I mean has there even been any game, anime, or even book that had a Samurai that uses some magical or non physical skills?
Many animes.
Some samurai in anime and games are known for magical abilities. Namingly Bleach, I mean... if you consider them truely Samurai.
Shakugan no Shana
Bleach
Final Fantasy
It really depends on what you consider "samurai". This thread is more about the possibility of a samurai INFLUENCED character than a true samurai.
Which doesn't mean it NEEDS magic abilities.
It could take the role of the ranged class by using spears/two handed swords, and bows. Kind of like amazons used bows and spears.
It really just depends on if and how Blizzard wants to do it. I'm not opposed to a eastern influenced character though, seems like time and it would fit in with them wanting to make different characters. You'd have the "Nordic" Barbarian, the "African" Witch Doctor, and the "Asian" samurai like class, whatever they want to call it.
I think this time around they want to pull classes from every region of Sanctuary.
The reason that people arent irked by act 2's very arabic middle eastern theme and feel it doesnt conflict with the dark gothic middle ages feel is for this reason: IMO it rubs less people the wrong way to see a paladin running through an arabic themed bazaar because thats kind of what many did whilst killing and being killed in the middle ages, the Crusades were a HUGE part of the middle-age life for many knights. While the further east was indeed present, the european mind was still focused on the various conflicts in the holy lands.
And the barbarian IMO isnt that culturally exclusive, he had black hair, so he could easily be any of the barbarian ranging from german to celt to mongol to viking.
Keep in mind that I included indian items aswell, as they are technically asian.
But yeah there is actually a relatively established asian element being avoided.
I mean 2 things pop out, of course the items in sanctuary are from a massive pot in time, spanning the begging of written history to high renaissance.
But the eastern section of the original mappings were not cut off like they were in diablo 3, and in fact they were changed considerably, adding and taking a lot of the general shape of the world.
right now the east is all gone and we're looking at a pangea world, but originally I believe they had more to the world. Maybe they'll introduce a third continent like they did in Warcraft.
It's kinda a given that asian themes will find their way into anything now with this social networking, I mean 2 of the 3 cradels of humanity are in the far east and anime aswell as all those terrible, trying-to-pay-the-bills shit items coming out of asia. The attention, irrevocably is on asia for the forseeable future.
I mean it's like saying take all the Middle-Eastern themes out of Homeworld because space is more of a Western thing.
I mean I get what you're saying really, we've all kinda gone fluffy anime magic girlfriend on originality just because Asian culture seems so interesting.
Nobody truely cares about it though, all this stuff goes in one ear and out the other, anybody truely embrassing it will be rejected, and the process will begin anew.
It's going the way of rap and that "Gangsta'" Lifestyle.
Pop Culture at its best really, it kills everything that made the world great by making everyone think they're an expert on the topic when they've read it or listened.
Many animes.
Some samurai in anime and games are known for magical abilities. Namingly Bleach, I mean... if you consider them truely Samurai.
Shinigami = death god I think, they're not really samurai. I watch bleach, the Shinigami aren't even close to being called Samurais
Quote from "Daemaro" »
Shakugan no Shana
never watched it so I cant really say.
Quote from "Daemaro" »
Bleach
like I said
Quote from "Daemaro" »
Final Fantasy
which character(s) are you referring to as Samurais?? I've played almost all the FF games and can't really recall any samurais.
Quote from "Daemaro" »
It really depends on what you consider "samurai". This thread is more about the possibility of a samurai INFLUENCED character than a true samurai.
agreed, but I think a ninja type class would be cooler, but that's personal opinion.
Quote from "Daemaro" »
Which doesn't mean it NEEDS magic abilities.
Disagreed, we already have an all physical character, the Barbarian.
I mean Samurais are all about weilding 2 one handed katanas or one 2 handed katana, they dont even use sheilds.
What we need is a sword sheild knight class.
as for an asian influenced class, I think the ninja or assassin would be a much cooler concept.
Shinigami = death god I think, they're not really samurai. I watch bleach, the Shinigami aren't even close to being called Samurais
They are very obviously based off of samurais though in my opinion. Sword wielding characters from a Japanese world that have to be so in touch with their swords they can achieve greater powers such as Bankai.
never watched it so I cant really say.
It's kind of like Bleach, not samurais but samurai influenced characters.
which character(s) are you referring to as Samurais?? I've played almost all the FF games and can't really recall any samurais.
Auron was a Samurai in FFX was he not?
Also I believe alot of the FF had samurai
Quote from "Wikipedia »
Samurai are featured as classes in Final Fantasy V,[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_character_classes#cite_note-FF5Manual20-20"][21][/URL] Final Fantasy VI (as [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyan_Garamonde"]Cyan Garamonde[/URL]), Final Fantasy X-2, Final Fantasy XI,[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_character_classes#cite_note-XIJobList-21"][22][/URL] and Final Fantasy Tactics. In Final Fantasy Tactics, Samurai can unleash the "spirit" of certain katana with their Draw Out skill.[URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_character_classes#cite_note-TacticsManual-4"][5][/URL] In [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_X"]Final Fantasy X[/URL], the character [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auron"]Auron[/URL] uses the abilities that of a samurai and [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fighter"]fighter[/URL'].
Disagreed, we already have an all physical character, the Barbarian.
I mean Samurais are all about weilding 2 one handed katanas or one 2 handed katana, they dont even use sheilds.
What we need is a sword sheild knight class.
I was talking about the ranged class, which would have nothing to do with a shield/support class.
About the "...why cant you imagine..." part: I think he was sarcastic... Yeah its obvious actually.
Its YOU who cant imagine a magic using Samurai as YOU said it yourself.
I think your point is: "The classes that use magic in Diablo are said to have magical powers in mythology too.", correct me if im wrong on that.
My counter is simple: What you say is not fully correct. Where does it say ninja had magical powers? They really used some weird devices but elemental magic??? The same goes for the amazons. They may be supposed to have some godly archery skills or something but absolutely nothing even close to what we have in D2.
The Samurai really fits the role that was filled with the Zon in D2. The xbow would be given to someone else (knight...) of course.
Off-topic:
P.S. LOL amazons are said to found the town Smyrna which is Izmir today and where i live. Kinda cool.
Exactly what im trying to explain.
Though Samurai wont use shields no matter how much you change them to fit Diablo.
Sorry to take so long to reply you.
You are wrong. The japonese ninja clan used secret devices to make people think they had MAGICAL powers. Walk on water surface, fire breathing, immobilize people by holding its shadow, transformation into steam clouds or animals. Thats was used to make normal people fear then.
Amazon is a really generical word. South American godlike female native was called amazon.
However the diablo class does not refer to those amazons. She is white and blonde. Also she summon a valkyrie a north mythology creature. The D amazon are a 100% created thing, thats why they got the space to put elemental attacks.
But different from Samurais, amazon are a extremy generic term, like assassin and barbarian, and different from paladin and druid.
And yeah my opnion says alot. I'm not talking about the chances of a samurai appears in the game - I'm talking about if this would be good or not. And my personal opnion, based at the post before, is NO, it would not be good.
But if they use a generic name (like Guardian, Warlord, whetever) and make a mix of many Asian Warrior stiles. Then I would llke it.
Well yeah they had knowledge about pyro-something and lots of other funky stuff (they filled egg shells with iron powder to use it as smoke bombs, for gods sake =P). Cant really say if it has anything to do with magic. (I mean, if they were trying to make it look like that.)
They were assassinators and the main purpose is to kill the target without even being noticed by anyone else.
But you may be right about them using "magic" to evade when being noticed.
Now what you said was actually that those characters that have magical powers also use magic in mythology and thats just something totally different with the thing about ninja.
Ninja used specific tricks and we know that now. Magicians in mythology are absolutely fictional. Ninja were just mystical you know... Its just not the same.
And i say that they dont need to (actually i hope they dont) call the class "samurai".
The assassin is "ninja influenced" but uses lots of other stuff while still staying true to the assassinating stuff (still stealthy and quick etc.).
The class im talking about would be "samurai influenced". It could be given lots of other weapons than spear, glaive, sword and bow (those are the main ones samurai used) as long as the class doesnt use axes and maces. He may use some magical enchantments just like the martial arts assassin builds. Hes not going to be a REAL samurai, no.
ALSO what would you have thought about the druid idea before the release of LOD? Most likely you would (or at least most of the other people would) have thought of the D'nD druid or some other shaman-like druid that doesnt fit Diablo at all but look at how they twisted him. I KNOW that the samurai cant be twisted like that but thats why they wont make a samurai but a "samurai-influenced class". So they can turn him into something totally Diabloesque. =P
You mean those three points?
I looked back at them again and:
1 and 2 are based on assuming that theyll make an exact samurai and name him samurai. I already explained that.
3 says its like wizard or priest which arent unique enaugh for Diablo. Paladin and druid and necro and sorceress arent unique at all either if you think of them generally but their Diablo versions are kinda totally unique. Think of the druid example. There are also paladins and necromancers in D'nD which arent like the Diablo ones.
OK.
In many japoneses ''fables'' ninjas had a family secret knowledge that allowed day to performe super human actions. In antuiquity cultures the Magician are menbers of secret orders that share knowledge that allowed then to learn the secrets of the world, allowing then to perfome super human actions.
IMO it's basically the same - the diference is the fact that Ninja were assassins and the magician were sages.
And i allways agreed and liked the druid stuff. Druidic societies were born in Middle Age, around sec.XI if i'm not mistaken and in europe. Both time and geography in favor of Diablo's context.
And yeap. If they were putting a influence like they did with the assassin I would problably like it. And i allways wanted a oriental act. Asian demon concept is VERY interesting, we could get very cool monsters.
Yeah ok, the ninja might have magical abilities and such, but in the end, a real Ninja wont fit in a hack&slash game with hordes of demons to be killed, because even if they have lots of magic, they just arent meant to get into a fight with lots of people, as their magic is evasive and geared towards assassinating and not killing 5 people with a fireball.
But look at how they twisted those abilities for the assassin and made a killing machine out of her who still uses Ninja style skills.
Magicians seem to be much more generic than Ninja. You could have a magician who just creates potions and such and you can have a magician who summons thunderstorms and fireballs.
So again, its not the same.
You would've liked the druid idea even before knowing about something like the Diablo version?
Their origin and such doesnt matter. Its about what they do and the like.
Original druids are much more like priests. They possibly have nothing to do about fighting but im not sure.
The idea of druids that summon hurricanes and create thunderstorms, turn into werewolfes and other animals etc. is just a part of fantasy games.
Than again, i know that the Samurai cant be changed like that for a fantasy video game, but as i already said, the class wont be even an actual Samurai.
P.S. Its "Japanese" in english. Not with "o" but "a".
Yes, but if you consider skills like Cloak of Shadows, witch allows the assassin to move through the enemie hordes without been notice, theorically assassin should be a stealth character. Of course, in diablo all character must be able to finish multiple enemys at once - but it doesn't mean that assassins strategy should be based at come out of the shadows, kill everyone and fade away.
Unfortunally, D2's sin don't work like that. Shes just a ordinary melee/ranged character. Thats why, imo, D2's assassin are a failed class (like the druid and the barbarian).
As they said that every class in D3 would have a totally different gameplay I believe we gonna have a Stealth class (or even more weird types of gameplay).
And sorry for the bad english. It's not my first linguage >_<'
And i allways agreed and liked the druid stuff. Druidic societies were born in Middle Age, around sec.XI if i'm not mistaken and in europe. Both time and geography in favor of Diablo's context.
Hmm, well archaeologists have dated stonehenge to around 2500 BC, but nobody knows who built it (personally, I think they were druids, or at least ritualistic polytheists). The first record of the term druid was written around 200 BC.
The defensive shadow skills are simply things that allow her to survive better.
After all, the trap skills are meant to kill lots of monsters in an evasive manner, and the martial arts skills are designed to enchant the assassins weapons to kill lots of monsters with magic.
BTW we are going further and further away from the actual topic. Ninja and assassins arent really my thing. My point when talking about them is:
"The assassins is ninja influenced and is a killing machine while real ninja are only assassinators. Thus there could also be a class influenced by samurai that is changed in ways that would make it fit into D3."
Actually they said there wont be healing classes or things like that and only classes that are firstly meant to kill.
Stealth is contradicting Blizzard's goal of making combat fast-paced.
English is my third language.
No problem though.
P.S. its "which" not "witch".
Witch has a different meaning. You know, the evil female wizard riding a broom, seen oftentimes in cartoons etc.. =P
They said no healer nad no tank - but nothing about no stealth.
They can easilly make a stealth class that can kill alot of things fast. Lets see...
You have a skill to become invisible. Then you have the classic Sneak Attack, but it cause damage in a huge area. So one of the strategies of this class would become invisible and strikedown massive damage and kill everyone, then fade again. Something like that.
It will be very disapointing too see the same D2's gameplay in D3 once D2 gameplay (nowdays) is terrible repetitive.
I'd rather have an asian-themed patchwork of a mercenary.
Possibly with a sword/crossbow (or even musket), incendiaries, bombs, bamboo traps, and some limited sword/martial art techniques.
Either that or an asian-themed monk with healing and hand to hand abilities.
There were better asian themed classes than a Samurai and even if it were a samurai they wouldn't be called samurai, they'd be called Ronin since they're not protecting a Daimyo and just wandering. Hell if we want to keep it completely japanese, there could be Shinto priests, or wandering battle monks. Even a demi-god of the lake of some inconspicuous village.
Putting Samurai into Diablo is a bad idea. As I've said, part of what makes Diablo great is that it it noticeably different from other rpgs of our time in that it doesnt try to hop onto the whole "japanime bandwagon."
Japanese games are great, but so many of them are so crappy nowadays. For example compare Soul Calibur 2's version of Nightmare to Soul Calibur 4's version, the first is believable and awesome looking, the newer one follows japan's current media trend of making everything rediculously and bizarrely over-ornate and improbable. Or compare final fantasy 7 with final fantasy 12. 7 was more believable, with structurally accurate armor and stuff. Final fantasy 12 has bunny people and has ruined great characters like Bahamut and so on by making them look rediculously ornate.
Diablo games are loved by many because the armor looks more brutal and manly because it isnt rediculously frilly and ornate, its simple and believable, making it look more intimidating and frightening. The weapons are also believable, based on real and usable designs. Were Diablo 3 to go with a japanese design, the swords would be rediculously huge and so ornate they wouldnt even be believably used, or they could even turn out being keyblades(*spits on the ground and curses*)!
The point is, i have nothing against japanese culture or the existence of japanese rpg games, but i want them off of purer, darker, and more awe-inspiring series like Diablo.
Depends on the region but personally I'd like to see D3 take on a more Nordic "13th Warrior" theme for the most part, the intro seems to be inline with that.
I don't know if there ought to be samurai in Diablo III. What I do know is that this thread was very confusing to read.
I've never played Diablo I but have seen graphics of its "Asian-themed" items. To say there aren't any Asian references in Diablo II, though, is foolish. You have the cho-no-ku as mentioned, the Jade Tan Do is a normal unique dagger, the General's Tan Do Li Ga is a normal unique mace, and Mang Song's Lesson is an elite unique staff...granted, Mang Song feels like a name and might possibly not refer to an "Asian-themed" name but my other references hold true.
To say one can't imagine an Asian-themed society in the world of Sanctuary is just as foolish, I think. Imagine playing Diablo I and hearing rumors of a desert/"Arabian-themed" land in the sequel before it was released; would anyone have been just as upset? I don't know about anyone else but Act II was my favorite. Light armor because of desert heat, the preferred usage of polearms, grand palaces filled with harems ruled by a sultan (or at least a prince with a turban)...come on! How can one complain about taking too many specifics from Earth-cultures?
Paladins are 100% European. Sure, there are religious warriors and defenders of the faith in many cultures...but heavily armored knights acting as an inquisition against unbelievers at the behest of a Pope-like figure (Que-Hegan)...They're copy and pasted right out of an Earth-culture's history. Amazons are out of Greek mythology, druids were basically in the British Isles and ancient Gaul (same with bards, at least in name). Yeah monks have Christian histories, too, but they're still mostly associated with Asian cultures. Although many ancient cultures have histories of shamanism, people still even associate witch doctors with Africa or the Caribbean.
My point is even if you don't want samurai in Diablo III, those reasons that I mentioned were poor I think
I've never played Diablo I but have seen graphics of its "Asian-themed" items. To say there aren't any Asian references in Diablo II, though, is foolish.
The game is set in a European culture and the story is purely European. However since it's based on item hounding they wanted to have many different types of weapons, and since there is not that much diversity in European weapons, they just started getting inspiration from other cultures. So yes, the artwork on certain items is Asian referenced, but I think this is due to a lack-of-attention-to-detail-or-realism on the behalf of the art department, rather than any intentional / legitimate references to other cultures, which would have shown up in the story, if they existed.
That said, neither Diablo 1 or Diablo 2 have emphasized significant attention to detail or consistency in their stories or production. The mere concept of having a monastery descend through a zillion levels down into the very depths of hell is pretty ridiculous. In the first game it was pretty shameless...basically a graphically amped roguelike, they didnt care much about plot then. They tried to turn this around a bit in D2, but they added a cow level based on fan rumours, a jungle level obviously inspired by some Mayan or similar culture, and a desert level inspired by Egyptian and Persian culture. Therefore I would not be surprised if we see some levels more directly inspired by Asian culture. I have no problem with that...it would be a little different. But to say that they have already Asian influences in the game, I think that is a weak argument.
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Many animes.
Some samurai in anime and games are known for magical abilities. Namingly Bleach, I mean... if you consider them truely Samurai.
Shakugan no Shana
Bleach
Final Fantasy
It really depends on what you consider "samurai". This thread is more about the possibility of a samurai INFLUENCED character than a true samurai.
Which doesn't mean it NEEDS magic abilities.
It could take the role of the ranged class by using spears/two handed swords, and bows. Kind of like amazons used bows and spears.
It really just depends on if and how Blizzard wants to do it. I'm not opposed to a eastern influenced character though, seems like time and it would fit in with them wanting to make different characters. You'd have the "Nordic" Barbarian, the "African" Witch Doctor, and the "Asian" samurai like class, whatever they want to call it.
I think this time around they want to pull classes from every region of Sanctuary.
And the barbarian IMO isnt that culturally exclusive, he had black hair, so he could easily be any of the barbarian ranging from german to celt to mongol to viking.
http://www.diablofans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10813
Keep in mind that I included indian items aswell, as they are technically asian.
But yeah there is actually a relatively established asian element being avoided.
I mean 2 things pop out, of course the items in sanctuary are from a massive pot in time, spanning the begging of written history to high renaissance.
But the eastern section of the original mappings were not cut off like they were in diablo 3, and in fact they were changed considerably, adding and taking a lot of the general shape of the world.
right now the east is all gone and we're looking at a pangea world, but originally I believe they had more to the world. Maybe they'll introduce a third continent like they did in Warcraft.
I mean it's like saying take all the Middle-Eastern themes out of Homeworld because space is more of a Western thing.
I mean I get what you're saying really, we've all kinda gone fluffy anime magic girlfriend on originality just because Asian culture seems so interesting.
Nobody truely cares about it though, all this stuff goes in one ear and out the other, anybody truely embrassing it will be rejected, and the process will begin anew.
It's going the way of rap and that "Gangsta'" Lifestyle.
Pop Culture at its best really, it kills everything that made the world great by making everyone think they're an expert on the topic when they've read it or listened.
never watched it so I cant really say.
like I said
which character(s) are you referring to as Samurais?? I've played almost all the FF games and can't really recall any samurais.
agreed, but I think a ninja type class would be cooler, but that's personal opinion.
Disagreed, we already have an all physical character, the Barbarian.
I mean Samurais are all about weilding 2 one handed katanas or one 2 handed katana, they dont even use sheilds.
What we need is a sword sheild knight class.
as for an asian influenced class, I think the ninja or assassin would be a much cooler concept.
P.S congrats on becoming a mod man :thumbsup:
They are very obviously based off of samurais though in my opinion. Sword wielding characters from a Japanese world that have to be so in touch with their swords they can achieve greater powers such as Bankai.
It's kind of like Bleach, not samurais but samurai influenced characters.
Auron was a Samurai in FFX was he not?
Also I believe alot of the FF had samurai
I was talking about the ranged class, which would have nothing to do with a shield/support class.
Thanks.
Sorry to take so long to reply you.
You are wrong. The japonese ninja clan used secret devices to make people think they had MAGICAL powers. Walk on water surface, fire breathing, immobilize people by holding its shadow, transformation into steam clouds or animals. Thats was used to make normal people fear then.
Amazon is a really generical word. South American godlike female native was called amazon.
However the diablo class does not refer to those amazons. She is white and blonde. Also she summon a valkyrie a north mythology creature. The D amazon are a 100% created thing, thats why they got the space to put elemental attacks.
But different from Samurais, amazon are a extremy generic term, like assassin and barbarian, and different from paladin and druid.
And yeah my opnion says alot. I'm not talking about the chances of a samurai appears in the game - I'm talking about if this would be good or not. And my personal opnion, based at the post before, is NO, it would not be good.
But if they use a generic name (like Guardian, Warlord, whetever) and make a mix of many Asian Warrior stiles. Then I would llke it.
In many japoneses ''fables'' ninjas had a family secret knowledge that allowed day to performe super human actions. In antuiquity cultures the Magician are menbers of secret orders that share knowledge that allowed then to learn the secrets of the world, allowing then to perfome super human actions.
IMO it's basically the same - the diference is the fact that Ninja were assassins and the magician were sages.
And i allways agreed and liked the druid stuff. Druidic societies were born in Middle Age, around sec.XI if i'm not mistaken and in europe. Both time and geography in favor of Diablo's context.
And yeap. If they were putting a influence like they did with the assassin I would problably like it. And i allways wanted a oriental act. Asian demon concept is VERY interesting, we could get very cool monsters.
Yes, but if you consider skills like Cloak of Shadows, witch allows the assassin to move through the enemie hordes without been notice, theorically assassin should be a stealth character. Of course, in diablo all character must be able to finish multiple enemys at once - but it doesn't mean that assassins strategy should be based at come out of the shadows, kill everyone and fade away.
Unfortunally, D2's sin don't work like that. Shes just a ordinary melee/ranged character. Thats why, imo, D2's assassin are a failed class (like the druid and the barbarian).
As they said that every class in D3 would have a totally different gameplay I believe we gonna have a Stealth class (or even more weird types of gameplay).
And sorry for the bad english. It's not my first linguage >_<'
Fuck you, I'm a dragon.
They said no healer nad no tank - but nothing about no stealth.
They can easilly make a stealth class that can kill alot of things fast. Lets see...
You have a skill to become invisible. Then you have the classic Sneak Attack, but it cause damage in a huge area. So one of the strategies of this class would become invisible and strikedown massive damage and kill everyone, then fade again. Something like that.
It will be very disapointing too see the same D2's gameplay in D3 once D2 gameplay (nowdays) is terrible repetitive.
Possibly with a sword/crossbow (or even musket), incendiaries, bombs, bamboo traps, and some limited sword/martial art techniques.
Either that or an asian-themed monk with healing and hand to hand abilities.
Hey, Xiansai is there for a reason right?
Rise and rise again, until lambs become lions
Rise and rise again, until lambs become lions
Japanese games are great, but so many of them are so crappy nowadays. For example compare Soul Calibur 2's version of Nightmare to Soul Calibur 4's version, the first is believable and awesome looking, the newer one follows japan's current media trend of making everything rediculously and bizarrely over-ornate and improbable. Or compare final fantasy 7 with final fantasy 12. 7 was more believable, with structurally accurate armor and stuff. Final fantasy 12 has bunny people and has ruined great characters like Bahamut and so on by making them look rediculously ornate.
Diablo games are loved by many because the armor looks more brutal and manly because it isnt rediculously frilly and ornate, its simple and believable, making it look more intimidating and frightening. The weapons are also believable, based on real and usable designs. Were Diablo 3 to go with a japanese design, the swords would be rediculously huge and so ornate they wouldnt even be believably used, or they could even turn out being keyblades(*spits on the ground and curses*)!
The point is, i have nothing against japanese culture or the existence of japanese rpg games, but i want them off of purer, darker, and more awe-inspiring series like Diablo.
I've never played Diablo I but have seen graphics of its "Asian-themed" items. To say there aren't any Asian references in Diablo II, though, is foolish. You have the cho-no-ku as mentioned, the Jade Tan Do is a normal unique dagger, the General's Tan Do Li Ga is a normal unique mace, and Mang Song's Lesson is an elite unique staff...granted, Mang Song feels like a name and might possibly not refer to an "Asian-themed" name but my other references hold true.
To say one can't imagine an Asian-themed society in the world of Sanctuary is just as foolish, I think. Imagine playing Diablo I and hearing rumors of a desert/"Arabian-themed" land in the sequel before it was released; would anyone have been just as upset? I don't know about anyone else but Act II was my favorite. Light armor because of desert heat, the preferred usage of polearms, grand palaces filled with harems ruled by a sultan (or at least a prince with a turban)...come on! How can one complain about taking too many specifics from Earth-cultures?
Paladins are 100% European. Sure, there are religious warriors and defenders of the faith in many cultures...but heavily armored knights acting as an inquisition against unbelievers at the behest of a Pope-like figure (Que-Hegan)...They're copy and pasted right out of an Earth-culture's history. Amazons are out of Greek mythology, druids were basically in the British Isles and ancient Gaul (same with bards, at least in name). Yeah monks have Christian histories, too, but they're still mostly associated with Asian cultures. Although many ancient cultures have histories of shamanism, people still even associate witch doctors with Africa or the Caribbean.
My point is even if you don't want samurai in Diablo III, those reasons that I mentioned were poor I think
The game is set in a European culture and the story is purely European. However since it's based on item hounding they wanted to have many different types of weapons, and since there is not that much diversity in European weapons, they just started getting inspiration from other cultures. So yes, the artwork on certain items is Asian referenced, but I think this is due to a lack-of-attention-to-detail-or-realism on the behalf of the art department, rather than any intentional / legitimate references to other cultures, which would have shown up in the story, if they existed.
That said, neither Diablo 1 or Diablo 2 have emphasized significant attention to detail or consistency in their stories or production. The mere concept of having a monastery descend through a zillion levels down into the very depths of hell is pretty ridiculous. In the first game it was pretty shameless...basically a graphically amped roguelike, they didnt care much about plot then. They tried to turn this around a bit in D2, but they added a cow level based on fan rumours, a jungle level obviously inspired by some Mayan or similar culture, and a desert level inspired by Egyptian and Persian culture. Therefore I would not be surprised if we see some levels more directly inspired by Asian culture. I have no problem with that...it would be a little different. But to say that they have already Asian influences in the game, I think that is a weak argument.