Greetings and salutations, my fellow GSFFA goers. I have a bit of less than pleasant news to share with you. That’s right, someone has made me, and Midnight for that matter, quite pissed off. Yes, you read it right. We’re both about as angry as bears right now. You know why? Because a couple of people here at our very own Archive think that we are complete idiots. Yes, that’s right, boys and girls. We’ve had our first case of plagiarism! I think this calls for a celebration.
Midnight and I have decided that in addition to the punishment we are giving to the offenders, that we will also not keep this a secret from the rest of the community. First, we will provide you with story submitted to us in a link offsite. Read it carefully.
Now then… read this, from the instruction manual of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.
Sound familiar? Just a bit? Pay close attention to the phrasing and wording under The Creation of Hyrule and Gates to the Golden Land, then go back and re-read what was submitted to us. As you can see, even the word choice is markedly similar, going so far as using similar phrases. Not only that, but the creation myth that Sol used to undertake the making of the world sounds nearly identical to the description given by the Great Deku Tree of the three Goddesses, Din, Nayru, and Farore in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Not only that, but another story they published has marked similarities to Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings.
In addition to the story simply being called Shadow Wars, we have a dark lord who seals part of his immortal soul into a sword, effectively making him immortal should he be struck down physically. Though the author cites this as based on “The Witch King” or the leader of the Nazghul in Lord of the Rings, his body and ability play out very much like Tolkien’s Sauron character instead, while Shadow, while in the presence of his dark lord, acts very much like Lord Darth Vader. This is prevalent in the scene where Shadow addresses the dark lord through his sword, kneeling before it. Shadow’s mannerisms, speech, and tone seem to mimic the thoughtful, respectful tones of Darth Vader in his famous holo-communication to Emperor Palpatine aboard the starship Executor in The Empire Strikes Back.
Furthermore, the character of Cecil comes about as a weaker, more timid Luke Skywalker, given a new resolve now that his family is dead and he learns of his new abilities. These new abilities manifest themselves in a golden emblem in his hand, whereas Luke’s power stands out like a sore thumb to anyone who can detect the Force.
The character of Sabin comes so close to the sage Obi-Wan Kenobi, it is difficult to tell them apart, both in speech and ability. Sabin’s tone is sagely, much like Obi-Wan, and save for his nervous stuttering at times, he comes off as almost identical. The concept of him being a former Sol Knight furthers this hypothesis, especially when one remembers that Obi-Wan refers to himself in Star Wars: A New Hope as saying he was “once a Jedi Knight.” To make matters worse, Sabin is the name of a character from Final Fantasy VI.
These scenes play off way too similarly to be a coincidence, especially considering the Zelda comparisons listed above. Though a coincidence in this second incidence is entirely possible, we cannot dismiss the possibility, given that the incident that has already occurred.
The two authors that co-wrote these stories were CyanLights and Master of Reality.
The GSFFA was not a place designed for this sort of activity. References to other materials are all well and good, provided they either do not make up the premise of the story, or they are properly cited. Though the Witch King was cited in the latter example, the character’s concept drew more from Sauron than anyone else.
Let this be a lesson to all of you. We do not tolerate this sort of behavior, nor will we in the future. Any questions? No? Good. Anyone who wants to comment on these turn of events is welcome to.
On a final note, all of you… remember this well: Midnight and I are NOT stupid, so don’t try to pull this kind of stuff on us ever again. Period. If you try to pull the wool over our eyes you WILL get caught and our retribution will be swift and painful. Don't say we didn't warn you.