Kyle Hilliard - Big Book of Zelda: The Unofficial Guide to Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda

Contents

1. What Is The Legend of Zelda?

Released in North America in 1987, The Legend of Zelda marked an important moment in the history of video games. It showed that a game with a real sense of exploration and adventure could be enjoyed even on a game console as simple as the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System.

Players took on the role of Link, exploring the open world of Hyrule, fighting monsters, discovering secrets, using tools, solving puzzles, and getting lost in a video game experience unlike anything before it. Hyrule felt alive, and Links journey felt important, even though there wasnt much of a story. The game led to many sequels, and each has changed the way video games are designed up to this day. Nearly every successful modern video game designer points to The Legend of Zelda as an influence and theres a good reason whyThe Legend of Zelda is one of the best video games ever made.

The Development

Shigeru Miyamoto is credited as Zeldas creator and often said the exploration of the woods and caves near his childhood home as a boy was the primary inspiration for the games story. Miyamotos first idea for Zelda was a multiplayer game where two players could design dungeons for one another to explore. The people at Nintendo decided that the best part of the experience was exploring the dungeons. From there, Miyamoto and the rest of Nintendos development team began building a game focusing on the idea of dungeon exploration.

During development, the experience made its way above ground. The dungeons were incorporated into the overworld of Hyrule, and a story about a boy named Link on a journey to save a princess named Zelda began to take shape.

Today, The Legend of Zelda is in the safe hands of producer and sometimes director, Eiji Aonuma. Aonuma joined the franchise by working on Ocarina of Time, and was credited as the director of its sequel, The Legend of Zelda: Majoras Mask. Aonuma oversees The Legend of Zelda, with guidance from its original creator, Shigeru Miyamoto.

Alongside Miyamoto and Aonuma, a number of other prominent Nintendo developers have been involved with Zelda. Takashi Tezuka has been with Nintendo since 1984 and has served as writer, director, co-director, and designer on an assortment of Nintendo games, including most of the early Mario and Zelda games. Tezuka was instrumental in the development of the original Zelda, Link to the Past, and Links Awakening.

Yoshiaki Koizumis first job after getting hired with Nintendo was putting together the manual for Link to the Past, but he quickly moved into more prominent roles, penning the strange story of Links Awakening, working on Ocarina of Time, and coming up with the core time travel mechanic of Majoras Mask.

Hiromasa Shikata, a comparably young designer at Nintendo, served as director on Link Between Worlds and the multiplayer follow-up, Tri Force Heroes. Before that, he worked on the world layout for Ocarina of Time, Majoras Mask, and Wind Waker.

More recently Hidemaro Fujibayashi has served as director of the Zelda games alongside Aonumas watchful producer eye. Fujibayashi got his start in the video game industry working on PlayStation and Sega Saturn games, but started work on Zelda with the Oracle of Ages and Seasons games. He directed those games and went on to direct Minish Cap, Skyward Sword, and the recent Breath of the Wild.

The Story

Through the franchises 30 years, the core story of each entry has basically stayed the same: The Legend of Zelda follows a young warrior named Link who must save a princess named Zelda and defeat the evil Ganon. The Triforce, a powerful three-piece object that represents Courage, Wisdom, and Power, is also usually part of the game. When its three pieces are combined it has the power to grant its owner a wish. Link, Zelda, and Ganon sometimes represent the Courage, Wisdom, and Power attributes of the Triforce.

Sometimes the same Link and Zelda will move between games for direct sequels, but often, each game represents a new generation of Link and Zelda as they fight the forces of evil. The same goes for Ganon, though he is not always the villain, nor does the Triforce always play an important role.

The main things that set each entry apart is who stands in Links way, the world he is exploring, what tools he uses to make his way to Zelda, and finally, what type of controller youre holding in your hand while you join Link on his journey.

2. What Makes a Zelda Game?

There are many thing that define a Zelda game, but there is no outline of rules that say a Zelda game must have these things in order to be considered a true Zelda experience. If that were the case, then Nintendo would break its own rules often. But here are many elements that appear in almost every Zelda game.

The Main Characters

Link

The star, the hero, and the character everyone thinks is named Zelda. Despite being the main character, the game is not named after him, which has caused confusion since the release of the original Zelda 30 years ago. Hes a skilled warrior, problem solver, and frequently a talented musician.

He is often represented as an orphan without family, but sometimes he does have a caretaker in the form of an uncle, grandmother, or some other family member or friend. He is rarely seen without his green tunic and hat, sword, and shield. He represents the Triforce of Courage and has never had a voice outside of the grunts and shouts that accompany combat and movement.

His name is meant to represent a connection between the player and the world. He is the link that connects the player to the game. His name, however, can be chosen by the player. Whatever name players enter in the beginning the game is the one non-player characters will use when referring to him.

Zelda

Zelda is the focus of Links journey. He must save Zelda. In the early games Zelda was not much more than a damsel in distress. As the storytelling of the games consoles and technology improved, however, she has become more than just a woman waiting for her hero.

While Link has basically worn his famous green outfit since the beginning, Zeldas look has changed quite a bit over the years. She often wears a crown and a pink dress, but in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, she was actually a pirate princess and didnt look like royalty at all. In The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Zelda adopts a secret identity and helps Link throughout the game without him realizing who she is until the end.