Heraldry reached a permanent and eternal height in the video game universe with the release of Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda -1987. The game stands out as the best of the best games from the 8 bit era.
It is set in the fanciful European middle ages of dragons, wizards, and monsters.
The game came in a box that features a heraldic shield quartered via a skinny cross. Each quadrant has different symbols. The lower port quarter features a heart while the lower starboard features a lion on one leg with reminder in attack stance. The upper starboard quarter features a key on an angle with the locking tip nearer the corner.
Finally the most unique part the upper starboard corner - which is typically the canton section. It features golden stripes. The neat part is, that the gold stripes are actually the outer grip ridging painted in gold.
Original Game Cartridge with Gold Paint
notice the missing piece on the sticker is a heart
Here is the original game. The gold stripes are actually the gripping end of the game cart. The shield of arms are repeated but notice another heart replaces the golden stripes.
Screen Shot from the Game
Link's Shield of Arms is gold cross
In the game Link's shield of arms is a golden cross on brown. It is able to defend against most enemy attacks like arrows and rocks.
Comic Strip with Shield of Arms
The Legend of Zelda 1987
In the instruction booklet that came with the game a drawing shows Link with his shield of arms but the cross is red and the shield has bronze colour.
Close up of Original Shield
The Legend of Zelda 1987
A cross serves at the original shield of arms for link. It's Christian connotation is no accident. Originally one of the level up items was originally called the 'BIBLE' in Japan, but in the American Market they changed its name to 'MAGIC BOOK.' Watch the video below to see the original 'Zelda BIBLE.'
Game Review of Original Japanese Disc Version of Zelda 1986
No comments:
Post a Comment