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While most RPGs don't begin with prayers to the Muses, it cannot be denied that they do take a significant influence from the mythologies of the ancient world, and who can blame them? Ancient mythology is ripe with symbological and metaphorical imagery that has relevance even today. However, with so many cultures and myths to draw from, why is it that developers keep returning to the same ones over and over again?
One of the most well-known RPG clichés is the use of a "Mana Tree," a source of all magic and life for the world around it. This actually draws from the Yggdrasill legend of Norse Mythology, a giant tree said to connect all the worlds. It has been seen in many games, but most prominently in Tales of Phantasia, Tales of Symphonia, and of the course the Secret of Mana series. It has been used so many times at this point that many people aren't even aware it's based on mythology, assuming it to have originated in some older game they haven't played.
Norse mythology has been the inspiration for many other popular recurring characters and places as well. The famed Midgard of Final Fantasy VII borrows its name from the Norse world of mortal man. Odin, a popular summon in the Final Fantasy series as well as the title of the recent Odin Sphere, is a Norse god, and his powerful spear Gungnir is also present in the myth. Ragnarok, often used as a name for a weapon or finishing move, is actually the final battle at the end of the world. One company, Tri-Ace, has even gone so far as to base an entire series in Norse Myth, with their popular Valkyrie Profile games.
Beyond Norse mythology, many other cultural figures are used repetitively throughout the RPG world, most often as summon spirits or secret bosses. Most of Final Fantasy's summons stem from various mythologies. Shiva is the supreme deity of Hinduism, Ifrit (or Efreet) is a Jinn in the Islamic Qur'an, and of course everyone's favorite Bahamut is drawn from Arabic myth. Mythological weapons are also commonly included in games, such as the Excalibur or the Spear of Destiny.
So why is it, with the vast amount of mythological material available, that these same myths keep popping up time and again? Familiarity? I doubt many people had heard of the Yggdrasill tree before playing an RPG that included it. In fact, one of the most well-known mythologies out there, Greek/Roman, is rarely used in RPGs. It seems as though very few companies attempt to draw from previously unused or rarely used myths, and it's a shame, because they exist in virtually every corner of the globe, and in some places even more than one. So far, games have barely scratched the surface of what there is out there.
That isn't to say that there aren't exceptions. Suikoden's use of the Chinese Stars of Destiny myth is untouched outside the series, and the Shin Megami Tensei series goes out of its way to incorporate deities and demons from every corner of the globe. A few of the Espers of Final Fantasy XII are based off of exceedingly obscure myths, but really, it's rare to see a game stray outside the commonly used ones anymore.
Many well-known series have already rooted themselves into a core mythology for their games, and this would explain why these myths keep popping up over and over again, but is it really that hard to change? Most long-running RPG series base their games in new worlds every time, so consistency seems like a poor excuse. The Final Fantasy series set precedent in its last iteration by not using any of their previously established summon spirits, but will other games follow suit? It seems possible, but at the same time, unlikely.
So what does this mean? Are we forever doomed to seeing the same elements reused in game after game after game? Hopefully not. Many new RPGs aren't even looking to mythology for inspiration anymore, while some of the larger series have begun developing their own. But this isn't a solution; it's running away from the problem. Games began referencing mythology because it was interesting, and it can still be interesting if they'd only look beyond what they've already used.
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