Video Games and Norse Mythology!

The Norse were frickin’ amazing. A thousand years ago they were regaling each other with stories of Odin’s many glories and drinking lots of mead. The beat the crap out of each other, each with hopes of being killed in glorious battle and being taken by a beautiful Valkyrie to end their days at Valhalla… drinking mead… and fighting. I don’t really think they noticed that their concept of heaven was exactly what they were doing here in the first place… But hey, if that’s where your religion is at, more power to ya! Now, in terms of video games, the Norse religion has absolutely nothing to do with this lovable genre about which I blog, right? You say contemptuously, “Fool! I fight with my enemies in the hope of NOT being killed in glorious battle! Valhalla awaits me not, only the depressingly beautiful music of the game over screen. And none of my characters drink mead! When I’m playing video games, the only mortal imbibing that liquour of the gods is me!” (I certainly hope you actually say it like that. It’d make my day). But you’d be wrong anyway! Except about the mead thing.  Norse mythology is so much a part of video games that often they’re quite inseparable. I’m going to talk about three RPGs, however, because Grand Theft Auto actually lacks much of a mythological theme. These RPGs are Final Fantasy, Tales of Symphonia, and World of Warcraft (yes, I know. It gets old after a while).