Violence in Zelda

A

common concern and a commonly raised issue about video games is the

effect of violence on the players. Overprotective parents complain

about their children being exposed to blood and gore; fighting and

feuds; bloodshed and violence. They either whine that their children

will be influenced negatively and ignorantly copy the violence in

everyday life, or, they whine that it is traumatizing and affecting

their children mentally.

It’s really not my concern about how

parents control what games their children play, and it’s not my concern

as to what your views are on the issue of video game violence. It is,

however, my concern that the Zelda franchise seems to have

steered clear of anything beyond minuscule amounts of violence. And I

do mean minuscule. Frankly, it’s time for Zelda to get with the times and happenings in video game violence.

I’m not saying that future Zelda titles need to become over exuberant with tasteless graphics of intense bloodshed, fighting and killing, but Zelda definitely needs to move up from where Twilight Princess

has left the console series. Overall, Nintendo isn’t a company known

for making extremely violent games. Actually, they’re not really known

for making much that isn’t ‘fun for the whole family’. Zelda is no exception.

The

olden conventions used to simulate violence are outdated. They suited

those times, but they can’t be expected to fit in today. Flashing red

when wounded just doesn’t suit anymore. Small recoils for vicious blows

don’t either. Neither can defeated foes just ‘exploding’ into thin air.

Why can’t they leave a carcass, so that the player can feel some

satisfaction in the evil they’ve defeated? These olden formats have

carried through the series, and though more violent, Twilight Princess still isn’t up with the times.

First off, Twilight Princess

has the highest rating of any game in the series, and in ways, does

have more ‘violent action’, but by no means, more ‘violence’. What do I

mean by that? The sword techniques of Twilight Princess are

different to any before, with strong chests stabs, the Ending Blow

taught by the Hero’s Spirit, and Wolf Link’s tearing into the chests’

of poes. There’s more violent action, but the outcomes are nevertheless

the same as its predecessors.

Ganondorf happens to get stabbed

twice in the game. Once by the sages and once by Link, but we don’t see

either of them. We can tell that none of them even draw blood, so why

do they need to be hidden from us? Why have the rating if you’re going

to hide them? Earlier in the game, Ilia complains about Link wounding

Epona’s leg while going over jumps. You know, that leg she points at

looks perfectly fine to me. Come one, they could’ve at least programmed

in a little bit of a wound. A little hairless red patch. Is that so

much to ask for? I don’t know if that’s avoiding violence, or just pure

laziness.

Really, the only time we’ve seen any blood is in

Ocarina of Time’s Shadow Temple and Well. But yet again, I’m probably

wrong. That might just be some red paint all over the floor of rooms

with stocks and guillotines. There’s no need for Zelda to

become infested with violence and gory deaths, but there is a lot more

Nintendo could, and should, be doing. There’s not far to go, but Zelda

really does need to take a step up in violence. It may have been

unacceptable to have a wounded horse’s leg in a game back in the

1980’s, but this is 2009. Let’s hope that Zelda Wii doesn’t disappoint.