It turns out that Vah Ruta isn't the only elephant to be found when it comes to The Legend of Zelda. It just so happens that House Republicans have taken an interest in the beloved Nintendo franchise, after the House GOP made a reference to The Legend of Zelda in a blog post about tax reform.
In the post, entitled 'What Do The Legend of Zelda and the American Tax Code Have In Common?', the Republican Party compared the release date of the original The Legend of Zelda to American tax code reform. "The action-adventure game was released in 1986, only one year after Nintendo [sic] was released in North America," stated the blog post. "And you know what else was released in 1986? Yeah, you do. The last major reform to the American tax code was signed into law in 1986."
The post continues to explain that the Republican Party is planning to tackle tax reform this fall, with House Republicans spearheading the project. It's certainly something of an odd choice for an analogy, though, given the ongoing success of The Legend of Zelda as a franchise.
Unfortunately, muddled metaphors aside, this post from the Republicans is not going to be remembered for the reasons the House GOP would necessarily want. The first attempt at the blog post was riddled with factual errors, suggesting that Nintendo was founded in 1985 and that The Legend of Zelda was Nintendo's best-selling franchise. The post caused quite a lot of mirth among Nintendo fans, before the GOP took down the original post, replacing it with an updated version with a rather awkward disclaimer at the beginning admitting the errors.
This is far from the only time that politics and video games have intertwined of course, whether it's those politically-focused video games or the ongoing debate about violence in gaming. However, it's unlikely that this is going to be remembered as one of the most successful combinations of politics and gaming.
Instead, it just acts as another example of politicians perhaps not getting to grips with video gaming as a whole. That said, it's likely that the Republicans are happier being the butt of this kind of joke, rather than that of a Donald Trump Hitman level or a special Surgeon Simulator expansion. Here's hoping that the next time this kind of reference is made, it's made with a little bit more care and attention.
Source: House Republicans