The Legend of Zelda (video game)

The Legend of Zelda
North American box art
Developer(s)Nintendo R&D4
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Director(s)
Producer(s)Shigeru Miyamoto
Designer(s)
  • Takashi Tezuka
Programmer(s)
  • Toshihiko Nakago
  • Yasunari Soejima[2]
  • I. Marui[2]
Writer(s)
  • Takashi Tezuka
  • Keiji Terui[3]
Composer(s)Koji Kondo
SeriesThe Legend of Zelda
Platform(s)
ReleaseFamily Computer Disk System
  • JP: February 21, 1986
NES
  • NA: August 22, 1987[1]
  • PAL: November 15, 1987
  • JP: February 19, 1994
Game Boy Advance
  • JP: February 14, 2004
  • NA: June 2, 2004
  • PAL: July 9, 2004
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

The Legend of Zelda, originally released in Japan as The Hyrule Fantasy: Zelda no Densetsu,[a][4][b] is an action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo.[5] The first game of The Legend of Zelda series, it is set in the fantasy land of Hyrule and centers on an elf-like boy named Link, who aims to collect the eight fragments of the Triforce of Wisdom in order to rescue Princess Zelda from Ganon.[6] The player controls Link from a top-down perspective and navigates throughout the overworld and dungeons, collecting weapons, defeating enemies and uncovering secrets along the way.[7]

Designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, it was originally released in Japan as a launch title for the Family Computer Disk System in February 1986.[8] More than a year later, North America and Europe received releases on the Nintendo Entertainment System in cartridge format, being the first home console game to include an internal battery in the US for saving data.[9] This version was later released in Japan in 1994 under the title The Hyrule Fantasy: Zelda no Densetsu 1.[c][10] The game was ported to the GameCube[11] and Game Boy Advance,[10] and was available via the Virtual Console on the Wii, Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.[12] It was also one of 30 games included in the NES Classic Edition system, and is available on the Nintendo Switch through the Nintendo Switch Online service.

The Legend of Zelda was a critical and commercial success for Nintendo. The game sold over 6.5 million copies, launched a major franchise, and has been regularly featured in lists of the greatest video games of all time. A sequel, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, was first released in Japan for the Famicom Disk System less than a year after its predecessor, and numerous additional successors and spinoffs have been released in the decades since its debut.

  1. ^ The Legend of Zelda Encyclopedia. Dark Horse Comics. 2018. p. 218. ISBN 978-1-5067-0638-2.
  2. ^ a b "Proto:The Legend of Zelda". tcrf.net. Archived from the original on 2019-09-10. Retrieved 2015-11-14.
  3. ^ "照井啓司さんのコメントコーナー" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on March 5, 2019. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  4. ^ Mandelin, Clyde. Legends of Localization - The Legend of Zelda: Graphics Archived 2024-08-17 at the Wayback Machine. Legends of Localization. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference origin was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ The Legend of Zelda Instruction Booklet. Nintendo of America, Inc. pp. 3–4.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference overworldmanual was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "放課後のクラブ活動のように". 社長が訊く. Nintendo Co., Ltd. 19 November 2009. Archived from the original on 26 June 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2010. １９８６年２月に、ファミコンのディスクシステムと同時発売された、アクションアドベンチャーゲーム。/ An action-adventure game simultaneously released with the Famicom Disk System in February 1986.
  9. ^ Gerstmann, Jeff (22 November 2006). "The Legend of Zelda Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  10. ^ a b "The Legend of Zelda". GameSpot. CBS Interactive Inc. Archived from the original on 16 August 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  11. ^ "The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition". GameSpot. CBS Interactive Inc. Archived from the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  12. ^ "The Legend of Zelda - Wii". IGN. IGN Entertainment, Inc. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2014.


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