Japanese folklore in videogames?

[Ante]

Just recently I figured it out that the one of the first bosses, the huge stone plate* trying to smash Mario, in Super Mario 64 is actually an existing monster from Japanese folklore and not borrowed one like in Final Fantasy series (Shiva, Cerberus, Odin, Phoenix,...). This got my interest and I would like to know if there are other similiar good examples, name a few if you know. The perspective is from the western point of view ie. things that players in west might miss if they don't know Japanese folklore.

* Osaka from the Azumanga Daioh is talking about the very same monster

I don't know anyting about Japanese folklore... But are there are some in Katamari Damacy? Like sea monsters and stuff? From the information I could pick up from the game about them, it seems like they would be mythical creatures or something... Or maybe just from TV shows??

I don't know whether this is japanese or chinese but...
In a lot of games (harvest moon, silent hill, etc) there is a goddess that shows you a plain object and a gold object, asking you which is your's. If you pick the plain object, you are rewarded.
I read somewhere that this was from some Japanese legend.

I don't know anyting about Japanese folklore... But are there are some in Katamari Damacy?

Weee, I just finished playing that a moment ago. I have the We <3 Katamari desktop buddy (the prince) running around with his Katamari right noooow. <3

Also... In lots of games and anime I have noticed the foxes with many tails... For example: Ninetails and Vulpix of Pokemon, The Kafie mask from Majora's mask (and when you do the mask thingy the fox appears), Naruto's demon fox from Naruto... Anyone know anything about the fox?

[Frankey-eh]

Originally Posted by more cheerios

In a lot of games (harvest moon, silent hill, etc) there is a goddess that shows you a plain object and a gold object, asking you which is your's. If you pick the plain object, you are rewarded.
I read somewhere that this was from some Japanese legend.

Yeah! That is a Japanese folklore. In the story, it's a big chest vs. a small chest. There's this poor family in the woods, and apparently they are looking for their wooden chest. The wife goes first, and she's greedy, so when the wood demon (-ish person) asks which is her chest, she chooses the bigger one, hoping it has more goodies. She goes home and finds it's full of monsters. The husband then goes, and he's a good man, so he chooses their REAL chest, the smaller one, and it turns out to be full of gold or something.

[ESPayne]

Originally Posted by rika

Yeah! That is a Japanese folklore. In the story, it's a big chest vs. a small chest. There's this poor family in the woods, and apparently they are looking for their wooden chest. The wife goes first, and she's greedy, so when the wood demon (-ish person) asks which is her chest, she chooses the bigger one, hoping it has more goodies. She goes home and finds it's full of monsters. The husband then goes, and he's a good man, so he chooses their REAL chest, the smaller one, and it turns out to be full of gold or something.

I heard this story as "The Tongue-Cut Sparrow." An old couple living in the woods had no children. The old man was very kind and loved his pet sparrow, or just liked to feed the sparrows around his house. His wife was a mean old woman. One day while the old man was out working, his wife cut the sparrow's tongue off because it was too noisey. Later, the old man ran into the sparrow and it took him to it's home. They had a big party, sang, danced, and drank. It got late and the old man had to go home. The sparrow wanted to give the old man a gift, and offered two chests. The old man didn't want to be greedy, and also knew that the it would be easier to carry the smaller chest. He gets home, and of course the mean wife is angry that he came home late. He tells her about the sparrow and when they open the chest it's full of gold. The mean wife gets mad, because they could have had more gold if he had taken the bigger chest. So she goes out the next day looking for the sparrow. She finds it and acts nice, so it takes her home. It does the same things for her, but all she really wants is the gold. Of course, she chooses the big chest, and has a very hard time dragging it home. Before she can get it home, she's too excited about the gold not to take a look at it. So she opens it and it's filled with snakes, spiders, and bugs.

[jindojim]

Wrong story. But I know that one.
Well, the story goes basically like the game. At least in the Korean tale that I heard, which the Japanese often have versions of.
There once was a honest woodcutter who was chopping wood in the forest. He had been doing this job for years and years and had a old dull ax that he used because he couldn't afford a new one. But at least he was able to barely live off of the wood he sold. Anyway, one day, he was chopping, and his axe slipped out of his hands and fell into a nearby lake.
"Oh no!" exclaimed the woodcutter. "How will I live now??" And he began to despair.
Suddenly, out of the lake, a beautiful fairy arose and addressed the woodcutter.
"Do you drop an axe into my lake?" she asked.
"Yes! Please, could you return it back to me?" replied the woodcutter.
She sunk beneath the waters and returned with an axe of pure silver.
"Is this yours?"
The woodcutter thought of all the wonderful things he could buy if he sold that axe but said, "No, that is not mine. Mine was definitely not silver."
The fairy disappeared again and returned with an axe of pure gold. She once again asked the woodcutter if it belonged to him, but he turned it down very reluctantly.
Then the fairy finally presented the woodcutter with his own axe, and he claimed it.
"Since you were honest in your replies, you may have not only your own axe, but the gold and silver ones as well," she said.
Happily, the woodcutter took the three axes and went on his way.

Heh, well, that's my telling of the story at least.

[GenoSV]

I have this vague memory that in the Zelda game for Super Nintendo there is a place wher you throw stuff into the water and a fairy comes up and asks if it's yours. You used that to get a special item if I remember correctly. I'm not too sure though, was many years since I last played that game. ^^;;
Someone might wanna confirm if that has anything to do with the woodcutter legend thing... no? ok ^^;;

You know, it's certainly possible that all those stories *are* the same legend- sometimes folk tales get passed around and have many regional varients like that.

Though on that note, in the .hack series and games there's a spring characters can go to and drop a weapon in, and the spirit of the well comes out and asks if you dropped a silver ax, or perhaps it's this golden one? If you choose neither, it gives you an upgraded version of the weapon you dropped. So obviously this is fairly well known.

As for the fox, there's a lot of Japanese fox folklore. Like many cultures, in Japan foxes are known to be tricksters. They're spirits, often with multiple tails (up to nine, a nine-tailed fox or kyuubi kitsune is the most powerful), and depending on the story will do anything from harmless pranks to taking human form to seduce people to damaging mischief. Incidently, the Pokemon "Ninetails" Japanese name, "kyuukon", is a pun- "kyuu" means "nine", and "kon" refers both to "tail" as well as the sound that a fox makes.

Also for Pokemon examples, Golduck is said to resemble a kappa, an aquatic Japanese monster known for its bowl-shaped head. Also, Ho-oh (Houou in the Japanese) is the Japanese word for phoenix.

[Ozero]

the zelda fountain doesnt try to trick you with greed, though...

and i'm sure i mentioned it in another thread, but "little ninja brothers" on the nes had one of these.. you drop an iron claw (claws being the only equippable weapons in the game), and some... i forget what.. appears and tries to tempt you with a gold, then a silver claw.. when you finally accept the iron one, you're rewarded the gold one..

or something...

the world needs more action RPGs ypu can play multi on one console... (even better, in LNB, you leveled up TOGETHER... so one player could do some 'farming' without the other player getting left behind... I think this exteded into equipment, too... you buy one, but both of you can equip it at the same time...)