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The '''Legend of Zelda''' is a ] ] series created by ] and industry legend ]. | ||
| The Legend of Zelda games (often shortened to just "Zelda") feature as their central character and protaganist a young ] named ''Link''. The "Zelda" in the title refers to ''Princess Zelda'', princess of the land of ], whose rescue is the general object of most of the games. The main villain of the series is known as ''Ganon''. Story-wise the earlier games did not deviate much from the standard "save the princess" theme, but later installments have diversified their themes somewhat. However, at the core of all Zeldas is not the plot, as the stories of the individual games do not always match up, but a successful mixture of puzzles, action gameplay and exploration. This formula has remained fairly constant throughout the series, with further refinements and additions featuring in each new game, and it has made the Zelda franchise one of Nintendo's most important assets, combined with the ] and ] series. | |||
| The adventures of Link in the land of ] so far... | |||
| == Games == | |||
| # The first, simply titled ''The Legend of Zelda'' is a simple but obviously special affair. | |||
| The following is a list of the main installments of the series, with the original year of release and the platform they first appeared on. | |||
| ⚫ | # |
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| # '']'' introduced most of the gameplay elements that are now instantly recognisable to any seasoned player. Taking place over an extensive world, its key feature was the dark alternative realm, previously inaccessable places would become available in the dark world, opening up new places, people and items to be discovered. | |||
| # '']'' wasn't such an advanced leap as the previous title, something remedied with the later ''DX'' release which added a new dungeon, the usage of colour throughout and a photo shop with the ability to print out photos. | |||
| # Universally acclaimed as being one of the greatest, if not <b>the</b> greatest video games of all time, '']'' was well worth the several year wait. Resembling an epic poem or a classical myth, the storyline takes took the player on a journey spanning seven years and offered an enormous world to explore. The familiar trading sequence here involved the use of masks, which were to form a large part of the premise of the next game. | |||
| # Coming so soon after, many expected ] to be a good, but shallow experience. Billed as it was as a side story to the Ocarina of Time, and worst still, not even developed by Shigeru Miyamoto. Those fears were unfounded; at the heart of the game, it once again uses time. Rather than taking a macro, lifetime spanning approach, it took the micro, minutes and hours approach. Probably one of the most beautiful games ever. | |||
| # Originally envisioned to come out as three parts, ] and] are the latest adventure scaled to two parts. Using the proven formula of ]'s other great franchise, ], these two games combine and form a greater whole. | |||
| # ] (] - ]) | |||
| With the November 18, 2001 release of Nintendo's newest gaming console, the ], is the certainty of a new Zelda game on the horizon. Legend of Zelda, a tentative title for the game, brings back the old-school Zelda 2-like look to the game. Many game enthusiastis expected the new game to be a venture into ultra-realisim, but Nintendo is going cartoon. Link and his universe takes on a 2D, cardboard cutout look with exaggerated facial expression, and bright colors that remind some of 1980s fashion sense. The game looks much more like something from Cartoon Network's Samuri Jack than a venture into 128mb realism. Nintendo - maker of mostly non-violent, character driven games- claims the move is to make games more like gaming, as opposed to an alternative reality. They stand behind the somewhat controversial look for the Zelda franchise, and many analysts say that it isn't all about realism, but about gameplay. Gamers couldn't agree more. | |||
| ⚫ | # ] (] - ]) | ||
| # ] (] - ]) | |||
| # ] (] - ]) | |||
| # ] (] - ]) | |||
| # ] (] - ]) | |||
| # ] (] - ]) | |||
| # ] (] - ]) | |||
| # ] (] - ]) | |||
| The first Zelda appears relatively crude and simple by today's standards, but it was a popular and innovative game in its day. A modified version known as ''Bandai Satellaview Zelda'' was released for the SNES's satellite-based expansion in the early 1990s. The second, also known as ''Zelda II'', was a departure from the concept of the first game as it exchanged the top-down view for a side-scrolling one. The third, initially known as ''Super Zelda'', returned to the top-down view and added the concept of an alternate world. It has been re-released for the ] in ], combined with the multiplayer addition ''Four Swords''. The fourth game was the first not to take place in Hyrule, and it was re-released for the Game Boy Color in ] as ''Link's Awakening DX'' with some additional features. | |||
| After a relatively long hiatus, the series made the transition to ] with Ocarina of Time. The game, initially known as ''Zelda 64'', retained the core gameplay of the previous games and was very successful both commercially and critically. It saw a limited re-release on the Gamecube in ] when it was combined with the Wind Waker and featured a previously unreleased expansion known as ''Ura Zelda''. The sixth game used the same software as the previous Nintendo 64 game, but added a novel time-based concept. The next two games were released simultaneously and, by exchanging codes, could be combined to form a single story. They were not developed by Nintendo, but rather by ] under the supervision of Miyamoto. | |||
| The next Zelda was initially believed to be a development of the more realistically styled N64 games, but Nintendo surprised many when it was revealed that the Gamecube game would be cell-shaded, a more cartoon-like style of design. Initial fears that this would effect the quality of gameplay that many fans had grown accustomed to were eased when the game was released to positive reviews in ] in ] and elsewhere in ]. It featured a concept based around the wind and sailing. | |||
| Beyond the commonly recognised games, there have been three Zelda games made for ]' ] multimedia system under a special license agreement. These were made without any involvement from Nintendo and they deviated significantly from the other games in style and gameplay. Like the system they were created for, these were never very popular and can today be considered obscure. The games released were ''Faces of Evil'', ''Wand of Gamelon'' and ''Zelda's Adventure''. | |||
| == External link == | |||
| * - Official site, featuring an encyclopedia | |||
Revision as of 00:22, 6 January 2003
The Legend of Zelda is a video game adventure series created by Nintendo and industry legend Shigeru Miyamoto.
The Legend of Zelda games (often shortened to just "Zelda") feature as their central character and protaganist a young elf named Link. The "Zelda" in the title refers to Princess Zelda, princess of the land of Hyrule, whose rescue is the general object of most of the games. The main villain of the series is known as Ganon. Story-wise the earlier games did not deviate much from the standard "save the princess" theme, but later installments have diversified their themes somewhat. However, at the core of all Zeldas is not the plot, as the stories of the individual games do not always match up, but a successful mixture of puzzles, action gameplay and exploration. This formula has remained fairly constant throughout the series, with further refinements and additions featuring in each new game, and it has made the Zelda franchise one of Nintendo's most important assets, combined with the Super Mario and Pokemon series.
Games
The following is a list of the main installments of the series, with the original year of release and the platform they first appeared on.
- The Legend of Zelda (1986 - NES)
- The Adventure of Link (1987 - NES)
- Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991 - SNES)
- Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (1993 - Game Boy)
- Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998 - N64)
- Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (2000 - N64)
- Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (2001 - Game Boy Color)
- Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (2001 - Game Boy Color)
- Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2002 - Gamecube)
The first Zelda appears relatively crude and simple by today's standards, but it was a popular and innovative game in its day. A modified version known as Bandai Satellaview Zelda was released for the SNES's satellite-based expansion in the early 1990s. The second, also known as Zelda II, was a departure from the concept of the first game as it exchanged the top-down view for a side-scrolling one. The third, initially known as Super Zelda, returned to the top-down view and added the concept of an alternate world. It has been re-released for the Game Boy Advance in 2002, combined with the multiplayer addition Four Swords. The fourth game was the first not to take place in Hyrule, and it was re-released for the Game Boy Color in 1998 as Link's Awakening DX with some additional features.
After a relatively long hiatus, the series made the transition to 3D with Ocarina of Time. The game, initially known as Zelda 64, retained the core gameplay of the previous games and was very successful both commercially and critically. It saw a limited re-release on the Gamecube in 2002 when it was combined with the Wind Waker and featured a previously unreleased expansion known as Ura Zelda. The sixth game used the same software as the previous Nintendo 64 game, but added a novel time-based concept. The next two games were released simultaneously and, by exchanging codes, could be combined to form a single story. They were not developed by Nintendo, but rather by Capcom under the supervision of Miyamoto.
The next Zelda was initially believed to be a development of the more realistically styled N64 games, but Nintendo surprised many when it was revealed that the Gamecube game would be cell-shaded, a more cartoon-like style of design. Initial fears that this would effect the quality of gameplay that many fans had grown accustomed to were eased when the game was released to positive reviews in Japan in 2002 and elsewhere in 2003. It featured a concept based around the wind and sailing.
Beyond the commonly recognised games, there have been three Zelda games made for Philips' CD-i multimedia system under a special license agreement. These were made without any involvement from Nintendo and they deviated significantly from the other games in style and gameplay. Like the system they were created for, these were never very popular and can today be considered obscure. The games released were Faces of Evil, Wand of Gamelon and Zelda's Adventure.
External link
- Zelda.com - Official site, featuring an encyclopedia