The Legend of Zelda


 * This article is about the first game in the series. For information on the series as a whole, see The Legend of Zelda (Series). For the television program, see The Legend of Zelda (TV series).

The Original Zelda
The Legend of Zelda (ゼルダの伝説, Zeruda no Densetsu) was the very first Zelda game released. It centers its plot around a boy named Link, who becomes the central protagonist throughout the series. It came out as early as 1986 for the Famicom in Japan, and was later released in the western world, including Europe and the US in 1987. It has since then been re-released several times, for the GameCube as well as the Game Boy Advance. The Japanese version of the game on Famicom was known as Hyrule Fantasy, abbreviated as HF. Some use this title to keep people from getting confused with the other games in the series. Also the NES cartridge for The Legend of Zelda was formatted in 1987, with a internal battery to facilitate game saves.

Gameplay
The game itself introduces a new level of gaming, one that includes roleplaying, action, adventure, and puzzle/logic. Barring Link's progress are creatures he must battle to locate the entrances to nine underground dungeons. Each dungeon is a unique, maze-like collection of rooms connected by doors and secret passages and guarded by monsters different from those found on the overworld. Link must successfully navigate each dungeon to obtain one of the eight pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom. Dungeons also hide useful items, such as a boomerang for retrieving items and stunning enemies, and a recorder with magical properties. The first six dungeons have visible entrances, but the remaining three are hidden. Except for the final dungeon, which cannot be entered until the previous eight have been completed, the order of completing dungeons is somewhat arbitrary, but many dungeons can only be reached using items gained in the previous one.

Nonlinearity, the ability to take different paths to complete the game, separated Zelda from its contemporaries. Link can freely wander the overworld, finding and buying items at any point. This flexibility enables unusual ways of playing the game; for example, it is possible to reach the final boss of the game (but not defeat him) without taking a sword. Nintendo of America's management initially feared that players might become frustrated with the new concept, left wondering what to do next. As a result, the American version of the game's manual contains many hints, tips, and suggestions for players.

The Second Quest
After completing the game, the player has access to a more difficult quest, officially referred to as the Second Quest, where dungeons and the placement of items are different and enemies stronger. Although a more difficult "replay" was not unique to Zelda, few games offered a "second quest" with entirely different levels to complete. Entering "ZELDA" as the player's name starts the second quest immediately. The Second Quest can be replayed each time it is completed.

Story
A long, long time ago the World was in an age of Chaos. In the middle of this chaos, in a little kingdom in the land of Hyrule, a legend was being handed down from generation to generation, the legend of the 'Triforce'; golden triangles possessing mystical powers.

One day, an evil army attacked this peaceful little kingdom and stole the Triforce of Power. This army was led by Ganon, the powerful Prince of Darkness who sought to plunge the World into fear and darkness under his rule. Fearing his wicked rule, Zelda, the princess of this kingdom, split up the Triforce of Wisdom into eight fragments and hid them throughout the realm to save the last remaining Triforce from the clutches of the evil Ganon. At the same time, she commanded her most trustworthy nursemaid, Impa, to secretly escape into the land and go find a man with enough courage to destroy the evil Ganon. Upon hearing this, Ganon grew angry, imprisoned the princess, and sent out a party in search of Impa.

Braving forests and mountains, Impa fled for her life from her pursuers. As she reached the very limit of her energy she found herself surrounded by Ganon's evil henchmen. Cornered! What could she do? ... But wait!

All was not lost. A young lad appeared. He skilfully drove off Ganon's henchmen, and saved Impa from a fate worse than death. His name was Link. During his travels he had come across Impa and Ganon's henchmen. Impa told Link the whole story of the princess Zelda and the evil Ganon. Burning with a sense of justice, Link resolved to save Zelda, but Ganon was a powerful opponent. He held the Triforce of Power. And so, in order to fight off Ganon, Link had to bring the scattered eight fragments of the Triforce of Wisdom together to rebuild the mystical Triangle.

If he couldn't do this, there would be no chance Link could fight his way into Death Mountain where Ganon lived. Can Link really destroy Ganon and save the Princess Zelda? Only your skill can answer that question. Good luck. Use the Triforce wisely.

Japanese Version
The Legend of Zelda was originally released in 1986 as a flagship title for the Famicom Disk System in Japan. Apart from facilitating data saving, the disk drive also added an extra sound channel on top of the Famicom's original five. This has caused the original release to sport a quite different sound compared to the more widespread cartridge release. This difference is most notable during the title screen.

The Book of Magic was known as Bible in the Japanese version of the game. This was likely changed because it violated Nintendo of America's, at the time, very strict content guidelines which among others disapproved of any religious content or references inside games released for their systems. Interestingly enough, all depictions of the cross were kept intact. Note that the legend of the three Golden Goddesses wasn't mentioned until 1991 in A Link to the Past.

Ports and Remakes
In 2003, Nintendo released a bundle for the GameCube which included The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition, in which this game was playable.

In that same year, Nintendo released Animal Crossing for the GameCube, a game that had emulated NES games featured. While The Legend of Zelda is not obtainable through normal gameplay, it is located within Animal Crossing's code and hackable via an Action Replay.

The Game Boy Advance also saw a port of the game into Nintendo's "Classic NES Series" re-releases. The game suffers from the same occasional lag present in the original NES release, despite the Game Boy Advance's superior hardware.

When Nintendo launched the Wii, The Legend of Zelda was a launch title in their Virtual Console service.

Also on the Wii, Super Smash Bros. Brawl has a feature in which the player can play short, timed demos of classic games (called "Masterpieces" in-game, but a player may only play them for a certain amout of time each. About 1-5 minutes, varying each game). One of these games is The Legend of Zelda.

Trivia

 * There is a well-known glitch in the first dungeon, Eagle Labyrinth. When you first walk in on the First Quest, there will be a locked door at the top of the screen. Should the player leave the dungeon and go back in right away, the lock on the door will be gone.
 * The Old Man has become notorious for his vague and/or badly translated hints for the player to progress in the game. One of his most famous quotations is "DODONGO DISLIKES SMOKE," indicating the Dodongo's weakness to bombs.
 * The Moblin's quote "It's a secret to everybody," has become a popular catchphrase among gamers over the years. It is even referenced in Twilight Princess when in Center Castle Town, you can enter a door and walk up to a balcony, where a Goron sees the golden force around Hyrule Castle. He admits that he has kept it "a secret to everybody." It is also referenced in Ocarina of Time. If Link bribes the guard at the gate of Hyrule Castle, speaking after he opens the gate will result in him saying "KEEP IT A SECRET TO EVERYBODY."
 * It is possible (although quite difficult) to make it through the game up until the last dungeon without a sword.
 * The game sold over 6.5 million copies on its first run.
 * Due to bad translation, in the English release of The Legend of Zelda, Shigeru Miyamoto is mis-credited as S. Miyahon.
 * According to "Twin Galaxies", the fastest completion time for The Legend of Zelda is 31 minutes and 37 seconds by Rodrigo Lopes on the June 12th, 2006.
 * In Japan this game is also known as "The Hyrule fantasy".