*This is the Kingdom of Zeal theme from Chrono Trigger, it flows well while reading this article*
Today’s world is full of information, technology and wealth. Everyday people are coming out of poverty and gaining power over their own lives, instead of relying on others. Majority of people still live in extreme hardship though, but every year that number is getting smaller. With that, comes the belittling of God and not wanting to look to Him as our source, instead looking inside ourselves for answers.
This reminded me of an ancient kingdom called Zeal, in the famed RPG Chrono Trigger. This was the first game I wrote about here at Beneath The Tangles, and the main character Crono is even my avatar for my writings. If you’ve never played it, I will give you some background on the Kingdom of Zeal in particular. When you make it to this era in the game (you use a flying machine called an Epoch to time travel) you see nothing but a cold, barren wasteland. Upon using a teleporter, you are taken to a beautiful floating island in the sky, full of magnificent structures, magic, libraries and people who think they are the wisest beings on the Earth. Not only do they believe they are the most powerful, but they look down on anyone else that is not part of their elite country.
As you visit each room and talk to more people, you find out about the Mammon Machine. This contraption was created to gain the life force of Lavos, the main enemy of the game, and use it to conquer the world. Lavos is nothing but a parasitic life form that came from space and burrowed into the ground, slowly draining the planet of energy to one day emerge and destroy most of humanity. Queen Zeal, ruler of the Kingdom of Zeal, is the head of this plot and she will not allow anyone to stop her, even Crono and his party. Interestingly enough, there is even a mysterious Prophet who shows up with great power to assist her, when in fact he’s just waiting for the right moment to strike her down.
For Queen Zeal, Lavos is something of a god who needs to be used to meet her ends (world domination). Her lust for power was driven by her ego, which came from having everything the world could offer. I mean, come on, they have a nation that floats in the sky and use magic to live their daily lives. The people who are left below are impoverished with little to no education. It reminded me of how the world is today, for those of us who have so many blessings from God oftentimes don’t even acknowledge Him.
James 1:17 Amplified Bible (AMP)
17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of lights [the Creator and Sustainer of the heavens], in whom there is no variation [no rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [for He is perfect and never changes].
Just because we went to school, are very smart, have money, belongings, cars, houses or influential positions doesn’t mean that we don’t need God, nor does it mean we should be looking down on others. The more we have, on the contrary, the more we are commanded to bless others. God doesn’t give you so much so you can store it all up, instead be gracious and kind to those that don’t have or know what you know (Luke 12:16-21). It’s not about just giving everything you have to a charity, it’s about the little things that you do on a daily basis.
The next time someone asks you for help to fix a problem, an ear to listen to them, prayer, or any other kind of help, think about how much God has given you and be sure you do your best to give back.
1 John 4:7 Amplified Bible (AMP)
7 Beloved, let us [unselfishly] love and seek the best for one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves [others] is born of God and knows God [through personal experience].
*There are spoilers for the game, but this will show you what happened between Queen Zeal and the heroes.*
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Ahh, Zeal, the Mammon Machine, Chrono Trigger . . . Such a timeless adventure. I enjoyed the points you brought up in this little analysis. Had the people of Zeal (and their Queen) been more respectful and generous to the rest of the world, rather than secluding themselves in an artificial Heaven of sorts by feeding off of an apocalyptic “bug,” then maybe the catastrophe that unfolded would have ceased to exist, and Schala wouldn’t have paid such a price.
Hey Takuto, thanks for the comment! Yes, such a great game, I can write so much on it but I don’t want to bore my readers on just one game.
Yes, very true and good way of breaking that down. Yeah, to me it made me think of hat Matt Damon movie that came out, Elysium a few years back, where they are all in this big city while the rest of he workd suffers.
Ahh poor Schala….everything that Zeal did is why they even made Chrono Cross, the sequel. Without her, there would be no need for the second game.
Hmm, that sounds interesting, I remember Elysium though!
And yes, poor Schala 🙁 I, however, unlike many involved with the franchise, enjoyed Chrono Cross a good deal. I’ll admit I had a ridiculously hard time plugging in points and references, but that was part of the pleasure. Seeing where everything fit and was meant to end, albeit a bit of a stretch, was worth it for me.
Yes, I personally didn’t like what they did to the original characters, and the gameplay was so different, but it was a true sequel unlike many believe. Its a great game in my opinion, beat it several times over.
The false Heaven, again. A parasitic paradise literally feeding off the life force of the world, while those who live in it willfully believe that they are the smartest and wisest people to exist and choose to be ignorant. They often appear to lack free will or have for unclear reasons decided to discard it as irrelevant. The place comes across quite often as fascist or otherwise ruled by a dictator.
…I have seen some form of this idea enough times (Danganrompa 2, The Mirror of Erised sort of, Black Butler actually!, the end of a game that was featured on this very blog, Pendragon, both Mirrormask and Labyrinth for a few examples) and in so many contexts, all of which have next to nothing to do with one another. Then in fact there is the very being that resides with me, who has been fairly blunt about what his intentions are, and they have a lot to do with this creepy, controlling meme of an idea.
I’m not a Christian, and I don’t know if something like correct morality or ultimate Truth exists. But I’m inclined because of things like this to believe that there are spirits living with us in this world of ours, and they are VERY interested in our free will and choices, and that there is something more going on than just our boring lives and 9-5 jobs.
And that perhaps the happiness that exists in indolence, without reflection and wisdom and willing choice, indulging just in family and the empty pleasures this world has to offer…is every bit as evil as wicked actions for wicked ends.
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