The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda was the first game of the Legend of Zelda series of video games, made by Nintendo under the direction of game creator Shigeru Miyamoto. The game was inspired by Miyamoto's imaginary adventures in the woods behind his home from when he was a child. It was released on the Japanese Famicom system in 1986 and its western equivalent the NES in 1987. The music was composed by Koji Kondo.
The game is set in the earliest incarnation of the land of Hyrule and revolves around a young Hylian named Link, who must rescue Princess Zelda from the clasps of the villain Ganon by collecting eight pieces of an item known as the Triforce. The game features a mixture of action, exploration and puzzles and was very successful commercially. It was unusual in that its cartridge featured a battery that allowed the player to save his progress across multiple sessions with the game.
The first Zelda appears relatively crude and simple by today's standards, but it was a very advanced game for its day. Innovations included the ability to use dozens of different items, a vast world full of secrets to explore, and the ability to save progress via battery backup. Its formulaic story put the player in the shoes of a boy hero in the land of Hyrule set out to rescue the Princess Zelda, by first collecting the 8 fragments of the Triforce of Wisdom. Beside its technical innovations, the gameplay, which consisted mainly of finding items and using them to solve puzzles, battle monsters in real-time, and interact with the environment, was a successful formula, and was widely copied, including by later Zelda games. The game was wildly popular in Japan and the United States, and many consider it one of the most important videogames ever made. A modified version known as Bandai Satellaview Zelda was released for the Super Famicom's satellite-based expansion in the early 1990s in Japan.
Zelda is considered one of the spiritual forerunners of the console role-playing game (CRPG) genre, and is considered by many to be a CRPG itself. Even though Zelda contains completely different gameplay elements than a so-called computer or console RPG, and did not appear to give or take any direct influence to/from any game labeled such, the aesthetic similarities (bright, cartoony graphics, plus fantasy elements, as well as well-composed music) between Zelda and many CRPGs are unmistakable. Also, the success of Zelda helped create a market for involved, nonlinear games in fantasy settings, such as those found in successful CRPGs.
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The nine labyrinths that a player must traverse to complete the game each have the shape of an easily recognizable object (eagle, lion's head, snake, etc.) which make them easier for the astute gamer to navigate. The third labyrinth has the shape of what appears to North American audiences as a mirror-image of a swastika. This shape is actually a "manji", which is a Buddhist symbol of good fortune. In Japan, where this game was initially released, swastikas and similar shapes are relatively benign, which explains why a symbol so offensive to many Western audiences could be included. In the United States, there were surprisingly few complaints about the "manji", but years later, when Pokémon became popular in the United States, Nintendo was forced to alter one of the cards due to complaints regarding a "manji".
Controversy
Sequels
See also
The Legend of Zelda game series
Primary titles: Legend of Zelda | | | | | | | |
Other games: Bandai Satellaview Zelda | | (Ura Zelda) | |