1What Is The Legend of Zelda Released in North America in 1987 Th e Legend of Zelda marked an important moment in the history of video games It showed that a game with a real sense of exploration and adventure could be enjoyed even on a game console as simple as the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System Players took on the role of Link exploring the open world of Hyrule fi ghting monsters discovering secrets using tools solving puzzles and getting lost in a video game experience 4 This book is not authorized sponsored endorsed or licensed by Nintendo of America Inc and other company names and or trademarks mentioned in this book are the property of their respective companies and are used for identifi cation purposes only
The Legendary World of Zelda unlike anything before it Hyrule felt alive and Link’s journey felt important even though there wasn’t much of a story Th e game led to many sequels and each has changed the way video games are designed up to this day Nearly every successful modern video game designer points to Th e Legend of Zelda as an infl uence and there’s a good reason why Th e Legend of Zelda is one of the best video games ever made The Development Shigeru Miyamoto is credited as Zelda’s creator and oft en said the exploration of the woods and caves near his childhood home as a boy was the primary inspiration for the This book is not authorized sponsored endorsed or licensed by Nintendo of America Inc and other company names and or trademarks mentioned in this book are the property of their respective companies and are used for identifi cation purposes only 5
The Legendary World of Zelda game’s story Miyamoto’s fi rst idea for Zelda was a multiplayer game where two players could design dungeons for one another to explore Th e people at Nintendo decided that the best part of the experience was exploring the dungeons From there Miyamoto and the rest of Nintendo’s development team began building a game focusing on the idea of dungeon exploration During development the experience made its way above ground Th e dungeons were incorporated into the overworld of Hyrule and a story about a boy named Link on a journey to save a princess named Zelda began to take shape 6 This book is not authorized sponsored endorsed or licensed by Nintendo of America Inc and other company names and or trademarks mentioned in this book are the property of their respective companies and are used for identifi cation purposes only
The Legendary World of Zelda Today Th e Legend of Zelda is in the safe hands of producer and sometimes director Eiji Aonuma Aonuma joined the franchise by working on Ocarina of Time and was credited as the director of its sequel Th e Legend of Zelda Majora’s Mask Aonuma oversees Th e Legend of Zelda with guidance from its original creator Shigeru Miyamoto The Story Th rough the franchise’s 30 years the core story of each entry has basically stayed the same Th e Legend of Zelda follows a young warrior named Link who must save a princess named Zelda and defeat the evil Ganon Th e Triforce a powerful three-piece object that represents Courage Wisdom and Power is also usually part of the game When its three pieces are combined it has the power to grant its owner a wish Link Zelda and Ganon sometimes represent the Courage Wisdom and Power attributes of the Triforce Sometimes the same Link and Zelda will move between games for direct sequels but oft en each game represents a new generation of Link and Zelda as they fi ght the forces of evil Th e same goes for Ganon though he is not always the villain nor does the Triforce always play an important role Th e main things that set each entry apart is who stands in Link’s way the world he is exploring what tools he uses to make his way to Zelda and fi nally what type of controller you’re holding in your hand while you join Link on his journey This book is not authorized sponsored endorsed or licensed by Nintendo of America Inc and other company names and or trademarks mentioned in this book are the property of their respective companies and are used for identifi cation purposes only 7
