The Legend
Each of the games in The Legend of Zelda series features a boy named Link as the central playable character and hero. Link is frequently called upon to rescue Princess Zelda. Ganondorf is most often the central antagonist (and more recently, a new villain, the wind mage Vaati, has appeared in multiple Zelda games as well, specifically, The Minish Cap and Four Swords). The action usually occurs in the land of Hyrule and involves a divine relic known as the Triforce, a set of three magically bound golden triangles of great power. In story terms, the earlier games did not deviate much from the standard "save the princess" theme, but later installments have diversified their plot and added twists and turns to the tale. One Zelda game, Link’s Awakening, did not feature Zelda at all (although she was briefly mentioned when Link thought Marin was Princess Zelda), and in Majora’s Mask, she was only seen in a flashback. The protagonist in each game is not always the same boy named Link, although occasionally the same Link is controlled across multiple games.
The first game, The Legend of Zelda, was first released in Japan in 1986, and in the United States and Europe in 1987. Though relatively simple by today's standards, it was quite advanced for its time. Innovations include the ability to use dozens of different items, a vast world full of secrets to explore, and the cartridge's ability to save progress via battery-backed memory. The game also features a "Second Quest", accessible upon completing the game, where dungeons and the placement of items are different and enemies stronger. Besides the game's technical innovations, the gameplay (finding items and using them to solve puzzles, battling monsters in real-time, and exploring a vast environment) was a successful formula and became widely copied. The game was wildly popular in Japan and North America, and many consider it one of the most important video games ever made. During the last years of the Famicom the game was re-released in cartridge format. A modified version known as BS Zelda was released for the Super Famicom's satellite-based expansion, Satellaview, in the mid-1990s in Japan. BS Zelda was then re-released for the Satellaview again a year later with re-arranged dungeons and a re-arranged overworld (more or less a "Second Quest"). This re-release was dubbed BS Zelda ~MAP 2~ by fans.
Each of the games in The Legend of Zelda series features a boy named Link as the central playable character and hero. Link is frequently called upon to rescue Princess Zelda. Ganondorf is most often the central antagonist (and more recently, a new villain, the wind mage Vaati, has appeared in multiple Zelda games as well, specifically, The Minish Cap and Four Swords). The action usually occurs in the land of Hyrule and involves a divine relic known as the Triforce, a set of three magically bound golden triangles of great power. In story terms, the earlier games did not deviate much from the standard "save the princess" theme, but later installments have diversified their plot and added twists and turns to the tale. One Zelda game, Link’s Awakening, did not feature Zelda at all (although she was briefly mentioned when Link thought Marin was Princess Zelda), and in Majora’s Mask, she was only seen in a flashback. The protagonist in each game is not always the same boy named Link, although occasionally the same Link is controlled across multiple games.
The first game, The Legend of Zelda, was first released in Japan in 1986, and in the United States and Europe in 1987. Though relatively simple by today's standards, it was quite advanced for its time. Innovations include the ability to use dozens of different items, a vast world full of secrets to explore, and the cartridge's ability to save progress via battery-backed memory. The game also features a "Second Quest", accessible upon completing the game, where dungeons and the placement of items are different and enemies stronger. Besides the game's technical innovations, the gameplay (finding items and using them to solve puzzles, battling monsters in real-time, and exploring a vast environment) was a successful formula and became widely copied. The game was wildly popular in Japan and North America, and many consider it one of the most important video games ever made. During the last years of the Famicom the game was re-released in cartridge format. A modified version known as BS Zelda was released for the Super Famicom's satellite-based expansion, Satellaview, in the mid-1990s in Japan. BS Zelda was then re-released for the Satellaview again a year later with re-arranged dungeons and a re-arranged overworld (more or less a "Second Quest"). This re-release was dubbed BS Zelda ~MAP 2~ by fans.
