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
2What Makes a Zelda Game Th ere are many thing that defi ne a Zelda game but there is no outline of rules that say a Zelda game must have these things in order to be considered a true Zelda experience If that were the case then Nintendo would break its own rules oft en But here are many elements that appear in almost every Zelda game The Characters and World Link Th e star the hero and the character everyone thinks is named Zelda Despite being the main character the game is not named aft er him which has caused confusion since the release of the 8 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 original Zelda 30 years ago He’s a skilled warrior problem solver and frequently a skilled musician He is oft en represented as an orphan without family but sometimes he does have a caretaker in the form of an uncle grandmother or some other family member or friend He is rarely seen without his green tunic and hat sword and shield He represents the Triforce of Courage and has never had a voice outside of the grunts and shouts that accompany combat and movement His name is meant to represent a connection between the player and the world He is the link that connects the player to the game His name however can be chosen by the player Whatever name players enter in the beginning the game is the one non-player characters will use when referring to him Zelda Zelda is the focus of Link’s journey He must save Zelda In the early games Zelda was not much more than a damsel 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 9
