The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda is a video game that consists of 12 releases
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Overview
The Legend of Zelda was an action adventure role-playing game for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Designed by Shigeru Miyamoto, the Legend of Zelda was released in February 1986 in Japan, August 1987 in North America, and November 1987 in Europe. The Legend of Zelda was both a critical and commercial success. It was renowned for its innovative gameplay, non-linearity, and ability to save games via its battery powered RAM.
Gameplay
In the Legend of Zelda, the player controls Link from a top-down perspective. The A button is dedicated to the sword, and the B button can be assigned to any item in Link's inventory. At the start of the game, Link starts with only a small shield, but throughout the game, he is able to gather many items including: three different swords, two boomerangs, a large shield, a ladder, a raft, a bow and arrow, bombs, candles, potions, a power bracelet, a magic wand, a flute, two rings, a magic key, and the silver arrow. Items may be gathered from dungeons as well as purchased from merchants.
Link starts the game in the overworld and must search it for the secret dungeons where the Triforce pieces are held. The overworld is varied and contains many environments including mountains, lakes, deserts, forests, caves, coastal regions, and a graveyard. The overworld is filled with many creatures which often drop rupees (the game's currency) or hearts when killed. There are also living-restoring fairies scattered throughout the map.
The dungeons are underground labyrinths containing secret passages, locked doors, special items, and many enemies. Each dungeon has a unique shape (eagle, lion's head, snake, etc.) to make them easier to navigate. Each dungeon also contains special items which are used to assist Link with his quest. There is also a map and compass in each dungeon that helped Link find his way to the dungeon's final boss. Upon defeating the boss, Link receives extra health and a piece of the Triforce. There are a total of nine dungeons: eight with Triforce pieces plus Ganon's fortress.
Unlike the other worldwide releases, the original Japanese Famicom versions of The Legend of Zelda took advantage of a notable piece of hardware which was absent in the Nintendo Entertainment System in Europe and North America: the controller-infused microphone. As a microphone was included in the controller wired to the first slot, players could yell into it to defeat peahats in the game. Although the feature itself is still included in the coding in European and North American versions of the game, the lack of a microphone for those controllers prevented players in those regions from accessing that aspect of the gameplay directly.
Link fights to save Princess Zelda and the land of Hyrule from the clutches of Ganon.
Overview
Link, the star of the Legend of Zelda.
The Legend of Zelda was an action adventure role-playing game for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Designed by Shigeru Miyamoto, the Legend of Zelda was released in February 1986 in Japan, August 1987 in North America, and November 1987 in Europe. The Legend of Zelda was both a critical and commercial success. It was renowned for its innovative gameplay, non-linearity, and ability to save games via its battery powered RAM.
Link, the star of the Legend of Zelda.
Plot
The story takes place in the land of Hyrule. The evil sorcerer, Ganon, had ravaged the land of Hyrule with his armies in searching for and aquiring the Triforce of Power. In order to keep Ganon from gaining the Triforce of Wisdom, Princess Zelda divided it into eight pieces and scattered them in hidden dungeons in Hyrule. Zelda's assistant, Impa, escaped to seek out one who could deliver Zelda from Ganon. Impa was hunted down and surrounded by Ganon's henchmen but was saved by Link. Impa told Link all that had happened, and Link resolved to find the Triforce, defeat Ganon, and rescue Princess Zelda.Gameplay
The first area in the game.
In the Legend of Zelda, the player controls Link from a top-down perspective. The A button is dedicated to the sword, and the B button can be assigned to any item in Link's inventory. At the start of the game, Link starts with only a small shield, but throughout the game, he is able to gather many items including: three different swords, two boomerangs, a large shield, a ladder, a raft, a bow and arrow, bombs, candles, potions, a power bracelet, a magic wand, a flute, two rings, a magic key, and the silver arrow. Items may be gathered from dungeons as well as purchased from merchants.
The first area in the game.
Link starts the game in the overworld and must search it for the secret dungeons where the Triforce pieces are held. The overworld is varied and contains many environments including mountains, lakes, deserts, forests, caves, coastal regions, and a graveyard. The overworld is filled with many creatures which often drop rupees (the game's currency) or hearts when killed. There are also living-restoring fairies scattered throughout the map.
A dungeon.
Regional Differences
Unlike the other worldwide releases, the original Japanese Famicom versions of The Legend of Zelda took advantage of a notable piece of hardware which was absent in the Nintendo Entertainment System in Europe and North America: the controller-infused microphone. As a microphone was included in the controller wired to the first slot, players could yell into it to defeat peahats in the game. Although the feature itself is still included in the coding in European and North American versions of the game, the lack of a microphone for those controllers prevented players in those regions from accessing that aspect of the gameplay directly.
Releases
The Legend of Zelda was originally released on the Famicom Disk System in Japan in 1986 and Nintendo Entertainment System in the rest of the world in 1987. There have also been several re-releases of this classic. In 1994, it was put into cartridge form for the Famicom. In 2002, it was hidden in the Gamecube title, Animal Crossing, but could only be accessed using the relatively rare e-Reader card system or using a cheat device (e.g., Action Replay). In 2003, it was released as part of the Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition. In 2006, it was made available on the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console.
| Game Name | The Legend of Zelda |
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| Original US Release |
Aug. 22, 1987
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