Controversy in The Legend of Zelda Series

Although remains as one of the most critically acclaimed video game series by Nintendo, there have been some instances when a game, in one or another way, motivated scandals in media, as well as within the Zelda fanbase. Some reasons for this might include religious or content issues, radical changes that concern longtime fans, and opinions during interviews.
==Religious content and censorship==
*The Book of Magic in the original The Legend of Zelda used to add Fire for the Magical Rod is known as the Bible in the Japanese version (which heavily suggests the fire from the item is in fact Holy Fire). Despite this, the Christian cross on the book, as well as Link's Wooden and Magical Shield were left intact in the international release. In Four Swords Adventures, however, it is completely removed.
*The Legend of Zelda's First Quest dungeons have their nine levels designed to be shaped like a simple object or creature (such as a crescent moon or lizard), making it easier for the casual gamer to navigate. Level-3, on the other hand, has a controversial map design that has some players in the Western world believe that it is based on the notorious Nazi Swastika symbol, facing left. However, it is actually the Manji, a Buddhist symbol of good fortune, and such is prominent in Asian cultures including Japan. The Nazis simply stole the design and placed it at a different angle in order to create the Swastika. Although it received minor attention during release, because of the controversy about the symbol in some parts of the world, any depictions of the Manji are never used again in the franchise (or other works) by Nintendo.
* is known in the Japanese version as The Legend of Zelda: Triforce of the Gods (). During the Super NES era, Nintendo of America had an active policy against real-life religious references in video games (though the first two Zelda titles on NES had some anyway), so the title of the game was changed to for the international release. The game also showed Egyptian characters on the inscriptions to be translated by the Book of Mudora for the Hylian language, but were changed to smaller random symbols when the game was exported overseas, as well as Eastern Palace having a tile in one room closely resembling the Star of David, a symbol prominent to the Jewish and Judaism communities and the national flag of Israel, to a generic one. There is even an artwork of Link praying to a crucifix in the Sanctuary, which is referred to as a church in the Japanese version.
*, in the original Nintendo 64 version, had two major religious references: The Fire Temple's music sampled a group of men chanting an Islamic call-to-prayer. This was removed from later versions of the game by Nintendo because of the religious association. The name of 'Allah' can clearly be heard at one point. Another Arabic phrase that was translated was "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah". Some also took issue with the fact that the call-to-prayer was used as a component to music; during a call, all controllable sources of music or loud sound must be silenced, and not doing so is considered ignoring the call. The chanting was replaced by a MIDI sample of a choir similar to the Shadow Temple in later releases, ports, and remakes. Many fans believed the change was due to a public outcry, but it was actually due to Nintendo accidentally violated their own policy about religious content. Strangely, this Islamic chant was used in another Nintendo game known as Cruis'n World without issue.
*The second religious reference in was the Crest of the Gerudo, which was far more widespread as it appeared as a motif on several elements through the game, including blocks, switches, and the Mirror Shield. This symbol itself was similar, but not identical, to the Star and crescent symbol that is prominent in the Islam, the Muslim community in general, and several national flags in Asia. Some of the differences between the two symbols include: The Islamic version has a 5-point star, while the Gerudo version has 4 points; the Islamic crescent faces to the right, and is not as "complete" or "closed" as the Gerudo one, which faces to the left; and many Islamic crescents have the star deeper in it, not at the edge like the Gerudo version does. In any case, due to the religious meaning of the symbol, Nintendo edited it out in all of its spots in the game, with a single exception. The newer Gerudo symbol used since Majora's Mask has been a staple in modern revisions and ports of , including its remake.
*Another rather notorious issue is it features blood, which is prominent on Ganon. In the original v.1.0/v1.1 NTSC release, after his apparent defeat at the top of his lair as his human form Ganondorf, the villain coughs up red blood; after the Hero of Time stabs him with the Master Sword in his mouth for the finishing blow during the Final Boss battle as his actual demon form, blood drops fly as well, which had left a shocking impact on fans. In the v.1.2 and PAL versions, the color of the blood was changed to green and in Ocarina of Time 3D, the Blade's of Evil's Bane instead hits Ganon's forehead (much like some later games' final blows) to tone down the violence. However, stained red blood is still seen in Bottom of the Well and Shadow Temple in all N64 revisions and even the 3DS remake. Strangely, the blood does not affect the original version's Everyone ("E") rating by the ESRB, while Ocarina of Time 3D's censorship has it with the Everyone 10+ ("E10+), which is highly unusual, as games showing realistic colored blood normally requires at least a Teen ("T") rating. In any case, all other games in The Legend of Zelda series, or titles directly made by Nintendo in general, never feature blood during gameplay or cutscenes - and even if so as a shade of green it is kept to bare minimum, as the company itself has a strict policy against graphic violence in their games even with franchises that seemingly encourage it like Zelda or Metroid (though a few exceptions exist with ones developed by other companies but published by Nintendo, such as Kirby's Dream Land 3 and Killer Instinct).
*The Skull Kids seen in Ocarina of Time originally had black skin and thick orange lips. In the game's sequel as well as the 3DS remakes, the character's face has been changed into a wooden texture and his mouth is now a beak (although the Japanese version of Majora's Mask retained the original skin). This was because of an existing controversial stereotype commonly seen in the 19th and 20th centuries where someone uses burnt cork or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature among African American people known as blackface. It was changed by Nintendo to prevent a public outcry of racism. The company faced a similar issue in the Pokemon franchise around the same time with the original Red/Blue era Ice-type Pokemon Jynx, where its black skin was later changed to purple but its thick pink lips were left intact.
==Controversial changes within the games==
*, being the second installment in the Zelda series, was expected to retain the core elements of its predecessor, while still adding new ones. Instead, the game changed the gameplay completely, using elements of RPG and platform games, such as experience, jumps, life system, etc., similar in akin to the Castlevania series. For these reasons, the game is regarded as the black sheep of the series, and has remained one of the most polarizing and divisive entries so far.
*Before was revealed, it was believed that the game's visual style would be similar, or even superior, to the SpaceWorld 2000 GameCube Tech Demo that showed a brief fight between Link and Ganondorf in a dark chamber (with their models resembling what would become for Super Smash Bros. Melee). However, the demo was never meant to showcase an actual game, and was instead conceived with cel-shading graphics. The fan reaction was heavily mixed and, prior to the game's release and eventual critical acclaim, it was said that it would tarnish the series' reputation. In spite of this, however, some fans are still divided about the graphics that would appear in some later games such as The Minish Cap and Tri Force Heroes.
* was first revealed during the Game Developer's Conference in March 2009. When it was revealed that the game would evolve around train transportation, there were fan concerns about the seemingly high rate of technological advances in Hyrule, despite them taking place as early as in . Another concern was related to the restrictive nature of exploring the overworld with a train, compared to navigating through it on foot or with a more traditional means of transportation.
* has received controversy around the art style of the game shown at E3 2014 as it differed from the Zelda HD Experience tech demo shown at E3 2011. Unlike , the backlash was nowhere near as large as it was when the art style from contrasted SpaceWorld 2000 GameCube Tech Demo. For the most part fans were pleased with the art style, but a fair amount were disappointed. Similar to , controversy surrounding Zelda's setting and genre changing arose. At E3 2014, an octopus-like machine was firing beams at Link while he used a seemingly high tech bow and arrow to defend himself. This left some fans wondering if the genre of the series would still remain medieval fantasy. Eiji Aonuma confirmed that "Zelda Wii U" will not be more futuristic than previous games.
*Despite Mario Kart 8 of the Super Mario franchise's Mario Kart sub-series not being related to The Legend of Zelda series, Eiji Aonuma stated that he had interest in seeing the Master Cycle in core Zelda games. Fans interpreted this as Aonuma foreseeing future Zelda games becoming high tech or steampunk. Some fans welcomed the idea, while others were unhappy because they wanted the series to remain a medieval fantasy. Breath of the Wild features a very similar vehicle where Link can ride across the overworld at high speeds.
==Developer comments and demonstrations==
*In a 2009 conference in Spain, Eiji Aonuma had commented that had not aged very well, claiming that it had a slower presentation and outdated graphics, and that the subsequent games in the series were technically superior. This caused significant controversy among longtime fans of the series, who started arguing whether or not he was right. This was compounded by the fact that, in a previous 2008 interview with Nintendo Power, he had stated that he would keep working on the series until surpassing the aforementioned game on the Nintendo 64, which some claiming this won't be very easy, given its groundbreaking success, revolutionary impact, and even considered the greatest game ever made.
*When was revealed in E3 2010, Shigeru Miyamoto made a public demonstration of it during the conference. However, due to wireless interference, the controls did not respond very well, making Miyamoto realize unintended commands in the game. Though the journalists later managed to play the game better on the demo floor, the previous incident had arisen concerns regarding the effectiveness of using motion controls to play the game to the point that some fans asked for traditional controls instead, which has affected the expectations since.
==Longtime community debates==
*Sheik's gender. Due to the character's masculine appearance in , as well as Princess Ruto referring to "him" as a male person, it was thought by fans that Princess Zelda had undergone a gender change while hiding from Ganondorf during the seven-year skip. Even after and referred to the character as female (despite these games not being considered canon in the first place), and provided Sheik with a more feminine body, fans still debate over the character being male or female.
*Voice acting. After was revealed without full character speech, fans began debating whether or not future games should include voice acting. Detractors often cite the Phillips CD-i games as a reason not to feature this element in the games, whereas others point out that the varying dialogue options for in games such as give him several established personalities for the player to choose from, rather than him being a blank slate onto which the player can entirely project themselves. Breath of the Wild is the first in the series to feature significant voice acting, though himself still does not speak.
*Zelda Timeline. When Hyrule Historia was released in 2011, during the 25th anniversary of the franchise, due to Eiji Aonuma confirming the existence of multiple timeline branching from Ocarina of Time as well as various incarnations of Link, Princess Zelda, and even Ganon throughout all games, although it is generally accepted by fans, it was met with controversy, as some claim the chronological placement of the plots are confusing or complete nonsense, especially since older titles before The Wind Waker have no clear evidence of different versions of the main characters in their storylines or connected events to future titles (as classic games in the NES to N64 era according to the developers at the time were originally intended to be a single Link/Zelda at certain parts of their lives).
*Triforce's association as a Trinity. Since its depiction in Ocarina of Time, the ultimate source of power in the series created by the Golden Goddesses, the Triforce, due to its omnipotent ability and the shape of the golden symbol through three sacred triangles, have fans believe that it is based on the Holy Trinity from Christianity beliefs. The Triforce of Power, Wisdom, and Courage each are positioned identically to that of the respective Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit - each being God, and are part of the same divine source like that of the Trinity itself. However, it is likely the similarity between the Triforce and the Holy Trinity are merely a coincidence and wasn't intended to be religious by Nintendo, as according to Shigeru Miyamoto, during the development of The Legend of Zelda, the Triforce's fragments were originally planned to be electronic chips as the in-game setting was going to be set in the past and future before it was scrapped, and the symbol of the relic itself was actually inspired by the Hōjō clan, a Japanese samurai family who took over Japan during the 13th century and their own emblem was historically identical.
*Strongest Link. In the present time, The Legend of Zelda series community has been filled with harsh debates about which incarnation of the franchise's main protagonist is the most powerful, based on certain items, events of the games and even the character himself. While it is generally accepted by fans to be the Hero of Time - the Link from Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask, due to his iconic feats and having the infamous Fierce Deity's Mask, others believe it to be the Hero of Legend (A Link to the Past), Hero of Twilight (Twilight Princess), Hero of the Wild (Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom), or the Hero of the Sky (Skyward Sword), more often the former. In the case of the Link from the SNES title, due to a large misconception of Ganon possessing the power the full Triforce in the Final Boss battle (although it is revealed in-game and the instructional manual that he does not) as well as potentially wielding the Golden Sword, this had led to confusion and debates. A similar issue is found with the aforementioned two with the Hero of the Wild's special moves such as the Flurry Rush, his title as Champion, and defeating Ganon twice (something a few other Links already did), while the Hero of the Sky is confirmed to be the Legendary Hero himself according to Hyrule Historia, used the full Triforce at one point in Skyward Sword's storyline, and defeating Demise. The Hero of Twilight incarnation is known to perform powerful attacks such as the Hidden Skills and defeating Ganondorf with the Ending Blow, although these moves are technically by the Hero of Time - taught to his descendant in his Hero's Spirit form. As there is no direct answer by Nintendo to solve this debate, fans continue to argue which games' Link is the strongest.
*Ocarina of Time as the greatest game of all time. Since its release, Ocarina of Time is widely considered by the public to be not only the greatest The Legend of Zelda series title, but also the greatest video game ever created to this day, due to its unrivaled impact in the industry as a whole. However, being one of the older titles of the long-running franchise - as the fifth installment for the Nintendo 64 in 1998, some fans, especially ones who enjoyed the modern games, are rather divided about its position today, as when compared to later three-dimensional games (most of which reused its formula), in spite of its iconic story and praised music by Koji Kondo, the then-groundbreaking gameplay and graphics of Ocarina of Time appears outdated, even in its Nintendo 3DS remake released in 2011, and its great success possibly overshadowed the potential of future games until Breath of the Wild, causing them to claim this title to be overrated, which is supported by Eiji Anouma, the series' current director. Other critically acclaimed games in the franchise frequently debated by fans as the best Zelda game include A Link to the Past, Majora's Mask, The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword, Breath of the Wild, and Tears of the Kingdom, with the latter two ranking higher in modern ranking publications such as IGN. Outside the Zelda series, a few high-ranking examples rivaling Ocarina of Time's status exist such as Grand Theft Auto V, GoldenEye 007, Nintendo's own Super Mario 64, Super Mario Galaxy, and so forth. Despite this, however, in the cases of the aforementioned Zelda games, many (but not all) fans often expressed their preferred favorites based solely on the characters, the Final Boss battle and ending credits, and rarely how well the title was made altogether or their own level of impact (which is a common issue in the present era of the internet). Ocarina of Time remains the highest ranking game in Metacritic with a score of 99/100, while others close to its position in most official publications are generally games released in the 2010s, therefore indicating some aspects of the N64 title continued to age well.
== Gallery ==
File:TLoZ Book of Magic (JP).png|The Bible in the Japanese version of The Legend of Zelda
File:TAoL Gooma Fight.png|The contrasting gameplay of The Adventure of Link compared to The Legend of Zelda and later games was not praised among some fans
File:ALttP original Eastern Palace tile (Star of David).gif|The Star of David tile for the Eastern Palace in the Japanese version of A Link to the Past
File:LinkPraying.png|The rare artwork of Link praying to a crucifix from A Link to the Past
File:OoT Shadow Temple Room.jpg|Blood in the Shadow Temple from Ocarina of Time
File:OoT Ganon's Defeat.png|The brutal final blow of Ganon in the original release of Ocarina of Time, spewing red blood and being stabbed in the mouth
File:OoT blood censorship.jpg|The censorship of Ganon's blood in Ocarina of Time
File:SkullKid dance.gif|The Skull Kid's original appearance in Ocarina of Time
File:MK8 Link Master Cycle.png|Link riding the Master Cycle in Mario Kart 8 is what lead to the controversal Master Cycle Zero in BOTW
File:Japanese Updated Timeline.png|The controversial timeline of the Zelda series as of 2016
File:Link and Ganondorf Fight SW2000.png|The SpaceWorld 2000 GameCube Tech Demo, which had led many to believe the first Zelda game on Gamecube was going to be based on this graphics prior to The Wind Waker's release