The Legend of Zelda, alternately subtitled The Hyrule Fantasy or simply Zelda 1, is the first game in the Zelda series. It was produced and directed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, and the soundtrack was composed by Koji Kondo.
| Region | Date | Platform | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| JP | 1986.02.21 | FDS | |
| NA | 1987.08.22 | NES | |
| PAL | 1987.11.15 | ||
| JP | 1994.02.19 | Famicom | The number 1 was appended to the title screen. |
| JP | 2001.12.14 | GCN | Unobtainable item in Animal Crossing from a never-used secret code. |
| EU | 2003.11.14 | GCN | Featured in The Legend of Zelda Collectors Edition |
| NA | 2003.11.17 | ||
| JP | 2004.02.14 | GBA | |
| JP | 2004.04.01 | GCN | Featured in The Legend of Zelda Collectors Edition |
| NA | 2004.06.02 | GBA | |
| AU | 2004.06.14 | GCN | Featured in The Legend of Zelda Collectors Edition |
| PAL | 2004.07.09 | GBA | |
| NA | 2006.11.19 | Wii | |
| JP | 2006.12.02 | ||
| AU | 2006.12.07 | ||
| EU | 2006.12.08 | ||
| Korea | 2009.03.31 | ||
| JP | 2011.12.22 | 3DS | |
| PAL | 2012.04.12 | ||
| NA | 2012.07.05 | ||
| JP | 2013.08.28 | Wii U | |
| NA | 2013.08.29 | ||
| PAL | |||
| Korea | 2016.02.03 | 3DS | |
| WW | 2016.11.10 | NES Mini | Includes 30 games |
| WW | 2018.09.19 | NSO | |
| WW | 2021.11.12 | Fake G&W | Featured in Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda
alongside Zelda II and the GB version of Link's Awakening |
Backstory
Many years ago, Ganon stole the Triforce of Power, and kept it when he was sealed in the Dark World[1]. When he escaped, he sought the remaining parts and confronted Princess Zelda about the whereabouts of the Triforce of Wisdom. She had divided it into eight pieces before he arrived and hidden them in eight dungeons, and sent Impa to find a hero with enough courage to recover the pieces and destroy Ganon. Ganon grew furious, imprisoned Zelda, and sent pursuers after Impa, and braving forests and mountains she ran a long distance across Hyrule before being cornered at the limit of her energy. But fortunately, Link appeared and skillfully deflected the enemies, and she gave him a map of the dungeons.
Gameplay
The original Zelda, it is kind of bad
The lack of direction makes gamers mad
It's one of the most confusing games I've seen
Like what do these hints even mean?
Like "10TH ENEMY HAS THE BOMB?"
Maybe check the wiki?
Awful. Incomprehensible.
--Parody of the rap trailer
The Hyrule Fantasy is a 2D game with nine dungeons (8+1). It may be considered an open-world game, as it is possible to reach all but two of the 128 overworld screens right off the bat, and reach Ganon's room swordless. The first eight dungeons contain the fragments of the Triforce of Wisdom, and collecting all of them allows Link to get past the old man blocking access to Ganon's lair in Spectacle Rock[2].
Aftermath
Link destroyed Ganon, claimed the Triforce of Power, and rescued Princess Zelda! Outstanding!
- ↑ The game's intro begins with "MANY YEARS AGO, PRINCE DARKNESS GANNON STOLE ONE OF THE TRIFORCE WITH POWER" but as the intro ends with the imperative "GO FIND THE 8 UNITS, LINK" it must mean that Ganon's theft of the Triforce of Power was what occurred many years ago, rather than the entire story being recounted. This is backed up by the game's Virtual Console description stating "Ganon, the King of Evil, has broken free of the Dark World" implying he'd previously been sealed away.
- ↑ "ONES WHO DOES NOT HAVE TRIFORCE CAN'T GO IN." -Old man in the second room of Spectacle Rock