An In Depth Look at the Production and Success of The Legend of Zelda

The game that started it all, the reason why we all had the opportunity to become Zelda fanatics, The Legend of Zelda was a deliberately crafted masterpiece from the beginning of its production. The game was meant to counterbalance Mario’s gameplay style by being open-ended, story-focused, and require players to think critically. It was the first home console game to save players’ progress, it took inspiration from Miyamoto’s childhood as well as high fantasy novels, and it contained only six musical tracks (all now iconic).

 
Suffice to say, The Legend of Zelda’s gameplay and golden cartridge bewitched gamers the world over. Watch The Game Theorists’ Furst delve into the rich history of the highest rated game of all time, The Legend of Zelda, after the jump!

If I didn’t have enough respect for The Legend of Zelda before watching this video, I definitely do now. I think it’s kind of funny that certain Nintendo heads thought the public might not respond well to the open-world style of play, but then the game goes on to sell over six million copies, influence the future of gaming, and spawn a beloved series with such devoted fans. I was a little disappointed to learn that Miyamoto left most of the plot and story writing to someone else, but I salute Takashi Tezuka for introducing my favorite element of the Zelda series.

What did you think of this The Legend of Zelda history breakdown? Did anything in the video really shock you? Are there any other Zelda games you’d like to see a breakdown of? Share your thoughts about the video and relay some of your fond Legend of Zelda memories in the comments!

Source: YouTube

Alexis S. Anderson

Alexis S. Anderson is a Senior Editor at Zelda Dungeon who joined the writing team in November, 2014. She has a JD from the UCLA School of Law and is pursuing a career in Entertainment and Intellectual Property Law. She grew up in the New Jersey suburbs with her parents, twin brother, and family shih-tzu.