GrizzLee Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 I had to do a dble take tonight when I was reading "The Legend of Zelda" Manual for the GBA. Page 19 of the manual has what appears to be an intential overprint of the Swastica symbol. I played this game in college and I don't recall this being anywhere inthe game. Needless to say, I am going to take it to Big N's hdqtrs on monday and point his out. I find this rather offensive in a kids game. This normally wouldn't bother me, but coming from a Nintendo published game, I find it distrubing and unusual. Someone in their Q&A dept must have been asleep. Regards, -Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kialan Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 I'd love to see a pic if you can scan it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 Actually, the symbol is believed to have originated with the Hindus. Can you post a scan of the offending picture? It might have been tried to be presented in a different context than what is assumed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 Swastika lineage... http://www.iearn.org/hgp/aeti/aeti-1997/swastika.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kialan Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 Yeah, it actually used to be a good symbol until Hitler reversed it and now it is a symbol of hate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 I hate Japanese Nazis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susuwatari Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 Actually it's not swastika (which symbolizes Nazi nowday) but a mirror image of it that meant good thing in Japanese. I can't recall what it is called. It is NOT swastika as some people would think. PS yes, this same image appeared in original Zelda manual and in the game as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshua Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 Actually it's not swastika (which symbolizes Nazi nowday) but a mirror image of it that meant good thing in Japanese. I can't recall what it is called. It is NOT swastika as some people would think. PS yes' date=' this same image appeared in original Zelda manual and in the game as well.[/quote'] it's called the "wheel of life" in that direction, and is a symbol of all life moving forward together in harmony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 Spring-time...for Hit-ler...and Ger-man-y! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bushie2600 Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 Spring-time...for Hit-ler...and Ger-man-y! LMAO Come on now Nukey, the kids aren't gonna get this one, without a quote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liquid_sky Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 Don't be stupid, be a smarty, come and join the Nazi party. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 it was called a "manji" in the original Zelda game, I believe. Damn Nazis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Eidolon Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 One of the dungeons in the original Zelda was the "manji" shape. The swastika and inverted swastika are not uncommon symbols in Japan. For example, on maps, the manji symbol is often used to note the site of a Buddhist symbol. I was surprised a few years back to see a sparring event at a Japanese school. The uniforms all had the swastika symbol as part of the design on them. I now know that this is a common symbol in Shorinji Kenpo uniforms. Since the symbol long predates Hitler and is associated with Buddhism, Japan never seems to have felt a collective need to purge it from its iconography. Given Japan's alliance with Hitler's Germany during World War II, this will seem odd and insensitive to the least to Westerners. But as a matter of intent, if you see a swastika-like symbol on an item of Japanese origin, the odds are extremely high that it was not included to evoke or promote Naziism. FGor good or bad, most Japanese simply do not have the same associations to the symbol as we do. --The Eidolon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cimerians Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 But as a matter of intent, if you see a swastika-like symbol on an item of Japanese origin, the odds are extremely high that it was not included to evoke or promote Naziism. FGor good or bad, most Japanese simply do not have the same associations to the symbol as we do. Exactly right. Another point to repeat is that the symbol predates Hitlers warped version of it by hundreds of years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tantone56 Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 Don't be stupid' date=' be a smarty, come and join the Nazi party.[/quote'] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great Hierophant Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 Also, it is important to note that this so-called swastika looks quite different from the Nazi swastika. The Nazi swastika's bars turn in a clockwise direction, Zelda's manji turns counter-clockwise. A proper Nazi swastika should be at a 45 degree angle, not flat as the Zelda swastika. Fortunately, to its credit Nintendo released The Legend of Zelda without changing the layout of the dungeon twice during the NES years and ported it to both the Gamecube and Gameboy Advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saikyo Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 This is an interesting subject, Lee was confused by a symbol that isn't what he thought it was. But say for instance if IT WAS a swastika, the game would have never been released over outside of Japan, and the whole zelda series would have been unheard of. There are other instances similar to this, for example many strange Japanese titles that say. Include religious symbols, gods and chanting or words of speech that is classed as offensive beyond the boundaries of Japan, that have not and will not get released overseas. In fact I'm surprised how Nintendo even managed to get the game released, especially when other games that have got something like a pentagram (Which is less offensive) the pentagram has to be changed or removed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 Very interesting about that symbol. Had I seen it in the Zelda manual, I also would have wondered why they chose to use it. It never really would have dawned on me that drawing it clockwise versus counter-clockwise makes a difference. So I can see how people can easily mistake it for a swastika. I wonder if the games were released in Germany like this? ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tantone56 Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 I wonder what they think about the game in germany? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerseyDevil Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 American Indians used the swastika also, turned the same way as the Nazi symbol. There are many Indian artifacts with swastikas on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herr professor Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 American Indians used the swastika also' date=' turned the same way as the Nazi symbol. There are many Indian artifacts with swastikas on them.[/quote'] Those RASCIST bastards! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip_Cannon Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 Wasn't Gannon from Legend of Zelda part one a Jew? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paralistalon Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 I remember parents got angry because there was that swastika symbol on a Pokemon card. Of course, our store had to be sympathetic with them so they'd keep buying those overpriced packs of cocaine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedenLynxer Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 The swastika is also known in Finland. It's been used there in a lot different ways. Before the end of WWII the finnish air force used a blue swastika on their planes. And still the president of Finland use a swastika in his flag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad2600 Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 Don't be stupid, be a smarty, come and join the Nazi party. Hey, it worked for Zaxxon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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