Nazi Swatica Symbol In GBA Zelda

[GrizzLee]

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

[Kialan]

I'd love to see a pic if you can scan it.

[Nukey Shay]

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.

[Nukey Shay]

Swastika lineage...

http://www.iearn.org/hgp/aeti/aeti-1997/swastika.html

[Kialan]

Yeah, it actually used to be a good symbol until Hitler reversed it and now it is a symbol of hate.

[Nukey Shay]

I hate Japanese Nazis

[Susuwatari]

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.

[joshua]

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.

[Nukey Shay]

Spring-time...for Hit-ler...and Ger-man-y!

[Bushie2600]

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.

[liquid_sky]

Don't be stupid, be a smarty, come and join the Nazi party.

[StanJr]

it was called a "manji" in the original Zelda game, I believe.

 

Damn Nazis.

[The Eidolon]

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

[cimerians]

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.

[tantone56]

Don't be stupid' date=' be a smarty, come and join the Nazi party.[/quote']

[Great Hierophant]

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.

[Saikyo]

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!

[Albert]

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

[tantone56]

I wonder what they think about the game in germany?

[JerseyDevil]

American Indians used the swastika also, turned the same way as the Nazi symbol. There are many Indian artifacts with swastikas on them.

[herr professor]

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!

[Trip_Cannon]

Wasn't Gannon from Legend of Zelda part one a Jew?

[Paralistalon]

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.

[SwedenLynxer]

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.

[Brad2600]

Don't be stupid, be a smarty, come and join the Nazi party.

 

Hey, it worked for Zaxxon!