205-403: In video games , a boss is a significantly powerful non-player character created as an opponent to players. A fight with a boss character is referred to as a boss battle or boss fight . Bosses are generally far stronger than other opponents the players have faced up to that point in a game. Boss battles are generally seen at climax points of particular sections of games, such as at the end of
410-621: A jidaigeki -themed martial arts action game where player samurai fight a number of swordspeople before confronting a more powerful boss samurai. SNK 's Sasuke vs. Commander , released in October 1980, is a ninja-themed shooting game where the player character fights enemy ninjas before confronting bosses with various ninjutsu attacks and enemy patterns. It was one of the earliest games with multiple boss encounters, and one of SNK's earliest games. Phoenix , released in December 1980,
615-445: A level or stage or guarding a specific objective. A miniboss is a boss weaker or less significant than the main boss in the same area or level, though usually more powerful than the standard opponents and often fought alongside them. A superboss (sometimes 'secret', 'hidden' or 'raid' boss) is generally much more powerful than the bosses encountered as part of the main game's plot and is often an optional encounter. A final boss
820-457: A teletype printer , audio speaker , or similar device. This also distinguished from many handheld electronic games like Merlin which commonly used LED lights for indicators but did not use these in combination for imaging purposes. "Computer game" may also be used as a descriptor, as all these types of games essentially require the use of a computer processor, and in some cases, it is used interchangeably with "video game". Particularly in
1025-638: A virtual reality headset . These games are addictive and can lead to the release of dopamine in the addict's synapses. Most modern video games are audiovisual , with audio complement delivered through speakers or headphones , and sometimes also with other types of sensory feedback (e.g., haptic technology that provides tactile sensations). Some video games also allow microphone and webcam inputs for in-game chatting and livestreaming . Video games are typically categorized according to their hardware platform , which traditionally includes arcade video games , console games , and computer (PC) games ;
1230-700: A 2002 compilation for the Game Boy Advance . While the Game & Watch Zelda was developed in-house by Nintendo, the subsequent two LCD games were developed by third parties under license by Nintendo. In October 1989, The Legend of Zelda was developed by Nelsonic as part of its Game Watch line. This game was an actual digital watch with primitive gameplay based on the original Legend of Zelda . In 1992, Epoch Co. developed Zelda no Densetsu: Kamigami no Triforce for its Barcode Battler II console. The game employed card-scanning technology similar to
1435-519: A CD-ROM peripheral for the Super NES. Created independently with no observation by or influence from Nintendo, the games are Link: The Faces of Evil, Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon , and later, Zelda's Adventure . Nintendo never acknowledged them in the Zelda timeline, and they are considered to be in a separate, self-contained canon. These games are widely acknowledged to be the worst installments in
1640-549: A DEC PDP-1 computer in 1962. Each game has different means of display: NIMROD has a panel of lights to play the game of Nim , OXO has a graphical display to play tic-tac-toe, Tennis for Two has an oscilloscope to display a side view of a tennis court, and Spacewar! has the DEC PDP-1's vector display to have two spaceships battle each other. These inventions laid the foundation for modern video games. In 1966, while working at Sanders Associates , Ralph H. Baer devised
1845-533: A boss battle, but later appear as a regular enemy, after players have become stronger or had a chance to find more powerful weaponry. Many games structure boss battles as a progression of distinct phases in which the boss produces different or additional hazards for players. This is often reflected by a change in the appearance of the boss, or by a boss displaying increased frustration. The Legend of Zelda series and games inspired by it are recognized for having dungeons with bosses that are specifically vulnerable to
2050-675: A boss fight was the 1975 RPG dnd . The concept has expanded to other genres, like rhythm games , where there may be a "boss song" that is more difficult, or a high-difficulty, computer-controlled opponent in sports games . In multiplayer online battle arena games, defeating a map boss usually requires teamwork of two or more players, but it brings various benefits to the team, such as buffs or lane push power. Some games, such as Cuphead , Furi and Warning Forever , are centered around continual boss fights. Bosses are usually harder to beat than regular enemies, have higher health points, hence can sustain more damage and are generally found at
2255-808: A boss. They come in many variations, such as the Chargin' Chuck Swarm encountered in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam , the Armos Knights from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past or the Battle of 1000 Heartless from Kingdom Hearts II . A main requirement with most wolfpacks is that the whole group must be defeated in order to win; in order to prolong the fight, many wolfpacks, particularly in games with turn-based combat in lieu of real-time, will summon reinforcements to replenish their lost numbers. An example of this
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#17327838717352460-437: A combination of the limitations of the game platform and display device and the program efficiency of the game itself. The game's output can range from fixed displays using LED or LCD elements, text-based games , two-dimensional and three-dimensional graphics, and augmented reality displays. The game's graphics are often accompanied by sound produced by internal speakers on the game platform or external speakers attached to
2665-500: A concept that Kung-Fu Master designer Takashi Nishiyama later expanded on when he created the fighting game Street Fighter (1987) at Capcom . The term "boss" was used in reference to the game's final boss by Mike Roberts in a review of the game published in the May 1985 issue of British magazine Computer Gamer , while he used the term "super baddies" for the end-of-level bosses. Sega's arcade game Fantasy Zone (1986) popularized
2870-587: A dark realm. In Skyward Sword , the Triforce was sought by the Demon King Demise, an eternal being that had conquered time itself. After a long battle against the goddess Hylia, guardian of the Triforce, Demise was sealed away within her temple. Hylia, placing the Hylians on a floating island in the sky called Skyloft to protect them, orchestrated a means to stop the demon from escaping: creating
3075-414: A deep history and wide geography over the series's many releases. Much of the backstory of the creation of Hyrule was revealed in the games A Link to the Past , Ocarina of Time , The Wind Waker , Twilight Princess , Skyward Sword , and A Link Between Worlds . Hyrule's principal inhabitants are pointy-eared, elf -like humanoids called Hylians , which include the player character , Link, and
3280-445: A developer's programming language of choice, or they may opt to also use game development kits that minimize the amount of direct programming they have to do but can also limit the amount of customization they can add into a game. Like all software, video games usually undergo quality testing before release to assure there are no bugs or glitches in the product, though frequently developers will release patches and updates . With
3485-467: A dream. According to the in-game backstories, the world of Hyrule was created by the three golden goddesses : Din, Farore, and Nayru. Before departing, the goddesses left a sacred artifact called the Triforce , which could grant powers to the user. It physically manifests itself as three golden triangles in which each embodies one of the goddesses' virtues: Power, Courage, and Wisdom. However, because
3690-567: A dungeon from a different perspective, and enter areas through otherwise-impassable openings. It was later released on the Wii U Virtual Console. In November 2006, Twilight Princess was released as the first Zelda game on the Wii , and later in December as the last Nintendo-published game for the GameCube , the console for which it was originally developed. The Wii version features motion controls and
3895-454: A fairytale adventure game, Tezuka drew inspirations from fantasy books such as J. R. R. Tolkien 's The Lord of the Rings . According to Keiji Terui, who wrote the backstory in the first game's manual, the location named Death Mountain was initially a working title for the legend of the Triforce which was written with inspirations from the battles of medieval Europe . The Master Sword
4100-414: A fictional piece of technology from Star Trek , arguing for the video game as a medium in which the player is allowed to become another person, and to act out in another world. This image of video games received early widespread popular support, and forms the basis of films such as Tron , eXistenZ and The Last Starfighter . Ludologists break sharply and radically from this idea. They argue that
4305-485: A final boss in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link ). A superboss is a type of boss most commonly found in role-playing video games . They are considered optional enemies and do not have to be defeated to complete the game. However, not all optional bosses are superbosses. They are generally much more powerful than the bosses encountered as part of the main game's plot or quest , more difficult even than
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#17327838717354510-432: A game following its initial release. Several games offer players the ability to create user-generated content to share with others to play. Other games, mostly those on personal computers, can be extended with user-created modifications or mods that alter or add onto the game; these often are unofficial and were developed by players from reverse engineering of the game, but other games provide official support for modding
4715-536: A gameplay-wise sequel to the 2014 spinoff game Hyrule Warriors marketed as a prequel to Breath of the Wild , being set 100 years before. However, the events of Age of Calamity diverged from the backstory established in Breath of the Wild , creating an alternate timeline separate from it. The central protagonist of The Legend of Zelda series, Link is the name of various young male Hylians who characteristically wear
4920-452: A genre on which the series has had a strong influence. Miyamoto himself disagreed with the role-playing label, and classified Zelda as "a real-time adventure game"; he said he was "not interested in systems where everything in the game is decided by stats and numbers" but what's "important to me is to preserve as much of that "live" feeling as possible" which he said " action games are better suited in conveying" to players. Every game in
5125-401: A green tunic and a pointed cap, and are the bearers of the Triforce of Courage . In most games, the player can give Link a different name before the start of the adventure, and he will be referred by that given name throughout by the non-player characters (NPCs). Miyamoto said in a 2002 interview that he named the protagonist "Link" because the character is/was supposed to be the "link" between
5330-415: A letter dated July 10, 1972. In the letter, Bushnell uses the term "video game" twice. Per video game historian Keith Smith, the sudden appearance suggested that the term had been proposed and readily adopted by those in the field. Around March 1973, Ed Adlum, who ran Cashbox ' s coin-operated section until 1972 and then later founded RePlay Magazine , covering the coin-op amusement field, in 1975, used
5535-504: A limited number of platforms, and exclusivity to a platform or brand is used by platform holders as a competitive edge in the video game market. However, games may be developed for alternative platforms than intended, which are described as ports or conversions. These also may be remasters - where most of the original game's source code is reused and art assets, models, and game levels are updated for modern systems – and remakes, where in addition to asset improvements, significant reworking of
5740-432: A minimum age is used by nearly all systems, along with additional descriptors to identify specific content that players and parents should be aware of. The regulations vary from country to country but generally are voluntary systems upheld by vendor practices, with penalty and fines issued by the ratings body on the video game publisher for misuse of the ratings. Among the major content rating systems include: Additionally,
5945-772: A more detailed version of the regular ending. Examples of a "true final boss" include the Radiance in Hollow Knight and the Moon Presence in Bloodborne . The term "Foozle" is used to describe a cliché final boss that exists only to act as the final problem before players can complete the game. Scorpia stated in 1994 that "about 98% of all role-playing video games can be summed up as follows: 'We go out and bash on critters until we're strong enough to go bash on Foozle. ' " A precursor to video game boss fights
6150-502: A number of titles in the Dance Dance Revolution rhythm game series contain "boss songs" that are called "bosses" because they are exceptionally difficult to perform on. In combat-focused games, a boss may summon additional enemies, reinforcements, or minions ("adds") to fight players alongside the boss, increasing the boss fight's difficulty. These additional enemies may distract from the boss battle or give time for
6355-538: A photo shop that allows interaction with the Game Boy Printer . Link's Awakening DX was released on the 3DS' Virtual Console on June 7, 2011. An HD remake of Link's Awakening was released for the Nintendo Switch in 2019. Three video games was developed and released on CD-i in the early 1990s as a product of a compromise between Philips and Nintendo, after the companies failed to develop
Boss (video games) - Misplaced Pages Continue
6560-551: A platform, the hardware which contains computing elements, to process player interaction from some type of input device and displays the results to a video output display. Video games require a platform, a specific combination of electronic components or computer hardware and associated software , to operate. The term system is also commonly used. These platforms may include multiple brandsheld by platform holders , such as Nintendo or Sony, seeking to gain larger market shares. Games are typically designed to be played on one or
6765-469: A relatively recent development in the humanities. The two most visible schools in this emerging field are ludology and narratology . Narrativists approach video games in the context of what Janet Murray calls "Cyberdrama". That is to say, their major concern is with video games as a storytelling medium, one that arises out of interactive fiction . Murray puts video games in the context of the Holodeck ,
6970-549: A reversed world where everything that is in the west on the GameCube is in the east on the Wii. The display is mirrored in order to make Link right-handed to make use of the Wii Remote feel more natural for the majority of players. The game chronicles the struggle of a young adult Link to confront the troubles of the "Twilight Realm", a mysterious force that appears around and interacts with Hyrule. When he enters this realm, he
7175-455: A service . Today, video game development requires numerous interdisciplinary skills, vision , teamwork , and liaisons between different parties, including developers , publishers , distributors , retailers , hardware manufacturers, and other marketers, to successfully bring a game to its consumers. As of 2020 , the global video game market had estimated annual revenues of US$ 159 billion across hardware, software, and services, which
7380-401: A silent protagonist so that the audience is able to have their own thoughts as to how their Link would answer the characters instead of him having scripted responses. Princess Zelda is the princess of Hyrule and the guardian of the Triforce of Wisdom . Her name is present in many of her female ancestors and descendants. While most games require Link to save Zelda from Ganon, she sometimes plays
7585-595: A similar version running in a smaller coin-operated arcade cabinet using a less expensive computer. This was released as Computer Space , the first arcade video game , in 1971. Bushnell and Dabney went on to form Atari, Inc. , and with Allan Alcorn , created their second arcade game in 1972, the hit ping pong -style Pong , which was directly inspired by the table tennis game on the Odyssey. Sanders and Magnavox sued Atari for infringement of Baer's patents, but Atari settled out of court, paying for perpetual rights to
7790-462: A single game. Though the games contain role-playing elements ( Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is the only one to include an experience system), they emphasize straightforward hack-and-slash -style combat over the strategic , turn-based or active time combat of series like Final Fantasy . The game's role-playing elements, however, have led to much debate over whether or not the Zelda games should be classified as action role-playing games ,
7995-407: A single-player campaign, in which using a Game Boy Advance is optional. Four Swords Adventures includes two gameplay modes: "Hyrulean Adventure", with a plot and gameplay similar to other Zelda games, and "Shadow Battle", in which multiple Links, played by multiple players, battle each other. The Japanese and Korean versions include an exclusive third segment, "Navi Trackers" (originally designed as
8200-615: A special item that is located within that dungeon. Player(s) typically acquire this item while exploring the dungeon and is given opportunity to learn to use it to solve puzzles or defeat weaker enemies before facing the boss character. Boss battles are typically seen as dramatic events. As such, they are usually characterized by sometimes quite theatrical cutscenes before and after the boss battle and unique music. Recurring bosses and final bosses may have their own specific theme music to distinguish them from other boss battles. This concept extends beyond combat-oriented video games. For example,
8405-651: A supporting role in battle, using magical powers and weapons such as Light Arrows to aid Link. With the exception of the CD-i games, she was not playable in the main series until Spirit Tracks , where she becomes a spirit and can possess a Phantom Knight that can be controlled by the player. Zelda appears under various other aliases and alter egos , including Sheik (in Ocarina of Time ) and Tetra (in The Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass ). In Skyward Sword , it
Boss (video games) - Misplaced Pages Continue
8610-523: A system to play a basic table tennis game on a television screen. With the company's approval, Baer created the prototype known as the "Brown Box." Sanders patented Baer’s innovations and licensed them to Magnavox , which commercialized the technology as the first home video game console , the Magnavox Odyssey , released in 1972. Separately, Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney , inspired by seeing Spacewar! running at Stanford University , devised
8815-511: A targeting system that let the player lock the camera on to enemy or friendly non-player characters which simplified 3D combat. The Legend of Zelda was principally inspired by Shigeru Miyamoto 's "explorations" as a young boy in the hillsides, forests, and caves surrounding his childhood home in Sonobe, Japan where he ventured into forests with secluded lakes, caves, and rural villages. According to Miyamoto, one of his most memorable experiences
9020-494: A temple) and fighting a boss character at the end of each level; in turn, this end-of-level boss battle structure was adapted from the Bruce Lee film Game of Death , where Lee's character fights a different boss character on each floor as he ascends a pagoda. The game was distinctive for giving both players and each boss a health meter , which leads to the game temporarily becoming a one-on-one fighting game during boss battles,
9225-424: A time limit by having a large number of players or parties working together to defeat the boss. Examples of such superbosses can be found in games like Pokémon Go and World of Warcraft , and are generally referred to as a raid . Toby Fox 's games Undertale and Deltarune both feature superbosses in the form of Sans , Jevil, and Spamton NEO. Some major video game series have recurring superbosses such as
9430-491: A typical dungeon campaign there would be one powerful enemy acting as the boss of the weaker minions that players would face beforehand, in the same sense as a crime boss, which later inspired the boss battles of role-playing video games . The first interactive video game to feature a boss was dnd , which was released in 1975 for the PLATO system . dnd was one of the earliest dungeon crawl video games and implemented many of
9635-424: A video game are primarily determined by the underlying set of rules, demands, and expectations imposed on the player. While many games rely on emergent principles , video games commonly present simulated story worlds where emergent behavior occurs within the context of the game. The term "emergent narrative" has been used to describe how, in a simulated environment, storyline can be created simply by "what happens to
9840-412: A video game is first and foremost a game, which must be understood in terms of its rules, interface, and the concept of play that it deploys. Espen J. Aarseth argues that, although games certainly have plots, characters, and aspects of traditional narratives, these aspects are incidental to gameplay. For example, Aarseth is critical of the widespread attention that narrativists have given to the heroine of
10045-457: A way to distinguish them from console games , arcade games , or mobile games . Other terms such as "television game", "telegame", or "TV game" had been used in the 1970s and early 1980s, particularly for home gaming consoles that rely on connection to a television set . However, these terms were also used interchangeably with "video game" in the 1970s, primarily due to "video" and "television" being synonymous. In Japan , where consoles like
10250-424: A wide range of difficult enemies, bosses , and items. Each dungeon usually has one major item inside, which can be essential for solving many of the puzzles within that dungeon and often plays a crucial role in defeating that dungeon's boss, as well as progressing through the game. In nearly every Zelda game, navigating a dungeon is aided by locating a map, which reveals its layout, and a magic compass, which reveals
10455-411: A word from Billboard ' s description of movie jukeboxes, Adlum started to refer to this new breed of amusement machine as 'video games.' The phrase stuck." Adlum explained in 1985 that up until the early 1970s, amusement arcades typically had non-video arcade games such as pinball machines and electro-mechanical games . With the arrival of video games in arcades during the early 1970s, there
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#173278387173510660-458: Is Astaroth in Diablo IV . Many other wolfpack bosses empower themselves when one of the other enemies in the battle is killed to keep the threat level from falling over time. The final boss, last boss or end boss, is typically present at or near the end of a game, with completion of the game's storyline usually following victory in the battle. The final boss is usually the main antagonist of
10865-455: Is Bruce Lee 's Hong Kong martial arts films , including The Big Boss (1971), in which Lee fights a criminal gang before battling the eponymous "big boss", and Game of Death (1972), where Lee fights a different boss on each level of a pagoda , which later inspired the boss battles of martial arts action games such as beat 'em ups. Another precursor is tabletop role-playing games starting with Dungeons & Dragons (1974), in which in
11070-455: Is "[one of the] first contemporary non-dance title[s] to feature music-making as part of its gameplay", using music as a heuristic device and requiring the player to utilise songs to progress in the game – a game mechanic that is also present in Majora's Mask . "The Legend of Zelda Theme" is a recurring piece of music that was created for the first game. The composer and sound director of
11275-545: Is a fixed shooter where players's ship must fight a giant mothership in the fifth and final level. At several points in Namco's vertically scrolling shooter Xevious (1982), players must defeat an Andor Genesis mothership to advance. In side-scrolling character action games such as beat 'em ups, Irem 's 1984 arcade game Kung-Fu Master established the end-of-level boss battle structure used in these games, with players progressing through levels (represented by floors of
11480-431: Is a video game "appears highly eclectic and diverse". The gameplay experience varies radically between video games, but many common elements exist. Most games will launch into a title screen and give the player a chance to review options such as the number of players before starting a game. Most games are divided into levels which the player must work the avatar through, scoring points , collecting power-ups to boost
11685-420: Is entirely mute, having the other characters speak while Link remains silent "would be off-putting". Instead of theme music for different locations, Breath of the Wild plays natural ambience around the player as main sounds, in addition to some minimalist piano music. The Legend of Zelda takes place predominantly in a medieval Western Europe -inspired fantasy world called Hyrule , which has developed
11890-459: Is frequently a cross-disciplinary field. Video game developers , as employees within this industry are commonly referred to, primarily include programmers and graphic designers . Over the years, this has expanded to include almost every type of skill that one might see prevalent in the creation of any movie or television program, including sound designers , musicians, and other technicians; as well as skills that are specific to video games, such as
12095-421: Is from 1947—a " cathode-ray tube amusement device " was filed for a patent on 25 January 1947, by Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann, and issued on 14 December 1948, as U.S. Patent 2455992. Inspired by radar display technology, it consists of an analog device allowing a user to control the parabolic arc of a dot on the screen to simulate a missile being fired at targets, which are paper drawings fixed to
12300-478: Is more action-oriented. Both titles were later released on the 3DS Virtual Console and Nintendo Switch Online. The Game Boy Advance release of A Link to the Past in 2002 featured a new game, Four Swords , the first multiplayer Zelda . This game introduced Toon Link , a name first used in Super Smash Bros. Brawl to refer to cartoon-based visual designs of Link. Four Swords Anniversary Edition
12505-562: Is mostly isolated from the rest of the world due to the government's censorship, and all games published there must adhere to strict government review, disallowing content such as smearing the image of the Chinese Communist Party . Foreign games published in China often require modification by developers and publishers to meet these requirements. Video game development and authorship, much like any other form of entertainment,
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#173278387173512710-508: Is not defeated, leading into the Imprisoning War and A Link to the Past , Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages , Link's Awakening ( A Link Between Worlds , Tri Force Heroes , and Echoes of Wisdom were released after the timeline), The Legend of Zelda and The Adventure of Link . The second and third, where Ganon is defeated by Link, lead to a split timeline between his childhood (where Zelda sends him back in time so he can use
12915-506: Is often the main antagonist of a game's story and the defeat of that character usually provides a conclusion to the game. A boss rush is a stage where players face multiple previous bosses again in succession. For example, in a run 'n' gun video game, all regular enemies might use pistols while the boss uses a tank. A boss enemy is quite often larger in size than other enemies and the player character . At times, bosses are very hard to defeat without being adequately prepared and/or knowing
13120-528: Is revealed that the Zelda of that game is a reincarnation of the goddess Hylia, whose power flows through the royal bloodline. The name "Zelda" derives from the American novelist Zelda Fitzgerald . Ganon, also known as Ganondorf in his humanoid form, is the main antagonist and the final boss in the majority of The Legend of Zelda games. In the series, Ganondorf is the leader of a race of desert brigands called
13325-546: Is that the Phantom Guardians seen in Phantom Hourglass are, through a series of events, periodically controllable. It was the first time in the series that both Link and Zelda work together on the quest. It was later released on the Wii U Virtual Console. A new Zelda game for Wii was in development since the end of 2000s. The new title was revealed at E3 2010 as Skyward Sword , but its release
13530-447: Is the primary means which one interacts with a video game. The narrative setting does not impact gameplay; a shooter game is still a shooter game, regardless of whether it takes place in a fantasy world or in outer space. An exception is the horror game genre, used for games that are based on narrative elements of horror fiction , the supernatural , and psychological horror . Genre names are normally self-describing in terms of
13735-571: Is three times the size of the global music industry and four times that of the film industry in 2019, making it a formidable heavyweight across the modern entertainment industry . The video game market is also a major influence behind the electronics industry , where personal computer component, console, and peripheral sales, as well as consumer demands for better game performance, have been powerful driving factors for hardware design and innovation. Early video games use interactive electronic devices with various display formats. The earliest example
13940-483: Is transformed into a wolf , and loses the ability to use his sword, shield or other items, but gains other abilities such as sharpened senses from his new form. Twilight Princess includes an incarnation of Link's horse, Epona, for fast transportation, and features mounted battle scenarios including boss battles that were not seen in previous games. Twilight Princess diverted from the cel-shading of Wind Waker , integrating graphics featuring more detailed textures, giving
14145-592: The Kirby games. Others may be a recurring version of a previous boss, who is either weaker than previously encountered or is less of a challenge later in the game due to character or equipment progression. An example is Castlevania: Symphony of the Night ' s Gaibon and Slogra. Other video game characters who usually take the role of a miniboss are Vile ( Mega Man X series), Allen O'Neil ( Metal Slug ) and Dark Link ( The Legend of Zelda series, though he appears as
14350-530: The Berne Convention . This typically only applies to the underlying code, as well as to the artistic aspects of the game such as its writing, art assets, and music. Gameplay itself is generally not considered copyrightable; in the United States among other countries, video games are considered to fall into the idea–expression distinction in that it is how the game is presented and expressed to
14555-646: The Clue VCR Mystery Game which required players to watch VCR clips between turns. To distinguish between these two, video games are considered to require some interactivity that affects the visual display. Most video games tend to feature some type of victory or winning conditions, such as a scoring mechanism or a final boss fight. The introduction of walking simulators ( adventure games that allow for exploration but lack any objectives) like Gone Home , and empathy games (video games that tend to focus on emotion) like That Dragon, Cancer brought
14760-466: The Gerudo , which consists entirely of female warriors save for one man born every one hundred years. He is significantly taller than other human NPCs, but his looks vary between games, often taking the form of a monstrous anthropomorphic boar. His specific motives vary from game to game, but most often his plans include him kidnapping Princess Zelda and planning to achieve domination of Hyrule and presumably
14965-558: The Nintendo Entertainment System , using battery-backed memory , was released in the United States on August 22, 1987, and in Europe on November 27, 1987. The game features a "Second Quest", accessible either upon completing the game, or by registering one's name as "ZELDA" when starting a new quest. The "Second Quest" features different dungeons and item placement, and more difficult enemies. A modified version of
15170-555: The United Kingdom and Western Europe , this is common due to the historic relevance of domestically produced microcomputers. Other terms used include digital game, for example, by the Australian Bureau of Statistics . However, the term "computer game" can also be used to more specifically refer to games played primarily on personal computers or other types of flexible hardware systems (also known as PC game ), as
15375-500: The Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle ( Entertainment Software Self-Regulation ) would refuse to classify, and thus allow sale, of any game depicting Nazi imagery, and thus often requiring developers to replace such imagery with fictional ones. This ruling was relaxed in 2018 to allow for such imagery for "social adequacy" purposes that applied to other works of art. China's video game segment
15580-405: The best video game of all time , and ranking highly on IGN and EGM's "greatest games of all time" lists, as well as scoring perfect scores in several video game publications. In February 2006, it was ranked by Nintendo Power as the best game released for a Nintendo console. The game was originally developed for the poorly selling, Japanese-only 64DD , but was converted to cartridge format when
15785-483: The crash of the North American video game market in 1983 due to loss of publishing control and saturation of the market. Following the crash, the industry matured, was dominated by Japanese companies such as Nintendo , Sega , and Sony , and established practices and methods around the development and distribution of video games to prevent a similar crash in the future, many of which continue to be followed. In
15990-619: The first-person shooter and the Grand Theft Auto clone , respectively, in the few years after their release. However, at times and more frequently at the onset of the industry, developers would intentionally create video game clones of successful games and game hardware with few changes, which led to the flooded arcade and dedicated home console market around 1978. Cloning is also a major issue with countries that do not have strong intellectual property protection laws, such as within China . The lax oversight by China's government and
16195-409: The game designer . All of these are managed by producers . In the early days of the industry, it was more common for a single person to manage all of the roles needed to create a video game. As platforms have become more complex and powerful in the type of material they can present, larger teams have been needed to generate all of the art, programming, cinematography, and more. This is not to say that
16400-426: The greatest video games of all time . Gameplay of The Legend of Zelda games feature a mix of puzzles , action-adventure , and exploration. These elements have remained constant throughout the series, with refinements and additions featured in each new game. Later games in the series include stealth gameplay, where the player must avoid enemies while proceeding through a level, as well as racing elements. Although
16605-456: The recorder in The Legend of Zelda can reveal secret areas, as well as warp Link to the dungeon entrances. This warping with music feature has also been used in A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening . In Ocarina of Time , playing instruments is a core part of the game, with the player needing to play the instrument through the use of the game controller to succeed. Ocarina of Time
16810-439: The 1950s and 1960s were simple extensions of electronic games using video-like output from large, room-sized mainframe computers . The first consumer video game was the arcade video game Computer Space in 1971. In 1972 came the iconic hit game Pong and the first home console , the Magnavox Odyssey . The industry grew quickly during the "golden age" of arcade video games from the late 1970s to early 1980s but suffered from
17015-526: The 1970s and 1980s before having a larger worldwide contribution. Today, the video game industry is predominantly led by major companies in North America (primarily the United States and Canada), Europe, and southeast Asia including Japan, South Korea, and China. Hardware production remains an area dominated by Asian companies either directly involved in hardware design or part of the production process, but digital distribution and indie game development of
17220-527: The 1983 crash, forming around the concept of publisher-developer dichotomies, and by the 2000s, leading to the industry centralizing around low-risk, triple-A games and studios with large development budgets of at least $ 10 million or more. The advent of the Internet brought digital distribution as a viable means to distribute games, and contributed to the growth of more riskier, experimental independent game development as an alternative to triple-A games in
17425-462: The 1993 game . A hierarchy of game genres exist, with top-level genres like "shooter game" and "action game" that broadly capture the game's main gameplay style, and several subgenres of specific implementation, such as within the shooter game first-person shooter and third-person shooter . Some cross-genre types also exist that fall until multiple top-level genres such as action-adventure game . A video game's mode describes how many players can use
17630-631: The 2000s, the core industry centered on " AAA " games, leaving little room for riskier experimental games. Coupled with the availability of the Internet and digital distribution , this gave room for independent video game development (or " indie games ") to gain prominence into the 2010s. Since then, the commercial importance of the video game industry has been increasing. The emerging Asian markets and proliferation of smartphone games in particular are altering player demographics towards casual gaming and increasing monetization by incorporating games as
17835-564: The 3D games in the series have been re-released in HD resolution. Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages were released simultaneously for the Game Boy Color in 2001, and interact using passwords or a Game Link Cable . After one game has been completed, the player is given a password that allows the other game to be played as a sequel. They were developed by Flagship in conjunction with Nintendo, with supervision from Miyamoto. After
18040-495: The 64DD hardware was delayed. A new gameplay mechanic, lock-on targeting, is used in the game, which focuses the camera on a nearby target and alters the player's actions relative to that target. Such mechanics allow precise sword fighting in a 3D space. The game heavily uses context-sensitive button play, which enabled the player to control various actions with Link using only one button on the Nintendo 64's controller. Each action
18245-629: The Goddess Sword (later becoming the Master Sword) for her chosen hero and discarding her divinity to be reborn among the people of Skyloft. In time, Zelda and Link (the reborn Hylia and her predestined warrior) enacted the goddess's plan and Demise was destroyed, but he vowed that his rage would be reborn and forever plague those descended from Link and Zelda. Following the establishment of Hyrule Kingdom, Demise's prophecy came to fruition in Ocarina of Time , when Ganondorf's attempt to get
18450-570: The Great Fairy heal Link completely. Occasionally the player will find fairies hidden in specific locations; these fairies can either heal Link immediately or be kept in empty bottles, and will revive the player the next time they die. The games pioneered a number of features that were to become industry standards. The original Legend of Zelda was the first console game with a save function that enabled players to stop playing and then resume later. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time introduced
18655-637: The Internet or other communication methods as well as cloud gaming alleviate the need for any physical media. In some cases, the media serves as the direct read-only memory for the game, or it may be the form of installation media that is used to write the main assets to the player's platform's local storage for faster loading periods and later updates. Games can be extended with new content and software patches through either expansion packs which are typically available as physical media, or as downloadable content nominally available via digital distribution. These can be offered freely or can be used to monetize
18860-517: The Kingdom , was released on the Switch on May 12, 2023. New to Tears of the Kingdom are the battery-powered Zonai devices, which the player can use for combat, propulsion, exploration, and more. The game also features the new abilities to fuse materials together, ascend through ceilings, reverse objects' movement through time, and autobuild structures. Echoes of Wisdom , which features Zelda as
19065-467: The Odyssey were first imported and then made within the country by the large television manufacturers such as Toshiba and Sharp Corporation , such games are known as "TV games", "TV geemu", or "terebi geemu". The term "TV game" is still commonly used into the 21st century. "Electronic game" may also be used to refer to video games, but this also incorporates devices like early handheld electronic games that lack any video output. The first appearance of
19270-430: The Past is a prequel to the previous two games, and is followed by Link's Awakening ; Ocarina of Time is a prequel to A Link to the Past and takes the story many centuries back - according to character designer Satoru Takizawa, it was meant to implicitly tell the story of the Imprisoning War, and was followed by Majora's Mask as a direct sequel, set a few months later; Four Swords , upon its release,
19475-464: The Past , Oracle of Seasons , Oracle of Ages , the original The Legend of Zelda , Zelda II: The Adventure of Link , and finally Link's Awakening . In 2011, series translator Daniel Owsen revealed that, at one point, his coworkers at Nintendo of America and him conceived another complete timeline and intended to make it available online, but the Japanese series developers rejected the idea so that
19680-400: The Triforce has no will of its own and it can not judge between good and evil, it will grant any wish indiscriminately. Because of this, it was placed within an alternate world called the "Sacred Realm" or the "Golden Land" until one worthy of its power and has balanced virtues of Power, Wisdom, and Courage in their heart could obtain it, in its entirety. If a person is not of a balanced heart,
19885-491: The Triforce of Courage was introduced, being obtained by Link at the end of his quest. The Triforce, or even a piece of it, is not always distributed as a whole. Such as in The Wind Waker , Link must find all the pieces (called Triforce Shards) of the Triforce of Courage before he can return to Hyrule. Even in the original The Legend of Zelda , Zelda breaks her Triforce of Wisdom into 8 pieces for Link to find, before she
20090-595: The Triforce scattered it with him gaining the Triforce of Power. The Triforce of Wisdom ended up with the Hylian princesses descended from Zelda, each named after her, while the Triforce of Courage is passed to a youth named Link across generations. While the Triforces of Power and Wisdom have been part of the series since the original The Legend of Zelda , it was in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link that
20295-834: The Ultima Weapon and Omega Weapon in Final Fantasy and the Amon clan in Yakuza . The Warden from Minecraft could be considered a superboss, as it is vastly more difficult to fight than the final boss, the Ender Dragon. However, Mojang, the developer of Minecraft, has explicitly stated that the Warden was not intended to be fought by players. A wolfpack boss is a group of enemies who may be considered weak on their own, but in large groups can be considered strong enough to be
20500-557: The Wii U Virtual Console, and on Nintendo Switch Online. Three Zelda -themed LCD games were created between 1989 and 1992. The Zelda version of Nintendo's Game & Watch series was released first in August 1989 as a dual-screen handheld electronic game similar in appearance to today's Nintendo DS . It was re-released in 1998 as a Toymax, Inc. Mini Classic and was later included as an unlockable extra in Game & Watch Gallery 4 ,
20705-471: The Wild ' s timeline placement after all previous games in the series, without specifying a connection to any of the three timeline branches. Aonuma and Breath of the Wild director Hidemaro Fujibayashi justified the vague placement with the previous idea of keeping it open to players' imaginations. Nintendo moved Link's Awakening to take place before Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages . In 2020, Nintendo released Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity ,
20910-728: The age of the "one-man shop" is gone, as this is still sometimes found in the casual gaming and handheld markets, where smaller games are prevalent due to technical limitations such as limited RAM or lack of dedicated 3D graphics rendering capabilities on the target platform (e.g., some PDAs ). Video games are programmed like any other piece of computer software. Prior to the mid-1970s, arcade and home consoles were programmed by assembling discrete electro-mechanical components on circuit boards, which limited games to relatively simple logic. By 1975, low-cost microprocessors were available at volume to be used for video game hardware, which allowed game developers to program more detailed games, widening
21115-417: The avatar's innate attributes, all while either using special attacks to defeat enemies or moves to avoid them. This information is relayed to the player through a type of on-screen user interface such as a heads-up display atop the rendering of the game itself. Taking damage will deplete their avatar's health , and if that falls to zero or if the avatar otherwise falls into an impossible-to-escape location,
21320-399: The boss in question becomes progressively stronger and/or less vulnerable as their health decreases, requiring players to use different strategies to win. Some bosses may contain or be composed of smaller parts that can be destroyed by players in battle, which may or may not grant an advantage. In games such as Doom and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night , an enemy may be introduced via
21525-442: The boss to regain or regenerate health, but may also give players opportunity to regain health from health boosters and ammo dropped by the boss's defeated minions. A miniboss, also known as a "middle boss", "mid-boss", "half-boss", "sub-boss" "semi-boss", or occasionally "tank", is a boss-like enemy weaker or less significant than the main boss in the same area or level. Some minibosses are stronger versions of regular enemies, as in
21730-434: The cars in front of them and the obstacle. The programmer never wrote code to specifically create a traffic jam, yet one now exists in the game. Most commonly, video games are protected by copyright , though both patents and trademarks have been used as well. Though local copyright regulations vary to the degree of protection, video games qualify as copyrighted visual-audio works, and enjoy cross-country protection under
21935-653: The completion of specific additional levels, choosing specific dialogue options or after obtaining a particular item or set of items, such as the Chaos Emeralds in the Sonic the Hedgehog series or performing a series of tasks in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker . These bosses are generally more difficult to defeat. In games with a "true" final boss, victory leads to either a better ending or
22140-433: The concept of a boss rush, a stage where players face multiple previous bosses again in succession. Michael Fahey of Kotaku noted in a podcast that usage of the term "boss" by Nintendo Power grew sharply around 1988, and that there was no clear single etymology of the term. In the same podcast, former Kotaku editor-in-chief Stephen Totilo speculated that bosses became known as such because they were "in charge of all
22345-410: The confidential nature of this document, which only Miyamoto himself and the director of each game had access to. In-game content, marketing material, and developer statements once partially established a timeline of the released installments: the original The Legend of Zelda was followed by Zelda II: The Adventure of Link as a direct sequel, which takes place several years later; A Link to
22550-417: The console itself, while peripheral controllers are available as a separate purchase from the console manufacturer or third-party vendors. Similar control sets are built into handheld consoles and onto arcade cabinets. Newer technology improvements have incorporated additional technology into the controller or the game platform, such as touchscreens and motion detection sensors that give more options for how
22755-561: The core concepts of Dungeons & Dragons . The objective of the game is to retrieve an "Orb" from the bottommost dungeon. The orb is kept in a treasure room guarded by a high-level enemy named the Gold Dragon. Only by defeating the Dragon can players claim the orb, complete the game and be eligible to appear on the high score list. In 1980, boss battles appeared in several arcade action games. In March 1980, Sega released Samurai ,
22960-651: The correct fighting approach. Bosses usually take strategy and special knowledge to defeat, such as how to attack weak points or avoid specific attacks. Bosses are common in many genres of video games, but they are especially common in story-driven titles, and are commonly previously established antagonists in the plot of the video game. Action-adventure games , beat 'em ups , fighting games , platform games , role-playing video games (RPGs), and shooter games are particularly associated with boss battles. They may be less common in puzzle games , card video games , racing games , and simulation games . The first video game with
23165-423: The difficulty for foreign companies to take Chinese entities to court had enabled China to support a large grey market of cloned hardware and software systems. The industry remains challenged to distinguish between creating new games based on refinements of past successful games to create a new type of gameplay, and intentionally creating a clone of a game that may simply swap out art assets. The early history of
23370-521: The discounted Player's Choice version. Ocarina of Time was available through the Wii 's Virtual Console service. Nintendo re-released it for the Wii U Virtual Console in July 2015. Ocarina of Time 3D for the 3DS, featuring remade graphics and stereoscopic 3D, was released in mid-June 2011. Ocarina of Time has been made available on the higher tier of Nintendo Switch Online in HD resolution. Ocarina of Time ' s follow-up, Majora's Mask ,
23575-472: The end of a level or area. While most games include a mixture of boss opponents and regular opponents, some games have only regular opponents and some games have only bosses (e.g. Shadow of the Colossus ). Some bosses are encountered several times through a single game, typically with alternate attacks and a different strategy required to defeat it each time. A boss battle can also be made more challenging if
23780-426: The end of dungeons and dropped by dungeon bosses. Smaller "Pieces of Heart" are awarded for completing side quests or found hidden around the game world in various places, and require a certain number (usually four) to form a full heart container. Health can be replenished by picking up hearts left by defeated enemies or destroyed objects, consuming items such as potions or food, or going to a Great Fairy Fountain to have
23985-476: The enemies". Video game A video game , also known as a computer game or just a game , is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick , controller , keyboard , or motion sensing device) to generate visual feedback from a display device , most commonly shown in a video format on a television set , computer monitor , flat-panel display or touchscreen on handheld devices , or
24190-441: The eponymous princess, Zelda. The fictional universe established by the Zelda games sets the stage for each adventure. Some games take place in different lands with their own back-stories. Hytopia is a connected kingdom, Labrynna and Holodrum are different countries separate from the Kingdom of Hyrule, Termina and Lorule serve as parallel worlds, and Koholint is an island far away from Hyrule that appears to be part of
24395-558: The exception of Four Swords Adventures , where he is a reincarnation of the original. In each game the battles with him are different and he fights using different styles. The game Skyward Sword indicates that Ganon is a reincarnation of an evil deity known as Demise. The Legend of Zelda , the first game of the series, was first released in Japan on February 21, 1986, on the Famicom Disk System . A cartridge version for
24600-588: The final boss and often players are required to meet certain conditions in the game or complete a sidequest or the entire game to fight the superboss. The first such superboss (or secret boss) was Akuma in Super Street Fighter II Turbo , that required players meet certain conditions before he would appear as the final boss. In Final Fantasy VII , players may choose to seek out and fight the Ruby and Emerald Weapons. Some superbosses will take
24805-434: The game Tomb Raider , saying that "the dimensions of Lara Croft 's body, already analyzed to death by film theorists , are irrelevant to me as a player, because a different-looking body would not make me play differently... When I play, I don't even see her body, but see through it and past it." Simply put, ludologists reject traditional theories of art because they claim that the artistic and socially relevant qualities of
25010-549: The game a darker atmosphere. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD released for Wii U in 2016. At 2006 Game Developers Conference , a new title Phantom Hourglass for the Nintendo DS was shown. It revealed traditional top-down Zelda gameplay optimised for the DS's features, with a cel-shaded 3D graphical style similar to The Wind Waker for Gamecube. The game is a direct sequel to The Wind Waker . Phantom Hourglass
25215-642: The game at the same type. This is primarily distinguished by single-player video games and multiplayer video games . Within the latter category, multiplayer games can be played in a variety of ways, including locally at the same device, on separate devices connected through a local network such as LAN parties , or online via separate Internet connections. Most multiplayer games are based on competitive gameplay, but many offer cooperative and team-based options as well as asymmetric gameplay . Online games use server structures that can also enable massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) to support hundreds of players at
25420-406: The game can also be exploited. On some consoles, cheat cartridges allow players to execute these cheat codes, and user-developed trainers allow similar bypassing for computer software games. Both of which might make the game easier, give the player additional power-ups, or change the appearance of the game. To distinguish from electronic games, a video game is generally considered to require
25625-419: The game received a gold-colored cartridge in a limited edition box with a golden plastic card affixed, reading "Collector's Edition". In some stores that had this "Collector's Edition" quickly sell out, a small and rare Zelda pin was given instead. It is the sword and shield emblem with "Zelda" written on it. Very few of them are known to remain. Ocarina of Time was re-released on the GameCube in 2002, when it
25830-484: The game should they lose all their lives or need to stop the game and restart at a later time. These also may be in the form of a passage that can be written down and reentered at the title screen. Product flaws include software bugs which can manifest as glitches which may be exploited by the player; this is often the foundation of speedrunning a video game. These bugs, along with cheat codes , Easter eggs , and other hidden secrets that were intentionally added to
26035-501: The game. Video game can use several types of input devices to translate human actions to a game. Most common are the use of game controllers like gamepads and joysticks for most consoles, and as accessories for personal computer systems along keyboard and mouse controls. Common controls on the most recent controllers include face buttons, shoulder triggers, analog sticks , and directional pads ("d-pads") . Consoles typically include standard controllers which are shipped or bundled with
26240-399: The game. By definition, all video games are intended to output graphics to an external video display, such as cathode-ray tube televisions, newer liquid-crystal display (LCD) televisions and built-in screens, projectors or computer monitors , depending on the type of platform the game is played on. Features such as color depth , refresh rate , frame rate , and screen resolution are
26445-560: The game. Today, many games are built around a game engine that handles the bulk of the game's logic, gameplay, and rendering. These engines can be augmented with specialized engines for specific features, such as a physics engine that simulates the physics of objects in real-time. A variety of middleware exists to help developers access other features, such as playback of videos within games, network-oriented code for games that communicate via online services, matchmaking for online games, and similar features. These features can be used from
26650-478: The game; however, there are exceptions, such as in Conker's Bad Fur Day , in which the final boss is the antagonist's alien pet. Final bosses are generally larger, more detailed or better animated than lesser enemies, often in order to inspire a feeling of grandeur and special significance from the encounter. In some games, a hidden boss, referred to as the "true" final boss, is present. These bosses only appear after
26855-528: The games can be beaten with a minimal amount of exploration and side quests , the player is frequently rewarded with helpful items or increased abilities for solving puzzles or exploring hidden areas. Some items are consistent and appear many times throughout the series (such as bombs and bomb flowers, which can be used both as weapons and to open blocked or hidden doorways; boomerangs , which can kill or paralyze enemies; keys for locked doors; magic swords , shields, and bows and arrows ), while others are unique to
27060-482: The graphical style of Ocarina of Time , it is also a departure, particularly in its atmosphere. It features motion-blur, unlike its predecessor. The game is darker in tone, dealing with death and tragedy in a manner not previously seen in the series, and has a sense of impending doom, as a large moon slowly descends upon the land of Termina to destroy all life. All copies of Majora's Mask are gold cartridges. A limited "Collector's Edition" lenticular cartridge label
27265-485: The growth of the size of development teams in the industry, the problem of cost has increased. Development studios need the best talent, while publishers reduce costs to maintain profitability on their investment. Typically, a video game console development team ranges from 5 to 50 people, and some exceed 100. In May 2009, Assassin's Creed II was reported to have a development staff of 450. The growth of team size combined with greater pressure to get completed projects into
27470-415: The handheld Four Swords , Four Swords Adventures was another deviation from previous Zelda gameplay, focusing on level -based and multiplayer gameplay. The game contains 24 levels and a map screen; there is no connecting overworld . For multiplayer features, each player must use a Game Boy Advance system linked to the GameCube via a Nintendo GameCube – Game Boy Advance link cable . The game features
27675-586: The idea of games that did not have any such type of winning condition and raising the question of whether these were actually games. These are still commonly justified as video games as they provide a game world that the player can interact with by some means. The lack of any industry definition for a video game by 2021 was an issue during the case Epic Games v. Apple which dealt with video games offered on Apple's iOS App Store . Among concerns raised were games like Fortnite Creative and Roblox which created metaverses of interactive experiences, and whether
27880-417: The incarnations of Link and Zelda often have many traits in common, such as Link often being left-handed and clad in green, and Zelda being associated with wisdom, light, and prophecy. While the conflict with Ganon serves as a backbone for the series, some games have featured other settings and antagonists, with Link traveling or being sent to these other lands in their time of need. Since The Legend of Zelda
28085-450: The larger " AAA " game studios, and are often experiments in gameplay and art style. Indie game development is aided by the larger availability of digital distribution, including the newer mobile gaming market, and readily-available and low-cost development tools for these platforms. Although departments of computer science have been studying the technical aspects of video games for years, theories that examine games as an artistic medium are
28290-718: The larger game and the individual experiences themselves were games or not in relation to fees that Apple charged for the App Store. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers , recognizing that there was yet an industry standard definition for a video game, established for her ruling that "At a bare minimum, video games appear to require some level of interactivity or involvement between the player and the medium" compared to passive entertainment like film, music, and television, and "videogames are also generally graphically rendered or animated, as opposed to being recorded live or via motion capture as in films or television". Rogers still concluded that what
28495-417: The late 2000s and which has continued to grow as a significant portion of the video game industry. Video games have a large network effect that draw on many different sectors that tie into the larger video game industry. While video game developers are a significant portion of the industry, other key participants in the market include: The industry itself grew out from both the United States and Japan in
28700-458: The late 2000s has allowed game developers to flourish nearly anywhere and diversify the field. The Legend of Zelda The Legend of Zelda is a media franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka . It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo ; some portable installments and re-releases have been outsourced to Flagship , Vanpool , Grezzo , and Tantalus Media . The series centers on
28905-471: The later-released Nintendo e-Reader . The next game, Link's Awakening , for Nintendo's Game Boy , is the first Zelda for a handheld , and the first set outside Hyrule and to exclude Princess Zelda. Link's Awakening was re-released, in full color, as a launch game for the Game Boy Color in 1998 as Link's Awakening DX . This remaster features additions such as an extra color-based dungeon and
29110-452: The latter also encompasses LAN games , online games , and browser games . More recently, the video game industry has expanded onto mobile gaming through mobile devices (such as smartphones and tablet computers ), virtual and augmented reality systems, and remote cloud gaming . Video games are also classified into a wide range of genres based on their style of gameplay and target audience . The first video game prototypes in
29315-563: The location of significant and smaller items such as keys and equipment. In later games, the dungeon includes a special "big key" that will unlock the door to battle the dungeon's boss enemy and open the item chest. In most Zelda games, the player's HP or life meter is represented by a line of hearts, each heart typically representing two hit points. At the start of the game the player only has three hearts; players can increase their max hearts by finding heart-shaped crystals called "Heart Containers". Full heart containers are usually received at
29520-534: The main Zelda series has consisted of three principal areas: an overworld which connects all other areas, in which movement is multidirectional, allowing the player some degree of freedom of action; areas of interaction with other characters (merely caves or hidden rooms in the first game, but expanding to entire towns and cities in subsequent games) in which the player gains special items or advice, can purchase equipment or complete side quests; and dungeons , areas of labyrinthine layout, usually underground, comprising
29725-495: The main protagonist, released on September 26, 2024. Throughout the lifespan of The Legend of Zelda series, a number of games (including main series games as well as re-releases and spin-offs) in varying states of completeness have had their releases cancelled. Perhaps the earliest of these was Gottlieb 's The Legend of Zelda Pinball Machine (cancelled 1993). After securing a license from Nintendo to produce two Nintendo-franchise-based pinball machines, pinball designer Jon Norris
29930-682: The major content system provides have worked to create the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC), a means to streamline and align the content ratings system between different region, so that a publisher would only need to complete the content ratings review for one provider, and use the IARC transition to affirm the content rating for all other regions. Certain nations have even more restrictive rules related to political or ideological content. Within Germany, until 2018,
30135-462: The market to begin recouping production costs has led to a greater occurrence of missed deadlines, rushed games, and the release of unfinished products. While amateur and hobbyist game programming had existed since the late 1970s with the introduction of home computers, a newer trend since the mid-2000s is indie game development . Indie games are made by small teams outside any direct publisher control, their games being smaller in scope than those from
30340-405: The market. Due to loss of publishing control and oversaturation of the market, the North American home video game market crashed in 1983 , dropping from revenues of around $ 3 billion in 1983 to $ 100 million by 1985. Many of the North American companies created in the prior years closed down. Japan's growing game industry was briefly shocked by this crash but had sufficient longevity to withstand
30545-561: The original Famicom game, BS Zelda no Densetsu , was released for the Super Famicom 's satellite-based expansion, Satellaview , on August 6, 1995, in Japan. A second Satellaview game, BS Zelda no Densetsu MAP2 was released for the Satellaview on December 30 the same year. Both games featured rearranged dungeons, an altered overworld , and new voice-acted plot-lines. The second game, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link ,
30750-774: The original game and possibly from scratch is performed. The list below is not exhaustive and excludes other electronic devices capable of playing video games such as PDAs and graphing calculators . Early arcade games, home consoles, and handheld games were dedicated hardware units with the game's logic built into the electronic componentry of the hardware. Since then, most video game platforms are considered programmable, having means to read and play multiple games distributed on different types of media or formats. Physical formats include ROM cartridges , magnetic storage including magnetic-tape data storage and floppy discs , optical media formats including CD-ROM and DVDs , and flash memory cards. Furthermore digital distribution over
30955-580: The origins of villain Vaati and the creation of the Four Sword; Twilight Princess takes place in another of the parallel timelines that emerged from Ocarina of Time , more than a century later, in the "child era"; Phantom Hourglass is a direct sequel to The Wind Waker , and is followed by Spirit Tracks , which is set about a century later on a land far away from the setting of The Wind Waker . Skyward Sword precedes The Minish Cap , telling
31160-472: The patents. Following their agreement, Atari made a home version of Pong , which was released by Christmas 1975. The success of the Odyssey and Pong , both as an arcade game and home machine, launched the video game industry. Both Baer and Bushnell have been titled "Father of Video Games" for their contributions. The term "video game" was developed to distinguish this class of electronic games that were played on some type of video display rather than on
31365-489: The place of the final boss if certain requirements are met. Some superbosses can yield special items or skills that cannot be found any other way that can give players a significant advantage during playthrough of the rest of the game, such as added experience or an extremely powerful weapon. For example, the "raid bosses" from Borderlands 2 give rare loot unavailable anywhere else. Some superbosses in online games have an immense amount of health and must be defeated within
31570-498: The placement of each game would be kept open to the imagination of the players. On December 21, 2011, to celebrate 25th anniversary of the series, the Hyrule Historia art book was published by Shogakukan , which contained an official timeline of the fictional chronology of the series up to that point. This timeline subsequently posits that following Ocarina of Time , it splits into three alternate routes: in one, Ganon
31775-409: The platform, as directed by the game's programming. This often will include sound effects tied to the player's actions to provide audio feedback, as well as background music for the game. Some platforms support additional feedback mechanics to the player that a game can take advantage of. This is most commonly haptic technology built into the game controller, such as causing the controller to shake in
31980-457: The player and the game world. The various Links each have a special title, such as "Hero of Time", "Hero of the Winds" or "Hero chosen by the gods". Like many silent protagonists in video games, Link does not speak, only producing grunts, yells, etc. Despite the player not seeing the dialogue, it is referenced second-hand by in-game characters, showing that he is not, in fact, mute. Link is shown as
32185-399: The player interacts with the game. Specialized controllers may be used for certain genres of games, including racing wheels , light guns and dance pads . Digital cameras and motion detection can capture movements of the player as input into the game, which can, in some cases, effectively eliminate the control, and on other systems such as virtual reality, are used to enhance immersion into
32390-502: The player that can be copyrighted, but not the underlying principles of the game. Because gameplay is normally ineligible for copyright, gameplay ideas in popular games are often replicated and built upon in other games. At times, this repurposing of gameplay can be seen as beneficial and a fundamental part of how the industry has grown by building on the ideas of others. For example Doom (1993) and Grand Theft Auto III (2001) introduced gameplay that created popular new game genres,
32595-433: The player will lose one of their lives . Should they lose all their lives without gaining an extra life or "1-UP" , then the player will reach the " game over " screen. Many levels as well as the game's finale end with a type of boss character the player must defeat to continue on. In some games, intermediate points between levels will offer save points where the player can create a saved game on storage media to restart
32800-419: The player's hands to simulate a shaking earthquake occurring in game. Video games are frequently classified by a number of factors related to how one plays them. A video game, like most other forms of media, may be categorized into genres . However, unlike film or television which use visual or narrative elements, video games are generally categorized into genres based on their gameplay interaction, since this
33005-430: The player." However, emergent behavior is not limited to sophisticated games. In general, any place where event-driven instructions occur for AI in a game, emergent behavior will exist. For instance, take a racing game in which cars are programmed to avoid crashing, and they encounter an obstacle in the track: the cars might then maneuver to avoid the obstacle causing the cars behind them to slow or maneuver to accommodate
33210-450: The previous 3D games in the series. The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition , released for the GameCube in 2003, included the original The Legend of Zelda , Zelda II , Ocarina of Time , Majora's Mask , and a demo of The Wind Waker . The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD was released for Wii U in 2013. Four Swords Adventures was released for the GameCube in early 2004 in Japan and America, and January 2005 in Europe. Based on
33415-492: The princess after her, and titled it The Legend of Zelda . Link and the fairy were inspired by Peter Pan and Tinker Bell . When making the series made the transition to 3D, the combat system of Ocarina of Time was based on the chanbara ( samurai ) style of Japanese sword fighting. Games in The Legend of Zelda series frequently feature in-game musical instruments, particularly in musical puzzles , which are widespread. Often, instruments trigger game events: for example,
33620-450: The question of what are the essential factors of a video game that separate the medium from other forms of entertainment. The introduction of interactive films in the 1980s with games like Dragon's Lair , featured games with full motion video played off a form of media but only limited user interaction. This had required a means to distinguish these games from more traditional board games that happen to also use external media, such as
33825-637: The same time. A small number of video games are zero-player games , in which the player has very limited interaction with the game itself. These are most commonly simulation games where the player may establish a starting state and then let the game proceed on its own, watching the results as a passive observer, such as with many computerized simulations of Conway's Game of Life . Most video games are intended for entertainment purposes. Different game types include: Video games can be subject to national and international content rating requirements. Like with film content ratings, video game ratings typing identify
34030-544: The scope of what was possible. Ongoing improvements in computer hardware technology have expanded what has become possible to create in video games, coupled with convergence of common hardware between console, computer, and arcade platforms to simplify the development process. Today, game developers have a number of commercial and open source tools available for use to make games, often which are across multiple platforms to support portability, or may still opt to create their own for more specialized features and direct control of
34235-617: The screen. Other early examples include Christopher Strachey 's draughts game, the Nimrod computer at the 1951 Festival of Britain ; OXO , a tic-tac-toe computer game by Alexander S. Douglas for the EDSAC in 1952; Tennis for Two , an electronic interactive game engineered by William Higinbotham in 1958; and Spacewar! , written by Massachusetts Institute of Technology students Martin Graetz, Steve Russell , and Wayne Wiitanen's on
34440-597: The series, Koji Kondo , initially planned to use Maurice Ravel 's Boléro as the game's title theme, but was forced to change it when he learned, late in the game's development cycle, that the copyright for the orchestral piece had not yet expired. As a result, Kondo wrote a new arrangement of the overworld theme within one day. Up until Breath of the Wild , the Legend of Zelda series avoided using voice acting in speaking roles, relying instead on written dialogue. Series producer Eiji Aonuma previously stated that as Link
34645-556: The series, though have since gained a cult following in the form of internet memes . After five years without a new game, the series made the transition to 3D with Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 64 , which was released in November 1998. This game, initially known as Zelda 64 , retains the core gameplay of the previous 2D games, and was very successful commercially and critically, considered by many critics and gamers to be
34850-496: The series, without specifying a direct connection to any of the three timeline branches. In the early 2000s, Nintendo of America released a timeline on the official website of the series as one of the possible interpretation of the events from all entries released up to that point, featuring a single protagonist named Link, the "Hero of Time" from its first adventure in Ocarina of Time . It was followed by Majora's Mask , A Link to
35055-477: The series. The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II were released in gold-colored cartridges instead of the console's regular grey cartridges. Both were re-released in the final years of the Nintendo Entertainment System with grey cartridges. Four years later, A Link to the Past returned to the top-down view (under a 3/4 perspective ), and added the concept of an alternate dimension, the Dark World. The game
35260-435: The short-term effects, and Nintendo helped to revitalize the industry with the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America in 1985. Along with it, Nintendo established a number of core industrial practices to prevent unlicensed game development and control game distribution on their platform, methods that continue to be used by console manufacturers today. The industry remained more conservative following
35465-482: The stand-alone game "Tetra's Trackers"), which contains spoken dialogue for most of the characters, unlike other games in The Legend of Zelda series. In November 2004 in Japan and Europe, and January 2005 in America, Nintendo released The Minish Cap for the Game Boy Advance . In The Minish Cap Link can shrink in size using a mystical, sentient hat named Ezlo. While shrunk, he can see previously explored parts of
35670-482: The story of the creation of the Master Sword. A Link Between Worlds takes place six generations after A Link to the Past , and features the Triforce being reunited, and Ganon being resurrected; Tri Force Heroes is a direct sequel to A Link Between Worlds , which takes place several years later; Breath of the Wild and its direct sequel, Tears of the Kingdom take place after all previous games in
35875-484: The target age group that the national or regional ratings board believes is appropriate for the player, ranging from all-ages, to a teenager-or-older, to mature, to the infrequent adult-only games. Most content review is based on the level of violence, both in the type of violence and how graphic it may be represented, and sexual content, but other themes such as drug and alcohol use and gambling that can influence children may also be identified. A primary identifier based on
36080-408: The team experimented with porting the original The Legend of Zelda to the Game Boy Color, they decided to make an original trilogy to be called the "Triforce Series". When the password system linking the three games proved too troublesome, the concept was reduced to two games at Miyamoto's suggestion. These two games became Oracle of Ages , which is more puzzle-based, and Oracle of Seasons , which
36285-405: The term "video game" emerged around 1973. The Oxford English Dictionary cited a 10 November 1973 BusinessWeek article as the first printed use of the term. Though Bushnell believed the term came from a vending magazine review of Computer Space in 1971, a review of the major vending magazines Vending Times and Cashbox showed that the term may have come even earlier, appearing first in
36490-554: The term in an article in March 1973. In a September 1982 issue of RePlay , Adlum is credited with first naming these games as "video games": "RePlay's Eddie Adlum worked at 'Cash Box' when 'TV games' first came out. The personalities in those days were Bushnell, his sales manager Pat Karns, and a handful of other 'TV game' manufacturers like Henry Leyser and the McEwan brothers. It seemed awkward to call their products 'TV games', so borrowing
36695-479: The time. At Space World 2001, Nintendo showed a cel-shaded Zelda game, later released as The Wind Waker in December 2002. Due to poor reception, nothing further was shown until a playable demonstration was ready. Miyamoto felt The Wind Waker would "extend Zelda ' s reach to all ages". The gameplay centers on controlling wind with a baton called the "Wind Waker" and sailing a small boat around an island-filled ocean, retaining similar gameplay mechanics as
36900-535: The tracks) to find out why, but villains steal Zelda's body for the resurrection of the Demon King. Rendered disembodied, Zelda is left a spirit, and only Link (and a certain few sages) can see her. Together they go on a quest to restore the spirit tracks, defeat the Demon King, and return Zelda to her body. Using a modified engine of that used in Phantom Hourglass , the notably new feature in this game
37105-443: The triforce part that the user mostly believes in will stay with that person and the remainder will seek out others. In order to master and control the triforce as a whole, the user must get the other parts found in other individuals and bring them together to reunite them. The Sacred Realm can itself be affected by the heart of those who enter it: those who are pure will make it a paradise, while those who are evil will transform it into
37310-503: The type of gameplay, such as action game , role playing game , or shoot 'em up , though some genres have derivations from influential works that have defined that genre, such as roguelikes from Rogue , Grand Theft Auto clones from Grand Theft Auto III , and battle royale games from the film Battle Royale . The names may shift over time as players, developers and the media come up with new terms; for example, first-person shooters were originally called "Doom clones" based on
37515-423: The various incarnations of Link , a courageous young man of the elf-like Hylian race, and Princess Zelda , a princess within the bloodline of the goddess Hylia , as they fight to save the land of Hyrule from Ganon , an evil warlord turned demon king, who is the principal antagonist of the series. Ganon wishes to use the Triforce , a sacred relic left behind by the three goddesses that created Hyrule, to remake
37720-422: The video game industry, following the first game hardware releases and through 1983, had little structure. Video games quickly took off during the golden age of arcade video games from the late 1970s to early 1980s, but the newfound industry was mainly composed of game developers with little business experience. This led to numerous companies forming simply to create clones of popular games to try to capitalize on
37925-405: The wisdom he has gained to warn young Zelda of the horrifying fate of Hyrule) and adulthood (where adult Zelda lives on to try and rebuild her kingdom). His childhood continues with Majora's Mask , followed by Twilight Princess and Four Swords Adventures . The timeline from his adult life continues into Wind Waker , Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks . In 2018, Nintendo revealed Breath of
38130-406: The world beyond it. To this end, he seeks the Triforce , a powerful magical relic. He often possesses a portion of the Triforce called the Triforce of Power, which gives him great strength. However, it is often not enough to accomplish his ends, leading him to hunt the remaining Triforce pieces. Unlike Link, Zelda, and most other recurring characters, he is actually the same person in every game, with
38335-441: The world in his own dark image. When gathered together, the power of the Triforce can grant any wish its user desires; however, if someone with a heart that does not possess a balance of the three virtues of Power, Courage, and Wisdom attempts to touch the Triforce, it will split into three triangles and bond with three people whose hearts embody the required virtue. Although their personalities and backstory differ from game to game,
38540-455: Was captured by Ganon. The chronology of the Legend of Zelda series was a subject of much debate among fans until an official timeline was released within the Hyrule Historia collector's book, first released in Japan in December 2011. Prior to its release, in a 2003 interview, series creator Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed the existence of an internal document which connected all the games, with series producer Eiji Aonuma later revealing in 2010
38745-432: Was considered the oldest tale in the series's chronology, predating Ocarina of Time ; The Wind Waker takes place in one of the parallel timelines that emerged from Ocarina of Time , more than a century later, in the "adult era"; Four Swords Adventures , upon its release, was considered to be a direct sequel to Four Swords , set sometime after its events; The Minish Cap is a prequel to Four Swords , telling of
38950-570: Was delayed to 2011. The game, the earliest in the Legend of Zelda timeline, reveals the origins of Hyrule, Ganon (here known as Demise), and many elements featured in previous games; it uses Wii's MotionPlus feature as well. It was released on November 20, 2011; the first run included a 25th Anniversary CD of fully orchestrated music from various Zelda games, including Skyward Sword . It was made available for download on Wii U in September 2016. An HD remaster , with optional button-only controls,
39155-423: Was handled slightly differently but all used the 'A' button to perform. For instance, standing next to a block and pressing 'A' made Link grab it (enabling him to push/pull it), but moving forwards into a block and pressing 'A' allowed Link to climb the block. The game featured the first appearance of Link's horse, Epona , allowing Link to travel quickly across land and fire arrows from horseback. Those who preordered
39360-434: Was initially some confusion in the arcade industry over what term should be used to describe the new games. He "wrestled with descriptions of this type of game," alternating between "TV game" and "television game" but "finally woke up one day" and said, "What the hell... video game!" While many games readily fall into a clear, well-understood definition of video games, new genres and innovations in game development have raised
39565-485: Was introduced as Excalibur in the French version of A Link to the Past , which is regarded as reminiscent to the legend of King Arthur . Celtic mythology inspired the name of Link's steed , Epona, based on Epona , Celtic goddess of fertility. Hearing of American novelist, socialite and painter Zelda Fitzgerald , Miyamoto thought the name sounded "pleasant and significant". Paying tribute, he chose to name
39770-416: Was offered as a pre-order incentive for The Wind Waker in the U.S., Canada and Japan. It includes the cancelled 64DD expansion for Ocarina of Time known as Ura Zelda during development. Named Ocarina of Time Master Quest , the game was given reorganized dungeon layouts for greater difficulty. Europe continued to receive this "Two-Game Bonus Disc" free in every copy of The Wind Waker , except for
39975-520: Was offered as the pre-order incentive . Copies of the game that are not collector's editions feature a normal sticker cartridge label. Majora's Mask was available on the Wii and Wii U Virtual Console catalogues. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D was released for 3DS in North America and Europe on February 13, 2015, and in Japan and Australia a day later. The Nintendo 64 version was added to Nintendo Switch Online in February 2022; with this, all of
40180-417: Was released for Nintendo Switch in 2021. In 2013, Nintendo released A Link Between Worlds for the Nintendo 3DS , a sequel to A Link to the Past . Progression is more open-ended than previous titles, with the possibility of completing many of the game's dungeons in any order. Certain dungeon obstacles require the use of rented or purchased items. Tri Force Heroes , a cooperative multiplayer game,
40385-409: Was released for the Famicom Disk System in Japan on January 14, 1987, and for the Nintendo Entertainment System in Europe in November and North America in December 1988. The game exchanged the top-down perspective for side-scrolling (though the top-down point of view was retained for overworld areas), and introduced RPG elements (such as experience points ) not used previously or thereafter in
40590-621: Was released for the Super NES on November 21, 1991. A downloadable version of A Link to the Past and an exclusive modified version called BS Zelda no Densetsu Inishie no Sekiban were released on the Satellaview in Japan on March 2 and 30, 1997, respectively. A Link to the Past was re-released for the Game Boy Advance in 2002. The SNES version was later re-released on the Wii Virtual Console on January 22, 2007, on
40795-407: Was released for the 3DS in October 2015. It features the same Link as A Link Between Worlds but lacks open-world gameplay. While Nintendo had showcased a Wii U demo reel at E3 2011 that depicted Link fighting a monster in HD and the first original HD Zelda game was scheduled for a 2015 release, it was delayed. The title was finally revealed at E3 2016 as Breath of the Wild , and the game
41000-417: Was released in 1986, the series has expanded to include 20 entries on all of Nintendo's major game consoles , as well as a number of spin-offs. An American animated TV series based on the games aired in 1989 and manga adaptations commissioned by Nintendo have been produced in Japan since 1997. The Legend of Zelda is one of Nintendo's most successful franchises; several of its entries are considered among
41205-559: Was released in April 2000. It uses the same 3D game engine as the previous game, and added a time-based concept, in which Link , the protagonist, relives the events of three days as many times as needed to complete the game's objectives. It was originally called Zelda Gaiden , a Japanese title that translates as Zelda Side story . Gameplay changed significantly; in addition to the time-limit, Link can use masks to transform into creatures with unique abilities. While Majora's Mask retains
41410-460: Was released in June 2007, for Japan and October for North America and Europe. It was later released on the Wii U Virtual Console. The next Legend of Zelda game for the DS, Spirit Tracks , was released in December 2009. In this game, the "spirit tracks", railroads which chain an ancient evil, are disappearing from Hyrule. Zelda and Link go to the 'Spirit Tower' (the ethereal point of convergence for
41615-487: Was released on March 3, 2017, as the last Nintendo-published game for the Wii U and a launch title for the Nintendo Switch . Similar to the original The Legend of Zelda , players are given little instruction and can explore the world freely. The world is designed to encourage exploration and experimentation and the main story quest can be completed in a nonlinear fashion. A Breath of the Wild sequel, Tears of
41820-401: Was released on September 28, 2011, as free DSiWare available until February 20, 2012. When Nintendo revealed the GameCube on August 24, 2000, the day before Nintendo's Space World 2000 exposition, a software demonstration showed a realistically styled real-time duel between Ganondorf and Link . Fans and the media speculated that the battle might be from a Zelda game in development at
42025-417: Was the discovery of a cave entrance in the middle of the woods. After some hesitation, he apprehensively entered the cave, and explored its depths with the aid of a lantern. Miyamoto has referred to the creation of the Zelda games as an attempt to bring to life a "miniature garden" for players to play with in each game of the series. The story and setting was developed by Takashi Tezuka . Seeking to create
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