The one that started it all! In 1985, Shigeru Miyamoto was tasked with creating two games that would go on to define the NES and make full use of the system's capabilities as a console. These games would be Super Mario Bros. and the Legend of Zelda, with Zelda releasing to make use of the consoles new disk system, becoming the first game to feature a battery-powered save function.
Zelda hybridised multiple genres and elements in its gameplay, and notably didn’t include any explicit directions beyond “Assemble the Triforce”, which Nintendo tried to convince Miyamoto to change after play tests left people confused. He resisted, knowing that gamers build communities and compare notes between themselves, relishing in challenge.
A Link to the Past was the third entry into the series, and is where the series storyline really began to take shape. Thanks to the game's more complex world and the SNES’s advancements over the NES, we got a greater understanding of Hyrule and its inhabitants through a rich story that introduced the series' now iconic split timelines and parallel worlds.
Retaining the top down perspective of the first game and having some of the toughest puzzles of the whole series, it’s still regarded as one of the best.
In 1993, the Legend of Zelda took its first steps on a handheld system. Restricted by the Game Boy, Link’s Awakening was originally made black and white and 5 years later would get a DX version for the Game Boy Colour. Despite the Game Boy’s colour limitations, there was no scaling back on the scale of the world and puzzles… but was it all a dream?
Ocarina of Time is perhaps one of the most influential games of all time, not just for Zelda but for gaming as a whole. As it was the first game in the series to cross over into 3D, Nintendo developed the free-moving target lock system for this title that can still be seen in many games to this day; cementing Nintendo at the forefront of 3D control development at the time.
With its more realistic approach to the world of Hyrule, Ocarina launched to great success and is still highly regarded as one of the best games of all time. It was here that Miyamoto recruited Eiji Aonuma as a developer for the series, who is now the head of the franchise.
Majora’s Mask uses the same engine as Ocarina, and its development as a sequel began straight after which at the time, was highly unusual for Nintendo. Despite its similarities to Ocarina, Majora’s brought a completely new gameplay cycle and mechanic in its time travel. You have 3 in-game days to complete it, which can be restarted at will in order to complete your quest to stop the moon crashing into the planet. Frustrating, but memorable! Majora’s Mask also brought in a darker tone to the series and its story.
Controversial and panned for its style at the time, the Wind Waker is now one of the most beloved games in the series. Using a bright and vibrant cell-shaded style, Zelda’s launch on the GameCube is one of the games that has aged the best from its era. The art style wasn’t the only thing to change in the series- a flooded Hyrule greeted fans, along with a new and fresh interpretation of an old formula.
Skyward Sword was the first game of the series developed solely for the Wii, and as such took complete advantage of the console's motion controls and the Wii MotionPlus accessory to really get the best out of them. The prior release,
Twilight Princess, had much simpler motion controls on the Wii and also released on the GameCube. Skyward Sword’s motion controls at the time were divisive, but once you truly got into the groove and ignored how silly you look slashing a Wii Remote about, they flourished.
In terms of the series story and now complicated timeline, Skyward Sword takes place at the very start chronologically and features Skyloft, the precursor to Hyrule.
No introduction is needed for Breath of the Wild. It was a landmark for Nintendo and a revolution for the series, launching day one for the Switch.
Embracing the open world genre whilst retaining the series’ charm, Breath of the Wild ditched the linear story telling and dungeons, instead leaning into exploration where curiosity is constantly rewarded. There is no part of Hyrule that can’t be explored.
Breath builds off of every Zelda game that came before it without being overly tied to the past, creating a game that redefined what a game can be, leaving its mark on the industry forever.
