Norse Mythology in Popular Culture - Depictions in Modern Popular Culture - Video Game

Video Game

• The Ragnarok Online universe contains many references to Norse Mythology - in fact, almost everything in the game is based on Norse mythology.
• Yu-Gi-Oh! layson Card Game has cards based on Norse mythology, such as Polar Star Treasure Brisingamen, Polar Star Angel Valkyrie, Polar Sacred God Odin, Polar God Loki, and Polar God Thor.
• Tomb Raider: Underworld uses the Norse mythology keystones, names and artifacts as its main plot basis. Lara Croft in pursuit of finding her mother visits the Neiflheim and other mythical places. Thor's hammer Mjollnir is used as her weapon.
• In StarCraft, four of the fifteen Zerg Broods are named Fenris, Garm, Jormungand, and Surtur, and there is also an overlord hero unit called Yggdrasil. In addition, there is a Terran unit called a Valkyrie.
• The role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons has included Norse gods as optional elements since the publication of its Deities and Demigods sourcebook.
• The tri-Ace role-playing game Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth is based on Norse mythology, though it does deviate at some points. The main character is a valkyrie named Lenneth, whom many have thought represents Brynhild. Lenneth has been commanded by Odin to gather souls of dead warriors for the upcoming battles of Ragnarok. Depending on the path the player chooses, Lenneth will face either Surt, lord of the fire giants, or Loki in combat.
• Max Payne and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne both have several references to Norse mythology, including characters named Balder and Woden, Aesir Corporation, the drug Valkyr, and the Ragnarock nightclub.
• In the Final Fantasy series, various characters and items are named after elements of Norse mythology. Final Fantasy VII's world features cities named Nibelheim and Midgar. Several of the games include weapons (Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy Tactics) or airships (Final Fantasy VIII) named Ragnarok.
• The Norse are a playable faction in Ensemble Studio's Age of Mythology.
• In Halo, the player's character Master Chief (Halo) wears a special type of armor called MJOLNIR.
• Too Human has a story based on Norse Mythology where it is interpreted that the Gods are actually Cybernetically-Enhanced Humans.
• Viking: Battle for Asgard is set in Midgard where the forces of Hel and Freya battle for dominance.
• In Eve Online, many advanced ships and items associated with the Minmatar race have names based on Norse mythology. These include the Ragnarok-class Titan, the Sleipnir-class Command Ship, the Einherji fighter drone, the Fenrir-class Freighter, Vargur-class Marauder, Huginn-class Recon Ship, Muninn-class Heavy Assault Ship, Loki-class Strategic Cruiser, Naglfar-class Dreadnaught, the Nidhoggur-class Carrier, and Hel-class Supercarrier.
• In Castle of the winds, the freeware/shareware RPG for windows, many of the characters/place names/weapons are named after Norse mythology.
• The superhero game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance features the Marvel Comics version of Thor as one of the major playable characters and features the Norse characters and realms as the focus of Act III, in which Dr. Doom conquers Asgard and steals Odin's powers.
• Another Marvel Comics-related game, Thor: God of Thunder, was released as a tie-in to the 2011 film Thor and features mythological realms that are not explored in the feature film.
• A Neverwinter Nights and Neverwinter Nights 2 persistent world called Markshire NWN1 version | NWN2 version is influenced heavily by Norse mythology. They incorporate the pantheon directly into their world and take the culture into a renaissance period. The world is highly roleplaying oriented. Markshire is listed as a Hall of Fame world and has been reviewed with the highest rating of any world for NWN on the NWVault.
• In Odin Sphere one of the five warlords is the 'Demon Lord Odin', who commands an army of Valkyrie warriors. The game depicts many aspects of Norse mythology, such as the Armageddon - standing for the Ragnarök, the Haljas (guardians of the Netherworld), the Aesir and the Vanir (Valkyries and Fairies) fighting over the control of the land.
• Rune is a 3rd person hack-and-slash game featuring a young Viking warrior on a fantasy quest, based around Norse mythology.
• In Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones several weapons are named after figures and objects in Norse Mythology, including the weapons Garm, Gleipnir, and Fenrir.
• Many places, quests, and weaponry in World of Warcraft are based around Norse mythology and stories.
• In the video game Age of Empires: Mythologies the Norse are a playable nation.
• In the PC based MMORPG game World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, much of the storyline, characters, locations and monsters are named after and or based on popular parts of Norse Mythology.
• In the video game Tales of Symphonia, Heimdall, Ymir, Fenrir, and Yggdrasil were taken from Norse Mythology.
• In the video game series Boktai, many aspects of the plot are based on Norse mythology, such as the final bosses Hel, Jormungandr, and Vanargand, and the ultimate weapons Gram, Gungnir, and Mjollnir, to name a few.
• In the video game La Tale, Norse mythology is reoccurrent in many of the games themes (i.e. fighting Valkyries). There are many maps in game that have ideas taken from Norse Mythology, including Bitfrost, Valhalla, Asgard, The Long Tree (being Yggdrasil), Midgard, and a few more.
• In the video game Heroes of Newerth, you can play as a Valkyrie.
• The Shin Megami Tensei: Persona video game series contains several Norse gods and beings as summonable Personas. Additionally, some skills such as Odin's Thunder Reign, Loki's Niflheim, and Surt's Ragnarok are derived from Norse Mythology.
• In the video game Xenogears, names were taken from Norse Mythology. These names include, but are not limited to, Andvari, Fenrir, Heimdall, Sigurd, and Yggdrasil.
• The MMORPG RuneScape has a few notable Norse Mythology links, mostly in the 'Fremennik Tribe' and their quests.
• In the MMO Dark Age of Camelot there are three playable realms, one of which is called Midgard. The people encountered there have many references to Norse mythology, and they have such playable classes as Berserker, Runemaster, Skald, Thane and Valkyrie.
• The video game Magicka is loosely based on Norse Mythology, and contains several elements and references.
• The single player game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim by Bethesda Softworks is heavily influenced by Norse Mythology in its setting and game-play which can be seen in the trailer.
• In Age of Empires Online the Norse are a playable faction.