Analysing the death of Christian Mythology in the 2D-3D transition.

This is not the first time this subject has been brought up, but since coming to a realisation, I want to raise what I have noticed to be a massive shift in the Zelda mythology between the 2D games and 3D games.

The realisation is that the first proof of Light, as a form of magic, were the Light Arrows at the end of Ocarina of Time. Before then, there was no war between Light and Darkness, which to me is incredible because the magics are so prominent in the series today. The Master Sword did exist in ALTTP, but it was never connected to Light magic then (in fact, not until TWW was there any connection between the sword and Light magic).

With this, I have also recognised a radical change in the King of Darkness. In the early games, Ganon was very much a satanic character. He was resurrected by evil rites, sent demons from Hell to conquer Hyrule, etc. But since Ocarina of Time, Ganondorf was no longer the satanic figure, but something much closer to Dracula. According to TWW, it was the wind that had brought destruction upon Ganondorf's people, that caused him to defy the goddesses and take Hyrule for himself, an action that reflects Dracula's ambitions quite strongly. Yet the reference to Dracula is never actually made.

Hence, I recognise this transition as the death of the Christian mythos in the Zelda games. In the original LoZ, Link's shield bore an image of the crucifix. Link killed Ganon with the Silver Arrows; silver being a material known in European folklore for killing demons, such as the fabled silver bullets. In AoL's manual, references were made to Hell, the source of the demons coming to kill Link and resurrect Ganon. The identity of Hell has been debated, but it appears to me to reflect the Christian image. Then in ALTTP, more references were made to Hell, and Ganon became known as the Demon King, whose monsters were the demons he controlled. When Agahnim was defeated, Ganon's spirit took the form of a vampire bat, like the Dracula myth.

Then in Ocarina of Time, there were no more references to Hell, demons, silver, bats or crucifixes. Only the pig form, which represented Ganon's greed in a manner that has nothing to do with Christianity, remained. Light magic was introduced and all items connected with evil-repelling magic were then said to possess light magic.

Because of this change, we need to be careful how we address these parts of the games. It's simple enough to retcon the oldest objects to Light magic, even if they weren't intended to be related to Light magic. But then we have to look at Ganon's character. An eternal demon in the 2D games is also an evil human in the 3D games. One possibility is that FSA is the connection; the evil spirit of the trident, the ancient demon reborn, showing the origin of the eternal demon that Ganon becomes.

Opinions?

I don't know if I consider this a "Death" of such influences, but rather the evolution of a unique mythology from what had at first been a rather unoriginal base.

Through the early years of LoZ, the only necessity of storyline was that players felt both lead and inspired to contiue with the game. Simple stories allowed the players to have simple goals, allowing them to focus on gameplay, and simple motivations (such as a Good Vs. Evil motif that spoke to a traditional view of that conflict in a gamer's "Christian" culture) allowed the players emotional satisfaction in the completion of those goals.

Since the middle of the 1990s, the idea of a videogame played not only for direct and immeidate emotional satisfaction has become more prevailent. Stylistically, games now strive, above all, to be "immersive", and seeking that goal has lead Nintendo away from the traditional culture and into a mythos of its own creation.

A fair bit of Christian mythology still exists in Zelda today. There's the creation story, which very much mimics the Christian creation story, there's the Hylians being the "chosen people" of the gods, much like the Jews are the chosen people of God, there's the Flood and much more. Although a lot of the more obvious Christian mythology in Zelda was left behind in the transition from 2D to 3D, a lot of it remained and is still being used now.

I agree with Sentient,however,many believe that when OOT was produced,Nintendo dropped out most of
the references to Christianity and started referring to Islam by including middle eastern/Indo/Pakistani Themes and icons.

For example,the famous Mirror Shield in the first version of OOT bore on it,a Moon and Star.
The Gerudoes are often compared to the women of Pakistan and India,their Facial structure and complexion and even clothing
bearing similarity.
The music also added to this effect,as musical instruments native to these areas were clearly used to
create the music for the game areas.
Then there are the jokers who say "Link is an Indian!!! He deals in Rupees!"

All very interesting points, and they make me feel a lot more confident about the impression I received. Does anyone believe the mythology evolution has affected the identity of the King of Darkness, or do you believe that it has remained largely consistent since the original game?

I definitely see the change in Ganon. Rather than using demons, which would be related to Hell, he uses stranger creatures, or just regular animals, most of which are seen in OoT.

Well, I wouldn't give up hope on the ol' King of Darkness yet.

Though OoT, TWW, and TP defied tradition by portraying him in his human form, FSA returned to tradition by simply referencing him as "once human", and only showing us his beast form for the final fight.

Originally Posted by LexLionHart

Though OoT, TWW, and TP defied tradition by portraying him in his human form, FSA returned to tradition by simply referencing him as "once human", and only showing us his beast form for the final fight.

So perhaps Ganondorf began as the Dracula figure, and was reincarnated to become the Satanic figure. Would it work?

Depends really on when Nintendo decides to have him first associate with the Trident. I'd personally love to see them elaborate a bit more on the history of the damn thing, preferably not involving Ganon, but some other demon figure instead.

Originally Posted by LexLionHart

Depends really on when Nintendo decides to have him first associate with the Trident. I'd personally love to see them elaborate a bit more on the history of the damn thing, preferably not involving Ganon, but some other demon figure instead.

The thing that puzzles me is the contradiction between Ganondorf's reappearance (which appears to be bloodline-related, not reincarnation) and Ganon's resurrection as a demon. If there are multiple Ganondorfs, how can there be one eternal Ganon? Are we even seeing the same Ganon resurrected in different games?

My current explanation is, as has been discussed before, that the King of Darkness is a title that represents the manifestation of evil emotions within a human soul (or Picori soul. Vaati was nominated as the King of Darkness, as well). Thus, Ganondorf in OoT was the first King of Darkness. Then, the Trident changed this manifestation and made it eternal. When a new Ganondorf appears, his becoming of the King of Darkness grants him the Trident as the symbol of this new manifestation.

Heh, this thread reminds me of our debate last summer. I believe I made a point about the Hell references not necessarily relating to a Christian Hell.

Originally Posted by Uncle Meat

Heh, this thread reminds me of our debate last summer. I believe I made a point about the Hell references not necessarily relating to a Christian Hell.

Although it doesn't have to be a Christian Hell, the other Christian references seem to suggest that it is. It reflects the Zelda mythos of the game until it was redrawn after Ocarina of Time. Now the Twilight Realm has been referred to as the underworld.

Originally Posted by Raian

Although it doesn't have to be a Christian Hell, the other Christian references seem to suggest that it is. It reflects the Zelda mythos of the game until it was redrawn after Ocarina of Time. Now the Twilight Realm has been referred to as the underworld.

Huh. *Evilsbane thinks for a moment* Does anyone find it odd that AoL mentions creatures summoned from hell to revive Ganon, and OoX actually FEATURES two creatures summoned from hell to revive Ganon?

Originally Posted by Evilsbane

Huh. *Evilsbane thinks for a moment* Does anyone find it odd that AoL mentions creatures summoned from hell to revive Ganon, and OoX actually FEATURES two creatures summoned from hell to revive Ganon?

It seems that the forces of Darkness in Oracles had been plucked from the 2D mythology. Then again, that mythology had not been properly contradicted until TWW.

I would think that the only way to say that there was a Christian background to the series would be based on the cross on Link's shield. Most of the other 2D references to demons and stuff would be more based on Horror movie premises.

Also, silver is more of a moon-metal to defeat creatures of the night, not something to combat hell-spawn. Holy stuff is for hell-spawn.

The reason for this change is quite simple. For storytelling purposes, Ganondorf had to become a character with more depth. And generic evil demons generally lack enoguh depth to carry a story in the way that Nintendo needed him too.

They made the right decision. The character of Ganondorf in OOT and tWW was marvelously well-done and definitely added to both games. Those were also the games where he had the most human qualities, which obviously move him away from the demon aspect.

Then along comes Twilight Princess. Ganondorf's human qualities are removed, and he basically becomes a depthless evil demon again. Not quite satanic in origin as in earlier games, but definitely a throwback. And his character suffers. Ganondorf in TP is not nearly as memorable or interesting of a character as Ganondorf in OoT and tWW.