The Legend of Zelda: 25th Anniversary

Our favorite Hylian turns 25 today! Happy Birthday, Link! Happy Anniversary, Legend of Zelda!

Fan made logo
*Real logo in newer post

February 21, 1986 marked a day in Japan that will not soon be forgotten by gamers. Nintendo released The Legend of Zelda for the Famicon Disk System. It was later re-released in the United States on August 22, 1987 on the famous gold cartridge that we all know and love for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Nintendo did not know it then, but they had just launched one of the biggest franchises in video game history.

There's no doubt that The Legend of Zelda changed the way games are played today. It was the first Nintendo game to need a save feature, it incorporated a vast world with many dungeons, and it gave us a game with non-linear game-play. These have all become staples of games today. Since 1986 Nintendo has released 14 Legend of Zelda titles with the 15th, Skyward Sword, set to release later this year. This is not including Nintendo's Link's Crossbow Training. It's a testament to Nintendo and to the Zelda franchise that many mark the 1998 title The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina Of Time as the greatest game ever made. It's hard to find a Zelda fan who won't go on for ten minutes about why they love The Ocarina Of Time. Although, where ever the conversation starts, it'll inevitably get back to 1986's The Legend of Zelda.

Future titles may have added to the Legend of Zelda universe (most notably The Ocarina of Time), but the original gave us everything we needed to fall in love with the franchise.

• Link: Our Hylian hero garbed in green. Sword in one hand and shield in the other.
• Princess Zelda: Our damsel in distress and heroine of the series. 
• Ganon: Introduced here in 'boar form', he later takes his true form as the villain Ganondorf.
• Fairies: Used to fill health and in later titles gain new items/weapons.
• Hyrule: The kingdom in which all later titles would be set.
• Enemies: Hordes of villains loyal to Ganon sent to defeat Link.
• Dungeons: Independent adventures with key item/weapons recovery. Also called temples.
• Boss Fights: Epic fight scenes where weaknesses had to be revealed to kill the monster.
• Puzzles: From rock pushing to how to navigate a forest, the puzzles started here.
• Exploration: Open exploration of Hyrule was a key element for this title.
• Save Feature: A vast world map & open exploration rose the need for a save feature.
• Weapons: All the main weapons were found here; sword, bow, boomerang, & bombs.
• Music: Koji Kondo's music is among the best known and most memorable in the industry.

After 25 years fans are still cheering for more. The Legend of Zelda franchise has captured the hearts of multiple generations of gamers worldwide and it appears to have no plans on throwing in the towel any time soon. With the re-release of The Ocarina of Time on the Nintendo 3DS and Skyward Sword on the Nintendo Wii set for later this year, the Legend of Zelda franchise is looking to make 2011 the 'Year of Zelda'.

In honor of the anniversary I shall be playing through the original game. Thank you Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka for creating this franchise! Happy Anniversary, Legend of Zelda!