The world of gaming owes a lot to The Legend of Zelda. It is one of the lon🥂gest running and most revered series in video games, so its impacꦐt can naturally be felt in many other games of the action-adventure genre.
Ever since the release of the original game on the NES in 1986, players have loved stepping into Link's boots and getting lost in th🅠e wondrous worlds Nintendo created. Whether it be set in the Kingdom of Hyrule, Termina, Koholint Island, or some other magical place, each entry has bro⭕ught something new to the series. But they have all shared one crucial aspect: the call of adventure.
Who doesn't love being sucked into a mystical quest with dangerous monsters, exciting weapons, majestic music, extraordinary magic, and tantalizing puzzles? Not every ent𓂃ry has been perfect, but with each one, players could see the innovative brains of Nintendo's best at work, experimenting with new ideas and mechanics.
Over the years, the series has featured more than its fair share of behind-the-scenes secrets. With the vast library of titles the franchise has accrued, it's natural that The Legend of Zelda would now be a host for interesting factoids. And with how the series as a whole has affected the gaming worlไd, it can be interesting to look back at the process behind one of gaming's most valued pieces of art. The world as we know it would be a very diffe🍷rent place without the elegant Princess Zelda and her courageous knight, Link.
Here are 25 Awesome Things Fans Forget About The Legend of Zelda.
25 The Princess Was Named After F. Scott ♏Fitzgerald's Wife
F. Scott Fitzgerald was best known for writing The Great Gatsby and This Side of Paradise, but his wife Zelda was an author, too. More importantly, at least in the𒐪 terms of this list, she was also the namesake for Hyrule’s princess.
When Shigeru Miyamoto was trying to decide on the final name of the game, a PR Planner suggested making an illustrated storybook for it where Link rescues a beautiful princess. Miyamoto wasn’t crazy abo♌ut the storybook idea, but he did love the name that was suggested: Zelda, after F. Scott’s wife. A gaming icon was born.
24 The Original Name Wasn't The Legend Of Zelda 𓃲𒉰
Before the name of the Princess was decided upon, Mi💜yamoto and his team bounced around a couple of ideas for the name of the game.
During early development, the game was simply referred to as Adventure.
But after the game got a bit fleshed out, it was called The Hyrule Fantasy. This title makes a lot of sense, but Miyamoto really liked the idea of calling it The Legend of something. When Zelda was suggested as the name for the princess, he knew he had it. The original Japanese release is actually called The Hyrule Fantasy: The Legend of Zelda.
23 ✨ The Original Wa🎶s The First Console Game To Have A Save Feature
While there were some older PC games that allowed players to save their progress due to powerful hard drives, the first console game to do so was The Legend of Zelda. Before that, with games like Super Mario Bros., players would have to complete games in one sitting🦩 if they wishꦕed to reach the end.
It makes sense. Due to the game’s size,꧙ non-linearity, and difficulty, the developers chose to include a battery-powered RAM chip in the cartridge. This would serve as a turning point in gaming as progression began to be more important.
22 It Brought On Non-Linearity In Gaming 📖
Before The Legend of Zelda was released, many of the most pop🦹ular games simply tasked players with going from Point A to Point ꦍB. Games would progress in difficulty from level to level, but there would often be a definitive end to each section.
The Legend of Zelda was completely different from the games that came before it.
The overworld of Hyrule meant players could explore and figure out where to go ♎on their own, as well as return to previous areas. These days, games are often praised for non-linearity and letting players figure things out wꩲithout holding their hands.
21 🦋 🌳Link Takes A Lot Of Inspiration From Peter Pan
Shigeru Miyamoto is a huge Disney fan, particularly of their adaptation of Peter Pan♈. Link’s design obviously takes📖 a lot of inspiration from Peter, from his green clothes and cap and his fairy companion.
But there are other references to Disney’s classic film in later games.
In several titles, Link must fight his own shadow, Dark Link, though it’s a bit more dramatic than how Peter has to fight his. Also, the Kokiri, first seen in Ocarina of Time, are a race of children that never a𓆏ge. Just like Peter Pan’s friends, the Lost Boys.
20 ♌ The First Game Was Originally A Dungeon Building Simulator
Before any story elements or characters had been created for The Legend of Zelda, it began as a dungeon building simulator. The🍰 developers would build dungeons to send them to one another and test their skills.
Miyamoto thought that playing through the dungeons was more fun than designing them, and decided the game needed an overworld too.
This is how the foundation for The Legend of Zelda was built. It also debuted as a launch title for the Japanese-only Disk System, which had better sound design than the original✨ console.
19 Players Could Originally Choose Between Swꦬord And Boomerang
While it’s iconic now, the way in which The Legend of Zelda beganꦿ was changed a couple of times. Link originally started with a sword, but when testers complained about the game being too complicated, Miyamoto decided to make Link start entirely item-less.
But also, early on the Old Man in the cave offered Link the option to choose between the sword and the boomerang, but it was switched to just the sword. The sword makes more sense, yes, but it would also be built into the future games. The first item Link usually acquires is 𒉰the sword.
18 ജ Mario And Zelda Were Developed At The Same Tim🅠e
If there are two franchises that Nintendo is known best for, it’s Mario and Zelda. The two are often thought of a♏s being the best the company has to offer. But they are even more linked than that.
Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda were developed at the same time. Miyamoto created both of them; when he and his team came up with new ideas, they would divide them between the two games depending on which idea suited which game better. The same is true of Super Mario World and A Link to the Past for the SNES.
17 ♉ The Iconic Theme Music Was Composed In One Day 🌌
The overworld theme from The Legend of Zelda is not only a staple of the series, but one of the most recognizable pieces of mu🍌sic in video game history.
And it almost wasn’t in the game.
The original idea was to have a piece of classical music, specifically Maurice Ravel’s Bolero, play over the title screen. But late into the game’s development, composer Koji Konꦇdo realized the rights to the p꧋iece wouldn’t expire for another month. Rather than wait and waste money, he composed the now iconic theme music in just a single day.
16 The Second Quest W🌸as A Mistake ♒
In many of today’s greatest action adventure games, a more difficult second playthrough or new game plus mode is made available for players looking for an extra challenge. But the first game to do so was the original The Legend of Zelda.
Only, that feature was created by a mistake. Once the development team were finished with the game, they realized it only took up half of the cartridge’s space. Rather than waste it, they filled it with the second quest. Many future games in the Zelda series would implement a similar feature, such as Ocarina of Time’s Master Quest.