One of the most popular action-adventure game series in the world. Zelda was created by legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto who also created
Mario. The Zelda games have sold over 52 million copies and have spawned an animated tv-series, manga comics, and countless toy products. The main character, Link, is one of Nintendo’s most prominent mascots.
The original Legend of Zelda, released in 1986, represented a hallmark in adventure gaming. It combined elements of action, RPG, adventure, and puzzle solving all in one package. Moreover, it made great use of nonlinearity. Whereas games such as Super
Mario Bros forced you on a set path with no ability to backtrack, Zelda allowed you to take different paths to complete the game. Link could freely wander and decide the order in which to complete the game’s objectives. A fairly new concept for the time, Nintendo was initially worried that players would be left wondering what to do next. Therefore an elaborate system of hints and maps was set up so that the player could always have some guidance. Today, Zelda is considered the forerunner to the modern console RPG game. Subsequent adventure games(and Zelda sequels) continue to borrow heavily from the original classic.
