The Legend of Zelda

***The Legend of Zelda,*** ゼルダの伝説, subtitled ***The Hyrule Fantasy*** in its original Japanese release, is a 1986 action-adventure video game developed and published by Nintendo, released in North America in 1987 and designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. The inaugural game of the *Legend of Zelda* series, it was first released in Japan as a launch title for the Family Computer Disk System peripheral. More than a year later, North America and Europe received releases on theNintendo Entertainment System in cartridge form, making the game the first home console title to include an internal battery for saving data. In 1994, this version would be released back in Japan, now named ***The Legend of Zelda 1*** (ゼルダの伝説１ *Zeruda no Densetsu Wan*).

## Plot

The plot of *The Legend of Zelda* is described in the instruction booklet and in the short prologue after the title screen. A small kingdom in the land of Hyrule, the setting of the game, is engulfed in chaos after an army led by Ganon, the Prince of Darkness, invaded it and stole the Triforce of Power, a part of a magical artifact bestowing great strength. In an attempt to prevent Ganon from acquiring the Triforce of Wisdom, another of the pieces, Princess Zelda splits it and hides the eight fragments in secret dungeons throughout the land. Before the princess is eventually kidnapped by Ganon, she commands her nursemaid Impato find someone courageous enough to save the kingdom. While wandering the land, the old woman is surrounded by Ganon's henchmen, though a young boy named Link appears and rescues her. After hearing Impa's plea, he resolves to save Zelda and sets out to reassemble the scattered fragments of the Triforce of Wisdom, to become powerful enough to defeat Ganon.

## Gameplay

*The Legend of Zelda* incorporates elements of action, adventure, and role-playing games. The player controls Link from a flip-screen overhead perspective as he travels in the overworld, a large outdoor map with varied environments. Link begins the game armed only with a small shield, but a sword becomes available to Link after he ventures into a cave that is accessible from the game's first map screen. Throughout the game, merchants, townspeople, and others guide Link with cryptic clues. These people are scattered across the overworld and hidden in caves, shrubbery, or behind walls or waterfalls. 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 surface. Dungeons also hide useful tools which Link can add to his arsenal, such as a boomerang for retrieving distant items and stunning enemies, and a recorder with magical properties. Link must successfully navigate through each of the first eight dungeons to obtain all eight pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom. Once he has completed the artifact, he can enter the ninth dungeon to rescue Zelda. Apart from this exception, the order of completing dungeons is somewhat left to the player, although they steadily increase in difficulty and some of them can only be reached or completed using items gained in a previous one. 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 without ever receiving the sword.

After completing the game, the player has access to a more difficult quest, officially referred to as the "Second Quest" (裏ゼルダ ),where dungeons and the placement of items are different and enemies are stronger. Although this more difficult "replay" was not unique to*Zelda*, few games offered entirely different levels to complete on the second playthrough. The Second Quest can be replayed each time the game is completed and can also be accessed at any time by starting a new file with the name "ZELDA".

## More Information

http://ign.com/games/the-legend-of-zelda/nes-5990

http://www.zelda.com/universe/pedia/l.jsp