The Legend of Zelda History Thread

[Lee]

Shigeru Miyamoto is an absolute legend. People say without Nintendo the video games industry would not exist, but if it wasn't for Miyamoto San then Nintendo would still be making playing cards!

Of all the games he has come up with in that crazy imagination of his, there are two that I think will always stand the test of time...the Mario series and the Legend of Zelda series.

I still have the original game, still in its now complety worn box, but the description of the series is brilliant;

"Welcome to the legend of Zelda, where the only sound you'll hear is your own heart pounding as you race through forests, lakes, mountains and dungenous mazes in an attempt to restore peace to the land of Hyrule."

So ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, FlameLeeUK proudly brings to you, in his opinion, the greatest Video games series EVER...from NES to Wii, from Game and Watch to DS...it's the Legend of Zelda

 

[Dead Kennedy]

Yeah, Zelda may be my favourite game franchise of all time. Not as uneven as Final Fantasy and not as many crap installments as the Mario series have (I'm counting the spinoff games here) and basically, I have never played a Zelda game that I didn't like or that I felt was low in quality. Wind Waker is my least favourite of all of them, but it's still a good game.

Man, I was just reading your Mario history thread, you write some good stuff here. You can expect me to check out this thread for updates all the time!

 

[Derf]

This History is going to be amazing. And I for one was a HUGE fan of Wind Waker, I mean, I can see how some don't like it cause of the graphics, but it had one of the best stories, and the final few battles were amazing. It was also the hardest of ALL Zelda games near the end. I had so much trouble trying to figure how to get the peices of the triforce.

THATS the game I can't wait to get reviewed.

 

[Dead Kennedy]

Oh, it wasn't the graphics. Just the sailing and the random story. Add that to the fact that the only reason I bought a GameCube was that one game, and you have one miffed HK. They just had too little of the stuff I enjoy in a Zelda title.

 

[Lee]

The story
Hyrule was engulfed in chaos after an army led by Ganon, the Prince of Darkness, invaded the kingdom and secured the Triforce of Power, a magical artifact bestowing great strength. Hyrule's Princess Zelda split one of the artifact's two counterparts, the Triforce of Wisdom, into eight fragments, hiding them in secret dungeons throughout the land to prevent them from falling into Ganon's hands.

According to the manual, Impa fled for her life, but was overtaken by her pursuers. As Ganon's henchmen surrounded her, a youth drove the monsters off. The boy's name was Link, and Impa told him of Hyrule's plight. Link resolved to save Zelda, but to fight Ganon he had to find and reassemble the scattered fragments of the Triforce. Undeterred, Link set off for Hyrule in an epic adventure.

The history

As the inaugural game of The Legend of Zelda series, it was first released in Japan as a launch title for the Famicom's Disk System peripheral, a year and five months before it was released in the United States. Because the Famicom Disk System was not released outside Japan, the game was published internationally on the Nintendo Entertainment System's cartridge format in 1987, with an internal battery to facilitate data saving. Nintendo released the game in Japan in 1994 on cartridge format for the Famicom.

My opinion

Wow what a game, and best of all it started the Zelda revolution, you could save, it was huge, the story was actually a story and you could name the dude after yourself! This set teh standard for RPG games to follow, and man was it a good idea.

As is always the case with my game mentioning, I go to my own experience, and I found this game flipping hard as a 5 year old kid, now as a 22 year old adult I still find it hard! But hey it's Zelda, it's groundbreaking and it flipping kicks ass!

Next game

My next game will be The Adventure of Link

 

[klunderbunker]

Sweet choice. Still the best series of all time, no question.

So, the first game. I didn't get to actually play this until this year as I'm a bit young and was raised on the SNES. All I can say is wow. This game is a great balance of puzzles, action, and storytelling. It amazes me that the juggernaut that Zelda is today started with this little pipsqueak running around killing monsters. Its graphics and gameplay are groundbreaking to say the least. The game saving might have been a new thing, unsure, but it still was a big deal to know that you couldn't just sit down and beat the game in 2 hours. Great game, great series.

 

[Dead Kennedy]

I'm still impressed by how immersive and big the game is, for a NES game. It really tapped into the full potential of the console. Still is a test for both your noggin and your reflexes. It's still the second-hardest game in the series (the hardest is Zelda II - no human alive should be able to beat that game...I know nobody who have at least.) and fun to sit down with and just continually be impressed by how good it is. A true classic in every sense of the word.

 

[FromTheSouth]

The Zelda series is my favorite series on the Nintendo. The SNES version was my favorite, but this version got me hooked. From looking for cracked walls, to pushing the graves, to walking around trying to move everything solid...this game kicked ass and confused my little seven year old ass when I first got it.

 

[a7xoff]

You wanna talk about a groundbreaking game. This game in my opinion played a major part in changing the face of gaming... FOREVER. There were so many new features in this game that up till that point had been unheard of. I might add that the gold cartridge was a nice touch. Zelda really set the stage for future games, not only in the series, but for other series that follow in it's footsteps. The graphics and music were amazing for their respective times, and the plot and puzzles were right there with them. Overall I rate this Zelda game one of the best ever made

 

[Skullz Crack'Em]

The first time I actually played this game was five years ago when I got the Zelda: Collector's Edition for GameCube, I never did get a chance to play it on the NES. This was the beginning of it all, the mixture of dungeons, items, puzzles, and of course monsters, that we all know and love about the Zelda series. This is a great classic, but far from being the best out of the Zelda series IMO. This game may be short for today's standards, but it is pretty darn difficult and I am glad to say that I beat it, which was most satisfying. I give it a 8.5/10.

 

[Monkey_Mania]

Great choice for the next series. I have always been a fan of the Zelda franchise. They have always had the great appeal, the excitement, the fun, and also the challenging but not to challenging aspects of the game. I have loved the series since the beginning and still play each one of my games from time to time. Great franchise, and I cant wait to see more from this thread.

 

[a7xoff]

After playing Zelda again a little bit after I posted last night I realized something else. For it's time period, the world of Zelda was pretty damn big. I mean it's really nothing compared to the world in Twilight Princess, but for an NES game, and a first game in a series, it's world is huge. Even today this game continues to really be very playable, whether it be on the NES, emulators, Gamecube, or Wii. It's still a very playable, and really challenging game. Zelda has kind of made a name for itself in the puzzle world as well I think since the amount of puzzles in the Zelda series really is astounding. It all started with this game and it's pushing blocks around or doing some other seemingly simple tasks that would evolve into a pretty challenging puzzle.

 

[Lee]

The story
Shortly after the events of The Legend of Zelda, Link notices a strange mark on the back of his left hand, similar to that of the crest of Hyrule. He seeks out Impa, who responds by taking Link to a door in the North Castle; this door has not opened for generations. Impa places Link's left hand on the door, and it opens, revealing a sleeping maiden. Impa tells Link that the maiden is Zelda, the princess of Hyrule from long ago, and the origin of the "Legend of Zelda." Zelda's brother had tried to force her into telling their recently deceased father's secrets, where he had hidden the last of three sacred golden triangle treasures of his kingdom, known collectively as the Triforce. Princess Zelda refused to reveal its location; the prince's wizard friend, in anger, tried to strike her down with a spell. This resulted in a powerful sleeping spell, but also resulted in his own death. The prince, unable to reverse the spell, had his sister placed in the castle tower, in the hope that she would one day be awakened. He decreed that females born to the royal family from that point on would be named Zelda, in remembrance of this tragedy.pa says that the mark on Link's hand means that he is the chosen hero to awaken Zelda. She gives Link a chest containing six crystals and ancient writings indicating that each crystal needs to be placed in a different palace in Hyrule.

(Long plot I know!)

The history

Like The Legend of Zelda, The Adventure of Link was based on Shigeru Miyamoto's concepts.However, the game was developed by a separate team from that of The Legend of Zelda, and key members from The Legend of Zelda's design team, such as Takashi Tezuka and Koji Kondo, were not involved in The Adventure of Link's production.

JP January 14, 1987
NA December 1988
PAL November 26, 1988

My opinion
Hands up, who hated this game? *puts hands up*
Hands down now *puts hands down*
Go replay it now...it's freaking awesome!

Whilst people bemoan the side scrolling, but meh get used to it. Once you get over that, and also that it's not like other Zelda games, then you can enjoy it. i've found that with Zelda games...stop compaing! A true gem!

Next game

My next game will be The LCD series

 

[a7xoff]

I'm sorry, but this is probably my least favorite Zelda game. Not because it was different than the others, just really could never get into it's battle side scrolling system. Now don't get me wrong. Though it's my least favorite I still felt that it was a pretty solid game. The plot was again amazingly long for it's time, and again the world was huge. However I feel that Nintendo used this game to try and build off of the original and to see how people reacted to the side scrolling fighting. Most people I've talked to tell me that they were not really into it, and that it really broke the flow of the game as opposed to fighting monsters as you progress forward. Instead your forced into a side scrolling battle sequence. Again I think it's a decent game, by no means the best Zelda game, but a still built upon a lot of basic ideas from the first.

 

[Skullz Crack'Em]

I first played Zelda II five years ago when I got the Collector's Edition(just like Zelda I), and it is the Black Sheep of the Zelda series IMO. I love RPGs and I love Zelda, so you would think that two of them together would work out great, but the extreme difficulty killed it for me, this is the only Zelda game I played that I never conquered. That was my only problem with this game, the side scrolling didn't bother me at all. Even though this is my least favorite Zelda game, it was still fun up until the part when it gets painful to go farther, I give it a 6.5/10.

 

[Lee]

The story

Game watch

[this was actually on a watch!]
Hyrule is attacked by a monster king. He is a giant aquamentis and his 3 sons. They shatter the triforce into 4 pieces, steal them, and take over 4 sacred dungeons. Hyrule is in chaos. Link must kill them and their minions to save Hyrule. After you beat the 4 dungeons,the game ends.

Game & watch

Unlike most Legend of Zelda games, Ganon is not the villain. Instead, eight dragons kidnap Princess Zelda and threaten mankind. Upon completing the lower screens dungeons and reaching the upper screen portion, Link battles a dragon and recovers a fragment of the Triforce. Once all eight pieces are recovered, Zelda is freed and the game ends.

The history

The only history I can find here is that it was released in 1989 and It was developed by Gunpei Yokoi and Nintendo R&D1.

My opinion
Never played it, never heard of it until recently, although it apparently pushed the boundaries of what you could have on an LCD screen.

And to the twat on ebay who keeps out bidding me for this, am coming to get you!

Next game

My next game will be A Link to the Past

 

[Lee]

The story

At the beginning of A Link to the Past, a young boy named Link is awakened by a telepathic message from Princess Zelda, who says that she is locked in the dungeon of Hyrule Castle. As the message closes, Link finds his uncle ready for battle, telling Link to remain in bed. After his uncle leaves, however, Link ignores his uncle's command and follows him to Hyrule Castle. When he arrives, he finds his uncle seriously wounded. Link's uncle tells Link to rescue Princess Zelda from her prison, giving him a sword and shield. Link navigates the castle and rescues Zelda from her cell, and the two escape into a secret passage through the sewers that leads to a sanctuary.
To save Hyrule, Link is required to rescue the seven descendants of the Seven Sages from dungeons scattered across the Dark World.

The history

JP November 21, 1991
NA April 13, 1992
EU September 24, 1992

A Link to the Past is one of the best-selling SNES games, with 4.61 million units sold worldwide, and has had an exceptionally long stay on Nintendo Power's top games list: when the SNES list was finally retired, A Link to the Past had more than five consecutive years in the number one spot. It was re-released as a Player's Choice title in North America, indicating that it has sold a minimum of one million copies there

My opinion

Wildly regarded as one of the greatest games of all time, I can flipping see why! This game really pushed the boundaries from what we'd seen in a Zelda game, it's huge, the story's great, the characters are brilliant. We have full villages, and mini games, this is Zelda down to a T!

I don't think there's any Zelda fan out there who hates this game, if so SHAME ON YOU!

Next game

My next game will be the lowest point in zelda history!

 

[klunderbunker]

Now we break out the big guns. This to me is in the running for greatest video game of all time. Looking at the graphics, the story, the gameplay, the difficulty, the fact that this game is pushing 20 years old is flat out astonishing. As Lee said, this is Zelda at its best: Storyline, puzzles, combat, great characters etc. I still break this out every now and then and get addicted to it all over again for a few months. The world was amazingly huge for a 16bit game, and it worked like a charm. The animation and colrs are top notch, the weapons, primarily the hookshot and hammer made their debuts here, and the drawing of the master sword from the stone just has an epic feel to it. Best game ever, period. Well, except for maybe something that came 6 years later.

 

[Lee]

"If you take a look at the logo on my boots, you'll notice that it's the Tri-Force from The Legend of Zelda.You know how some people have a book they re-read every year? Well I re-play The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for Super Nintendo every year. In the game, the Tri-Force symbolized power, wisdom and courage. I thought I could apply those qualities to my life."

I thoght I'd post this, it just shows the true effect of this game, even to the point that upcomer Cody Rhodes has the triforce on his boots.

Absolutely brilliant game, one of two in the series that I would call the peak (Orcarina of time the other). Just to point out though the Hammer was used in Zelda 2. A link to the past was good in that it mixed the excellent gameplay of the first one, with the villages etc. in the Adventure of Link. Then it goes further by making the game HUGE and brilliant graphics for a 16 bit...absolute classic.

 

[a7xoff]

Link To The Past was a phenominal game. Like you guys said probably one of the best ever made. It's world was huge, beautiful graphics, amazing music, just everything was perfect for an SNES game, and really pushed the limits of the system itself. The remake for GBA is pretty decent as well, but nothing beats sitting down and playing Link To The Past on SNES. Probably the 2nd best game on the system. The game also returned to the classic Zelda format from the NES, which I feel really brought this game to life. If the style had been like The Adventure Of Link, I really don't think it would be as high up as it is.

 

[Skullz Crack'Em]

This and Ocarina of Time are tied for best Zelda game IMO. I grew up on this game, so it brings back countless memories which makes it even more special to me. Everything was excellent about ALTTP, the gameplay, graphics, story, and music were all done to perfection and I still play it today. I have both the SNES version and GBA version, two of them are basically the same(which is a good thing), but now I can play it anywhere on my GBA which is a blessing. I will never forget my first playthrough, it actually took me weeks to figure out how to kill Ganon because I didn't know anything about those damn Silver Arrows from the fat Fairy(or Faerie in ALLTP) lol. I give this game what it deserves, a 10/10.

 

[Lee]

The story

Many years ago, Nintendo partnered with Sony to make a CD add on for the Super Nintendo. It was called the PlayStation Experimental. Nintendo decided to abort the deal however, and signed a deal with Sony's rival Phillips. In the process they also gave Phillips the licence to produce Zelda games for their new CD-i system. The games are NOT canon to the rest of the series, and had no link to Nintendo, as Nintendo, as well as the majority of fans, try to cover up their existence. They contained FMV sequences, voice acting, and generally bad gameplay. So we have 3 games;

1; Link: The Faces of Evil

Plot

Link, feeling increasingly useless in the now-safe land of Hyrule, has no idea that the far away island of Koridai has been taken over by his old nemesis, Ganon. Ganon has also kidnapped the Princess of Hyrule, Zelda, and is holding her captive there. A mysterious wizard visits Link on a flying carpet to inform the hero of the dire situation. Only Link, with the aid of the Book of Koridai, can defeat Ganon. After being refused a kiss from Princess Zelda, Link then flies away with the man on the flying carpet and moves towards a populated island of stone statues in the shape of diabolical faces known as the "Faces Of Evil".

The history

1994

2; Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon

Plot
The story begins with the King of Hyrule going off to fight Ganon. He tells Princess Zelda to send Link to help him if he does not return after a month. An entire month passes without word from the King. As instructed, Zelda sends Link to find him, but he doesn't return either. Zelda then decides to venture forth herself to search for Link and her father.

The history

1994

3; Zelda's Adventure

Plot
Tolemac is in the middle of the Age of Darkness, as Ganon has kidnapped Link, and unleashed his rule over the land of Tolemac (Camelot spelled backwards). Princess Zelda sets out to save the young adventurer and learns from the astronomer Gaspra that she must first collect seven celestial signs before she can conquer the dark king and bring Hyrule to an "Age of Lightness".

The history

1994

My opinion

Nintendo deny it, canon deny them...fans deny them THEY'RE SHIT!

Next game

My next game will be links awakening

 

[Lee]

The story

After the events of A Link to the Past, Link travels abroad to train to combat further threats. After a storm destroys his boat at sea, he awakens on Koholint Island, and is taken to the house of a kind man named Tarin and his daughter Marin. Marin is fascinated by Link and the outside world across the sea, and tells him wistfully that she would like to one day travel across the sea. After recovering his sword from Koholint's beaches, a mysterious owl tells Link that in order to return home, he must awaken the guardian of Koholint—the Wind Fish who is dreaming in a giant egg on top of Tal Tal Mountain and can only be woken by gathering and playing the eight instruments of the Sirens.Throughout Koholint Island, nightmare creatures attempt to obstruct Link’s quest to awaken the Wind Fish as they wish to rule his dreamworld.

The history

Game Boy
JP June 6, 1993
NA August 1993
EU 1993

Game Boy Color
JP December 12, 1998
NA October 28, 1998
EU January 1999

My opinion

Though I played Zelda games before hand, I couldn't remember it. This is the first Zelda game I can remember (I have played the others again since...) and I thought it was great fun, it stepped up the next level with the Game Boy Color release, making it look very neat. It also brought us fishing, coocoos and that Orcarina!

Next game

My next game will be the greatest game ever made...

 

[Derf]

Links Awakening was the first Zelda game I ever played, and I wasn' a fan AT FIRST. I later went on to play OOT and it was amazing. So afte rbeating that, ad randomly stumbling upon LA again, I gave it a 2nd go. I did't make it as far (MajorasMask had literally just come out days earlier) but I for some reason will never forget stealing stuff from that dude in the shop!

EDIT: I hope to crap I'm not confusing LA with ALTTP right now...

 

[klunderbunker]

No thats the right one Derf. You steal in this one. I wasn't really a fan of this one. Granted I came to this one after Link to the Past so anything is a downgrade. Its a good game, but not the best. The ending just sucked to me. The game was interesting as was the jumping and the trading of items through the game. Its decent and a good way to pass the time, but i'd rather go with one of the older games or the N64 titles.