History FantasyCounterpartCulture / VideoGames

** The Gerudo in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' and ''Breath of the Wild'' appear to be pretty heavily based off of the medieval Arabians, albiet in an all-female context.

* ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'', essentially a mild fantasy version of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, has a fantasy counterpart for nearly everything that went on in Europe at that time (including the continent itself, which is named "Europa"). The most notable example are the Darcsen, a [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything persecuted race who have managed to hold on to their heritage and customs despite being scattered all over the world]]. Although clearly based on WWII-era Jews, they also wear shawls for (vaguely defined) religious reasons and have a ([[spoiler:[[WrittenByTheWinners unjustified]]]]) reputation for blowing people up and causing havoc that may have been inspired by recent attitudes toward Muslims. Many of the fantasy counterparts in the game blend together elements of different cultures like this.

** Ermor is an vast cosmopolitan empire with legions of Hastati, Triarii and Principes, united in the worship of a benevolent prophet healer who sacrificed themselves and came BackFromTheDead. And then things [[GoneHorriblyWrong go horribly wrong]] with their obsession with {{Necromanc|er}}y and Ermor becomes an empire of undead {{Omnicidal Maniac}}s.

** Fontaine[[note]]French for "fountain"[[/note]] is based of Romance Erurope, especially France during the UsefulNotes/IndustrialRevolution; as Teyvat's capital of the arts, its residents are noted for their showy sense of fashion.

*** The [[WeHelpTheHelpless Commonwealth]] [[VigilanteArmy Minutemen]] are patterned after both Revolutionary-Era America and the Iroquois Confederacy (the former more so than the latter).

*** [[WeHelpTheHelpless The Commonwealth Minutemen]] are patterned after both Revolutionary-Era America and the Iroquois Confederacy (the former more so than the latter).

* ''VideoGame/TwistedWonderland'': Being based on the Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon, all countries shown are fantasy counterparts to the real-life cultures seen in Disney movies. There are the [[UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom Queendom of Roses]], [[{{Bulungi}} Sunset Savanna]], [[{{Atlantis}} Coral Sea]], [[ArabianNightsDays Scalding Sands]], [[UnitedEurope Shaftlands]] with [[{{Ruritania}} Harveston]], and [[{{Uberwarld}} Land of Briar]]. There are also unseen counterparts to China and Japan.

** [[MerchantCity Crossbell City]], the setting of the second Arc, is one to Hong Kong, a hotly contested, massive metropolis that's considered the heart of commerce of the continent. It's also one to New York due to also being a hotspot for immigration.

*** Dalmasca is generically a modern Middle East, being a desert kingdom that used to be the centerpiece of a great empire but currently in the midst of a tug-of-war between two great powers. There is a huge river in the middle of a desert that can be compared to the Tigris, Euphrates, or the Nile. South of the capital Rabanastre, there is a location called "Giza Plains". This gets especially obvious if you hear the BGM for Lowtown, which sounds vaguely Arab-ish. As a side note, "Dalmasca" also rhymes with Damascus, the capital of Syria.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' had Conde Petie (Scotland). Alexandria seems to be a Generic European Fantasy, but does seem to take some elements from Germany or Prussia. Lindblum appears to represent London during the Industrial Revolution. Burmecia has mainly Celtic and Nordic influence, with hints of Japanese when it comes to their Dragon Knights and a city based on Barcelona, Spain. Cleyra seems to take elements from both Ireland and the Middle East.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' has the Cetra, an ancient race of persecuted wanderers who are supposed to be the only ones with access to 'The Promised Land'. The main Cetra in the game (born to a non-Cetra father and a Cetra mother, but treated as completely Cetra) was living undercover in a household run by a non-Cetra, lying about her heritage in order to stop TheEmpire's agents finding her and taking her to have sadistic experiments done on her. Her mother was tortured to death by TheEmpire during the war (involving [[{{Wutai}} a culture known for ninja and samurai]]). {{Does This Remind You Of|Anything}} [[SpaceJews Anything]]?

** The Nora are obviously based on Native American cultures, being a culture of [[BraidsBeadsAndBuckskins Braids, Beads and]] [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers Machine Armor Plating]]. They also have a lot of tribalistic rituals and superstitions.

*** This is all true, except that Windor itself is slightly more reminiscent of England. The architecture of Barona and Gralesyde seems to blend Dutch and English influence, it's a monarchy, and of course there's the ties to English royalty -- there's been a few English King Richards, for one, and then there's the Windsor/Windor [[JustForPun pun]].

* In ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'':

** Natlan[[note]]likely derives from Aztlán, the legendary homeland of the Aztecs[[/note]] is said to have a tribal culture based on Africa and Indigenous America.

** 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 Akademiya, the continent's most renowned learning institution.
** Fontaine[[note]]French for "fountain"[[/note]] is based of Romance Erurope, especially France during the Industrial Revolution; as Teyvat's capital of the arts, its residents are noted for their showy sense of fashion.
** Natlan[[note]]likely derives from Aztlán, the legendary homeland of the Aztecs.[[/note]] is said to have a tribal culture based on Africa and Indigenous America.
** The harsh, frigid, heavily militarized nation of Snezhnaya[[note]]Russian for "snowy"[[/note]] is a clear counterpart to Russia and other Slavic countries.

** Mondstadt[[note]]"moon city" in German[[/note]] takes inspiration from medieval Europe, especially Germany.

** Very little is known of Natlan, but its name and the fact that it is said to have a tribal culture suggest that it is based on Africa and Indigenous America.
** Fontaine[[note]]French for "fountain"[[/note]] is France during the Industrial Revolution; Teyvat's capital of the arts, its residents are noted for their showy sense of fashion.
** The harsh, frigid, heavily militarized nation of Snezhnaya[[note]]Russian for "snowy"[[/note]] is a clear counterpart to Russia.

** At the most blatantly obvious, the Osean Federation is pretty much the United States with a dash of Japan in terms military elements, with the branches of their armed forces explicitly called [[UsefulNotes/KaijuDefenseForce Defense Forces]]. Their overall ethnic composition is also somewhat mixed between the two countries, which can be seen with [[VideoGame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown Wiseman]] (African-American) and [[VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar Kei Nagase]] (Japanese).

* ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' does this pretty unabashedly. For example, the Monk's design is a strange mishmash of Russia and China, with some trace elements of India for flavor.

* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'' did it to excess, lampshading it with the town names: A colosseum in Romaly, [[{{Wutai}} Zipangu]] just before Francisco Xavier showed up (with added HumanSacrifice), Edinbear as Britain, Portoga as Portugal, Dharma as Tibet, Greenlad as Greenland, Isis as Egypt with pyramids, Baharata as India, Ashalam with merchants calling you "my friend", overcharging, and giving you the option of haggling, and Soo with {{Hulkspeak}}: This my horse. It good horse. Most of all, the game's world map resembles (albeit ''very'' roughly) the real world, with all these places including corresponding to their real world equivalents. You even end up establishing your colony, "New Town," in what would be the mid-eastern United States, and it eventually goes through a revolution!

* ''VideoGame/EarthBound'': Eagleland is ''1980's America'', with Fourside being a New York-like place. Foggyland (the area where Winters is) is Britain. The city of Summers appears to be a generic Southern-European resort, possibly Spain; Dalaam is Asia; Scaraba is obviously Egypt; and Deep Darkness appears to be Africa.

* Each of the kingdom's territories in ''VideoGame/KingOfTheCastle'' have a real-world inspiration. For example, the Chiefs of the North wear Scandinavian-inspired outfits and have unique schemes involving ice giants and causing Ragnarök, the Counts of the East wear Hungarian-inspired outfits and have unique schemes involving devil summoning and vampirism, and the Grandees of the South wear Spanish-inspired outfits and have unique schemes involving church inquisitions.

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'':

** At the most blatantly obvious, the Osean Federation is the United States with a dash of Japan in terms of ethnicity and military elements, with the branches of their armed forces explicitly called [[UsefulNotes/KaijuDefenseForce Defense Forces]].