Why there are So Many Environmental Themes in Nintendo Games

[@SaveDataTeam]

Can you think of examples of Environmentalism in Nintendo games that we missed? Tell us down below! Check us out on all these platforms: Discord: discord.gg/kt9AJtp Patreon: Patreon.com/savedatateam Twitch: Twitch.tv/savedatateam Instagram: Instagram.com/savedatateam Twitter: Twitter.com/savedatateam Facebook: Facebook.com/savedatateam

[@marcoscampos7398]

I never realized that lots of Nintendo games have environmentalism as background theme. After watching the video I thought about Zoness in Starfox. You don't really clean the planet, but it makes you think about pollution and its impact on the environment. And I just realized that Metroid Prime's entire plot is based on environmentalism too! (the whole plot is pretty much how Phazon pollution affects galaxies). Nice video as always!

[@SaveDataTeam]

Ooh, I totally forgot about Starfox (just like Nintendo, lol). And yeah the space pirates are totally an example of technology taken to an extreme without balance.

[@les5503]

This is really fascinating stuff. As someone living in Japan now and working in Japanese schools, I can tell you that a lot of the Shinto beliefs referenced here and honestly just seeped into all of Japanese culture, whether or not the people know that they are Shinto. One of my co-workers visited America once and was asked what her religion was and she didn't have a clear answer for them, so she just said "I'm Buddhist I guess?" But the same person would have no problem going to visit a Shinto shrine and praying there. My elementary school students didn't even know there was a difference between the two, I think they might learn about the differences in middle school. And a lot of the younger kids have never even heard of western religions like Christianity. Because it just doesn't have that much influence on their lives. The principles of both Buddhist and Shinto beliefs have become really intertwined in modern Japan, in my observation. And environmentalism, despite its ancient roots in Shintoism, is a much more urgent problem now than it ever was, and I see it everywhere. Even the English textbooks have units in which the content of the readings has a pretty obvious environmental message, such as pollution of the Amazon, or problems in the recycling system. Environmentalism and Shintoism are so baked into Japanese culture that honestly it would be kind of difficult to avoid putting it in their video games.

[@SaveDataTeam]

Yeah, honestly I would have loved to do a deep dive into Shintoism in this video, but the scope of it kind of seemed to go way beyond my original scope 😅 It’s amazing how conscientious of the environment people in Japan are, when I visited I was so struck by how beautiful and clean everything was!

[@fluffynator6222]

Out of interest: Since Japan is politically very right wing conservative (as far as I've been told) but their population seems to be very concerned with the well-being of nature, is climate change a non-partisan issue there?

[@les5503]

@@fluffynator6222 from my perspective as a foreigner with only intermediate Japanese skills, it does seem true that environmental considerations aren’t really considered political like they are in my home country (America). And I wouldn’t really classify Japan as “right-wing conservative” because that has a very different connotation in the west (and I’m from Texas, I know plenty of right-wingers!) What I have heard from a Japanese person is that there is really only one dominant political party for major elections. I haven’t done a whole lot of research on what exactly they promote, but having lived in their culture for over two years now, I can say that the overall vibe is conservative, but a very different kind of conservative than in America. For example, they are still behind in gay marriage and trans healthcare, but despite that, there is still education about LGBT+ identities in school, I believe with the intention of improving the mental health of LGBT+ youth and reducing bullying. And there is so much more of an emphasis on community well-being over individual rights, as evidenced bu the very little resistance overall to mask mandates and lockdowns (in comparison to America). I can see some similarities to western conservatism, like misogyny in the workplace (I’m female and have experienced it first-hand) but overall the flavor of the conservatism is soooo different. I feel like that was a very rambly answer but I hope that somewhat answered your question lol.

[@les5503]

@@SaveDataTeam If you visited a big city, you probably saw some really cool examples of urban environmentalism! I live in the boonies, so I get to see the country version, which is just tons of rice fields everywhere and forested mountains that are untouched except for roads and the occasional cell tower. I’ve literally seen monkeys and tanukis cross the road in front of my car while driving IN TOWN. Genuinely feel at one with nature sometimes lol

[@VicodinElmo]

I spent 3 years in Sakaiminato and visited twice more in 2018 and 2019. While I loved my time in Japan, I have to say I didn’t find environmental consciousness to be as baked in as your comment suggests. Yes, there is a fixation on environmental beauty and preservation, certainly, but I do feel this is slightly superficial. There are some wins; for example, they have a robust recycling scheme (or at least my prefecture did) but it’s well established that reduction and reuse is preferable to recycling in terms of environmental impact. Good recycling schemes can only take you so far unless you have a similar amount of effort allocated towards reduction (which Japan doesn’t!) You only have to look at their excessive packaging to come to this conclusion. The Japanese also have a tendency to slap an excessive amount of concrete on otherwise beautiful landscapes. They also love to demolish and rebuild every 30-40 years, which I was always told was because of the preference for people to live in newer houses. Then there’s the widely criticised withdrawal from the International Whaling Commission. Never mind the fact that, even before Fukushima, they still had a +80% dependency on fossil fuels. I’m not saying any other countries can claim wonderful comparative figures but few other countries place such significant emphasis on environmentalism within their media…so it feels, dare I say, slightly hypocritical?

[@MakeItAme]

This was really nice and in-depth with those translations of Pikmin enemies. Keep going strong!

[@SaveDataTeam]

Thanks! 😁

[@linkthepig4219]

Probably one of the reasons I love Ocarina of Time so much is because of it's interesting themes about the environment and nature. It's really grim to see how much the world changes once Link grows up and Ganondorf takes over. Hyrule really seems polluted in a sense, and the stakes are raised so much. It starts with the death of the Great Deku Tree, and sort of spreads as time goes on, inflicting King Dodongo and Lord Jabu-Jabu. When Ganon becomes king, the entire Kokiri forest has less life, Lake Hylia is dried up, Volvagia, who in the manga was once a kind creature, becomes blinded by anger, and ghost enemies roam Hyrule Field. The more I think about it the more I realise how much environmentalism is put into this game lol.

[@SaveDataTeam]

It’s crazy! I remember having the idea based off Pikmin, but upon researching a lot of other games, there are tons of environmental themes all over Nintendo games (and Japanese games in general!)

[@linkthepig4219]

@@SaveDataTeam Yeah I mean shinto beliefs really show up in a lot of Japanese games, once you notice it it's easy to find it in lots of Japanese media.

[@DancingGamerPenguin]

About pikmin koppai is not the planet where olimar is from i believ he is from the planet Hocatate. But a very nice video nonetheless!!

[@SaveDataTeam]

You’re right, Koppai is where the three player characters from Pikmin 3 are from, but not Olimar and Louie. That was a mistake on my part! I just assumed they were all from the same planet!

[@RobSeib]

@@SaveDataTeam Koppai and Hoccotate both got big probs with resource management

[@BlueLunarWater]

Not to be an "Um, Actually" guy, but I think this nitpick kind of helps the message: Olimar's home planet shown in Pikmin 2 is Hocotate, not Koppai. Louie & the President are from there too, and the three pilots from Pikmin 3 - Alph, Brittany & Charlie - are from Koppai. This leads to some interesting differences and similarities - the Koppaites disparagingly describe the Hocotatians as "vegetable eaters", while Koppaite biology suggests they don't have a hunger response, which is how they managed to get Koppai into an unsustainable state - Alph even compares a(n image of a) desert on PNF-404 to the landscape of Koppai, showing that Hocotate isn't the only place undergoing an environmental disaster so bad that they're getting to desertification levels. And with Hocotate Freight being an interstellar shipping company that transports vegetables (that Koppaites don't eat, hence the comment), it shows that they're expansionist, too!

[@corruptedteka]

I wasn't gonna comment but this video is CRIMINALLY underviewed so I will ! Great one ! I'd love to see more like this.

[@SaveDataTeam]

Thank you very much!

[@emilio9821]

The initial literary approach and the overall research are greatly appreciated. Great video essay. Thank you!

[@MumboMod]

Great as always :) Mother 3 is also very overt with its man vs machine themes

[@SaveDataTeam]

I’m so embarrassed I didn’t think of mother 3!! I loved that game when I got to play the fan translation. And yeah it really wears it’s environmentalism theme on it’s sleeve.

[@CephalonHQ_]

This was extremely interesting; I really enjoy these videos alongside things like the Pokémon Emerald nuzlocke and the Ace Attorney series! (Both of which are also excellent.) One thing; Buddhism stresses 'rebirth', whereas 'reincarnation' is more of a Hindu belief; this is because, in Buddhism, there is no soul as such ('Anatta'), so there's little to tie one to a previous lifetime. Hope I'm giving something back to complement all of the stuff that you've taught me in this video!

[@SaveDataTeam]

No you’re totally right! The use of “reincarnation” was a poor choice of words on my part! I did want to flesh it out more, because I was finding a lot more Buddhist references in Nintendo games while doing research, but I didn’t want to take away from the main point I was trying to make about Shintoism 😅

[@CephalonHQ_]

@@SaveDataTeam Just noticed another reference to Buddhism while playing BOTW! If you look at the Hyrule Compendium entry for the Lord of the Mountain, it says that it has another name, 'satori', which is a spontaneous realisation of 'Buddha nature' in Zen tradition.

[@SaveDataTeam]

@@CephalonHQ_ ahh, super cool!

[@KwehShiro]

this is the reason (well one of the reason) why i love Nintendo and Japan in general.

[@pingastheidiot903]

This channel is by far one of the best I found and I have been on KZbin since I was born you deserve way way more subs and views

[@SaveDataTeam]

Thank you so much! 😅

[@pingastheidiot903]

@@SaveDataTeam np man

[@theweasly]

Here is a comment for the algorithm. Cool video mate, keep it up.

[@SaveDataTeam]

Thank you!! 😁

[@cemmy410]

What's the song playing around 4:30, during the discussion of Shinto? I know that I know it but I can't place it 😅

[@cemmy410]

It's the BOTW main theme 🤦‍♀️

[@parusastringent7073]

The Zelda series cleary is one of the reason why I put so much interest in my environment, to studying it and even working in it. I think that talking about how those thematics in Nintendo games are subtle in part because of shintoism is important. Cause, those thing will in return influence us in a subtle way. Influence our morality, our philosphy, or culture and imagination. This is a good perspective to ecology awareness. In a way, there is a good chance that every fan of Zelda has a little part of shintoism in their way to see nature. This is a good way to raise awareness to people without teaching them too. This, in a way, is a proof that ecology shouldn't only try to raise awareness through knowledge, but simply by proposing new way to imagine the world. I think this would be more effective. Rather than some type of too evident kid show that yell in your face how environment is important.

[@AntonHellsten]

Great video!! I love your style and the way you analyze and resonate about this stuff. I also love the way you structure your research and how you style your “essays”! Keep it up! Hope you get the recognition you deserve, you seem to be doing good!! 🤩😊😊 I really love the way you relate old cultures, scripts, folklore and religion with Nintendo games!! This kind of video is exactly what I want to do with my life!! Thank you for inspiring me in a way. Would lobe to se more! 🤩🥰

[@SaveDataTeam]

Thank you! Yeah, since I started the Zelda music/dungeon analysis series, it's become a bit of a hobby of mine to dig deeper into stuff behind the design choices in games, and it's cool to find that there is often way more thought put into games than at a first glance! And it's really humbling to know my work could inspire someone! 😅

[@AntonHellsten]

@@SaveDataTeam Digging deeper always gives more perpective and therefore enlightens the self. Every work of art can be analyzed ad nauseam (in a good way). Keep doing what inspires you!

[@PrivateLZG]

Just. Great. I love these analizing and theory Videos... And your channel over all!

[@SaveDataTeam]

Thank you very much! 😁

[@LokeSandwall]

Great video and I am so happy Pikmin got mentioned! Are more Zelda dungeon design and music analyses in the works?

[@SaveDataTeam]

Yes! Currently working on a video for the ocarina songs, but it might be a bit, just getting caught up with life stuff atm 😰

[@LokeSandwall]

@@SaveDataTeam Wonderful! I am already looking forward to receive the notification for the video! Don’t worry, I can imagine it takes a lot of time, especially when they are as well made as they are!

[@corhydrae3238]

It's not Nintendo, but the Tales of series by Namco has a recurring theme that is kinda related. Lots of the games feature some kind of technology that is very powerful but also dangerous and detrimental to the planet itself. I never thought about it as a general message of environmentalism. It always seemed to me like just a very on-the-nose metaphor for nuclear power.

[@ast.4049]

Great Video!

[@SaveDataTeam]

Thanks!

[@rhettmitchell]

Xenoblade 1 is also entirely kicked off by the whole man vs. machine thing, but idk how much of that could be environmentalism

[@TheCrawl]

Loved this one!

[@SaveDataTeam]

Thanks!

[@ethansnopo8891]

This is just a suggestion, but have you ever thought of splitting up the gaming and analysis video between two channels. Its just it is very different content and some may not want to subscribe if there inbox is blown up by a video type that may not like.

[@SaveDataTeam]

We did that before and the smaller channel just languished as far as views go. That being said, we are producing way more content now than before, so it’s definitely something to think about.

[@chickenskink1]

this looks interesting! can't wait!

[@SaveDataTeam]

Get hyped! 🙌😅

[@LittleAl016]

Olimar's planet is Hocatate, not Koppai. Koppai's a separate planet.

[@BernardoPatino]

love this video

[@SaveDataTeam]

Thank you! 😀

[@jackbutler-]

HYPE⚡

[@Abanir]

Analyze Zora's domain theme please!!!!!

[@devforfun5618]

there was that time samus exterminated an entire species which made another more dangerous species of parasites grow out of control

[@whocaresitsaNameSgotu]

astral obsevatory is the best

[@baalfgames5318]

There's a lot of anti-environmentalism in Nintendo, though. 1: Pokemon was constantly portraying environmentalists as nutjobs. 2: Kirby and the Forgotten Land has Kirby Team up with nature... halfway through the game after destroying nature and beating it into submission. 3: Kid Icarus Uprising literally implies that it's okay for humans to destroy the environment, and that we should simply let ourselves do so. 4: Even WORSE! Splatoon 3 straight up implies that nature is horrible, and it should be wiped out because nature gets in the way of "progress." I swear, my friends won't shut up about this god-awful game, and it infuriates me to see so much praise for this and other games that have such an irredemable message to them.

[@SaveDataTeam]

I don't mean this argumentatively, but I'm not sure you understood the messages/themes of these games.

[@baalfgames5318]

@@SaveDataTeam Nah. It's pretty clear. People who care about nature are idiots, the environment is insignificant and gets in the way of "progress."

[@SaveDataTeam]

If we’re talking about Splatoon, the people who only cared for progress literally died because of it?

[@baalfgames5318]

@Save Data You mean like the Inklings, which are literally humans that the game is desperately trying to pass off as something completely different, yet refused to actually design them to be squids or ANYTHING besides humans because it wasn't "Marketable." So instead of actual squids or sea creatures, the Inklings are humans with tentacles for hair that can shapeshift. There is no logic behind them being humans. They're humans because it's "relatable and marketable." Also, Grizz is SUPPOSED to represent mammals trying to come back. If that's the case, then GRIZZ should have been the human and NOT what was supposed to be sea creatures. Also, GRIZZ was fighting AGAINST "progress," which is something that right-wing anti-environmentalists are frequently pushing for. Either the creators didn't think about their abominable implications, or they ACTIVELY support that kind of mindset. But, no. "Relatable and Marketable hoomans" are more important than making sure you avoid nihilistic implications.

[@ForensicBec]

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