PSIII, names and unlikely biblical references

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PSIII, names and unlikely biblical references

Postby xperroni » Sat May 07, 2005 1:57 am

I was just thinking that Rhys' name in the original version of PSIII is "Kein". In japanese, that sounds virtually the same as "Cain" -- you know, son of Adam, first murderer and outcast according to ancient hebrew legend. Is this a coincidence?<p>If Rhys marries Maia (which, I think, we can assume is his "official" fate), then he becomes an outcast among his people, and for no trivial reason. Marrying a layan would probably be a crime for any orakian; but for a descendant of Orakio himself, this transgression could very well be considered as grave as murder. In the twisted thinking of prejudice, it could even be considered to be murder itself -- by refusing to have a "proper" heir, he would be guilty of killing Orakio's very bloodline.<p>The fact that Rhys' "crime" is actually an act of love adds an interesting twist to this interpretation. Unlike the biblical character, Rhys act is a brave one: to break away from conventions that were never right in the first place, following his feelings instead of his education. I guess that, were PSIII's story developed the way it was initially intended, this dualty of Rhys being both a "criminal" and a "hero" would have played an important role. It certainly could.
xperroni
 

PSIII, names and unlikely biblical references

Postby Alis in Wonderland » Sat May 07, 2005 2:04 am

and the bible spanned multiple generations as well!<br>PS3 had a cooler theme tune though.
Alis in Wonderland
 

PSIII, names and unlikely biblical references

Postby xperroni » Sat May 07, 2005 2:19 am

<blockquote><i>Originally posted by Alis in Wonderland</i><p>and the bible spanned multiple generations as well!<br>PS3 had a cooler theme tune though.<br></blockquote><p>Well, i <i>did</i> classify it as an "unlikely" reference. Still, the name is there, and I tend to think that the japanese PSIII names carried some meaning -- at least Maia's original name, "Marina", did.<br>
xperroni
 

PSIII, names and unlikely biblical references

Postby Tails99 » Sat May 07, 2005 3:10 am

The Bible has a theme now?
Tails99
 

PSIII, names and unlikely biblical references

Postby Alis in Wonderland » Sat May 07, 2005 10:45 am

no. thats why the ps3 theme tune is better than it.
Alis in Wonderland
 

PSIII, names and unlikely biblical references

Postby Benoit » Sat May 07, 2005 11:19 am

That's very interesting. It could be a reference indeed, since the Japanese are known to put religious references in their games.<br> <blockquote>at least Maia's original name, "Marina", did.</blockquote><br>Rebecca Capowski argued strongly that it was Marlena.
Benoit
 

PSIII, names and unlikely biblical references

Postby xperroni » Sat May 07, 2005 12:44 pm

<blockquote>That's very interesting. It could be a reference indeed, since the Japanese are known to put religious references in their games.</blockquote><p>I know the idea may sound crazy, but the more I think of it, the more sense it makes. In the Bible, after killing his brother, Cain is cursed to be a wanderer forever -- but he is not left helpless: he receives a mark, that will tell anyone who sees it that he is under divine protection. In PSIII, Rhy's fate is not that different: first he leaves Landen, then he is forced out of Cille, then Azura is attacked -- but he and his family can always count with the help os Mieu and Wren, cyborgs that stood by the side of ("were sent by"?) Orakio himself.<p><blockquote>Rebecca Capowski argued strongly that it was Marlena.</blockquote><p>If this picture (available at the Algol Star System galleries) is to be given any credit, than, at least somewhere along production, her name was meant to be Marina -- that's what her name reads, both in romanji and katakana (japanese characters). Given her hair color, clothes, and the fact orakians seem to relate layans to water in some of their legends, I find it makes a lot of sense.
xperroni
 

PSIII, names and unlikely biblical references

Postby Benoit » Sat May 07, 2005 2:45 pm

<blockquote>Rebecca Capowski wrote:<br>Notes: <br>Name differences are noted below. If some of the Japanese name <br>romanizations don't match the ones used in the Compendium translation, <br>it's because I've finally given up on trying to figure out PS3's bizarre<br>name changes and variants. (The exception is Maia's Japanese name; I <br>maintain that it cannot be "Marina" because of the katakana spelling.) </blockquote><br>I don't give much credit to the pictures coming from the Sega Saturn PS Collection. The Japanese haven't been too good at writing English names/translations. I mean, "Alicer"? o_O
Benoit
 

PSIII, names and unlikely biblical references

Postby ROMeo » Sun May 08, 2005 1:32 am

Hmmm, not sure myself, I don't find much of a reference there, but perhaps if Maia instead had ran away because of disagreements with Orakian law then she could have been related to Lilith... but then not the case...<p>Also Phantasy Star used another Christian/biblical names so I'm not sure the reference counts (Noah/Lutz, Joshua Cain, etc).
ROMeo
 

PSIII, names and unlikely biblical references

Postby Miles McCloud » Thu May 12, 2005 1:41 am

The biblical Cain had babies with his sister, who went on to become giants. <p>Rhys didn't do that.
Miles McCloud
 

PSIII, names and unlikely biblical references

Postby Gipper » Thu May 12, 2005 2:05 am

Well, no, but Ayn and Thea were cousins...does that count?
Gipper
 

PSIII, names and unlikely biblical references

Postby xperroni » Sun May 15, 2005 1:55 pm

<blockquote><i>Originally posted by Miles McCloud</i><p>The biblical Cain had babies with his sister, who went on to become giants. <p>Rhys didn't do that.<br></blockquote><p>Then again, I said it was a <i>reference[/i], not a transcription. In Matrix you have that references on Alice in Wonderland (the white rabit, the red and blue pills); would you deny them, just because Neo isn't a little girl?<p>You brought up an interesting point, though. Traditionally, "giants" are born from the mixing of opposite races. You have it in the hebrew legends, where giants were born from marriages between angels and mortal women (not exactly pleasing Ieova, by the way). Well, in PSIII, particularly powerful characters (Ayn, and all the 3rd. generation heroes) are born of marriages between Orakians and Layans. We could relate them to "giants", perhaps -- in legends, the term doesn't necessarily mean an unnatural height, as much as an unnatural <i>power.</i>
xperroni
 

PSIII, names and unlikely biblical references

Postby Alis in Wonderland » Mon May 16, 2005 12:51 am

on a similar note, i just today realised how similar Eusis sounds to Jesus. Jesus is the son of god, and Rolf is descended from Alis who is worshipped in Termi as a goddess. <br>the Elsydeon is a bit like an 'afterlife' for retired PS characters as well...<br>i wonder if there'll ever be a second coming of Rolf? <br>the Lutzes already live on through generations thousands of years in the future.<br>which is another point... the PS series has the same millennium obsession as many apocalyptic cults.
Alis in Wonderland
 

PSIII, names and unlikely biblical references

Postby Malakai » Mon May 16, 2005 3:54 pm

Are we comparing PS to religious cults now? Is it a truly damnable offense that the creators of PS gave us applicability to our lives with these games?
Malakai
 

PSIII, names and unlikely biblical references

Postby xperroni » Mon May 16, 2005 9:31 pm

<blockquote><i>Originally posted by Malakai</i><p>Are we comparing PS to religious cults now? Is it a truly damnable offense that the creators of PS gave us applicability to our lives with these games?<br></blockquote><p>Well, yes, we are comparing PS elements to those of real-world religions, but no, there is no offense implied. If you ask me, I just find it amusing to draw these sorts of parallels. It's a common game among fans -- not only PS fans, but fiction fans in general -- to promote this sort of discussion.
xperroni
 

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