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Why did the GOP compare our tax code to Nintendo's 'The Legend of Zelda'?

House Republicans asked a weird, unexpected question Wednesday afternoon: "What do The Legend of Zelda and the American Tax Code have in common?"

Zelda, as you may know, is the long-running, beloved series of fantasy video games from Nintendo. Every game is a standalone adventure in which a boy/man named Link fights monsters, explores dungeons and solves puzzles to save the land of Hyrule and, usually, rescue Princess Zelda. The series has a deep, expansive lore featuring magical items, demonic villains, the creation of a world by three goddesses and more. One of its most well-known symbols, the Triforce, represents Strength, Courage and Wisdom.

So what does the GOP want to compare between Zelda and our tax code?

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The year 1986.

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That's it.

A (now-deleted) tweet from the @HouseGOP account even read "What do the Legend of Zelda and the American Tax Code have in common? More than you'd think..." Which would lead one to think that they were going to make more comparisons than just a release year.

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The original Legend of Zelda game was released in 1986 for the Famicom Disk System (the Japanese counterpart to the Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES). According to GOP.gov, "the last major reform to the American tax code was [also] signed into law in 1986."

Shame. I was really looking forward to seeing how my next tax break was going to come in the form of four pieces of heart, or how I could land myself some fishing boat proceed credits if I slay an Octorok.

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The story on the Republican website also has a pretty blatant error. It says, "The action-adventure game was released in 1986, only one year after Nintendo's founding in 1985."

Nintendo was founded in 1889.

If you're thinking, "But video games didn't exist back then!" you are correct. They began as a playing card company, then branched out into a variety of other business ventures before hitting their stride as the home of Mario, Donkey Kong, Zelda and so many other beloved characters. They still made games long before 1985, though. Donkey Kong was released in 1981.

I look forward to Democrats countering this article by asking what our health care plan has in common with Tetris. (My guess is not much.)