Summary
For over three decades,The Legend of Zeldahas remained an integral part of gaming history, being many people’s first high-fantasy adventure experience. The original game on the NES was revolutionary, which led to it being a success and the start of a flagship Nintendo franchise.
As time passed, so grewThe Legend of Zeldafranchise, with the original game being the sapling that sprouted a plethora of branches in the form of sequels, prequels, and spin-offs. Many of the games advanced the series in their own ways, adding features that would become the norm or experimenting with graphical improvements on newer hardware.
Initially, gamers were not kind toZelda 2: The Adventure of Linkfor departing from the classic top-down view and swapping to a sidescrolling perspective during encounters and dungeons. However, many have come to appreciate it for trying something different and setting an example of what the franchise can do with new gameplay styles.
As a result,the series of handheld gamesand various spin-offs would carry on the tradition of experimenting with new gameplay styles.Zelda 2is also the game where Shadow Link debuted as the game’s final boss. Ever since then, Shadow Link has sporadically returned in various games in the franchise, such as in the Water Temple inOcarina of Time.
WithoutThe Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakeningembarking Link on a side adventure, there wouldn’t be titles such as theOraclegames,Majora’s Mask,The Minish Cap, orEchoes of Wisdom. They maintain the classic gameplay style seen inThe Legend of Zeldabut tell different stories with unique visuals and set in other worlds besides Hyrule.
Link’s Awakeningwould become so famous despite being a Game Boy game that it would receivea remaster on the Game Boy Colorand a complete remake for the Nintendo Switch. The remake would even be successful enough to warrant a sequel with Zelda as the main character instead of Link.
With the first two games in the series,The Legend of Zeldawas a basic adventure involving defeating dungeons, fighting Ganon, and saving Princess Zelda, which was effective. However,The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Pastbranched out and created a genuine story with a more intricate plot, dialogue, and stakes.
Hyrule felt more alive inA Link to the Past, with villages and other locations featuring Hylian NPCs and a story featuring legitimate cutscenes thanks to the higherpower of the SNES console. This allowed the world to be more fleshed out and akin to a fantasy RPG featuring Link, which nearly every single sequel would take inspiration from.
For the most part, fans and even people who have never played the game think ofThe Legend of Zeldaas a family-friendly franchise. That remained true withThe Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, but it also showcased the franchise’s potential to go in more mature directions, both thematically and visually.
Fans were surprised when the story inTwilight Princesstook itself more seriously, showing a lot of influence from other fantasy blockbusters such asThe Lord of the Ringstonally. Everything was treated as far more grandiose in scale, and some darker scenes and cutscenes looked more cinematic than ever before.
The Nintendo 64 had as much of an impact onThe Legend of Zeldaas it did theMariofranchise, taking it to new heights with the introduction of 3D visuals and gameplay.The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Timetook the idea of exploring the land of Hyrule to another level, providing immersion like never before.
The open world and third-person gameplay ofOcarina Of Timebecame the blueprint for every mainlineZeldagame.Ocarina Of Timetook whatA Link to the Pasthad introduced and carried it further with cinematic cutscenes, character development, and a world filled with side stories to make exploring Hyrule more engaging. Additionally, it was the first game to introduce Ganondorf instead of Ganon.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Maskis as loved as it is maligned, with many praising the game for its time loop concept,while others find it too complicated. However, despite being a divisive entry, what both parties tend to agree on is how it effectively embraced a horror atmosphere compared toOcarina of Time, which only dabbled in it.
From Link’s transformations via the mask to the various horrific side stories to the music in the background,Majora’s Masknever stops being eerie. Many of its themes and elements have led to future games taking on darker tones and story elements, such asTwilight Princess,Skyward Sword, andBreath of the Wild.
On top of giving an open-sea adventure that rivals the likes ofPirates of the Caribbean,The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Wakershowed the potential of new visualsand gimmicks for every game. Rather than continue with the visual style ofOcarina of Time,The Wind Wakerembraced a cel-shaded art style for the world and characters that made it feel like watching an animated show.
Compared toOcarina of Time, The Wind Wakerhad a far larger explorable map with dozens of encounters, instances, side quests, and NPCs to uncover. These kinds of maps that sprawl out to seemingly infinity help give players the desire to search the worlds in future games from top to bottom to discover every secret that can be found.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Swordenhances the serieswith precision-based motion controlsand delves into Hyrule’s lore, providing more development for previously one-dimensional characters. While continuity hasn’t been central for players,Skyward Swordreveals the origins of this enduring fantasy adventure’s lore.
InSkyward Sword, Link and Princess Zelda are cursed by the antagonist, Demise, who is destined to reincarnate as various dark threats to Hyrule. This forces Link and Zelda to also reincarnate to combat his darkness, creating a tragic cycle of doomed destiny throughout history.
Rather than forcing the player to go in one direction,The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildgives the player the freedom to just explore for hours once the bulk of the game is introduced. Whether he’s meeting the hundreds of denizens of Hyrule or completing the shrines, Link can do whatever he wants without even completing the first quarter of the main story.
With the item durability system, temperatures, weather, crafting, and Sheikah tablet powers,Breath of the Wildwas so much of a hit that it was one of the few mainline games to get a direct sequel, which took the same ideas thatBreath of the Wildintroduced and amplified them even further.
