The Spiritual Parallels Between Jesus Christ and The Legend of Zelda: A Deep-Dive
As a millennial who was raised in the era of the Nintendo 64 and Playstation, I can appreciate a great video game. Every day as a wee lad, I would get home from the indoctrination of my public school to be indoctrinated in the wonders of Resident Evil and Twisted Metal. Instead of playing outside and risking getting kidnapped by stranger-danger like a boomer would so cautiously warn, I would plop my rear in front of the magic stupid box and spend countless hours playing Golden Eye 007 or Halo. Long gone were the days when kids would be like the Goonies and look for gold in a cave. Now we have video games like Final Fantasy VII and Banjo-Kazooie to do the adventuring for us without the risk of bruising our knees or skinning our elbows. Long gone are the days when our fathers would take us outside and learn how to shoot and be responsible with firearms, now we have Call of Duty and Counter-Strike to teach us how we can just blast our way out of our problems. Long were the days when our mothers would take us outside and teach us how to grow our food and do basic home economics. Now we have Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing to teach us how to do life.
Video games have always been one form of entertainment that has either haters or true fans with no wiggle room in between. The divide when it comes to video games is mostly drawn between the age brackets. This should come as no surprise considering video games, as a form of cultural art, have only recently come to fruition with the improvement and ease of game development. Video games can be looked at as the first art form that zoomers and millennials can call their own.
Whether or not people will believe Video Games are art is a moot point. Because art is often subjective and beholden by the generations and cultures who define what art is. Snobs like the late Roger Ebert will never give any respect for video games, and who can blame them? When boomers think of video games, they think of one of two things: 1. They think video games are Pong, Space Invaders, or Pac-Man, arcade games that can be looked at as children's toys. And 2: Violent games such as Doom and Duke Nukem that have more shock than artistic value. To be fair, there is some truth in what boomers say about games. Just like how music has rubbish pop music that is bland and formulaic, and movies have low intelligent superhero spectacles, the video game industry has its games such as the Madden franchise or Grand Theft Auto. Bland games with no artistic value or substance.
Video games have always had nonsense time wasters such as Candy Crush and Angry Birds. Are we to say such a classic such as Tetris is any different? Video games started with pixilated arcade classics such as Ms. Pacman which were nothing but time-wasters. But as technology, graphics, and game design evolved in the years of the arcade blockbusters, video games evolved into something truly epic and special. Unlike other forms of media, video games can potentially make use, beyond just the gameplay, of music, cinematography, acting, and story-telling. When all these come together, they can make something special and artful to the overall experience.
While there are many famous and well-regarded video games, one that is universally respected and loved is The Legend of Zelda series, created by Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. The series mostly takes place in the fictional kingdom of Hyrule and centers around the various incarnations of Link, a knight of Hyrule, and Zelda, the princess of the kingdom as they fight to protect the land from an evil warlock named Ganon (Ganondorf in some games). Zelda is one of the best-selling, and most critically acclaimed series in all of video games, with many entries winning numerous game-of-the-year awards and others being labeled among the greatest games of all time.
Born on November 16, 1952, to a modest Japanese household, Miyamoto originally wanted to be a manga artist before focusing his attention on video games. Miyamoto’s first hit was the arcade game Donkey Kong, which also happened to be the first appearance of Mario. The release of NES smash hits such as Super Mario Bros and The Legend of Zelda solidified his position as the most respected game designer in the market. Miyamoto has had his hands in nearly every major Nintendo project and is one of the principal reasons Nintendo has had so much success.
Miyamoto’s religious beliefs are a complete mystery. There is no evidence from interviews and bios that Miyamoto believes in Jesus Christ. Miyamoto’s games were influenced by Western culture, hence his arcade smash hit Donkey Kong was influenced by King Kong, and The Legend of Zelda was influenced by Western high fantasy. A cross is on Link’s shield in the first Legend of Zelda. However, after Nintendo put in their policy of not using religious symbols or imagery in Western translations of their games, this type of reference disappeared from the series. Interestingly, the reason for this is a game designed by Miyamoto called Devil World, an NES Pac-Man clone where the character had to collect crucifixes and Bibles to defend himself. During the 80s and 90s, Nintendo was terrified of being labeled blasphemous due to the Satanic Panic in that era.
In an interview with the revered Japanese video game magazine Weekly Famitsu, Miyamoto talked about the development of Breath of the Wild and spoke about the concept behind being a “creator” of the series. He believes that nobody else except God could be called a creator and that Miyamoto himself considers himself to be an editor.
He cites what Shigesato Itoi once said:
“[Being called] Creators or Creations are absurd.” The only one who may be called a Creator would be God. Nobody is doing any Creations and what all of them are doing is Editing. Miyamoto agrees with this and considers himself as an Editor. People would just repeat editing things they had absorbed in the past, and the results will be different for each person.”
This is a most interesting perspective from one of the best of the best in video gaming. The first attribute of God revealed in scripture is that God is creative. In the beginning, God “created.” This is another thing that makes us unique as creatures is that humans are creative. However, our creativity is bound up in this world and marred by sin. God, in contrast, has no bounds and his creativity is near limitless. In a sense, we are nothing more than editors in God’s sandbox and our creativity has its limits or expiration dates. This makes open-world games such as The Sims, Second-Life, Minecraft, and other famous sandbox games so unique in the history of video games because they give us a replication of what it’s like to be God. The game designer is the “god” of the world he creates and sets the limits, the rules, and the boundaries in the world. But in the end, no matter how realistic such games may be, they are cheap replicas of real life.
The first game in the series, titled Legend of Zelda, came out in 1986 on the NES and became a smash hit. The graphics of the first NES Zelda may be too dated for the hip Gen-Alpha crowd. However, the gameplay was state-of-the-art for the time. Miyamoto drew inspiration from exploring the hills, forests, and caves surrounding his childhood home in Sonobe, Japan. Miyamoto attempted to bring to life a “miniature garden” to players which is ironic considering God wanted to give humanity a perfect garden with Eden before the fall of man.
The level of freedom one had in the Legend of Zelda was unheard of at that time. At the beginning of the game, you are completely unarmed and are plopped into the world with a cave nearby. Upon entering the cave, you receive a sword and then you are on your own. To beat the game, you must enter eight dungeons around the world and retrieve pieces of a relic called the Triforce, once you collect all the pieces, you enter the final dungeon to defeat Ganon and save Zelda. How you accomplish this goal is up to you. The dungeons are leveled 1 through 9 in terms of difficulty but the freedom allows many ways of progressing through the game. It is even possible to reach Ganon without collecting the sword from the onset of the game. While there have been DND text-based adventures in the past, Legend of Zelda could be looked at as the first real “open world” game that feels like a world full of danger and decisions one has to make. The game is brutally hard but rewards players for being diligent in exploration. Useful tools, life points, and tips from characters in the game are awarded for exploring under rocks and bushes as well as collecting rupees (the game's currency) to buy useful items at shops. Zelda for NES would permanently solidify Miyamoto as the premier game designer in the video game business.
Starting with the third entry in the series on the SNES, Link to the Past, would begin the “Zelda formula.” The gameplay would follow the same pattern as the first Zelda, however, the path to beating the game would be more linear with choices on how to progress through the game being more restrictive. Instead of being plopped into an open world and figuring it out for yourself, you are slowly guided through the game through tutorials and a well-structured linear path. Games like Majora’s Mask often have a restrictive beginning portion teaching you how to play the game, much to the ire of veteran players. Most Zelda games pre-Breath of the Wild would require you to go into a dungeon, get a specific item to open the next dungeon or area, beat a boss, and retrieve a storyline-specific item. You rinse and repeat this cycle through 8 dungeons, then face the final boss to win the game. This was the cycle of many Zelda games before the Nintendo Switch Zeldas.
Despite the change to a linear progression, almost every Zelda during this era was an award-winning masterpiece. Ocarina of Time, the first 3-D game in the series, is still the highest-reviewed Zelda game. Majora’s Mask, Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword are also very well-regarded and are on the list of best video games of all time. Despite these games being incredible and loved in gaming, the spirit of the original Zelda was lost in the shuffle. As the series moved to the N64 and technology and gameplay limitations limited how much freedom the game would give the player, Nintendo sacrificed true freedom to proceed with the game how you like and turned Zelda into more of an artistic puzzle box, with a linear set of goals wrapped up in the facade of an adventure game. The closest thing during the 3D era to a Zelda game true to the original is Wind Waker, one of the greatest and most beloved games in the franchise. But this game was set in an ocean, and despite the huge world to explore, the game still forced you to proceed into a set of dungeons in the order that they were intended. And besides, as impressive as Wind Waker was, it was still the ocean setting. This wasn’t a vibrant, and green Hyrule, such as in past Zelda games.
By the time Skyward Sword came out, the franchise was starting to age. The Zelda Formula was starting to hurt the franchise. The gameplay was getting stale. Something had to change. Nintendo needed to switch up Zelda in the same way Ocarina of Time switched up 3D action games. Instead of gimmicks such as time travel, ocean-faring, or Link using a fursuit like in Twilight Princess, Nintendo had to do something big. The gameplay and everything that made Zelda “Zelda” had to be stripped away and re-analyzed. Nintendo couldn’t use cheap designs such as using an ocean setting in Wind Waker or the Sky setting in Skyward Sword. Nintendo had to do something big. Something that will stay true to the series, but also give a fresh take to the gameplay. How would they do that?
Enter 2017’s Zelda entry: Breath of the Wild. Considered a landmark title in open-world gaming and one of the best games in history, Nintendo went back to the original Zelda’s roots of giving the player as much freedom as possible to proceed in the game. At the start of the game, you are restricted to a small section of Hyrule where you go through tutorials on how to control Link. However, unlike other entries in the series, where you progressively get your tools throughout the game, you are given all of them at the end of the tutorial portion of the gameplay. Then the game sets you off and gives you the freedom on how to proceed in the game.
It is possible to go to Hyrule Castle and face the final boss immediately after the tutorial. However, new players will be in for a rude awakening if they try to go this path, as they will be brutalized and killed by the powerful enemies surrounding the outside and inside of the castle. Breath of the Wild is surprisingly hard compared to the other 3D Zeldas in the past. In fact, it could be the 3rd hardest game in the franchise next to the first two NES Zelda games. The enemies can 1-shot you easily and going headlong into a gang of enemies is often certain death. Breath of the Wild awards players who take time and explore Hyrule to hone their craft and earn extra life points and gear. There are many optional quests to do that will help out the land of Hyrule while also earning you bonuses and experience. The vast majority of Hyrule is open to explore, with story progression being optional, but rewarded greatly.
Breath of the Wild’s impact on the industry was enormous, with many critics labeling it as one of the greatest games of all time and a landmark in open world games. The beauty of the game comes from the emergent gameplay it brings to players. The game mechanics in Breath of the Wild are relatively simple compared to other games in the series. But how you interact with the world’s mechanics is complex, with many ways to go about situations and puzzles you face. Shrines (puzzle rooms in the game) can be completed with clever tricks by more experienced gamers than what the developers intended. Some situations require you to ambush gangs of enemies in ways such as rolling boulders over them, sneaking up to them while they are sleeping for a stealth kill, or you can snipe them with arrows while perched up in a tree. In some situations where you have to go to a specific location, you can either climb a treacherous mountain, sneak past an enemy stronghold, or go down a long and peaceful path via horseback (the graphics and soundtrack are breathtaking). Deciding to fight or run away is a real decision you have to make, and make it fast in some situations.
Breath of the Wild isn’t simply a “puzzle box” that you must figure out with rigid gameplay and a linear progression, but a real “garden” that you can explore. Breath of the Wild allowed players to craft their own path to the final destination of beating Ganon and saving Hyrule. The singular goal is beating Ganon, but now you get to choose how to proceed to that goal. In this way, Breath of the Wild can be looked at as a true sequel and a resurrection of the vision Miyamoto had for the original NES Zelda.
With 2023’s Tears of the Kingdom, the sequel expands on the gameplay of Breath of the Wild with new puzzles, new mechanics, new areas to explore, new tools to use, new enemies to fight, and a more refined story than the original. It seems like with Tears of the Kingdom Nintendo is finally reaching its potential when it comes to The Legend of Zelda series while also reaching the zenith of the artform of video games. Ocarina of Time brought a whole generation to experience the Zelda series for the first time in 3D, while Majora’s Mask was the mature sequel with deeper gameplay, a thought-provoking story, and bigger stakes. It is the same way with the Nintendo Switch era’s Zelda games. Breath of the Wild introduced the next generation of gamers to Zelda with a fresh, yet true take to the gameplay, while Tears of the Kingdom refined and fully developed the experience to something truly special and unique. Breath of the Wild is Nintendo’s Godfather while Tears of the Kingdom is Nintendo’s Godfather Part II.
Unfortunately, the Zelda series will not lead you to Christ. After all, this is a video game. Despite some of the religious overtones, Zelda’s lore is decisively pagan and draws heavily upon Western high fantasy. There are pozzed moments in Zelda, such as the character Tingle, a highly flamboyant map maker who thinks he is a fairy, wears red briefs over a green bodysuit and does fruity dances despite being in his mid-30s. In laymen’s terms, he is a man-child in the spirit of lolcows such as Chris-Chan. There is also a plot in Breath of the Wild where Link has to cross-dress in female Gerudo clothing to sneak into their hideout. While it might be hilarious to some, it is highly inappropriate in a Biblical sense. Other than that, the series is mostly SFW and safe for kids to play.
The Zelda series includes many different origin stories in the lore but they typically have the same outline. The land that would be Hyrule was created by three goddesses, Farore, Din, and Nayru. At the end of their creation, they left Hyrule, leaving behind a relic called the Triforce; a magical item of immense power that grants the wishes of anyone in possession of it. Those who touch the Triforce with a pure heart will bless the land with prosperity, while those with evil intent will curse the land with ruin and despair. The Triforce usually resides in a place called the Sacred Realm, a heavenly dimension designed specifically to house the relic from men who would use it for evil.
The goddesses themselves do not make much of an appearance in the series. They are pretty much absent gods, not figuring much into the narrative of the games compared to the One True God of Israel who is omnipresent, is always involved with His creation, and is the main character in scripture. Zelda’s lore is the classic pagan story device of the gods crafting the world, and leaving humanity to their devices but not before throwing a curveball, one that will cause chaos for humanity. In a way, this mirrors the Genesis narrative where God gives humanity a choice via the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eating from the tree will gain you forbidden knowledge, but this comes at a heavy price. The Triforce will be the source of much trouble in the Zelda series, as Ganon searches for it to conquer Hyrule.
With the goddesses being three of them, the first thought one would go to is the triune nature of God and the doctrine of the Trinity. Now the Trinity is one of these controversial doctrines that everyone will have an opinion on. To the outsider looking into the Christian bubble, the Trinity will look like there are actually “three” gods instead of one. However, this is not correct. God is indeed “One,” but he exists as three “persons.”
For a better explanation of the Trinity, I suggest reading this article by Got questions: https://www.gotquestions.org/Trinity-Bible.html
This is distinct from the god figures of Zelda who are each their own character with distinct traits. Din represents power, Farore represents courage, and Nayru represents wisdom. Much in the same way Hercules is a cheap imitation of Jesus Christ, so too are the goddesses of Zelda a cheap imitation of the triune nature of God. Hercules was half man and half god. Jesus Christ was 100% God and 100% man. The three goddesses were three distinct gods while the One True God is one with three “persons.”
The Triforce itself does not make much of an in-game appearance in terms of gameplay, other than being a collectible to a bigger end goal. The Bible does talk about holy relics, the most famous of them being the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark is one of these cottage industry portions of scripture with modern-day degenerates getting their Indiana Jones on, trying to decode and find the mythical Ark. Interestingly, that is what Ganon and many others try to do in the prelude of Link to the Past. The Golden Goddesses laid the Triforce in a Sacred Realm outside the boundaries of Hyrule.
The Ark itself will probably never be found and is lost in the sands of time. The Ark is hardly the magic relic that goofball pagans believe it to be. The Ark symbolizes the presence of God in the Old Testament. It symbolized God’s presence among His people. The Ark was also placed within the veil in the most holy place of the Tabernacle. Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest would enter the holy tent and sprinkle blood on the Mercy Seat to atone for Israel’s sins. So strangely, this Ark was placed in a “sacred realm” away from prying eyes, in the most private area of the temple. Something that Holy cannot be looked at nor can it be visited and grasped upon among the unclean masses. Those who do try to grasp that power, get burned in the process. The Philistines in Judges captured the Ark, thinking that by having the chest would bring God’s favor. Instead, they were inflicted with an intense case of hemorrhoids which would only subside when the Philistines gave the Ark back. Interestingly, in Link to the Past, when Ganon did grasp the Triforce, his comrades and himself turned into hideous monsters, giving Ganon his boar-like look in the series.
The player-character of Zelda is a Hylian named Link. The first thing you will notice about Link in modern games is that he has a very androgynous look to him. Miyamoto purposely did this so females playing that game can relate to him more. Now, to some conservative types, this might seem off-putting to see the character you are playing looking like a twink. But rest assured, Link is no twink. He might look like a ladyboy, but Link is unquestionably male in the series. Link does not speak or has any dialogue, this is to make the character as relatable as possible to the person playing him. Hence, Link is the “link” between the game and the outside world. Much in the same way, Jesus Christ is the “link” to God as we pray to the Father in the name of His Son. Even though Link has no speaking parts, in cutscenes we see glimpses of his personality. Link is loyal, gifted in combat, intuitive, caring, reserved, serious, and above all else, Link has tremendous courage.
The female lead of the series is the eponymous Zelda. Because Japan never had a gamergate moment, nor is there an army of insane femoids attacking Nintendo for made-up social justice issues, the females in The Legend of Zelda series actually act like females. Zelda is soft-spoken, intelligent, polite, graceful, headstrong, respectful, and cares deeply about her people and the kingdom she is princess to. Above all else, Zelda is wise and has sacrificial love for everyone around her, including Link. She is not an obnoxious feminist or has a jezebel spirit to her. She is not trying to prove to men how powerful she is being the sole ruler of Hyrule. She is just a woman with authority trying to do what is best for her kingdom and the people she loves. This characterization came as a breath of fresh air as it feels like every part of Western gaming has to include some insufferable female power trip trope in the narrative. Not so with Zelda. She knows she is a woman with authority, however, Zelda is wise enough to know when to submit to the will of her bodyguard/knight, Link, when the going gets tough. She can be fussy at times, but Zelda has absolute trust in Link and his abilities and respects him as a man. This is in contrast to the OJS (obnoxious Jezebel spirit) that plagues Western video games that feel like the female protagonist must emasculate every male she sees because of “girl power” or whatever.
Zelda is usually portrayed as the classic damsel-in-distress in most entries in the series. This starts to change, beginning with Ocarina of Time, and Zelda becomes more involved in the story and action. This culminates with Tears of the Kingdom where she is the star of the game’s story. Without going into too much detail, Zelda winds up sacrificing her humanity to become an immortal dragon to bathe a weapon called the Master Sword in holy light in order for Link to defeat Ganon. The story does end on a happy note with Zelda regaining her humanity through plot devices. But this take on Zelda was quite refreshing compared to what we normally get in Western video games. It feels like Tears of the Kingdom can be the first game in the series that is worthy of the title “The Legend of Zelda.”
The main antagonist of the series is Ganon (also called Ganondorf in some incarnations). He is a warlord from the Gerudo tribe, a desert-faring people who live south of Hyrule. The Gerudo tribe is unique in that the vast majority are women with only one male born every hundred years. This male would be the rightful king of the tribe. Does this mean anything? I don’t know, but this does mean that Ganon was raised in a maternal environment. It could also imply that Ganon is in the spirit of Lamach, a descendent of Cain. Lamach, son of Methushael, is the first recorded polygamist in scripture and was a murderer, bragging about his sin to his wives.
Ganon’s personality differs from game to game. In Breath of the Wild, he is the incarnation of evil whose physical form resembles a boar. Meaning this villain is not kosher. In others, he is considered the king of thieves who searches for the Triforce for his agenda. Ganon’s main attribute is his endless hunger for power. He is intelligent, ambitious, manipulating, calculating, and prideful. In most games, he aims to rule Hyrule by any means necessary. The Tears of the Kingdom’s Ganon is one of the weaker points of the story. Although he might be the best-designed Ganon in terms of looks and menacing presence, story-wise there is much to be desired as he comes across as a 1-dimensional villain.
This is in contrast to Wind Waker’s version of Ganon who was more complex and had a deeper motive for trying to conquer Hyrule. The Wind Waker Ganon explains to Link how he was envious of Hyrule’s more fertile climate compared to the desert his people lived in, which brought nothing but death. So in some ways, Ganon is a tragic leader, trying to do what is best for his people, trying to find an out or a promised land to give to his people, a land flowing with milk and honey. To this end, Ganon must gain power to achieve this goal. However, instead of having the wisdom to use diplomacy to secure a partnership with Hyrule, or having the courage to find another way out of their hardships, Ganon instead searches for the Triforce to grant him god-like powers.
However, this loyalty to his tribe is just wishful thinking as Ganon’s true character comes out when he obtains the powers he seeks. In Link to the Past, Ganon kills his comrades after finding the Triforce and attains this power for himself, turning Hyrule into hell on Earth. Tears of the Kingdom’s Ganon becomes the demon king after obtaining another magic relic, abandoning his Gerudo identity to be king of demonic forces. This proves that Ganon is no great leader but a warlord who only cares about himself and his insatiable appetite for power. In nearly all versions, Ganon’s lust for power and his defeat by Link drives him mad, and ends up selling his soul, turning him into a mindless monster that Link must fight.
Tears of the Kingdom begins with Zelda and Link exploring ancient ruins underneath Hyrule castle. In this scene, we get an origin story about the foundation of Hyrule. Long ago, an ancient tribe called the Zonai came down from the heavens and are said to be descendants of the gods. With them came technology and magical artifacts to amplify powers. The Zonai themselves have a slight demonic look to them. They are taller than a typical Hylian, have long ears resembling rabbits, and have a third eye that they usually keep closed. The leader of the Zonai, Rauru, marries a Hylian woman named Sonia and founded the kingdom of Hyrule. Rauru’s spirit along with Zonai technology, plays a huge role in Tears of the Kingdom, both storyline-wise and gameplay-wise. Rauru’s spirit accompanies you in the game and a tool you get at the beginning of the game allows you to craft different zonai technology.
Now, If you are a student of the Bible, you can put two and two together and decipher that the Zonai in Tears of the Kingdom is in the spirit of the Nephilim in Genesis. The Nephilim is another one of these cottage-industry scripture sections that can get interpreted in a way that can become unhinged. On one hand, you have people claiming they were literal giants who walked the Earth, and some, claim they resembled something like clowns. Whatever the case, Tears of the Kingdom copies a popular trope in ancient stories. That is, the gods come down from the heavens and dwelt among men, and these “gods” teach men new hidden arts and technology. The Zonai came down from heaven and bestowed the Hylians with their technology and hidden magical arts. You can even say this race of creatures was opening up the Hylians' “third eye” to give them new and revolutionary knowledge and wisdom. Their leader, Rauru, saw that the daughters of men were beautiful and ended up taking one as his wife and establishing a kingdom.
Rauru in the game is the prototypical honorable king you see in typical high-fantasy. He is benevolent, kind, polite, and generally cares for the well-being of his kingdom. Because of this nature, he is highly respected in Hyrule despite his demonic appearance. However, not all is what it seems. Rauru is sometimes worshipped as a god and his kingdom and is often at war, most notably with Ganon and the Gerudo tribe. Ganon knows that Rauru is playing unfairly with him being a “god” from above and having all the technology and magical artifacts to defeat his lowly desert tribe of muscle mommies. How exactly can a mortal man like Ganon defeat a demon like Rauru? You simply become a demon yourself, which is what Ganon does in the game by killing Rauru’s wife and taking a magical relic that amplifies his powers. Ganon transforms into the Demon King and lays waste to Hyrule until Rauru, Zelda, and other companions, finally seal him up before the onset of Tears of the Kingdom.
Now, one might assume that Rauru would be different than a Nephilim or demon we might normally think of considering his character. But just because someone appears benevolent and acts honorably does not mean they always do the right thing. Rauru’s spirit at one point laments whether it was right for the Zonai to come down from the heavens and bestow Hyrule with their knowledge considering the damage done to his kingdom. Was it right for Satan to come down from the heavens and tempt humanity with the knowledge of good and evil? Was it right for the sons of God to come down from heaven and mingle with the affairs of men? Their technology also explores transhumanism, such as the character Minaru putting her soul into a robot before the events of the game and the sacred stones transforming humans into dragons at the cost of their humanity.
Every culture has a myth similar to the Great Flood where the gods, in their judgment, wipe out the land with a deluge and The Legend of Zelda is no exception. While not in Tears of the Kingdom’s narrative, the Zelda series has used the Great Flood story in one of their games via The Wind Waker. Much like God used the Great Flood to destroy the fallen angels, Nephilim, and wicked men in the days of Noah, so too did the goddesses use a great flood to stop Ganon from destroying Hyrule when his power was too great. Tears of the Kingdom’s story is allegedly one of the earliest in the series. So could this be a foreshadowing of what was to come?
Even more so is the concept of seals, and sealing evil. In Link to the Past, Ganon attempts to break free from the Sacred Realm after being sealed there before the start of the game. Ocarina of Time’s ending had Ganon being sealed in the Sacred Realm. The same sealing trope plays to the story of Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, Breath of the Wild, and Tears of the Kingdom. Now students of scripture will know that the Holy Spirit is the one sealing those who belong to Jesus Christ. The seal of the Holy Spirit is given to us as a gift that can assure us of our salvation, and this seal from God cannot be broken. The Holy Spirit also restrains the evil of the world. Unlike in the Zelda series where a bunch of mystics has to do a seance to seal Ganon, The Holy Spirit restrains evil through more practical means such as the human conscience. The government is also used to restrain and punish evil-doers as pointed out by Paul in Romans. And unlike Zelda games, where Ganon can plot-hole out of his sealed prison, God is in total control of when this seal restraining evil is lifted. According to Revelation, once the church is lifted up and off of Earth, the Holy Spirit will stop restraining evil. This will set the stage for the anti-Christ to show up, take power, and prepare for the final battle where Jesus Christ comes back, kills the forces of evil, and establishes his kingdom.
Another critical piece of Zelda lore is related to seals in the Master Sword. Also known as the “sword that seals the darkness,” it is the central weapon of the game. The Master Sword is more related to Excalibur of King Arther lore than anything Biblical considering there are no magical swords in scripture. But the Bible does point out that the word of the Lord is like a sword. The Master Sword is a critical weapon in most Zelda entries, often being the only weapon that can be used to defeat Ganon. And in most games, Link must go through trials and dungeons to retrieve the sword. This might seem just a gameplay design choice, but often times gameplay can imitate life. The only truth you get in life is God's Word through the Bible. The only way to get through the lies and BS wicked and adulterous men will spew at you is by studying the Bible. Yet we live in an age where people forsake sound doctrine and instead follow the doctrines and advice of demons and imbeciles such as Andrew Tate and the Fresh and Fit podcast. Instead of listening to the words of the Lord, many in the modern era follow the words of social media influencers, rainbow pastors, debased celebrities, and ghoulish preachers in the spirit of Benny Hinn. All them might talk a big game and give good advice, but in the end, leave you weaponless to fight the enemy. Is it any wonder why people in this age cannot properly tackle the problems in their life? It is because they are not equipped with the Word of God. They do not take time to sharpen their mind to the scriptures.
Unlike other games such as Red Dead Redemption, Skyrim, and GTA, in Tears of the Kingdom, you cannot do anything you want or have to make moral choices in the game. All Link can do is good deeds and help others in need. Link cannot go to Hyrule town market and steal armor or potions. Nor can Link start slicing children in Kakariko Village or get his gangsta on drug dealing and jacking a vehicle in Zora’s domain. The only killing Link can do is against demonic hoards and the animals around Hyrule to get food. Link cannot go around killing innocent people for his enjoyment like you can in a Grand Theft Auto. In a sense, Tears of the Kingdom can never truly be a free open-world game unless you have the moral choices to go with the gameplay. But even so, Tears of the Kingdom will always be a superior game to a Grand Theft Auto. GTA requires no brain power, no skill, and the gameplay is designed to tickle the sinful nature of man. This is in comparison to Tears of the Kingdom, which requires brain power, skill, and your experience grows more as you play the game. If you cannot do evil in Tears of the Kingdom, then what does that say about a GTA game when all you can do IS evil?
In a way, Link acts much like Jesus Christ in terms that Link cannot sin or do evil to people. It is often preached that Jesus Christ is God, and that is a true statement. But what is often not preached is just what Jesus’s character was like when He was on Earth. If Jesus is the Christ and Immanuel, then it would have been impossible for Him to sin. It would have been impossible for Jesus to lie, speak murmurs, steal, or do harm without a cause. This is impossible to imagine considering no one alive right now has ever met a human that has the characteristics of God perfectly. And indeed, as scripture points out, He dwelt among us, yet the world did not recognize Him.
The non-playable characters of Tears of the Kingdom do not realize that there is more to Link than meets the eye. That Link is controlled by someone outside the barriers of the game. It's the same way with more of the harder RPGs such as Skyrim. Despite people claiming the main character is the fabled “Dovakin,” there is more to the player-character than meets the eye, and a more powerful deity is behind the avatar outside of the game’s boundaries. Now, Jesus Christ was not “controlled” by God nor was he created by God. Jesus Christ was one with God in spirit and has the character and attributes of God completely, both hidden and not hidden. But the point is that if you are the game known as life, there is something special about Jesus Christ that someone cannot put their finger on. In the same way, there is something special about Link if you are just a citizen of Hyrule.
One of the long criticisms of Zelda in the 3-D era was the lack of voice acting in the games. This changed with Breath of the Wild. However, Link still had no speaking roles. Now, one will point out this is just a game design choice. After all, you want the playable character to be as relatable as possible. The worst thing you can do is give Link loose lips and reveal him as a fool. But still, there is wisdom in not giving Link speaking parts. We live in an era of blabber-mouths, false prophets, hucksters, and keyboard warriors, all spewing nonsense and evil. There is nothing new under the sun, and the human tongue has always been one of the principal issues of humanity ever since the serpent was spewing Ben Shapiro-levels of lies at Eve.
There is power when it comes to watching what you say. Much in the same way, God revealed His character through his words, so too does humanity reveal their character through their words. If Jesus Christ is the Word of God become flesh, what does that say about humanity who speaks evil? Words are a reflection of the self. If Jesus Christ is a reflection of God and His word, what type of reflection are we giving out when we say every type of gamer word in a gaming lobby?
Now, Jesus Christ is not silent like a Link. He was a preacher who proclaimed the good news of the Kingdom of God. But Christ was careful with His words. He never spoke evil nor did He tell lies. Every word meant something. However, there are scenes where Jesus remained silent. This includes being accused in front of the Pharisees, High Priest, King Herod, and Pontious Pilate. Only when they asked if Jesus Christ was the messiah or king did Jesus answer them. He did not quarrel over BS accusations or try to debate or reason with people who were too reprobate to repent. Now, the average Costco-American in a situation Jesus was in, being accused of a crime He did not commit, cannot help themselves but try and talk their way out of a situation or accusation. They will try to justify themselves or go on the offense. Yet as Isiah points out, Jesus was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open his mouth. He was like a lamb that is silent before its shearers.
Now, a common criticism of God by many is that often it appears that He is silent. However, what is silence and inactivity by God is an opportunity to listen to the still small voice and see the provisions that He has made for us by faith. The clearest indication of God’s voice is through the Bible. Unfortunately, we live in a society that rejects the Bible and instead will read garbage books that give us half-truths, or get life advice from so-called life gurus on the internet that give us copium. Instead of meditating and studying scripture, so-called Christians will meditate and study the doctrines of the modern-day false prophets of our time, aka, media influencers. Even worse, many so-called Christians will twist the scriptures for their agenda or worldview. Is it any wonder that people are going crazy in this wicked and adulterous generation?
Humanity will point the finger at God and accuse Him of being silent and inactive. But the truth is that many, yes many, don’t even seek the words of the Lord in the first place. No one seeks after God, and no one wants the advice of God. And when God does give advice, through that still small voice, it is often advice we do not want to hear. A man whines and cries about his relationships with women, yet when God tells Him to stop using Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge because it is warping his view of reality, the man stubbornly refuses and continues licking up dating app vomit. A woman will complain how her husband does not love her, but when God quietly and gently tells her to stop nagging and disrespecting her husband in front of others, she grits her teeth and refuses. She is hellbent on emasculating her man for imaginary reasons. So instead of the truth that God provides, people will run to whoever will tickle their ears and tell them what they want to hear.
Link is silent throughout the game. But what is interesting is most characters do not ask for his advice or opinion on the matters at hand. Link has what it takes to be king, yet no one recognizes this because of Link’s servant-like attitude. In a cut scene in Breath of the Wild, Zelda is getting her paganism on by praying in front of a statue of one of the goddesses. Link is behind her, stern-faced, not saying a word while Zelda is muttering in front of an idol that cannot see or hear. It would be easy for Link to tell her to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, but would Zelda repent of her cringy paganism? Of course, this is facetious. But the point here is that God is constantly active in the world and has given man revelation through the scriptures. But man, being evil, suppresses the knowledge of God and refuses to listen to Him. In return, God will not listen to man, nor answer his prayers because man has set up idols in his own heart. Until we confess our sins, repent, and turn back to God through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ, will the scales fall off our eyes and be back in our right mind. Zelda and the Hylians worshipped strange gold goddesses without recognizing a higher power was in Link this entire time. Someone who had all the knowledge and knew what was going on behind the scenes.
Ocarina of Time is considered one of the watershed games in the series, being the first one made in 3-D. The game also happens to be possibly the most critically acclaimed in the series before the Nintendo Switch era Zeldas. The story of the game does bring an interesting dilemma. The plot revolves heavily around time travel and Link must stop Ganon in the future. After Link defeats Ganon, Zelda sends him back to his timeline to regain his lost childhood. But this comes at a price as his good deeds will not be remembered by people at all in his timeline. No one will know that Link saved Hyrule or did all these wonderful deeds. There will be no parade, no glory, and no applause. Only Link, and by extension, the player will remember these deeds. Now the question is, can a debased, reprobate, and wicked man who has zero character go through with a deed such as this even if he won’t be remembered? It's nice to have a thank you once in a while, or a reward, but will you do that good deed with no cameras and no witnesses? To many, yes many, the answer is no. Our culture which is full of vanity and clout-chasers demands we make a record of our good deeds to puff ourselves up. But the mark of a man of character is what he does when there is no camera or audience around to see it. It's easy to do good deeds in front of others, it's another when God himself is the only audience member.
Link does not fight or do heroics for his glory, but does it because that is his character. Link is a man, and does the stuff he does because it has to be done for peace to reign in Hyrule. He does not have time for trumpets, a parade, or a dog and pony show. Evil must be stopped and work must be done. To this end, Link is focused on the mission at hand, and that mission is service to Zelda and Hyrule.
This is in stark contrast to debased societies which are vain and seek glory for themselves. It feels that in today’s society, people are more obsessed with attention and getting clout than genuinely helping people out. Every good deed is recorded, uploaded, shared, and liked on social media. Every prayer over someone is recorded, uploaded, shared, and liked on social media. Every comfort or encouragement is recorded, uploaded, shared, and liked on social media. We live in a generation where blessings and good deeds that should be in the privacy of our own stories are uploaded and exploited for profit and glory. We try to justify ourselves with good deeds and blast reggae horns to the public whenever we pray over someone or play annoying dubstep to unfortunate ears whenever we feed the homeless. But true character comes when cell phones are put away and there are no cameras and witnesses. What most will find when the cellphone vids are off is that the vast majority of Western men and women are shallow people with little substance and zero character. This is especially problematic in modern Western Christianity where the Christian community online is plagued by grifters, clout-chasers, attention whores, and prophets in the spirit of Baalam.
Now, what most will argue is that good deeds are good deeds. Who cares if they are exploited or not as long as they are good deeds and people are being helped out? This is true, admittedly, that who cares what the motive is as long as the Gospel is getting preached and God is being glorified? But Jesus Christ taught us that we should be careful not to practice our righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. God wants to reward us for our good deeds, but He cannot if we approach our good deeds in a manner where we just want the attention of men and the glory for ourselves. If we shove a camera into people's faces and record our so-called good deeds, then brag and post about it on TikTok to get likes from bots, we indeed have got our reward in full. But if we do our righteousness in secret, without cameras, without the BS, God will reward us.
So, what exactly is this “reward?” What God will reward us is a strength in character. It's the joy of knowing that our actions align with God’s and not our own. It's about growth and discipline, and drawing closer to God. It is the joy of knowing you are serving and pleasing King Jesus instead of trying to get applause from perverted and debased men. It is the character growth from an attention-seeking man-baby to a grown-ass man of God.
But… Who cares? We live in a time and age where no one seeks character or growth and instead seek the fleeting pleasures of this world such as sex, money, and power. The fact is that we live in a society that is lacking character or any authenticity whatsoever. The Western church, in its quest for so-called relevancy in the world, will engage in worldly behavior such as clout-chasing. Is it any wonder why it feels like the western church has no power? It is because we do not have any character or discipline. Every miracle must have a camera in front of it. Every prayer must be recorded. We must record ourselves giving awful Quaker oatmeal to every homeless person.
The world does not care about character because being a man of character does not bring home money, or puts a house over your head, and does little in terms of having clout. In many situations, it requires sacrifice to gain any sort of character. This is unacceptable to the world who seeks the lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. But in a way, this is exactly the reason why so many people are losing their minds and why it feels like the world has gone mad because people lack character and discipline to not just think about themselves and reflect on their motives.
Many will argue that Jesus Christ sought attention, with Him being a local celebrity in Judea. But throughout Jesus’s ministry, He demonstrated powerful character and practiced what He preached. His life was marked by compassion, healing, and teaching. He did not seek attention for attention's sake but consistently pointed people toward God and the Kingdom of Heaven. His focus was on serving and loving others with his ultimate form of serving was dying on a cross for the sins of humanity. In truth, we only get a condensed version of what Christ's ministry was like on Earth, but Jesus did many miracles privately. He prayed privately in His free time, He did some miracles privately, and everything he did was for the glory of God. If Jesus sought the attention of man, He would have caved into Satan’s temptation of throwing himself off the temple for angels to capture Him for people to witness a miraculous miracle and believe in Him. But man’s ways are not God’s ways. And it is better to seek the attention and approval of the perfect God than of a fickle and debased man.
I suppose this is too harsh for some. After all, there is no escaping from the lens of the camera. Nearly every Western man, woman, child, and strange flesh has a professional-level camera in their hands. Nearly every street corner has a camera, including in the skies thanks to drones. We live in an age where ministries, especially in the West, have to play the social media game in terms of brand-building. Whether we like it or not, social media is a major front in the mission of the Great Commission. Because of this, motives can be blurred and misinterpreted. And besides, what men meant for evil, God can use it for good. God can and will use videos and other film of good deeds to bring people to Christ. There is Godly content of prayers, teachings, preaching, miracles, and encouragement for those who would believe. But we should always recalibrate our motives and check our hearts when it comes to what we record and what we choose to share. There is a time and a place for everything. We have to keep the things that are sacred, sacred. And the things that are holy, holy. We have to be careful when sharing our blessings least we become like Hezikiah during the last years of his reign.
This does leave us with a thought and that is if God is an attention seeker. After all, God is doing all of this, the very essence and experience of life, for His glory. Christ’s sacrifice was to show the world who God’s character is and why He is the only One to be worshipped and praised. And besides, scriptures tell us that God is a jealous God, who severely punishes those who follow other idols. Is this all one big ego trip for God? But what if this isn’t about attention, and more about God seeking a relationship with humanity? God cannot let sin go unpunished, which is why He banished man from His presence in the first place. But God also seeks reconciliation with humanity, not because we are special or have some amazing traits, or for attention. God seeks reconciliation because of His character. Because His character is love. He is patient and kind, does not envy or boast, not proud or self-seeking. He is a God of forgiveness and lets go of past offenses. He is truth, protects, trusts, hopes, and preserves. These traits are shown with the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, by dying on the cross for our sins. God would have been justified in destroying all of humanity like what he did in Noah’s time and recreating the world. But because of His character and His glory, God chose the path of reconciliation.
Even still, God has done miracles in private, that are not recorded in scripture. Scripture tells us that God sends rain on the wicked and the just, on pagans and believers. Miracles are a mystery of what they mean. God has a master plan and does not do miracles out of the blue or at random even if they feel that way. And who can know the plans or the mind of God? Yet, God still sent rain on the pagan world before the time of Christ and even so now. Miracles happen, even to the wicked in the pagan world, and even now in our current time.
It's a wonder where or what God was doing regarding the pagan nations outside the borders of the Middle East before the time of Christ. There are so many stories, legends, and lore of old from many different cultures, celebrating many different so-called heroes of old. Could it be that God was with these pagan nations this entire time, serving them, without them knowing that it was the One True God in disguise this entire time? Jesus Christ, who is God, came into the world, yet the world did not recognize who He truly was. Can the modern man of this age even recognize the Jesus of the Bible even if He shows up to them face to face? Can modern man recognize when an angel from the Lord shows up to encourage them? Maybe it is time to repent of what we think God is and start to know Him.
This all comes down to faith. We have to have faith that though God might be silent, He still is doing His work. That though we do our deeds in secret, God will reward us, even if we cannot see it. The generation that went to the promised land never witnessed the parting of the Red Sea, yet they believed. So too is this generation. We never witnessed the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, yet we believe. If we believe that God is good and can even resurrect His Son from the dead, we have to believe that God can resurrect our own lives and reward us with character. We can start living in the Kingdom, by the Lord giving us a new heart with new desires along with the Holy Spirit to comfort us and guide us through our trials. We have to live a life of repentance, and growth, and to recalibrate our motives when it comes to ministering to others. Ministries of all types have got to be careful with our promotion and outreach. We must, above all else, do our good deeds with love and compassion, in the same manner Jesus Christ did. We cannot be like the world who only do good deeds for the expectation of a worldly reward, but must always do good deeds for the glory of God in the name of His Son. Love covers a multitude of sins. Let us live a life of faith and love because that is what Jesus Christ gave to all those who would believe in His name.