Nintendo has no shortage of franchises that have broken past the barrier of video games and have become a staple of pop culture in their own right, and next to Super Mario Bros, that’s no clearer than with The Legend of Zelda. Originally released in Japan on February 21, 1986, for the Famicom, Zelda caught on like wildfire and has snowballed into a massive franchise with countless sequels and spin-offs, often reshaping the adventure game genre with each new release. Still, there’s something remarkably special about the Famicom/NES original, and as this masterful title celebrates its 40th anniversary, let’s take a quick look at the history and legacy of Link’s debut adventure.
The Origins of The Legend of Zelda
Development on The Legend of Zelda began in 1984, meant to be a launch title for the upcoming Famicom Disk System, and was developed concurrently with Super Mario Bros. The brainchild of two distinct creators, Shigeru Miyamoto was responsible for overall production, while Takashi Tezuka wrote the story. While Mario excelled with its linear design, Zelda was produced with the opposite philosophy, encouraging players to be observant and experiment within its open-ended world. Much of the game’s vibe was inspired by Miyamoto’s childhood experiences growing up in Kyoto, where he often wandered around the wilderness with no map, blown away by the constant feeling of discovery.
Countless concepts and ideas swirled during the development of The Legend of Zelda, and ideas for Mario that didn’t work with its linear nature were often folded into Zelda‘s design. At the start, the game had futuristic elements of technology, taking place in both the past and the present. This is where the name of our hero derives from, as “Link” was meant to connect the two time frames. While these ideas never came to fruition in the Famicom original, they can clearly be found in sequels like The Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess. Generally speaking, tons of production material was created for The Legend of Zelda, specifically for the game’s dungeons, with enough content to fill up two “quests” for players to enjoy.
A Legacy of Link
For their effort, Miyamoto and the rest of the team saw great success, as The Legend of Zelda was an instant hit, selling over 1 million copies on its release day in Japan. It was just as big of a success in the West, as Zelda topped the NES sales charts in the United States, selling over 3 million copies by 1990. Seeing this success, many other developers rushed to try to clone the game and borrow its concepts, deeply influencing both the adventure and RPG genres for decades after.
So, how is Nintendo celebrating this major milestone of one of its most beloved and influential games? Unfortunately, with a severe lack of fanfare. There is still plenty of time for announcements, but as of now, Nintendo has no plans for a remaster, re-release, or any type of notable celebration. With the live-action Legend of Zelda movie arriving in theaters in 2027, many assume that Nintendo will celebrate by showing off the debut trailer, but this rings a bit hollow in my opinion. If you have the time, I highly recommend booting up The Legend of Zelda on your console of choice and at least running through the first dungeon. It’s amazing how much it holds up 40 years after its release; clearly one of the most timeless experiences in all of video games.
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