The Main Zelda Games

(Does not include remakes)

- The Legend of Zelda (NES)

- The Adventures of Link (NES)

- A Link to the Past (SNES)

- Link’s Awakening (Gameboy)

- Link: The Faces of Evil (Phillips CDi)*
- Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon (Phillips CDi)*
- Zelda's Adventure (Phillips CDi)*

- Ocarina of Time (N64)

- Majora’s Mask (N64)

- Oracle of Ages (Gameboy Color)

- Oracle of Seasons (Gameboy Color)

- Four Swords (GBA)

- The Wind Waker (Gamecube)

- Four Swords Adventures (Gamecube)

- The Minish Cap (GBA)

- Twilight Princess (Gamecube)**

* - These games were developed by Phillips. Nintendo had no input on how these games were made.

** - As of this writing, Twilight Princess has not yet been released

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Happy 20th Birthday, Zelda!

Left to Right: The Legend of Zelda (NES), The Adventure of Link (NES), The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)

That’s right folks, today marks the twentieth anniversary since ゼルだの伝説 (Zeluda no Densetsu - Ed. There ya go kids, now you too know how to look for Zelda headlines on Japanese game sites!) first hit store shelves in Japan. Originally released on February 21, 1986 for the Famicom disk drive, the game was eventually converted to cartridge for other territories where the add-on was not available, and with that the world got to know The Legend of Zelda.

Since that time, Zelda has become on of Nintendo’s most enduring franchises, spanning each of the company’s game systems’ libraries, and even made a few notorious appearances on the Phillips CDi, which to this day many a Zelda fan is still trying to forget.

Following the many adventures of the young elf Link, players at first wandered the land of Hyrule attempting to reassemble the legendary Triforce, while trying to rescue the princess Zelda from the clutches of Ganon / Ganondorf. In time, though, Zelda faded from the series, especially in the N64 additions to the series, where often times the lass was only mentioned in passing, and returned to a degree in

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The Wind Waker in the form of one of the game’s characters (who shall remain nameless so not to spoil it for those who have not played the game). Conversely, Link has been the hero of each Zelda game.

But where did the name “Zelda” come from, and where did Shigeru Miyamoto get the idea to make this series? Through reading the works of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Mr. Miyamoto

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learned that the author’s wife’s name was Zelda, and he thought it sounded quite nice. The name stuck, and eventually was incorporated into the name of the series. As for the initial concept behind the Zelda games, they were inspired by the games that Mr. Miyamoto would play in the countryside around his home town of Sonebe, Japan.

Twilight Princess (Left) ; The Wind Waker (Right)

In recent years, Eiji Aonuma has taken the reigns of the Zelda series, ensuring that it remains one of Nintendo’s top properties. The next installment of the Legend of Zelda is currently being called Twilight Princess, slated for released on the Gamecube this Fall (barring any further delays).

For now, though, let’s look back at the full list of games to come out in the Zelda series, and here’s to hoping for another 20 years (check out the brief gameography in the sidebar).

Mr. Nash

(February 21, 2006)


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