Daily Debate: What Genre is The Legend of Zelda?

While it has gone through a good deal of variation throughout its entries over the years, The Legend of Zelda has (save for Zelda II: The Adventure of Link) typically been categorized in the action/adventure genre. This placement works for purposes of convenience, but it sells the series short. And at a time at which new Zelda fans are hard to by, presenting the identity of the franchise well has never been more important.

Nintendo doesn’t like to box itself into specific categories, a preference emphasized by Miyamoto’s reluctance to use the term ‘open world’ to describe Zelda U. Interestingly enough, he even believes that Nintendo itself should be a genre because of the differences in how they approach games. I don’t know if I quite agree with that particular sentiment, but I do understand his frustrations; genres as they are can be quite limiting, even misleading. I do not see myself as a fan of action/adventure games, yet I also see myself as a huge fan of Zelda games; being a fan of one does not necessarily make me a fan of the other. Clearly there is some differentiation between the two.

I’m willing to admit that the core idea of Zelda makes it easy to stick into the action/adventure genre: go on an adventure to save the land/Princess. And if that was the most interesting and crucial element that makes this series what it is, I would raise no objections. As it turns out, however, this umbrella description glosses over the nitty-gritty of gameplay, failing to recognize the franchise for what it is: an eclectic blend of genres, ranging from ‘puzzle’ to ‘open world’ to ‘RPG’. While it doesn’t embrace any one of these to the same extent it does the action/adventure category, without them it would hardly be the series we’ve grown to love.

If it were possible, it would be great for Zelda to have its own genre. Then again, this could make it feel more exclusionary than it already is, giving overzealous fans yet another way of alienating potential newcomers. With that in mind, I’ll settle for its current categorical placement as an action/adventure game, although the only game which that description fits to a tee is the upcoming Hyrule Warriors.

What do you think? Is this the genre in which Zelda belongs? Should it stay that way in the future? Is there a better way to explain exactly where the series fits on the spectrum of games? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!