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Which Zelda Game is the Most Philosophical?

Kylo Ken

I will finish what Spyro started
Joined
Aug 10, 2011
Location
Ohio
I think Ocarina of Time is the most Philosophical (not sure if I'm spelling that right). I also think that's part of the reason why it is for a FACT the greatest game ever made. I would put some quotes, but I don't think I need to.

What about you?
 
Yeah, i'll agree with the others on this thread so far, I don't see Zelda as being anywhere close to philosophical or that interesting, its the feel of the games that keep me coming back, and less and less the story and characters which is a shame since i play games for story and Zelda used to be something which intrigued me.
 
Joined
Apr 10, 2012
I think Ocarina of Time is the most Philosophical (not sure if I'm spelling that right). I also think that's part of the reason why it is for a FACT the greatest game ever made. I would put some quotes, but I don't think I need to.

What about you?


No its not a fact that's its the greatest game of all time, it's an opinion. I also fail to see how the Zelda series in any way has been philosophical. Especially with Miyamoto's mindset that gameplay is the key factor for a game which makes the Zelda series amazing. But there's no amazing story element to it, and none of the games have been philosophical. I think you should provide some proof or evidence especially since so far no one really agrees with you here man :/
 

Sir Quaffler

May we meet again
I'm going out on a limb and calling Majora's Mask the most philosophical of Zelda games. It goes into what happens to people when they die, death always being a heavy subject. While it doesn't outright spell it out to you, the constant time rewinding calls into question the validity of any of your actions. Since all your actions are reset when you go back to the first day, does anything you do really matter? Are you really being the good guy if you are the only one reaping the benefits of your actions in the end? What are people really like when the end is coming for them? Is the entire game a metaphor for the grieving process? I can think of several more philosophical questions like this that I can't really for most Zelda games.
 

Lord Carlisle

He Who Shall Not be Named
Joined
Sep 9, 2012
Location
Florida
I agree with the above post, MM does have some philosophical themes to it. Whether intended or not, they're there.
 

Random Person

Just Some Random Person
Joined
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Wig-Or-Log
Twilight Princess easily. I'm surprised that people are saying the games are not philosophical but then again, I'm also not surprised. Looking on the surface, the stories of Zelda aren't as deep as most of the cinematic games out right now so naturally people would say there's no lesson to learn or interesting thing to interpret. The stories can seem very cliche at times. But looking under the surface (which I do with EVERYTHING IN MY LIFE) the stories, particularly TP, can have very deep lessons to show or very deep meanings behind their stories. Back in the days I wrote an article about the symbolism of light, twilight and darkness in TP. It's not too for myself difficult to find more.
 

Random Person

Just Some Random Person
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Location
Wig-Or-Log
If the writers and developers don't look past the surface, why should we?

Whose to say they didn't? I've discussed with people a piece of literature that an expert said had symbolism and was asked "How do we know when the reader isn't just making things up?" Sometimes the reader does. But you use literature clues to discern whether or not a Person is looking too deep into something. The only way to truly know is to hear it from the creator's mouth itself. However "gameplay takes a place over story" isn't saying the same thing as "these stories have no symbolism or hidden meanings."
 
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JuicieJ

SHOW ME YA MOVES!
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On the midnight Spirit Train going anywhere
Twilight Princess easily. I'm surprised that people are saying the games are not philosophical but then again, I'm also not surprised. Looking on the surface, the stories of Zelda aren't as deep as most of the cinematic games out right now so naturally people would say there's no lesson to learn or interesting thing to interpret. The stories can seem very cliche at times. But looking under the surface (which I do with EVERYTHING IN MY LIFE) the stories, particularly TP, can have very deep lessons to show or very deep meanings behind their stories. Back in the days I wrote an article about the symbolism of light, twilight and darkness in TP. It's not too for myself difficult to find more.

The only "lesson" in TP is the light and twilight being two sides of the same coin. That's literally it. The game's story just dies halfway in, so there's nothing really there to learn. If there's any Zelda game we can learn lessons from, it's Majora's Mask.
 
Joined
Aug 25, 2012
Location
Indiana, USA
As Sir Quaffler and JuicieJ have said, I'd vote Majora's Mask. Granted, I don't think most Zelda games have gone out of their way to make you think deeply about your actions or the world in general. "Gameplay first, story sometime later" is generally Nintendo's creed when it comes to Zelda, so with the exception of a few well-thought-out story moments in a select few Zelda games, I don't believe any Zelda game was meant to be very philosophical.

But when it comes right down to it, Majora's Mask takes the prize for me. The Moon Children near the end of the game, the sadness pervading Termina, and the constant symbolism can't help but make you periodically think about what you're doing and what it really means. Who or what are the Moon Children? Why is Majora's Mask so determined to destroy everything? Did the relationship between the Skull Kid and the Four Giants really deteriorate that much? The game makes you wonder so regularly that at some point it has to become philosophical. As a whole, Zelda is probably not a philosophical series, but Majora's Mask definitely seemed geared in that direction.
 
Joined
Nov 25, 2012
Location
Monkey Island
If the writers and developers don't look past the surface, why should we?

I'm kind of surprised how everyone seems so against Zelda having philosophical potential. Video games are a work of art, just like cinema and literature and paintings, and we all interpret these works of art differently. Some people see the Mona Lisa and just see a young lady, while to others the painting has much deeper meaning. Video games can go the same way--whether or not the creators themselves intended to give a philosophical message, if you see one beneath the surface, then that's your interpretation. When we look at works of art it isn't so important to find out what the artist meant to portray, but what we ourselves interpret.
 

DarkestLink

Darkest of all Dark Links
Joined
Oct 28, 2012
Whose to say they didn't?

It couldn't be made more clear that Miyamoto doesn't give a damn about the story.

I'm kind of surprised how everyone seems so against Zelda having philosophical potential.

I'm not against it. They just don't. If there was ever a time that the story writers actually intended philosophical content or any symbolism, Miyamoto would have done anything and everything in his power to take it out. Zelda is a simple series. Always has been and always will be.

The only "lesson" in TP is the light and twilight being two sides of the same coin. That's literally it. The game's story just dies halfway in, so there's nothing really there to learn. If there's any Zelda game we can learn lessons from, it's Majora's Mask.

You seem to have missed everything having to do with Colin. Not to mention Midna's character in general.

Regardless, these "lessons" aren't philosophical. They're cliches.
 
Joined
Sep 28, 2012
I wouldn't say a lot of the games pervade philosophy in an intellectual or meaningful way. They mostly just tackle larger themes, like nepotism in Twilight Princess or the concept of death in Majoras Mask (which is my vote, by the way). We all know that Nintendo places gameplay above story, but that doesn't mean the games don't have some substance. I think there is depth to Majoras Mask, whether intended or not. To me its all about growing up, what with the skull kid never getting over that his friends had to leave him, and that is tied into the stages of acceptance.

And I'm pretty sure that a developed philosophy is essentially a conclusion that the artist reaches, words to live by. Like in Majoras Mask; don't neglect your friends they might need you, but also don't rely on your friends because they won't always be there. OOT is just a basic good guy/bad guy story. Power is corrupting, a hero needs to balance courage and wisdom blah blah blah.
 

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