History FantasyCounterpartCulture / VideoGames

** As of Patch 2.0, it is possible to play a militarist, spiritualist authoritarian empire with an oligarchy government, the "Nationalistic Zeal" and "Slaver Guilds" civics and a Roman-themed name list. Bona-fide SpaceRomans.

* ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'' has South of the Border, which is more or less Mexico during Halloween, and Little Canadia, which is Canada during the Stanley Cup finals. South of the Border is home to Mariachis, 5-year-old boys trying to sell you oddly-flavored chewing gum, and several types of merrymaking but angry undead, and Little Canadia is home to Lumberjacks, animated poutine, and possessed hockey equipment. Little Canadia also has a [[UsefulNotes/ConspiracyTheories Mind-Control Device]].

* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestXI'' has a number of counterparts: Heliodor resembles Rome-inspired early Germany given its architecture, symbolism, and opulence; Hotto is clearly Japan; Gallopolis is a mixed flavour of early Arabic culture; Gondola is Venice; Puerto Valor is Spain and Portugal; Phnom Nomh is a blend of China, Vietnam and Cambodia; Sniflheim is a catch-all for Scandinavia and Russia; Arboria is Ancient Greece; Angri-La draws from Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' had the Ronso (Ainu), and a lot of architecture and other trappings inspired by Southeast Asia. The Church of Yevon is somewhere between Shintoism (Yuna dresses a bit like a Miko) and the Catholic Church as written by [[DanBrowned Dan Brown]] (although this mostly comes from the [[{{Woolseyism}} English translation]] using words like 'Crusaders' and 'fayth').

** Fontaine[[note]]French for "fountain"[[/note]] is France; Teyvat's capital of the arts, its residents are noted for their showy sense of fashion.

* ''VideoGame/BoxxyQuestTheGatheringStorm'' presents a unique take on this trope. It’s set in the Internet, so instead of real-world cultures, we’re given fantasy counterparts of popular websites and online communities. The stereotypical traits of each site and its users are often parodied or examined in-depth. For instance, 4chan users like to play tricks, and are subject to FantasticRacism; Wikipedia is a city of scholars, and seen as neutral territory by everyone else; and Tumblr is a leaderless commune struggling with the rise of a social justice cult. The Summit sequence in Chapter 3, where all the sites’ leaders come together in search of common ground, is one of the game’s {{Signature Scene}}s.

* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestXI'' has a number of counterparts: Heliodor resembles Rome-inspired early Germany given its architecture, symbolism, and opulence; Hotto is clearly Japan; Gallopolis is a mixed flavour of early Arabic culture; Gondola is Venice; Puerto Valor is Spain; Phnom Nomh is a blend of China and Vietnam (with a bit of Cambodia given the name); Sniflheim is a catch-all for Scandinavia and Russia; Arboria is Ancient Greece; Angri-La draws from Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism.

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** [[spoiler:the Ancient Dead's former empire is heavily based on Roman Empire with Egyptian mummy trappings; in addition to the implications held of such a cultural mix, the auxiliaries within the empire are based around the Germanic and Celtic tribes like the ones the real Roman Empire has conquered and absorbed.]]

** [[VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield Galar]] is based on the UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom flipped upside down, complete with StockBritishPhrases and occasional use of British English over the usual American English translation (e.g. telly vs. TV). The player starts off near the Scottish border by the Lake District, and finishes in London. A later expansion adds the Isle of Armor (based on the Isle of Man) and the Crown Tundra (based on Scotland).
** [[VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet Paldea]] is based on the Iberian Peninsula, which includes UsefulNotes/{{Spain}} and UsefulNotes/{{Portugal}}. This is seen with multiple characters having Spanish-based names and a building based on the Sagrada Família

** The tropical [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Hoenn]] is based off of the similarly mountainous and volcanic Kyushu (rotated 90 degrees), with the eastern water routes being based off of Okinawa. Another thing is that Sootopolis, while located near Yakushima, is actually based off of Santorini in Greece.

** Nordennavic, with it's heavy industry, strict neutral diplomatic policy and cold climate, is a dead ringer for Finland, Sweden and Norway.
** North Point is geographically protected from invaders, has a strong military for it's size, is extremely neutral and frequently hosts peace talks, making them Switzerland on an island instead of a mountain range.

** The city of Seletapura in ''Ace Combat 7'' has been compared to Singapore. Seletapura was a third world city before its economy began to prosper with the construction of the nearby SpaceElevator, giving it first world standards. It's located in an unknown area of the Usean continent, giving a parallel to how Singapore was ejected from Malaysia in 1965. Singapore started off with a struggling economy after it's independence, but has since become a major economic center for Asia.

** Revachol is a very obvious expy of Paris, with the failed communist uprising leading the ousting of the king and it's crushing at the hands of the Coalition. That, and the random French lying around.

** Mesque is Mexico fused with Venezuela, an oil dictatorship (albeit right-leaning) known for it's ruthless gangs and ''boiadero'' culture. Its language apparently mixes words from both Spanish and Portuguese, however.

** Oranje is a blend between the Netherlands (being a contry of navigators covered in canals) and the United States (being the biggest economy in the world and a military superpower, including [[HiredGuns mercenaries]]).
** Sur-La-Clef is France with a few bits of the UK, being a major world power known for it's unappealing food and Revachol being one of it's former colonies.

** Rieze Maxia from ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'' is based heavily on the Mongol Empire. It's culture tends to be similar to that of the Asian steppes and many of it's place names are derived from the names of actual central Asian cities. Elympios, on the other hand, tends to be more based in Myth/SlavicMythology and folklore.

* ''Franchise/TheWitcher'': The nation of Temeria is similar high medieval Lithuania while neighboring Redania is similar to medieval Poland. Kaedwen could be Ruthenia or even medieval Hungary. [[TheEmpire Nilfgaard]] is the Holy Roman Empire looking east as during it's forays and expeditions into Central Europe and Baltic states during the 12th and 13th centuries. The Duchy of Toussaint represents parts of Southern France and Occitania. Skellige combines Scottish and Viking cultures, specifically the Geats and Danes of Beowulf fame who also settled in Ireland for a time and absorbed some of the native culture. Dwarves are similar to medieval European Jews, while Elves are a combination of Celtic cultures combined with Rome or Byzantium long after both have fallen. The Ofieri can be seen as either Persian, Yemeni, or Ottoman.

* ''VideoGame/FreedomPlanet'': Planet Avalice is meant to resemble China and Japan, with traces of the Philippines being introduced as of the sequel.

* In ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUsPartII'', the Washington Liberation Front (aka the WLF) is a dead ringer for [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_Tigers_of_Tamil_Eelam the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)]]. Both are paramilitary separatist organizations that overthrew federal control of Washington and Sri Lanka's Northern Province respectively. Much like how the WLF controlled much of Seattle, the LTTE ruled their controlled regions with an iron fist, leading to the persecution and deaths of dissidents and members of minority religious communities. On top of that, both groups utilized regionalist propaganda and even referred to by their animal nicknames (Wolves and Tamil Tigers respectively).

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'': has one at the end of World 3 in which the world's castle is on a landmass that looks like Japan with the castle being located roughly where Kyoto is[[note]]Kyoto is where Nintendo's headquarters are located[[/note]]. The king of [[ShiftingSandLand World 2]] also resembles a Sultan when turned back into his former self.

*** Birabuto Kingdom: Ancient Egypt
*** Muda Kingdom: Vaguely Polynesian
*** Easton Kingdom: Easter Island
*** Chai Kingdom: Ancient China

*** Tostarena, in the Sand Kingdom, is based on Mexico, a fact confirmed by the designer Kenta Motokura. It has a heavy [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dead Dìa de la Muerte]] feel, it's colourful, and is inhabited by [[DemBones equally colourful skeletons]] wearing sombreros and playing maracas. The main landcape feature is a {{Mayincatec}} inverted pyramid and its boss is a giant [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olmec_colossal_heads Olmec head]]. If you're not convinced, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fBsNvS2V1A listening to the theme that plays in Tostarena town should do it]].

*** Though there's no hint of it in the final game, the Steam Gardens, in the Wooden Kingdom, were originally named Kogwald, which would make the Wooded Kingdom based on German forests ("wald" means "forest" in German). This would be supported by the kingdom's advanced technology; it's German engineering

*** Probably the most subtle of them all is Bubblaine, in the Seaside Kingdom, which is based on the Côte d'Azur, also known is the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Riviera French Riviera]]. It is inhabited by beret-wearing snails, and has a massive champagne flute as its most prominent landmark. Moreover, both the region's boss, Brigadier Mollosque-Lanceur III and two of it's levels (''Bonjour, Dorrie!'' and ''Merci, Dorrie!'') have French names.
*** Mount Volbono, in the Luncheon Kingdom, is based on Italy, a country famous for its food. It is namely modeled after the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Vesuvius Vesuvius]] region, as it has Roman architecture and has is volcanically active. And [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fcna3E-9_hY Volbono town's music]] is '''definitely''' Italian.

* Octarian society in ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'' is this of a BananaRepublic or PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny, emphasized especially in the ''[[VideoGame/Splatoon2 Octo Expansion]]'' lore. While ''Octo Expansion'' still leaves specifics rather vague, it builds on some of the previous lore in a way that suggests that as a result of their exile into the underground, Octarian society has taken, shall we say, a hard right turn. Military education appears to be common, there's a fairly strong implication that military leaders are in charge overall, and {{propaganda|Machine}} that exaggerates the worst aspects of Inkling society seems commonplace and dedicated to ensuring a single-minded animosity toward Inkling-kind among Octarian citizens. [[spoiler:This is why the Calamari Inkantation "concert" was such a big deal -- for a great many Octolings, it blew open the doors to the truth and made them realize there was a lot more to Inklings than what their leaders had told them. Marina, Agent 8, and other player Octolings are the ones who elected to take the bold step of [[DefectorFromDecadence trying to leave their old lives behind to see the real truth]].]]

* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestXI'' has a number of counterparts: Heliodor resembles Germany given its architecture, symbolism, and opulence; Hotto is clearly Japan; Gallopolis is a mixed flavour of early Arabic culture; Gondola is Venice; Puerto Valor is Spain; Phnom Nomh is a blend of China and Vietnam (with a bit of Cambodia given the name); Sniflheim is a catch-all for Scandinavia and Russia; Arboria is Ancient Greece; Angri-La draws from Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism.

* ''VideoGame/IronHarvest'' takes place in an AlternateHistory version of 1920s Europe with the three opposing factions being Polania (Poland), Empire of Saxony (Germany) and the Rusviet Union (Russia).

** The Rakkor are definitely meant to invoke the idea of the Spartans, from their reverence of war to their armor and weapons. The tribe's former name, Stanpar, was an anagram of the word 'Spartan.' Following the ''ContinuityReboot'', the culture of Mount Targon (where the Rakkor reside) is much less defined, though the Greek/Spartan influence is still present (names such as Pallas and Atreus, the latter being the current iteration of Pantheon).
** Ionia is a clear stand in for Japan, with a hint of other Asian cultures thrown in. There is also a subdued Greek influence (it shares a name with a region in the ancient Greek world. Both were invaded by a foreign empire that involved a leader called Darius, but managed to throw out the invaders).

** The Freljord is a mish-mash of nordic influences, and serves as a generic 'frigid northlands'.

** The Vlandians are he Normans and other Viking states that established themselves throughout Western Europe, pre-William the Conqueror's invasion of the British Isles.

** Sturgia are the early nations of Kievan Rus and modern-day Russia with a dash of post-Viking era Scandinavia.

** The Holy Order of the Pale Knight is a stand-in for the Principality of Antioch, with a lot of knights and crusaders.
** The Men of Valhalla are migration-era Vikings (as in, the Odin-worshipping, axe-swinging, mead-swilling, raid-and-pillage kind). The Men of Wotan share some Vikingness with their western cousins, but have more of a medieval Rus thing going on.

** The Tahar Caliphate appears to be an analogue to the Moors at first, given that they have hostilities with the Hispanic inspired nations (Ducado de Sangre Valiente and Povos de Hispania). On a closer examination of their unit roster, their army appears to have a heavy Indian influence, given their access to [[WarElephants war elephants]] and that most of their units wear Indian dress. Some of their units also resemble Zulu warriors.

* The [[VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} Warcraft Universe]] has a lot of these, which is particularly evident in their architecture:
** The human/undead towns and cities resemble 17th century and/or medieval Europe. They seem for the most part to emulate Britain, with many towns names ending in "shire" (whereas in the real world the shire is the area ruled by the town, e.g. Gloucester [pronounced "glosster"] is the county town of Gloucestershire [pronounced "glosstersher"]) like Darrowshire, Goldshire etc. Stratholm breaks this naming convention appearing Germanic in origin, although being architecturally identical to Stormwind.
** The different regions of human culture appear to be based on different regions of Europe as far as the names of areas go. Most have British (those ending in -shire or being made of English words), French (Brill, Tirisfal), or German-sounding (Stratholme, Stromgarde, Andorhal) names. The most obvious is Stormwind being based on England and to some extent France during the Late Middle Ages while the Northern areas of the continent are mostly either fully French or German with a few exceptions, such as Darrowshire.
*** Alterac, a kingdom settled on the mountains which attempted to remain neutral during the Second War appears to be modeled after Switzerland, with an in-game foodstuff called "Alterac Swiss" making it more apparent. Unfortunately, as a smoldering ruin (they attempted to [[NeutralityBacklash maintain neutrality]] [[TheQuisling by betraying the Alliance]]), it is no longer apparent ''what'' architectural style it had prior to destruction, though what remains is similar to other human nations.
*** Gilneas, home of the playable Worgen, resembles Victorian England in both architecture and fashion, they are also more modern than the medieval based nations as they use gunpowder based weapons and speak in cockney English accents and speak in stereotypical English mannerisms.
*** Kul Tiras is an interesting nation. It is a maritime sailing kingdom whose main industry is fishing, whaling, and naval activities. The people who live there speak in sailor-like Cockney English accents while their architecture seems to be based on the 17th century buildings in Britain and America during colonial times.
** The Tauren's culture is inspired by Great Plains Native American tribes such as the Cheyenne and Dakota. Their buildings are made of animal hides, and many of their cultural aspects are directly lifted from Plains Natives, such as the dead being cremated, and one quest involves helping a young man [[TwentyBearAsses gather feathers for a ceremonial headdress]]. But as with most of the player character cultures it isn't totally one-to-one. There's also a lot of elements from ancient Central Asian cultures (such as sky burials, writing, highly developed water management technology, and a monotheistic religion). The architecture of Thunder Bluff also recalls the West Coast tribes, more so than the Plains tribes: with totems (of course) and two-level wooden structures that connect to each other with bridges. Their canoes are also based on the West Coast tribes.
** The orcs were originally [[BarbarianTribe a mix of Huns and Mongols]]. However, after the {{retcon}} about them being good instead of evil, they've gotten more and more of the [[NobleSavage positive]] cultural and architectural motifs connected to barbarians, their main city being a glorified camp site in a ravine, everything made out of animal hides and with spikes. There are also elements of Samurai Bushido in their battle culture, particularly in their "Victory or Death" philosophy. Essentially, orcs owe more to ''Franchise/StarTrek'''s Klingons than to any real culture.
** The Orcs actually retain a lot of parallels to the Mongols/generally the Russian Steppe. The history of Ogrimmar is quite similar to the history of Karakoram: and their concept of honor is not dissimilar to that of the Mongols. Also, they have shamans who are greatly respected in their culture. Also, prior to settling on Azeroth they were nomads.
** Jungle trolls speak with Caribbean accents, practice voodoo, do capoeira, and live in huts, while building giant Mesoamerican-style Temple cities and practicing human(oid) sacrifice.
--> "What do ya mean what kind of accent is dis? It's a Troll accent! I swear ja-makin' me crazy."
** Forest trolls speak with Hispanic accents, build giant Mesoamerican-style pyramids and have human(oid) sacrifice.
** Ice trolls use floating weapons, Zulu shields and tiki masks to guard their houses, and build giant Mesopotamian-style/Babylonian Ziggurats, while worshipping/killing animal gods, and practicing human(oid) sacrifice.
** Sandfury trolls seem to be based on a mix of ancient Egypt and the Aztecs. Their dead are mummified, but a couple of pyramids in the Zul'Farak dungeon are Aztec style. [[RunningGag And they practice human(oid) sacrifice]].
** Zandalari Trolls, which are the progenitor race that all other Troll subspecies evolved from are also Mesoamerican in architecture and unlike the above list, they speak in more continental African accents and don't seem to practice human(oid) sacrifice.
** The Qiraji and some Silithid have a sort of amalgamation of Egyptian and Mesopotamian architecture (most of the Silithid live in enormous hives).
** The night elves are an unholy mashup of Classical Greece and Feudal Japan, with some Nordic and Celtic elements as well. Fluted columns stand side by side with torii in many parts of their lands. Also, the style of dress of night elf male aristocrats greatly resembles Japanese court robes: but, being elves, their fashion sense is more androgynous than any real-world culture aside from the Babylonians and/or Byzantines.
** The blood/high elves, on the other hand, have influences from the Middle East. Their buildings often are adorned with geometric archways, rugs and floor cushions, and hookah pipes. Their voices and mannerisms, however, resembles the 20th Century American stereotypes of valley girls for the females and effeminate men for the males.
** The dwarves' use of runes and their hairdos and braided beards seems inspired by the Vikings. They talk with very thick Scottish accents and can do the Cossack dance, however. There are also a lot of parallels to Scotland in their uneasy relationship to the Stormwind humans, and their feuding tribes. This combination of cultures is less ahistorical than one might think because for quite a while Vikings actually ruled parts of Scotland.
** The Draenei are a bit all over the place, with eastern European accents, CrystalSpiresAndTogas architecture, some Southern Asian and Middle Eastern influences, and Greek-sounding names (and their accent is probably supposed to be Greek, but the way some of the actors do it it sounds more Russian). They also have a sliver of ancient [[SpaceJews Biblical Jewish traits]] in them as they are a ProudScholarRaceGuy and their history is based on being exiled of their homeland and wondering to different lands to find a new home while being persecuted. Their space ship is named the Exodar (let that sink in) and had suffered a terrible genocidal attempt while they have an unshakable devotion to their religion of the Holy Light even in their darkest hours. They also use some Persian-Indian music as their theme as the places they populate tend to have some semi-Hindi-sounding music.
** The Pandaren have a pseudo-Chinese culture. They were originally styled as samurai, but this offended Chinese players since pandas are their national animal (for that matter, China is the only place in the world where they're found in the wild, and they do NOT get along with Japan with historical grievances). With the namesake continent of Pandaria becoming available in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', this has been expanded greatly, along with other races inhabiting the continent that tend to also draw on Chinese/Asian culture. For example, the Mogu, whose very name in Chinese roughly translates as "devil ancient" (and indeed most new races and creature are named more or less after Chinese words). The local demigods resemble the four Myth/{{Chinese mytholog|y}}ical symbols for cardinal directions, except for the Tortoise being replaced with an Ox. And Pandaria has a Great Wall of its own, with the insectoid Mantid presumably representing a threat akin to the Mongols with their warrior culture.
** The Tuskarr, who live in the cold north, seem to be the walrus-ified version of the Inuit with heavy Maori and Samoan influences.
** And the Vrykul are clearly inspired by the old vikings, complete with giving their leaders Swedish/Norwegian names.
** The centaurs seem to be inspired by the Mongols: They're barbarian nomads, they live in tents, the males have Asian-looking facial hair, and many fight with bows, evoking Mongolian mounted archers with the horse and archer rolled into one. Their tribal leaders are even called Khans. Since the original centaurs may be East European mounted archers with the horse and archer rolled into one, it's a reinvention of an OlderThanTheyThink archetype. However, female centaurs cover their faces Middle Eastern style.
** Goblins and Gnomes are unique as being the only two races without a direct real-world counterpart. While the gnomes are, well, [[OurGnomesAreWeirder gnomes]], the goblins are extremely materialistic and Mafia-esque. They bear the strongest resemblance to a parody of modern American culture, complete with the thick New Jersey accents and having a time period that resembles the period of Americana from the 1920's to the 1960's with garden flamingos in decoration in their yards and using Jazz as their theme of music.
*** It's been theorized that, each in their own way, both goblins and gnomes represent stereotypical Jews. The gnomes are the positive depiction of Jews, having lost their original homeland (and only very recently recovered and must still fight for it), forced to live among other races (who appreciate them for their academic skills, craftsmanship and intelligence while disliking them otherwise), and keeping their own culture hidden while having a strong focus on scholarship, science and mysticism. Goblins are the negative Jewish stereotypes, being greedy, manipulative, and amoral, and having large noses but ''also'' being scientific and mercantile geniuses. Goblins also have been given elements of modern Americans, spefically New York City and New Jersery, in later expansions.
** The Tol'vir are feline centaurs are yet another NPC race based on ancient Egypt; they have pyramids and obelisks, statues depicting humanoids with various animal heads, and they live in a desert with a large river in the middle of it.
** ''Warlords of Draenor'' introduces a large ogre empire that had once conquered most of the known world of Draenor, but has since come into rapid decline as the barbarian orc tribes push it back to its center of power in Nagrand while the outer reaches fall into ruin. In other words, the ogres of all races have been turned into ''Rome'', which is an inspiration specifically pointed out by Blizzard developers. WordOfGod says that the southwestern continent just barely visible on the Draenor map is the ogre homeland, so theoretically that could have a much more powerful ogre empire, the UsefulNotes/EasternRomanEmpire equivalent. Interestingly, this can be traced back to Warcraft III, where the ogre units are all referred to as part of the "Ogre Legion".
** More recently, the [[RevenantZombie Forsaken]] have been using [[PuttingOnTheReich chemical weapons, have begun hating other races with a passion, and creating concentration camp-like settlements]]

** Narim is based on Villavicencio, as both are agricultural towns with an increasing industrial economy, were the site of major battles in war, and has its own major cathedral, though Narim's cathedral is visually based on Las Lajas Shrine.
** St. Clarity is based on Barranquilla, a port metropolis with a history of corrupt politicians. Both also have impoverished districts whose water distribution systems cause these districts to get flooded periodically, and St. Clarity's cathedral resembles Iglesia San Nicolás.
** Neva Tulira is based on Zipaquirá. Both have a history of salt mining, causing a culture of salt as a holy substance and a cathedral built in honor of salt, the directly-named Salt Cathedral. Just as Zipaquirá is home to the Muisca tribe, so is Neva Tulira to a race of BirdPeople. Zipaquirá is also the site of a Holy Week celebration with a big parade, just like the parade in Neva Tulira the townsfolk get excited about.
** Cinder is based on Tolima, a region with the volcano Nevado del Ruiz. Just as the real-world town of Armero was destroyed by an eruption from this volcano, so was the destruction of Ceniza in ''Cris Tales''. The city of Cinder, meanwhile, is based on Ibagué, which has its own cathedral, the Cathedral of Ibagué, and is home to the Panche peolpe, who have tense relationships with the Muisca, similar to how the Cinderians and Neva Tulirans have trouble seeing eye to eye.
** Crystallis is based on Bogotá. Both are the largest cities and administrative centers of their territories, have universities that gather students from far away, and receive tourism from all over the world. Like how Bogotá has the Primatial Cathedral of Bogotá, where Colombia's Archbishop resides, the Cathedral of Crystallis is the headquarters of the Church of the Lady and where their leadership resides.
** Rubies and sapphires play a major role in the plot of ''Cris Tales'', just as how corundum-based gemstones are one of Colombia's major exports with the country leading the world in emerald mining.
** The war against the Time Empress is based on ''La Violencia'', a civil war fought in the 1940s and 1950s. Both derived from an attempted government takeover, and both resulted in the destruction of towns and villages and a large loss of life.

[[folder:A-B]]

** Sumeru[[note]]named for [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Meru Mount Meru]], a sacred mountain in Hindu and Buddhist cosmology[[/note]] seems to correspond to various South Asian and Middle Eastern cultures, being dominated by deserts and rainforest and home to Sumeru Academia, the continent's most renowned learning institution.

** An empire with the "Inward Perfection" civic gets the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celestial_Empire Celestial Empire]] special government type: an isolationist kingdom where the ruler is a child from heaven and the people have little time for strange outsiders who do not understand their serene and peaceful way of life.

* ''VideoGame/{{Arknights}}'':
** Ursus Empire is based off Russia. Its national symbol is a two-headed eagle, much like the Russian coat of arms. All of recruitable native from Ursus have bear motifs, and their name are spelled in Cyrillic instead of Latin in the Chinese version.
** Lungmen appears to be a Chinese analogue, but it's more accurately a parallel to Hong Kong, with additional influences from Shanghai, Tokyo, and Singapore. Aside from the pervasive oriental influence in the character design, Lungmen is known to be an influential trading hub, with a thriving underworld opposed by the very strict Lungmen Guard Department. Infected populace are corralled away to slums with minimal government presence, bringing the Kowloon Walled City to mind.
** Laterano is Vatican with a bit of Switzerland mixed in. Its native Sankta population are people with angelic features, and are stereotyped by other nations to be pious but close-minded. Guns are so symbolic of Laterano that every citizen is entitled at least one firearm for self-defense. The Laterano Guard, famous for their halberds, mirrors the real-life Pontifical Swiss Guard.
** Kjerag is a mix of Switzerland and Tibet. The local geography is extremely mountainous, protecting them from invasions and Catastrophes, but molds the culture to become conservative and insular. Kjerag's national religion is much more pagan-flavored than Laterano's, led by a Saintess who prays for the favor of the gods.
** Practically every country in ''Arknights'' is in some way or another based on a country or a cultural region, with the only known exception being Aegir, the underwater LovecraftCountry.

[[folder:A-F]]