even updated versions of the MSX games Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2. This is perhaps the best fucking special edition of any game ever. PS2 Cold War
Command and conquer red alert 2 frontcover large Lxu4AWaref4ALIS C&C: Red Alert 2 / Yuri's Revenge RTS

The most funny RTS you'll ever play. Takes place in an alternate history where the cold war never ended. You can play either as the Allies or the Soviets, depending on which disc you put in, although the Allied disc is canon. Solid combat, good story, and great voice acting. Not to mention that the cutscenes are fucking lulzy as hell.


In the expansion pack, Yuri's Revenge, the addition of a new enemy, Yuri, who named his dictatorship after himself, puts pressure on both the Allies and the Soviets. Yuri's army is composed of psychic opponents who can beat you to a pulp and then mind control you. Pretty much the first with three new campaigns, a new side, and even funnier cutscenes.

PC Cold War
Shadow Hearts Shadow Hearts RPG A JRPG where you play as Yuri, a "Harmonixer" who can basically turn into demons, who meets a girl named Alice, contemplates raping her (not even kidding), then decides to protect her in an alternate world where Lovecraftian horrors have secretly lived among humans. Do NOT play the first sequel, "Shadow Hearts: Covenant", without finishing this game first! PS2 Pre-World War I
Shadow Hearts Covenant Shadow Hearts: Covenant / Shadow Hearts II RPG The year is 1915. You're a guy who turns into Lovecraftian hell spawn. You join up with a German army officer, a gay pro wrestling shapeshifting superhero vampire, and Princess Anastasia Romanov (yes, that Anastasia) to go kick Rasputin's ass. While it has a serious story, it's also got a great sense of humor (and a lot of historical in-jokes). PS2 World War I
SH From The New World Shadow Hearts: From the New World RPG A lighter-hearted sequel to Shadow Hearts taking place in the United States in the 1920's/30's (it's hard to tell). The cast of characters is much more zany than the first game, and the plot much less serious, but the creatures are still just as messed up as always. PS2 Post-World War I / Roaring 20s(?)

Anachronism/Multi-Era (????)

For games that span through multiple eras throughout their respective playthroughs. Forward, backward, swapping between both. Doesn't matter. What does matter is that the game is enjoyable.

NOTE: If a game is predominantly within one era, but has some futuristic presence in it (good or bad) or jumps into the future for only a small portion of the game (especially if it's not mandatory), then it's still counted within it's (mostly) respective category and not here.

Despite Anachronisms, still try to only include games relevant to history and myth here.


Box Art Title Genre Description System of Choice

Historical

Eras or Origins

Ape-escape.537133 Ape Escape Platformer Cartoony monkeys have scrambled throughout time and are running amuck. It's up to you to give chase and catch them. Each of the monkeys have different AI, creating different strategies to approach them. You also have several gadgets to help you wrangle them all. A PSP port was made, but most prefer the original for nostalgic reasons (PSP's not bad if you can't find the PS1 game though). PS1 Prehistory, Medieval, Eastern, etc.
Chrono trigger snes box1 Chrono Trigger RPG Timetravel into the far past (65mil 'bc') and future, timezones have basis in the mentioned right eras but are set in a fictional universe. Also on PSX and DS (DS version recommended over all of them as it has all features of previous versions with no load times). SNES/DS/PSX Prehistory, Medieval, etc.
Crash Bandicoot 3 Warped (PAL) Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped Platformer The third in the crash series takes his usual globetrotting and throws in time-skipping. Despite new additions such as underwater segments and motorcycle stages, it's still mostly composed of that same Crash action we've come to know and love from the badass Bandicoot. PS1 Prehistory, Ancient Chinese, Medieval England and Arabia, World War I+II, and alot more
LiveALiveBoxArt Live-A-Live Strategy RPG Heroes throughout time have their own adventures and eventually meet up to save all history itself from being destroyed. Arguably the precursor to Chrono Trigger. SNES Prehistory, Chinese, Japanese, Medieval, etc.
Lionheart Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader Action/RPG What if the siege of Acre was used as a ritual to bring demons to medieval Europe? What if historical figures from the 12th up to the 16th century shared not only their birth era, but also their residence in Barcelona? Typical RPG gameplay, awesome alternate history. Basically Fallout without guns. PC Alternative Medieval Europe
1055486004-00 Rise of Nations Real Time Strategy A challenger to Age of Empires. Instead of focusing on a specific era, the games spans from the Age of the Pyramids to the Age of the Internet. Includes unique features such as territorial borders. Latest (and sadly the last) version is Gold Edition which contains both the original game and Thrones and Patriots expansion. Includes historical campaigns inspired by Alexander the Great, Europe's first contact with the Americas, Napolean Bonaparte and the Cold War. PC All of human history
Secret of evermore Secret of Evermore Action RPG A boy and his dog stumble upon an old mansion and get flung into another dimension. They travel through different eras as they make their way home. SNES Prehistory, Greek, Medieval
Star Tropics 2 Zoda's Revenge: Startropics II Adventure/Puzzle StarTropics I is a funny, engaging, Zelda-style adventure played out through interesting puzzles and tropical locales. Combat is smooth and gameplay is like Zelda but with jumping. StarTropics II is much like the first, but with TIME TRAVEL. Far less tropical than the first, you venture through a number of historical locations, and even (somehow) meet Sherlock Holmes. NES Prehistory, Egyptian, Medieval, Wild West USA, 19th Century England, etc.assass