Overview

The Legend of Zelda") is a video game designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and published by Nintendo in 1986. A classic example of the action-adventure genre, the game is set in the fantasy land of Hyrule and centers around a young hero's quest to rescue Princess Zelda from the villainous Ganon by collecting the eight fragments of a powerful artifact known as the Triforce of Wisdom.

The inaugural game of the The Legend of Zelda series first released in Japan as a debut title for the Famicom's Disk System peripheral. With its vast world, open-ended gameplay, scrolling capabilities, and battery autosave system (in cartridge-based versions), Zelda featured groundbreaking technological advancements. Because the Famicom Disk System was not released outside of Japan, the game was published internationally on the Nintendo Entertainment System's cartridge format in 1987, where it enjoyed even greater critical and financial success.

Zelda has been re-released on multiple platforms, most recently on the Wii's Virtual Console in 2006. The game was also included in The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition for the Nintendo GameCube, and is unlockable in the GameCube version of the game Animal Crossing. The game was also re-released on the Game Boy Advance in 2004 along with its sequel as part of the Classic NES Series. As one of Nintendo's flagship franchises, Zelda is among the most recognized names in video games.

The Legend of Zelda's plot heavily relies on backstory given in the short in-game prologue and the instruction manual: Hyrule was engulfed in chaos after an army led by Ganon, the Prince of Darkness, invaded the kingdom and secured the Triforce of Power, a magical artifact bestowing great strength. Hyrule's Princess Zelda split the artifact's counterpart, the Triforce of Wisdom, into eight fragments, hiding them in secret dungeons throughout the land to prevent them from falling into Ganon's hands. She commanded her most trustworthy nursemaid, Impa, to escape and to find a man courageous enough to destroy Ganon. Upon hearing this, Ganon grew angry, imprisoned the princess, and sent a party in search of Impa.

According to the manual, Impa fled for her life but was overtaken by her pursuers. As Ganon's henchmen surrounded her, a youth appeared to drive the monsters off. The boy's name was Link, and Impa told him of Hyrule's dilemma. Link resolved to save Zelda, but to fight Ganon he had to find and reassemble the scattered fragments of the Triforce of Wisdom. Undeterred, Link set off for Hyrule in an epic adventure.

During the course of the game, Link locates the eight dungeons and retrieves the Triforce fragments from the clutches of powerful guardian monsters. Along the way, he picks up a collection of useful items and weapons, including the powerful Magical Sword (possibly the Master Sword, according to the official Zelda website) to aid him against Ganon's minions. With the Triforce of Wisdom, Link is able to infiltrate Ganon's fortress high upon Death Mountain. He confronts the Prince of Darkness himself, destroying him with a Silver Arrow which he had discovered deep within Ganon's dungeons. Link picks up the Triforce of Power from Ganon's ashes and returns both Triforces to Princess Zelda, whom he releases from her nearby cell. According to Zelda's words, peace would then return to Hyrule.

A symbol of callow youth and raw courage, Link was designed by Miyamoto as a coming-of-age motif for players to identify with: the silent protagonist begins the game an ordinary boy but grows in strength and fortitude to triumph over the ultimate evil.

The name of the eponymous Zelda was inspired by Zelda Fitzgerald: "Zelda was the name of the wife of the famous novelist Francis Scott Fitzgerald. She was a famous and beautiful woman from all accounts, and I liked the sound of her name. So I took the liberty of using her name for the very first Zelda title," Miyamoto explained.

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