The Legend of Zelda is a video game series created by game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is developed and published by Nintendo. The series debuted in Japan with The Legend of Zelda (known in Japan as The Hyrule Fantasy: Zelda no Densetsu) on February 21, 1986, and was later released in North America (August 22, 1987) and Europe (November 27, 1987). The Legend of Zelda video games have been developed exclusively for Nintendo video game consoles and handhelds, dating from the Family Computer Disk System to the current generation of video game consoles. Spin-off titles, however, have been released on non-Nintendo systems. The franchise consists of 27 video games, including original titles, ports, and remakes. Over 52 million copies have been sold since the release of the first game.[1] The franchise also includes a cartoon adaptation, multiple comic book adaptations, and soundtracks.
The gameplay consists of a mixture of action, adventure, puzzle-solving, and role-playing video game. The series centers on Link, the main protagonist and character controlled by the player. Link is often given the task of rescuing Princess Zelda and the most common setting of the series, Hyrule, from Ganon, the series' primary antagonist. Other minor settings and antagonists have appeared throughout the series; Vaati has become one of the series' newer recurring antagonists. The games in The Legend of Zelda series with two-dimensional (2D) graphics feature side-scrolling or overhead view gameplay, while the games with three-dimensional (3D) graphics give the player a third-person perspective.[2] The franchise holds several Guinness World Records, including first game with a battery-powered save feature and longest-running action-adventure series.[3]
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Original release date(s):[4][5] |
Release years by system: 1986 – Famicom Disk System[4] 1987 – Nintendo Entertainment System[5] 2003 – Nintendo GameCube[6] 2004 – Game Boy Advance[7] 2006 – Wii Virtual Console[8] 2012 – 3DS Virtual Console 2013 – Wii U Virtual Console |
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Original release date(s):[10][11][12] |
Release years by system: 1987 – Famicom Disk System [13] 1988 – Nintendo Entertainment System[11] 2003 – Nintendo GameCube[6] 2004 – Game Boy Advance[14] 2007 – Wii Virtual Console[15] 2012 – 3DS Virtual Console 2013 – Wii U Virtual Console |
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Original release date(s):[17] |
Release years by system: 1991 – Super Nintendo Entertainment System[17] 1997 – Satellaview[18] 2002 – Game Boy Advance[19] 2006 – Wii Virtual Console[20] 2013 – Wii U Virtual Console 2016 - New Nintendo 3DS systems only [21] |
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Original release date(s):[23] |
Release years by system: 1993 – Game Boy[23] 1998 – Game Boy Color[24] 2011 – 3DS Virtual Console |
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Original release date(s):[26] |
Release years by system: 1998 – Nintendo 64[26] 2003 – Nintendo GameCube[27] 2003 – iQue Player[28] 2007 – Wii Virtual Console[29] 2011 – Nintendo 3DS[30] 2015 – Wii U Virtual Console |
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Original release date(s):[33] |
Release years by system: 2000 – Nintendo 64[33] 2003 – Nintendo GameCube[6] 2009 – Wii Virtual Console[34] 2015 – Nintendo 3DS 2016 – Wii U Virtual Console |
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Original release date(s):[37] |
Release years by system: 2001 – Game Boy Color[37] 2013 – 3DS Virtual Console[38] |
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Original release date(s):[41] |
Release years by system: 2001 – Game Boy Color[41] 2013 – 3DS Virtual Console [38] |
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Original release date(s):[42] |
Release years by system: 2002 – Game Boy Advance[42] 2011 – DSiWare |
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Original release date(s):[44] |
Release years by system: 2002 – Nintendo GameCube[44] 2013 – Wii U[45] |
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Original release date(s):[49] |
Release years by system: 2004 – Nintendo GameCube[49] |
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Original release date(s):[52] |
Release years by system: 2004 – Game Boy Advance[52] 2011 – 3DS Ambassador Virtual Console 2014 – Wii U Virtual Console |
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Original release date(s):[54] |
Release years by system: 2006 – Nintendo GameCube, Wii[54][55] 2016 – Wii U |
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Original release date(s):[58] |
Release years by system: 2007 – Nintendo DS[58] 2016 – Wii U Virtual Console |
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Original release date(s):[61][62][63][64] |
Release years by system: 2009 – Nintendo DS[61] 2016 – Wii U Virtual Console |
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Original release date(s):[67] |
Release years by system: 2011 – Wii[67] |
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Original release date(s):[69] |
Release years by system: 2013 – Nintendo 3DS[69] |
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Original release date(s): |
Release years by system: 2015 – Nintendo 3DS |
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Original release date(s):
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Release years by system: 2017 – Wii U, Nintendo Switch |
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Title | Details |
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Original release date(s):[71][72] |
Release years by system: 1998 – Game Boy Color[71][72] |
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Original release date(s):[74] |
Release years by system: 2002 – Nintendo GameCube[74] |
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Original release date(s):[6][77] |
Release years by system: 2003 – Nintendo GameCube[6][77] |
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Original release date(s): |
Release years by system: 2011 – Nintendo 3DS |
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Original release date(s):[82] |
Release years by system: 2011 – DSiWare[82] |
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Original release date(s):[45] |
Release years by system: 2013 – Wii U |
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Original release date(s): |
Release years by system: 2015 – Nintendo 3DS |
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Original release date(s): |
Release years by system: 2016 – Wii U |
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Original release date(s):[83][84]
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Release years by system: 1989 – Game & Watch[83] 1998 – Mini Classic[85] |
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Original release date(s):[87][88] |
Release years by system: 1989 – Nelsonic game watch[87] |
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Original release date(s):[89]
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Release years by system: 1992 – Barcode Battler II[89] |
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Original release date(s):[92][93] |
Release years by system: 1993 – Philips CD-i[92] |
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Original release date(s):[94][95] |
Release years by system: 1993 – Philips CD-i[94] |
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Original release date(s):[96][97] |
Release years by system: 1994 – Philips CD-i[96] |
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Original release date(s):[98] |
Release years by system: 1995 – Satellaview[98] |
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Original release date(s):[102]
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Release years by system: 1997 – Satellaview[102] |
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Original release date(s):[103] |
Release years by system: 2006 – Nintendo DS[103] |
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Original release date(s):[105]
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Release years by system: 2007 – Nintendo DS[105] |
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Original release date(s):[107] |
Release years by system: 2007 – Wii[107] |
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Original release date(s):[109]
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Release years by system: 2009 – DSiWare[109] |
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Original release date(s):[110]
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Release years by system: 2009 – Nintendo DS[110] |
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Original release date(s):[111] |
Release years by system: 2014 – Wii U[111] 2016 – Nintendo 3DS |
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Title | Details |
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1989 – 13-episode animated series[112][113] |
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1999 – Comic books, manga[114] |
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– Collector's book |
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Monopoly: The Legend of Zelda
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– Art book |
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The Legend of Zelda: Encyclopedia – Collector's book |
Title | Details |
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June 22, 1994 – Compact disc[118][119] |
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December 18, 1998 – Compact disc[120] |
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June 23, 2000 – Compact disc[121] |
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The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker Original Soundtrack March 31, 2003 – Compact disc[122] |
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Mario & Zelda Big Band Live CD December 15, 2003 – Compact disc[123] |
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Nintendo Sound History Series: Zelda the Music December 27, 2004 – Compact disc[124] |
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The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Official Soundtrack November 19, 2006 – Compact disc |
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25th Anniversary Special Orchestration 2011 – Compact disc[126] |
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Hero of Time 2017 – Vinyl and digital distribution[127] |
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