The Legend of Zelda series is finally old enough to be in the primary demographic of this community! Jokes aside, one of gaming’s longest-running and most beloved series has officially passed four decades of high-quality (and a few notably bad-quality) titles, and oh boy does my back hurt.
On February 21st, 1986, Nintendo launched their second leading gaming series on the Nintendo Entertainment System: The Legend of Zelda, or The Hyrule Fantasy in Japan. I bet you can’t guess the first leading series… It’s Mario. Anyways, the series was a brainchild of Shigeru Miyamoto, who wanted to capture the same feeling of exploration he had during his childhood wandering the natural wooded area of his hometown of Kyoto. Lived experiences with a sprinkle of Peter Pan, Studio Ghibli, and Lord of the Rings created a great combination of fantasy and childhood whimsy.
The Legend of The Legend of Zelda
The series follows a silent protagonist, Link, who is a different iteration in just about every title. Link is a silent, elf-like creature called a Hylian who goes on an adventure in the land of Hyrule to defeat the Demon King: Ganon (or Ganondorf Dragmire when he’s a human). The goal? Save the land of Hyrule and Princess Zelda. A tried and true hero’s tale that has seen decades of iterations and subversions that kept the adventure series going for so long and retained its popularity. From a lore and canon standpoint…It’s a mess.
If it were straightforward, though, it wouldn’t be as interesting. 2011 saw the release of the official Zelda timeline, which painted every game in the series as connected in one way or another with a timeline split in the series opus: Ocarina of Time. Explaining that nightmare requires an article of its own.
Sometimes Link turns into a bunny and is dropped into a mysterious and dark world, sometimes he has 3 days to save the world from a haunted mask trying to use the moon to destroy the world, other times he’s sailing a fishless sea while controlling the winds. Sometimes, you even get to play as Zelda herself, but we don’t talk about that 90s one.
With every generation comes a new and innovative way to take the adventure genre forward, with many gimmicks having trouble being replicated by other publishers to this day (Breath of the Wild’s physics, Majora’s Mask’s time system, Ocarina of Time‘s dungeon design, etc.).
For most games, gameplay is simple: Semi/full open world adventure with a context-sensitive active combat system that equates to: Press B + Swing Sword = Slash! Sometimes you get a horse, sometimes it’s a boat, one time you were a wolf, crazy stuff. Most of the games are organized around open-world segments and puzzle-heavy dungeons that end in boss fights that range from pathetic to pretty epic.
Standing next to generational innovations in gameplay is also the series’ bold approach to art style. While this topic demands an article all on its own, we have seen influences from the dark-fantasy-heavy 80s, the high-fantasy 90s, the controversial chibi-anime-inspired Wind Waker, all the way to the Studio Ghibli-esque Wild-era. All in an effort to capture a child’s whimsy and imagination.
The Legacy of Zelda
It’s hard to paint an exact picture of how much of a broad picture the series has influenced the gaming world as a whole since RPGs like the acclaimed Dragon Quest were released later that same year. In my opinion, no other game series has come close to fully replicating the feel and exploration behind the Zelda series, but some notable standouts are the Assassin’s Creed series, the Mana series, Dark Souls, Dragon’s Dogma, and the Elder Scrolls series.
Here at Retro Handhelds, we love our Zelda content and look forward to more coverage in the future. It’s my all-time favorite series, and if there is any Zelda-related content you’d like to see from us, let us know in the comments! For more Zelda stuff we have written in the past, see below 👇.
It’s been almost 40 years since Nintendo released the original Legend of Zelda for the NES, and Joe gives us his “unhinged” review of this gaming classic.
Unhinged: Zelda II Deserved Better
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link remains one of the most divisive entries in the series. This piece revisits why it’s criticized, what it does well, and the best way to play it today.
A Hinged Review of The Zelda: Game & Watch
A review of the 1989 Zelda Game & Watch explores its two-screen design, simple action gameplay, and why it remains a sought-after collectible today.
Best Way to Play: Ocarina of Time
Ocarina of Time can be played in several ways in 2024, from the original N64 release to the 3DS remaster and the Ship of Harkinian port. This guide compares the options.
The Best Way to Play Majora’s Mask
A comparison of Majora’s Mask on N64, GameCube Collector’s Edition, Wii Virtual Console, Wii U Virtual Console, and Nintendo Switch Online, with practical pros/cons for modern setups.
The Actual Best Way to Play Majora’s Mask
A follow-up guide to Majora’s Mask play methods focuses on higher-end options: the 3DS remake, emulator configurations, and newer ports that support higher framerates and modern controls.
Breath Of The Wild Is Now A Full VR Experience
Breath of the Wild just got real VR. An unofficial BetterVR mod for the Wii U version (via Cemu) adds stereoscopic 3D, 6DOF tracking, and motion-controlled combat.
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