The Legend of Zelda: Difference between revisions

|name = The Legend of Zelda

|logo = [[File:The Legend of Zelda Title.png|center|200px]]

|boxart = [[File:Zelda-NES-Box-Art.jpg|200px|center]]

|release =  

|platform = Nintendo Entertainment System

|producer = [[Shigeru Miyamoto]]

|director = Shigeru Miyamoto<br>[[Takashi Tezuka]]

|guides =  

|media =  

'''''The Legend of Zelda''''' is the first game in [[The Legend of Zelda (Series)|''The Legend of Zelda'' video game series]]. Although not the first adventure game, it is often credited for perfecting the adventure genre.

The goal of The Legend of Zelda is to collect the pieces of the [[Triforce of Wisdom]], defeat [[Ganon]] and to rescue [[Princess Zelda]]. To obtain the pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom, the player must take on the role of the hero, [[Link]], and explore the first eight dungeons in the game before embarking on the journey to the final dungeon, [[Death Mountain]], to defeat the evil wizard Ganon.

D Pad: Moves Link around and select your secondary item. Also controls the direction of the [[boomerang]]  

The Legend of Zelda is one of, if not the very first, video game to have a save feature. On the select screen, you can continue your progress, register your name, or eliminate your name. When you register your name, you start a new game and create a name for the file. In elimination mode, you are able to erase one of the files so you are able to start a new game on that file. The numbers below the name of your file represent the number of game overs you had during your quest. The hearts under "Life" represent the amount of remaining health in your quest.

The Legend of Zelda and the original Super Mario Bros. were being designed simultaneously by the same development team. They had set out to make the games opposite of one another. Mario would follow a linear pathway, while the Legend of Zelda would have a more open world experience. Miyamoto got the idea of the open world experience from his childhood, where he would go out exploring into the wilderness.<ref>[[Interview:SuperPlay April 23rd 2003]]</ref> Miyamoto was less concerned with Zelda being a game of getting the most points or reaching the end of a linear path. Instead, Miyamoto wanted gamers to relax and enjoy themselves as they made their way through the adventure. It was because of this that some basic gameplay elements, such as communicating with characters and shop owners were included.<ref>[[Interview:NTSC-UK August 20th 2003]]</ref>

On February 21, 1986, the Legend of Zelda released as a launch title for the Famicom Disk System; it was released alongside several other titles including a re-release of Super Mario Bros, along with a number of sports titles.

The Legend of Zelda features the same [[Link]] as its direct sequel, ''[[Zelda II: The Adventure of Link]]''. In 1991 when ''[[The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past|A Link to the Past]]'' was released, it was a distant prequel to the first few Zelda titles. Over the next 20 years, the series expanded rapidly with new games and the timeline became a bit more blurry. The Legend of Zelda had a direct timeline placement with the Adventure of Link and A Link to the Past, but very little in relation to the rest of the series.

In December of 2011, [[Hyrule Historia]] revealed the complete Legend of Zelda timeline. It was revealed that there were three outcomes branching from ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time|Ocarina of Time]]''. One of the outcomes involved Link failing to defeat [[Ganon|Ganondorf]] and is often times referred to as the ''Downfall'' branch of the timeline. After Ocarina of Time, the Downfall branch continues with the [[Imprisoning War]], followed by the events of A Link to the Past, ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons|Oracle of Seasons]]'' and ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages|Oracle of Ages]]'', ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening|Link's Awakening]]'', The Legend of Zelda, and Adventure of Link.

The Legend of Zelda was a huge commercial success, having become one of the highest selling titles for the ''Nintendo Entertainment System'' (NES). The game sold 6.51 million copies.<ref>[http://www.rpgamer.com/news/japan/rp033104.html The Legend of Zelda Lifetime Sales]</ref>.

The Legend of Zelda was a critical success as well, ranking at the #1 spot in the original NES Top 30 listing of [[Nintendo Power]] magazine.<ref>[http://zeldadungeon.net/gallery/displayimage.php?album=325&pid=9735#top_display_media Nintendo Power Magazine: Issue #1 July / August 1988]</ref>. Nearly 7 years later, Nintendo Power retired the Top NES list in January of 1995. The Legend of Zelda was given Hall of Fame status, being one of the all-time greatest titles and having been on the charts for a record 76 months.<ref>[http://zeldadungeon.net/gallery/displayimage.php?album=484&pid=13780#top_display_media Nintendo Power Magazine: Issue #68 January 1995]</ref>

The Legend of Zelda placed first in Game Informer's "The Top 200 Games of All Time" list. [http://www.nintendoeverything.com/?p=28230 Game Informer Top 200 Games of All Time]

The Legend of Zelda was paramount in establishing the Action-Adventure genre.<ref>[http://www.azubu.com/board_view/articles/board_id/10000000001533/re_url/game_info/keyword_id/10000000377 Azubu: Games That Were Genre Pioneers]</ref> Several games in the late 80's and 90's replicated the formula with games even today being referred to as being Zelda-like or Zelda-clones. Some games such as 3D Dot Game Heroes have been cited as being almost exact replicas of the Zelda series.<ref>[http://ps3.ign.com/articles/108/1083142p1.html Just How Zelda-like is 3D Dot Game Heroes?]</ref>

The original Legend of Zelda started the Legend of Zelda. A series that has featured over 20 games, including the various side stories and multiplayer games, while selling over 60 millions games overall.<ref>[http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehunters/post/2011/11/the-legend-of-zelda-launches-today-check-out-our-review/1#.T5o12KtYvp8 April 2011: Legend of Zelda Series 62 Million Games Sold]</ref>

The Legend of Zelda was one of the most highly acclaimed games of all time and this warranted several re-releases. In November of 2003, the game was re-released as part of the ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition]]'' for the ''Nintendo GameCube'' (GCN). The collectors edition included the original Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, Ocarina of Time, and ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask|Majora's Mask]]''.

In 2004, the Legend of Zelda was re-released for the ''GameBoy Advance'' (GBA) as part of ''Classic NES Series''. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link was also a part of this series, along with other popular NES titles including Super Mario Bros, Donkey Kong, Bomberman, Excitebike, and several others.  

In 2006, the Legend of Zelda sought yet another re-release, this time as a virtual console title for the [[Nintendo Wii]]. Several other Legend of Zelda titles have since also been released for the virtual console.

The [[Nintendo 3DS]] released in 2011 at the price of $249.99 US Dollars. After slow sales numbers early on, Nintendo announced a significant price cut to $169.99. In gratitude for purchasing the system earlier at the higher price, early adopters became part of the Ambassador program, getting ten free NES games and ten free GBA games for download. The NES games released on September 1st, 2011, including another release of ''The Legend of Zelda''. ''Zelda II: The Adventure of Link'' was also included as part of the Ambassador program. On July 5, 2012, as part of "8-Bit Summer", this digital release of the game was made available to all Nintendo 3DS owners via the Nintendo eShop.

Each of the first nine dungeons is shaped in a specific design, which corresponds to the name of the dungeon. The first labyrinth is referred to as the [[Level 1: The Eagle|Eagle]], while the fourth dungeon is referred to as the [[Level 4: The Snake|Snake]]. The third dungeon of the game is referred to as the [[Level 3: The Manji |Manji]], and it is in the shape of a left-facing Swastika. The term Manji is actually a Japanese character and it is very common in Japanese culture. Because of this, it slipped into the game without considering the sensitivity of the symbol. The Manji is considered offensive in western countries due to its relationship to Nazism.

All versions of the game include a cross on Link's shield; however, in virtually all pieces of [[Products|merchandise]], Link's shield is shown in a solid color. This is likely due to the sensitivity of religion in western countries. Furthermore, in the Japanese version of the game, the [[Book of Magic]] was referred to as the ''Bible''. When the game was released in the West, that was renamed to the Book of Magic, or the Magic Book.

*This [[Delta Apparel Link Kneeling Shirt]] wasn't released at the time of the original Legend of Zelda, but it contains the original games Logo and Official Artwork.

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