The Legend of Zelda, America Censored

 

 


The original Legend of Zelda title on the NES/Famicom has minor differences between the Japanese and American versions.


In 1988, Nintendo of America had a censorship policy to remove "religious" symbols and content out of their video games to avoid offending certain groups.  I find this policy to be both good and bad, and with the change in direction of the series over these last few generations, I would not mind its implementation today.

This "no religious content" policy began to phase out entirely going through the N64 era, however, you still see minor censorship such as the Islamic-sounding chanting removed from later cartridges of The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time.

In the original NES Legend of Zelda there was a book Link used in his quest: a "Holy Bible," but it was changed into a "Book of Magic" in the NES English translation.  Some of these changes seem silly and unnecessary, however, some of us miss these old policies as the newer Legend of Zelda titles unnecessarily abundantly focus on "gods/goddesses" in their stories/lore.

The original Legend of Zelda titles give a medieval yet magical vibe full of knights, swords, and adventure while the newer Zelda titles push a lore-based fantasy theme that feels foreign to some classic players.  My interest in the series honestly decreased most after playing Skyward Sword; I primarily play classic Legend of Zelda titles this current day and work on fan projects.

Islamic Chanting in Ocarina of Time fire temple:

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