Commandments in the Media: Volume 5

"Believe in your strengths...Believe..." Happy Mask Salesman

"Be thankful our moon isn't trying to kill us."

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Sometimes I think that out of all of the media in the world, video-games often get the short end of the stick. They are often pointed out as an inferior art form, a dangerous time-waster, and medium for experimenting with illegal or violent actions. In many cases, these are valid concerns. However, to be completely fair, these concerns can really be extended to all forms of media.

As I thought about what would make a good addition to Commandments in the Media, my thoughts were drawn to one of my favorite games of all time. I am thinking of the abstract video-game classic, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.

The Commandments in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Something that makes finding the commandments in video-games different from finding them in movies or books is that video-games can have different rules for how the fictional world works. This can be obviously bad. However, whenever the mechanics of the game revolve around the commandments themselves, this can create a very positive, uplifting experience. That is why Majora's Mask is the first video-game to get a post. The central goal of the game is to save and improve people's lives! Majora's Mask takes place in the very dark world of Termina. The main villain is the Skull Kid, a childish imp who is determined to crush Termina with the moon as a cruel joke. Even if Termina wasn't already doomed to destruction, its inhabitants are lost and miserable people. That's where you come in. Through acts of service like tending to the wounded,  finding lost children, protecting the innocent, and even visiting the lonely, you slowly make Termina a better place. Your final goal may be the most noble of all, to give the people of Termina a future.

One of the first areas you explore is the Deku Swamp. In the swamp, you discover both a forest of intelligent apes and the secluded kingdom of the deku, a race of plant people. You quickly discover that one of the apes has been imprisoned for poisoning the swamp. It becomes obvious early on that that this accusation was founded on racial tension rather than actual evidence. Instead of resolving the problem, this false accusation drives a wedge in between the only two parties who could actually solve the problem. This situation would be laughable if it wasn't completely true to life. Sometimes, instead of acknowledging our problems, we point fingers and look for someone else to solve the problem. This behaviors wastes valuable time, of which we have so little in this life, and often makes it more difficult for us to be able to overcome difficulties.

One of the most desperate areas in the game is the eastward oriented land of Ikana. During your early exploration, Ikana seems like nothing more than a desert wasteland. However, as your exploration deepens, you discover the ancient ruins of a destroyed civilization and the sin that lead to their destruction, Idolatry. The people of Ikana turned away from their (fictional) God, preferring their own ways and ideas. They built the Stone Tower (of Babel) and indulged in blasphemy and evil ritual. The result was the destruction of Ikana and the creation of the evil threatening Termina. Remember this land! Like them and like the Israelites, if we turn our backs on the true and living God, we turn our backs on our only hope for salvation.