Library of Ruina or Lobotomy Corporation, both from Project Moon, an South Korean indie studio. Note that both have vastly different gameplay. If you choose to cover Library of Ruina avoid the console ports with a 10ft pole.
@@Ken-lv4ww i second this both games are very good story wise and interesting gameplay wise. And both especially Ruina use literature inspirations (like orlando furioso) well while doing their own thing. Though i dont think you will like either Maxx considering Ruina is a turn based deck builder. And i dont know if you like management games or not.
Library of Ruina and lobotomy corporation is good to cover but I think he should cover the qliphoth tree and how it's more than just the reverse of the sephirothic tree.
Oh i forgot to mention along with Library of Ruina and Lobotomy Corporation. I also reccomend Smt V Vengance specifically the concept of the Qadistu and the demons that make it up. Oh and how the Qilppoth relates to that game.
Wait till you hear about Project Moon games (Lobotomy Corporation, Library of Ruina and Limbus Company) in which Sephirotic Tree and Hebrew symbols are the key design factors of the core faction that basically brought hell on earth...
South Korean games tend to be very favouring and passionate about Christianity and also pro-Judaism (whether of actual Christian outlook to just Christian & Judaic symbolism) compared to Japan's This alone explain Stellar Blade, The God of High School's portrayal of Biblical narrations' significance or Christian relics being some of the most powerful relics and abilities, to Lies of Pi that even heavily influenced by Valentinian Christianity Chinese games that either promoting traditional Chinese cultures or portraying cultivation simulation genre (which initially popularised and kinda started by Journey to The West) are also being anti-cynical to Religions compared to Japan, even though they considered the lower ranking gods to be vulnerable ala Buddhist devas & asuras, while Xianxia genre, you need to not taking it seriously, the ones that less known ones are somehow bonkers crazy lol, no wonder Mihoyo can't let their drives to powerscaling into control, well until just recently when the fans had enough of cosmic scaling so they can get back to early Honkai Impact era of scaling (on top of how mutliverse genre being abused by Marvel, DC and other big cinematic' industries recently)
@@rubyplace7188 hey man they make good games and people love to share them. Though i will say as a fan myself they can be annoying af. (No im not excluded from this except for spoiling things).
@@cebolinhacalvo7393project moon the people behind Lobotomy corporation Library of Ruina and Limbus company They are a South Korean indie studio with 47 members with 7 of them being in the restaurant that uses their IP as themes They seem to be extremely nerdy considering how many books it references and how well it adapts them into their series
But the magic of Max is he never comes off as condescending, he always explains it so well that even cavebrains like us can grasp these deep intellectual/spiritual concepts
@@Miraihihonestly this, it's not like a gamer's default side activity alongside actually playing the games is to go full art history on the games and figure out what was the social environment/condition at the time the game was created/released, or figure out the psychology of the game creator as to sense why this game came out the way it is It's just... potentially trivial after a while especially for people who just wanna have a good time which was kinda why they played the game/s in the first place
Other occult traditions also interpret said Kabbalah as well. BTW Jung and Hermiticism/Gothicism/Kabbalah/Thelma shows up in a lot of LN franchises as well. My favorite being Toaru.
I gotta say, you are by far the best channel on TH-cam, I've learned about many things that I don't think I could ever come across, you rock Max Derrat
25:14 You have to have one of the cleanest and most professional setups for a channel I've ever seen. Absolutely love the audible notification for when a visual is important to the conversation and how you shout out when your organized references are relevant for further research.
If you're interested in more games that utilize Kabbalah and the Tree of Life wonderfully, I highly recommend the works of Project Moon, notably Lobotomy Corporation.
I can confirm this both Lob Corp and their other game Library of Ruina are very good games. though i dont think Maxx would like them since they are turn based. I should also add that i highly recommend the on the PC version for LoR. The Console ports are just bad ports and have bugs that are unacceptable.
@@2265Hello They are talking about Lobotomy Company (Management Sim) not LoR (Deck building strategy game). Yes the console port is bad but one redeeming quality is that pre order the JP physical edition for the LCB cosmetic.
@@2265Hello You're talking about Library of Ruina (Turn based, deck building RPG), OP said Lobotomy Company (Management Sim) lmao PM reading comprehension at it's max here
@@2265Hello he said Lobotomy Corporation, not Library of Ruina. PM reading comprehension at it's finest. Edit: notice how the comment I'm talking about is edited lmao
"I know a lot of people who consume my videos tend to listen to them rather watch them." My guy, I'm so enthralled in these topics I turn off everything, pull out paper and pen and am literally keeping notes like my bachelor's degree is riding on this exam! lol Seriously, I keep a 3x5 notebook on me for my writing and I filled roughly 4 pages full of notes on the material you discussed in this video alone
First and foremost, great video Max, I absolutely LOVED it! Secondly, my first exposure to Kabbalistic religion was a game by the name of Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of a New World and in said game, the main protagonst, Emil(Ratatosk) has a move named Ein Sof Aur, and man did your video bring me back to that time.
Been researching theology and more specifically ; the sefirot so I can implement them in my series. Glad to see this aspect in many of the series I enjoy being discussed!
I'm still in the intro- I just wanted to express how cool it was you thought of the people who just listen! Sometimes I don't even know I've missed something, unless they have a moment of silence for the words on the screen :D Thanks for that
Videos like this are like their own kind of insane final act recontextualizations you see in RPG stories. Imagine how many aspects of every form of art are inspired by so many different cultures, religions, philosophies and mythologies.
Would highly reccomend you checking out Lobotomy Corporation and its sequel Library of Ruina. Those games are what got me into watching video essays like these in the first place. Thanks for releasing such high quality and well researched videos as always Max!
Kabbalah and Jung. Both have ties to Hermetic thought. Kabbalah due to adoption, and Jung took directly from Hermetic philosophy. The androgyne is also found in Hermeticism. It's amazing how much the entertainment (especially Japan) gets from esoteric philosophy. I tend to find most of this leaning more Hermetic than full-blown Hebrew mysticism. Of course both have influenced each other to the point that most the lines blur.
I'd love to see you talk about games that use the concept of the Qliphoth, I also find it odd that Japanese games and media tend to combine Viking mythology with Judeo Christian mythology.
This was a GREAT video that explains many complicated and convoluted concepts in a lot of the games I grew up playing as well as games I'm currently playing. I don't even think the reviewers or guide writers understand as much. Can you post info on the background music you used? I think I recognized a few. Thanks
Honestly one of your best videos to date (and I don’t say that lightly either). Thank you for the diligent research and thought-provoking insights, once again. Sharing like mad.
Another small thing about the fact that most of those game are japanese, is that esotheric judaism is very similar to esotheric buddhism (which is however not too disismilar than normal buddhism), so eastern people might find esotheric judaism more interesting and digestible than western where it is something you are not exposed to often. That together the fact that eastern religion are open to integrate different belief system (like in china where taoism, buddism and Confucianism are all jumbled up)
how could you not come across project moon when researching about this? all their games are completely based on this theme. those games being: Lobotomy Corporation, Library of Ruina and Limbus Company. I strongly recomend you look then up, there's a lot of content there to cover and it's all amazing and mind blowing.
I was always thought. SMT is usually about the apocalypse, a colliding of the material world and immaterial world. Persona, is usually based in the material. Does that mean, Metaphor is the Immaterial World? 🤔
Wow I'm glad I'm not the only one to pick up on this, FF7 was a gateway to me reading about H.P Blavatsky, Freemasonry and esoteric traditions in general. And other games like Silent Hill or even Doom and Zelda to some extent. The Japanese sure have a gift for absorbing western occult ideas into their own works of art, it will never cease to amaze me. I think the 80's and 90's were really golden years to grow up in, in terms of how rich movies and games were in substance.
@@alejorag it's ok but I dunno. Despite being well done, well acted and mostly faithful, I still think there is something missing from key scenes and messages, like they still quite won't go where the books went. I'd say stick with the books but the HBO series is worth a watch if you are a fan
@@alejoragI've only seen the HBO series and it was enjoyable. I'm obviously not sure how it compares to the books, but my roommate who has read the books said it was fairly accurate.
i am designing a game that takes a lot of inspiration from this symbol and some of the titles it has inspired (such as majoras mask) - hopefully one day it will be one of these greatest evers you talk about 😖💛
I will never get tired of how WILD the choice of wording is for Enoch's death. Adam. Had Seth. Lived 930 years. Died. Seth. Had Enosh. Lived 912 years. Died. Enosh. Had Kenan. Lived 905 years. Died. Kenan. Had Mehalalel. Lived 910 years. Died. Mehalalel. Had Jared. Lived 895 years. Died. Jared. Had Enoch. Lived 962 years. Died. Enoch. Had Methuselah. WALKED WITH GOD FOR 300 YEARS AND IS NO MORE BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM. Methuselah. Had Lamech. Lived 961 years. Died. Lamech. Had Noah. Lived 777 years. Died. One of these things is not like the others. One of these things just doesn't belong.
That's one interpretation. The other is that the Serpent is now using his corpse as a puppet to lure the Rock (See P't'r) to their undoing. Btw, we write out Chariots at the end of a name, like this "-sus" the S being snakes, and U, a container. @@jazzyjswift
Super interesting! I enjoy studying and practicing both Buddhism and Western Esotericism, and I would note that regarding Buddhism and unification with god is that what's actually heretical to the eastern mind isn't that mankind has inner potential that God doesn't, but that it's the idea that there is seperation in the first place. "God" that exists outside of "you" is always an illusion both ways. There simply is "THIS". Western Esotericism in the end preaches the same, which is essentially a fractal universe, though most modern western minds understand this dualistically (god and you are both entities.) Dualism is incredibly deeply etched into our minds and language. Funny, there's quite literally an old maxim -- "If you were to meet the Buddha, Kill it. " -- if it's seen as something outside of your fundamental nature, it's just another illusion; be done with it.
You should deep dive into legend of mana. Although it's not a hyped game, I believe it's one with most esoterism references I've ever played: tree, triad, elements, familiars, golems, magick, imagination, hermetics, alchemic, and so on.
Tales of the Abyss also features the concept of a Sephiroth, being the pillars that keeps the world from falling into the abyss. Also the names of the main towns are based on the names of the Sephiroths, like Grand Chokmah and Daath (this one being the center of the religious order).
Thanks for the video, Max! I have actually been searching around for books on why Japanese games and consumerism is obsessed with Abrahamic mythology the same way the western is obsessed with, say, Greek mythology (the difference being the Abrahamic still acting as a religion for millions of people). My closest call so far had been "Drawing on Tradition: Manga, Anime, and Religion in Contemporary Japan", by Jolyon Baraka Thomas, but you already hit closer home than that book did! lol. Now, as much as I think some of those games are great, I also think they turn all this myhtology into a "mumbo jumbo" of lore that, like you said, doesn't make sense most of the time. And even when it does, looks like a parody of it could be if it was treated, for example, like God of War treats Greek mythology, or The Witcher treats Slavic folklore... I feel that some times they just want to call a character by a latin name, or sprinke Kabalah on it because it feels "exotic". But not being Japanese, it is also hard to me to understand this appeal, if it exists at all. What do you think about it? Subscribed to the channel, thank you so much!
Long time lurker, had to subscribe because you touch upon two niche categories very near and dear to my heart; Apocrypha and the occult, *and* its ties to Silent Hill. Also using the Final Fantasy Tactics character creation music at the beginning proved that you're on an ascended level of knowledge and good taste. Religion for Breakfast and Esoterica are amazing TH-cam channels/ scholars, so glad you are referencing them.
I'm guessing the Sepirothic fruit from dmc 4, is the same type of fruit Urizen eats in dmc 5 to gain power, which grows on the Qlipoth - that feeds on human blood, in order to grow the fruit - I never really gave much thought in the demonic plants of dmc 4, but this is a pretty cool similarity and attention to detail~
As someone who finds Qlipoth based systems try hard edgy nonsense the relative lameness of DMC 5's dungeon compared to DMC 3's is kind of vindicating. Qlipoth means husk or shell its not a fruit in itself but it does fit the story of DMC 5 with V being the cast of shell of Virgil's demonic form. The Bruegal inspired Tower of Babel imagery is just so much more interesting and evocative to me than the generic Capcom demon realm that DMC 5 recycled from the endgame its brother series of sword based RE spin offs Onimusha.
I'm currently making my own fantasy world and I've used the kabbalah. I'm just using the one that includes the Da,ath as a basis for the shape of my universe
Iirc Da’at/Da’ath concerns knowledge but can be associated with the abyss. And that the fact that it is missing is sort of relevant to its nature as its missing from the other Sephora.
Ok, but what's the deal with Japanese video game devs and these esoteric, Kabbalistic themes in the first place? Where did they learn this from? Especially back in the 90's when knowledge like this must have been exceptionally difficult to obtain in their language, and the game devs were mostly young guys exploring this new vidya medium that was mostly seen as funny digital toys for kids. Like... why? Why did so many studios implement those obscure, ancient, super complicated, and foreign ideas into their games? Just genuinely curious.
Great Video Max. If you are interested other games that use the Tree of life/ Kabbalah are Library of Ruina a deck builder and Lobotomy corp a management game. Both of which have great stories. But play the PC version of Library of Ruina if you plan to try it. The console ports are just bad ports
Max you absolute mad lad, I was writing the story of my game using the sephirothic tree to create the background lore and myth and then this video comes along.
The Sephirothic tree appears in a game called La Mulana. I wonder how much alchemical stuff is in that game. It's a rather cryptic puzzle game but it had some pretty cool world building throughout.
One major thing not mentioned here, is most of these games are ALSO heavily influenced not just by kaballah, but GNOSTICISM. the REJECTION of "God" is not Japanese here, its Gnosticism. Especially Xenogears. The FALSE AI GOD is the DEMIURGE while the TRUE GOD is the WAVE EXISTENCE. In some views, the Old Testament God is a lower being, ENSLAVING or entrapping humanity in an illusion. Think the WHEEL Of buddhism but with conscious manipulations, of the body, mind and world. While Kaballah doesn't demonize any "god." It is essentially a mystical version, similar to buddhism and gnosticism in the sense that the goal is to break free from the lower delusions of the material world and ego, and instead restore the God sparks back to their proper divine place.
Tales of the Abyss also references the Sefirot a lot. Some towns are even named after some of them; Daath, St. Binah, Grand Chokmah. This is a reminder that TotA could be worth checking out, also possibly worthy of discussion on the channel. In addition, Merkaba Hanzelrusha is an AoE damage dealing skill for the healer class in Flyff, a 2004 KMMORPG. Merkaba is shaped as a cross, which you just made me realize is probably a reference to the four faces.
@@maxderrat I would recommend playing the games in order of release instead of chronological order. While yes it makes sense in terms of the timeline it doesn't make sense in terms of gameplay. Seeing as gameplay gets better and more innovative in terms of release. Put it this way it's a lot harder for people to appreciate the first Devil May Cry if they just jump into Devil May Cry 3 first because they were going by the order of the timeline instead of the order of release.
AAAAAAAH I'm trying my best to not go into a psychotic rant about lobotomy corporation, but please.... Its a very Philosophical game with lots of religious/literature/mythological/cultural themeings that make it a very big game in my mind space
Would definitely love a part 2! Also! I would love to hear you make some connections from Honkai Star Rail, When I heard Qlippoth I immediately thought of HSR.
What games should I cover for a hypothetical part 2?
Library of Ruina or Lobotomy Corporation, both from Project Moon, an South Korean indie studio. Note that both have vastly different gameplay.
If you choose to cover Library of Ruina avoid the console ports with a 10ft pole.
@@Ken-lv4ww i second this both games are very good story wise and interesting gameplay wise. And both especially Ruina use literature inspirations (like orlando furioso) well while doing their own thing. Though i dont think you will like either Maxx considering Ruina is a turn based deck builder. And i dont know if you like management games or not.
Tales of the Abyss
Library of Ruina and lobotomy corporation is good to cover but I think he should cover the qliphoth tree and how it's more than just the reverse of the sephirothic tree.
Oh i forgot to mention along with Library of Ruina and Lobotomy Corporation. I also reccomend Smt V Vengance specifically the concept of the Qadistu and the demons that make it up. Oh and how the Qilppoth relates to that game.
Wait till you hear about Project Moon games (Lobotomy Corporation, Library of Ruina and Limbus Company) in which Sephirotic Tree and Hebrew symbols are the key design factors of the core faction that basically brought hell on earth...
Glory to Limbus Company!!!!!
South Korean games tend to be very favouring and passionate about Christianity and also pro-Judaism (whether of actual Christian outlook to just Christian & Judaic symbolism) compared to Japan's
This alone explain Stellar Blade, The God of High School's portrayal of Biblical narrations' significance or Christian relics being some of the most powerful relics and abilities, to Lies of Pi that even heavily influenced by Valentinian Christianity
Chinese games that either promoting traditional Chinese cultures or portraying cultivation simulation genre (which initially popularised and kinda started by Journey to The West) are also being anti-cynical to Religions compared to Japan, even though they considered the lower ranking gods to be vulnerable ala Buddhist devas & asuras, while Xianxia genre, you need to not taking it seriously, the ones that less known ones are somehow bonkers crazy lol, no wonder Mihoyo can't let their drives to powerscaling into control, well until just recently when the fans had enough of cosmic scaling so they can get back to early Honkai Impact era of scaling (on top of how mutliverse genre being abused by Marvel, DC and other big cinematic' industries recently)
@@ohamatchhams I think its because, as some Japanese TH-camrs point out, Japan is moreso like, making religion not really a super big deal
GOD DAMN IT
@@ohamatchhams Christian is almost 1/3rd the population in SK, Japan is at like 2%
Project Moon fans being summoned once again
The algorithm is exploiting us, I fear
@@rubyplace7188 hey man they make good games and people love to share them. Though i will say as a fan myself they can be annoying af. (No im not excluded from this except for spoiling things).
@@2265HelloThe difficulty spike is truly vertical 😭
Project Moon not mentioned, sleeper agents activated anyway
Do you love the city you live in?
12:03 *_Havel built confirmed, tank builts confirm this he had to T.K.O. the red invaders_* .
@@Crimson0047 "Yeeeesss." Actually, *becomes* _OP_
Congratulations! you have now been conscripted to the Project Moon rabbit hole. Please do not resist.
No idea what that is
@@cebolinhacalvo7393 You'll know soon enough, while I'm at it. Do you love the city you live in?
@@cebolinhacalvo7393project moon the people behind Lobotomy corporation Library of Ruina and Limbus company
They are a South Korean indie studio with 47 members with 7 of them being in the restaurant that uses their IP as themes
They seem to be extremely nerdy considering how many books it references and how well it adapts them into their series
@@Crimson0047
I LOVE THE CITY I AM IN!
@@neilisawesome2333 Do you love the city you live in?
Library of Ruina fans do be breathing heavily when they see the cabal in a thumbnail -
You may or may not have alerted THE Horde
As a Project Moon fan, I love how my community is both annoying, amazing and based at the same time. Truly one of the best 🗿
But mostly annoying.
"It's not here... not behind any of these doors... my path remains in shadows... my path is...!"
- EGO Corrosion Dimension Shredder Outis
Xenogears was a real consciousness-awakening game for me when I was a kid. I want some sort of remaster or remake so bad.
same. I still play it on PS1
Same!!
PROJECT MOON SLEEPER AGENTS. TREE OF LIFE HAS BEEN MENTIONED. AWAKEN.
Holy hell is that the library floors map from library of ruina no way
PM mentioned Sleeper agent protocol activate
That is that and this is this
We love the City we live in
I mean, it was that way in Lobotomy Corporation too just upside down. And the ones managing each department we also called Sefirot
Max, I've been a gamer my whole life, and you always find something that makes me feel like an uncultured beginner
It's just natural that you wouldn't know any of this by just playing games 😊
There’s a lot out there to learn. I admittedly forget half of the stuff I listen to from Resonant Arc.
But the magic of Max is he never comes off as condescending, he always explains it so well that even cavebrains like us can grasp these deep intellectual/spiritual concepts
@@Miraihihonestly this, it's not like a gamer's default side activity alongside actually playing the games is to go full art history on the games and figure out what was the social environment/condition at the time the game was created/released, or figure out the psychology of the game creator as to sense why this game came out the way it is
It's just... potentially trivial after a while especially for people who just wanna have a good time which was kinda why they played the game/s in the first place
Life is but a long journey of learning- of which we are all a student of.
Other occult traditions also interpret said Kabbalah as well.
BTW Jung and Hermiticism/Gothicism/Kabbalah/Thelma shows up in a lot of LN franchises as well.
My favorite being Toaru.
THE VOICES IN MY HEAD....THE LIBRARY...
Open the curtains
Lights on
Dont miss moment of this experiment
Oh the book strange
Like clockwork orange
DON'T LISTEN THE VOICE, FUCK HER
We need a part 2 to this video! the story behind those religious lore books is very interesting. its a whole rabbit hole of icebergs from here
Many already suggested the Project Moon games and pretty sure the two webnovels too but the code of Lobotomy Corporation is really fascinating too.
Library of ruina, lobcorp and limbus company my beloveds
Limbus Company and its inverted sephiroth.
God, I love that game.
PM stands on business
@@bondrewdthenovel3598uhhhm you may have your games mixed up my guy
@@professionalsleeper6281 Yeah, that was Lobotomy Corp. My mistake.
I can't believe he didn't mention them
I gotta say, you are by far the best channel on TH-cam, I've learned about many things that I don't think I could ever come across, you rock Max Derrat
YOU GOTTA PLAY LOBOTOMY CORPORATION IT'LL GO SO HARD
Nah, it’s hell.
He should first try Library of Ruina for Hell lite.
25:14 You have to have one of the cleanest and most professional setups for a channel I've ever seen.
Absolutely love the audible notification for when a visual is important to the conversation and how you shout out when your organized references are relevant for further research.
Thank you for pronouncing the word "automata" correctly. It's always refreshing to find a fellow gamer who is actually literate.
Project Moon Protocol is real
👀
Not gonna lie, the second I saw the tree of life symbol I thought this was gonna be about Project Moon hahaha
Project Moon loves this as well
No Project Moon mention, it's so over
It just means we'll get more amazing video to follow this up in the future
If you're interested in more games that utilize Kabbalah and the Tree of Life wonderfully, I highly recommend the works of Project Moon, notably Lobotomy Corporation.
I can confirm this both Lob Corp and their other game Library of Ruina are very good games. though i dont think Maxx would like them since they are turn based. I should also add that i highly recommend the on the PC version for LoR. The Console ports are just bad ports and have bugs that are unacceptable.
@@2265Hello They are talking about Lobotomy Company (Management Sim) not LoR (Deck building strategy game).
Yes the console port is bad but one redeeming quality is that pre order the JP physical edition for the LCB cosmetic.
@@2265Hello You're talking about Library of Ruina (Turn based, deck building RPG), OP said Lobotomy Company (Management Sim) lmao
PM reading comprehension at it's max here
@@2265Hello he said Lobotomy Corporation, not Library of Ruina.
PM reading comprehension at it's finest.
Edit: notice how the comment I'm talking about is edited lmao
@@Ken-lv4ww indeed. But i reccomed both
"I know a lot of people who consume my videos tend to listen to them rather watch them." My guy, I'm so enthralled in these topics I turn off everything, pull out paper and pen and am literally keeping notes like my bachelor's degree is riding on this exam! lol Seriously, I keep a 3x5 notebook on me for my writing and I filled roughly 4 pages full of notes on the material you discussed in this video alone
No trails mention, and no tales of the abyss. We live in dark times
First and foremost, great video Max, I absolutely LOVED it! Secondly, my first exposure to Kabbalistic religion was a game by the name of Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of a New World and in said game, the main protagonst, Emil(Ratatosk) has a move named Ein Sof Aur, and man did your video bring me back to that time.
I love that you added the sound to look back 😂, I'm one of the ones that listen and it works!
Hmph, ProjectMoon not being mentioned in a video about the Kabbalah in games, I can only forgive this grave sin once.
Been researching theology and more specifically ; the sefirot so I can implement them in my series. Glad to see this aspect in many of the series I enjoy being discussed!
You are such an amazing person. You are a blessing and a miracle to this planet and it’s people
I love you, George!
How is your insect arm George?
@@wAT3r_Moon you could say that “suddenly, one day his arm had changed”
I'm still in the intro- I just wanted to express how cool it was you thought of the people who just listen! Sometimes I don't even know I've missed something, unless they have a moment of silence for the words on the screen :D Thanks for that
Really glad those kinds of video are on yt. Thanks mate for your amazing work, keep going
Videos like this are like their own kind of insane final act recontextualizations you see in RPG stories. Imagine how many aspects of every form of art are inspired by so many different cultures, religions, philosophies and mythologies.
Reject Carmen, Embrace Ayin
pretty cool man, thanks. I got introduced to Jung in College and it stuck and I have grown so much since then.
Would highly reccomend you checking out Lobotomy Corporation and its sequel Library of Ruina. Those games are what got me into watching video essays like these in the first place. Thanks for releasing such high quality and well researched videos as always Max!
Oh hi there not-mark
Metatrons cube symbol is crazy too. Basically all platonics sharing a common domain.
And what holds it together is the aethereal dimension. 😊
Thanks for being so considerate of viewers that are actually listeners XD
Kabbalah and Jung. Both have ties to Hermetic thought. Kabbalah due to adoption, and Jung took directly from Hermetic philosophy. The androgyne is also found in Hermeticism. It's amazing how much the entertainment (especially Japan) gets from esoteric philosophy. I tend to find most of this leaning more Hermetic than full-blown Hebrew mysticism. Of course both have influenced each other to the point that most the lines blur.
I'd love to see you talk about games that use the concept of the Qliphoth, I also find it odd that Japanese games and media tend to combine Viking mythology with Judeo Christian mythology.
for context: Ambrosia is a source foodstuff the Gods nourish themselves with.
Kabbalah also plays an important part in the best ending of Wizardry 4: The Return of Werdna. Good vid!
This was a GREAT video that explains many complicated and convoluted concepts in a lot of the games I grew up playing as well as games I'm currently playing. I don't even think the reviewers or guide writers understand as much.
Can you post info on the background music you used? I think I recognized a few.
Thanks
Honestly one of your best videos to date (and I don’t say that lightly either). Thank you for the diligent research and thought-provoking insights, once again. Sharing like mad.
Another small thing about the fact that most of those game are japanese, is that esotheric judaism is very similar to esotheric buddhism (which is however not too disismilar than normal buddhism), so eastern people might find esotheric judaism more interesting and digestible than western where it is something you are not exposed to often. That together the fact that eastern religion are open to integrate different belief system (like in china where taoism, buddism and Confucianism are all jumbled up)
how could you not come across project moon when researching about this? all their games are completely based on this theme.
those games being: Lobotomy Corporation, Library of Ruina and Limbus Company.
I strongly recomend you look then up, there's a lot of content there to cover and it's all amazing and mind blowing.
I was always thought.
SMT is usually about the apocalypse, a colliding of the material world and immaterial world.
Persona, is usually based in the material.
Does that mean, Metaphor is the Immaterial World?
🤔
Where is he, where is roland from Library of Ruina on Steam and the Nintendo Switch?
@@NeonRunes nowhere and tbh the ruina console ports are just terrible. Funny thing is we cant even fully blame PM’s spaghetti code this time.
Wow I'm glad I'm not the only one to pick up on this, FF7 was a gateway to me reading about H.P Blavatsky, Freemasonry and esoteric traditions in general. And other games like Silent Hill or even Doom and Zelda to some extent. The Japanese sure have a gift for absorbing western occult ideas into their own works of art, it will never cease to amaze me. I think the 80's and 90's were really golden years to grow up in, in terms of how rich movies and games were in substance.
The trilogy of books His Dark Materials also deal heavily with these themes. It's a great read for JRPG fans.
Is the tv series any good? I don't normally love adaptations but the cast seems pretty stacked for my taste
@@alejorag it's ok but I dunno. Despite being well done, well acted and mostly faithful, I still think there is something missing from key scenes and messages, like they still quite won't go where the books went. I'd say stick with the books but the HBO series is worth a watch if you are a fan
@@alejoragI've only seen the HBO series and it was enjoyable. I'm obviously not sure how it compares to the books, but my roommate who has read the books said it was fairly accurate.
i am designing a game that takes a lot of inspiration from this symbol and some of the titles it has inspired (such as majoras mask) - hopefully one day it will be one of these greatest evers you talk about 😖💛
I will never get tired of how WILD the choice of wording is for Enoch's death.
Adam. Had Seth. Lived 930 years. Died.
Seth. Had Enosh. Lived 912 years. Died.
Enosh. Had Kenan. Lived 905 years. Died.
Kenan. Had Mehalalel. Lived 910 years. Died.
Mehalalel. Had Jared. Lived 895 years. Died.
Jared. Had Enoch. Lived 962 years. Died.
Enoch. Had Methuselah. WALKED WITH GOD FOR 300 YEARS AND IS NO MORE BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM.
Methuselah. Had Lamech. Lived 961 years. Died.
Lamech. Had Noah. Lived 777 years. Died.
One of these things is not like the others. One of these things just doesn't belong.
Imagine being so much better than everyone else that God's like "Yeah, you've peaked, come with me, I've got a throne for you right next to mine."
That's one interpretation.
The other is that the Serpent is now using his corpse as a puppet to lure the Rock (See P't'r) to their undoing.
Btw, we write out Chariots at the end of a name, like this "-sus" the S being snakes, and U, a container. @@jazzyjswift
God magically summoning 110,920 unamed projact moon fans to reply "PROJECT MOON MENTIONED" on every video with a vague PM reference.
Another awesome video! I would definitely be interested in a part 2.
It's not a coincidence that I'm seeing this after finishing reading Unsong, because nothing ever is a coincidence.
Super interesting! I enjoy studying and practicing both Buddhism and Western Esotericism, and I would note that regarding Buddhism and unification with god is that what's actually heretical to the eastern mind isn't that mankind has inner potential that God doesn't, but that it's the idea that there is seperation in the first place. "God" that exists outside of "you" is always an illusion both ways. There simply is "THIS".
Western Esotericism in the end preaches the same, which is essentially a fractal universe, though most modern western minds understand this dualistically (god and you are both entities.) Dualism is incredibly deeply etched into our minds and language.
Funny, there's quite literally an old maxim -- "If you were to meet the Buddha, Kill it. " -- if it's seen as something outside of your fundamental nature, it's just another illusion; be done with it.
You should deep dive into legend of mana. Although it's not a hyped game, I believe it's one with most esoterism references I've ever played: tree, triad, elements, familiars, golems, magick, imagination, hermetics, alchemic, and so on.
PART 2
PART 2
PART 2
PART 2
PART 2
PART 2
PART 2
PLEASE !
Tales of the Abyss also features the concept of a Sephiroth, being the pillars that keeps the world from falling into the abyss. Also the names of the main towns are based on the names of the Sephiroths, like Grand Chokmah and Daath (this one being the center of the religious order).
You've alerted the Horde, sorry for what happens next
Thank you for placing that sound, it is genius.
12:45 when you mention the "Zohar" you play Xenogears music...thank you.
Japan is as obsessed with Judeo-Christian mysticism as the West is with anime.
Thanks for the video, Max! I have actually been searching around for books on why Japanese games and consumerism is obsessed with Abrahamic mythology the same way the western is obsessed with, say, Greek mythology (the difference being the Abrahamic still acting as a religion for millions of people). My closest call so far had been "Drawing on Tradition: Manga, Anime, and Religion in Contemporary Japan", by Jolyon Baraka Thomas, but you already hit closer home than that book did! lol.
Now, as much as I think some of those games are great, I also think they turn all this myhtology into a "mumbo jumbo" of lore that, like you said, doesn't make sense most of the time. And even when it does, looks like a parody of it could be if it was treated, for example, like God of War treats Greek mythology, or The Witcher treats Slavic folklore... I feel that some times they just want to call a character by a latin name, or sprinke Kabalah on it because it feels "exotic". But not being Japanese, it is also hard to me to understand this appeal, if it exists at all. What do you think about it?
Subscribed to the channel, thank you so much!
I agree, Project Moon's Library of Ruina is the greatest game ever.
Long time lurker, had to subscribe because you touch upon two niche categories very near and dear to my heart; Apocrypha and the occult, *and* its ties to Silent Hill. Also using the Final Fantasy Tactics character creation music at the beginning proved that you're on an ascended level of knowledge and good taste. Religion for Breakfast and Esoterica are amazing TH-cam channels/ scholars, so glad you are referencing them.
Project Moon sleeper agent reporting in
21:31
Max: "although the cabalist would recommend reunification,"
JRPGs: "Destroy that god!!!"
I'm guessing the Sepirothic fruit from dmc 4, is the same type of fruit Urizen eats in dmc 5 to gain power, which grows on the Qlipoth - that feeds on human blood, in order to grow the fruit - I never really gave much thought in the demonic plants of dmc 4, but this is a pretty cool similarity and attention to detail~
As someone who finds Qlipoth based systems try hard edgy nonsense the relative lameness of DMC 5's dungeon compared to DMC 3's is kind of vindicating.
Qlipoth means husk or shell its not a fruit in itself but it does fit the story of DMC 5 with V being the cast of shell of Virgil's demonic form. The Bruegal inspired Tower of Babel imagery is just so much more interesting and evocative to me than the generic Capcom demon realm that DMC 5 recycled from the endgame its brother series of sword based RE spin offs Onimusha.
From the description its possibly related to lilliths eggs?
I can't believe it's taken me this long in my life to realize that the system you use to equip materia looks like that sephiroth tree
I'm currently making my own fantasy world and I've used the kabbalah. I'm just using the one that includes the Da,ath as a basis for the shape of my universe
Iirc Da’at/Da’ath concerns knowledge but can be associated with the abyss. And that the fact that it is missing is sort of relevant to its nature as its missing from the other Sephora.
How did you do that?
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please do a part 2 this was one of the best videos ive ever watched😭
Ok, but what's the deal with Japanese video game devs and these esoteric, Kabbalistic themes in the first place? Where did they learn this from? Especially back in the 90's when knowledge like this must have been exceptionally difficult to obtain in their language, and the game devs were mostly young guys exploring this new vidya medium that was mostly seen as funny digital toys for kids. Like... why? Why did so many studios implement those obscure, ancient, super complicated, and foreign ideas into their games? Just genuinely curious.
Directly from the Eye in the Triangle
They are involved in Freemasonry. Look up the Nintendo connection with Robert Maxwell for example (father of Jeffrey Epsteins wife)
just let me say. Dude be proud of yourself your earn it... Legend.
I came here to be annoying as a PM fan but it seems the fandom already beat me to it 😅
Yes part 2 would be epic
Great Video Max. If you are interested other games that use the Tree of life/ Kabbalah are Library of Ruina a deck builder and Lobotomy corp a management game. Both of which have great stories. But play the PC version of Library of Ruina if you plan to try it. The console ports are just bad ports
I think Ultima from FF16 has this symbol as well. I remember seeing it and immediately thinking of Evangelion.
Think I just got spoiled for the backstory of Genshin Impact.
Tales of series has a lot of references too.
Tales of Abyss also have an "underworld" accessed by the Qiploth
Max you absolute mad lad, I was writing the story of my game using the sephirothic tree to create the background lore and myth and then this video comes along.
This is fascinating, I'd like to hear more and shall subscribe to stay notified
holy shit is this project moon reference!?!?!??
activate project moon protocol
The Sephirothic tree appears in a game called La Mulana. I wonder how much alchemical stuff is in that game. It's a rather cryptic puzzle game but it had some pretty cool world building throughout.
ooooohhhhhh...sephiroth....i get it now. no wonder there's so many memes that JRPGs are just god killing simulators.
One major thing not mentioned here, is most of these games are ALSO heavily influenced not just by kaballah, but GNOSTICISM.
the REJECTION of "God" is not Japanese here, its Gnosticism. Especially Xenogears. The FALSE AI GOD is the DEMIURGE while the TRUE GOD is the WAVE EXISTENCE.
In some views, the Old Testament God is a lower being, ENSLAVING or entrapping humanity in an illusion. Think the WHEEL Of buddhism but with conscious manipulations, of the body, mind and world.
While Kaballah doesn't demonize any "god." It is essentially a mystical version, similar to buddhism and gnosticism in the sense that the goal is to break free from the lower delusions of the material world and ego, and instead restore the God sparks back to their proper divine place.
Tales of the Abyss also references the Sefirot a lot. Some towns are even named after some of them; Daath, St. Binah, Grand Chokmah.
This is a reminder that TotA could be worth checking out, also possibly worthy of discussion on the channel.
In addition, Merkaba Hanzelrusha is an AoE damage dealing skill for the healer class in Flyff, a 2004 KMMORPG. Merkaba is shaped as a cross, which you just made me realize is probably a reference to the four faces.
Even the Elden Ring is similar, both somewhat in form and in function (in universe).
Especially with the Rebis and the shattering. That whole game feels like an occult puzzle.
Literally the Elden Ring dlc lore of Miquella, kind of disappointed it wasn't mentioned.
I haven’t touched much of that lore how is it related to kabbalah
I wonder if you'll do a video for Lobotomy corp like what you did to dmc
YES PLEASE I NEED PART 2
I only clicked because Dante was in the thumbnail.
Sorry for not having as much on it this time around. I promise, though... I intend to do videos on Devil May Cry sometime in the next few months.
@@maxderrat Yeeeeesssssss. YES!!!!!
@@maxderrat I would recommend playing the games in order of release instead of chronological order. While yes it makes sense in terms of the timeline it doesn't make sense in terms of gameplay. Seeing as gameplay gets better and more innovative in terms of release. Put it this way it's a lot harder for people to appreciate the first Devil May Cry if they just jump into Devil May Cry 3 first because they were going by the order of the timeline instead of the order of release.
This is what TH-cam is for!
Very well done, both in terms of research and production.
AAAAAAAH
I'm trying my best to not go into a psychotic rant about lobotomy corporation, but please....
Its a very Philosophical game with lots of religious/literature/mythological/cultural themeings that make it a very big game in my mind space
Please, part 2. Very well done, informed, and interesting.
Thanks
Would definitely love a part 2!
Also! I would love to hear you make some connections from Honkai Star Rail, When I heard Qlippoth I immediately thought of HSR.
@@Mr.Despair. in HSR idk i think they used the name more cause it sounded cool
2:00 ‘preciate the callout, listener rep