96-644: The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes is a 2015 action-adventure game developed by Nintendo EPD and Grezzo and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS . The second original Nintendo 3DS entry in The Legend of Zelda series after A Link Between Worlds , this game is the third installment in the franchise to prominently feature a multiplayer campaign after Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures , albeit this time with only three players as opposed to four, wireless and online connectivity as opposed to
192-401: A coming of age motif to identify with, journeying as an ordinary boy strengthened by trials to triumph over great challenges and rise to meet evil. The name of the titular princess came from Zelda Fitzgerald . Miyamoto explained that "Zelda was the wife of famous novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald . She was a famous and beautiful woman from all accounts, and I liked the sound of her name. So I took
288-627: A fantasy " setting. Tutankham , debuted by Konami in January 1982, was an action-adventure released for arcades . It combined maze, shoot 'em up, puzzle-solving and adventure elements, with a 1983 review by Computer and Video Games magazine calling it "the first game that effectively combined the elements of an adventure game with frenetic shoot 'em up gameplay." It inspired the similar Time Bandit (1983). Action Quest , released in May 1982, blended puzzle elements of adventure games into
384-477: A flip-screen overhead perspective as he travels the overworld , a large outdoor map with various environments. Link begins the game equipped only with a small shield, but can enter a cave and receive a sword from an old man who advises, " It's dangerous to go alone! Take this. " Throughout the adventure, Link finds and acquires various items that increase his abilities further, including heart containers which increase his life meter; magic rings which decrease
480-413: A heart meter , with all players losing one of their life fairies should the meter run out. A particular mechanic of the game is the costumes, which grants special and hidden abilities, such as upgrading an item's ability, health capacity, or stamina limit. The game supports both local and online multiplayer gameplay, wherein players use icons on the touch screen to communicate with each other, as well as
576-446: A joystick -controlled, arcade-style action game, which surprised reviewers at the time. While noting some similarities to Adventure , IGN argues that The Legend of Zelda (1986) by Nintendo "helped to establish a new subgenre of action-adventure", becoming a success due to how it combined elements from different genres to create a compelling hybrid, including exploration, adventure-style inventory puzzles , an action component,
672-571: A monetary system , and simplified RPG-style level building without the experience points . The Legend of Zelda series was the most prolific action-adventure game franchise through to the 2000s. Roe R. Adams also cited the arcade-style side-scrolling fantasy games Castlevania (1986), Trojan (1986) and Wizards & Warriors (1987) as early examples of action-adventure games. Games like Brain Breaker (1985), Xanadu (1985), Metroid (1986) and Vampire Killer (1986) combined
768-767: A subgenre of open world action-adventure video games in the third-person perspective . They are characterized by their likeness to the Grand Theft Auto series in either gameplay or overall design. In these types of open world games, players may find and use a variety of vehicles and weapons while roaming freely in an open world setting. Metroidvania is a portmanteau of Metroid and Castlevania ; such games are sometimes referred to as "search action", and are generally based on two-dimensional platformers. They emphasize both exploration and puzzle-solving with traditional platform gameplay. Survival horror games emphasize "inventory management" and making sure
864-527: A boy around Kyoto , where he explored nearby fields, woods, and caves, always trying through Zelda games to impart players some sense of that limitless wonder he felt through unknown exploration. According to Miyamoto: "When I was a child, I went hiking and found a lake. It was quite a surprise for me to stumble upon it. When I traveled around the country without a map, trying to find my way, stumbling on amazing things as I went, I realized how it felt to go on an adventure like this". The memory of being lost amid
960-545: A choice of what to say. The NPC gives a scripted response to the player, and the game offers the player several new ways to respond. Due to the action-adventure subgenre's broad and inclusive nature, it causes some players to have difficulty finishing a particular game. Companies have devised ways to give the player help, such as offering clues or allowing the player to skip puzzles to compensate for this lack of ability. Brett Weiss cites Atari 's Superman (1979) as an action-adventure game, with Retro Gamer crediting it as
1056-424: A competitive Coliseum mode. A single player can also play the game by controlling doll-like companions called "Doppels" in place of additional players, though the main mode does not support two players without a third. Tri Force Heroes features a visual style mixing A Link Between Worlds ' s and The Wind Waker ' s. Nintendo released free downloadable content (DLC) for Tri Force Heroes , which introduced
SECTION 10
#17327916197101152-448: A complex text parser and no free-moving character. While they share general gameplay dynamics, action-adventures vary widely in the design of their viewpoints, including bird's eye , side-scrolling, first-person, third-person , over-the-shoulder, or even a 3/4 isometric view . Many action-adventure games simulate a conversation through a conversation tree . When the player encounters a non-player character , they are allowed to select
1248-534: A feature the NES model did not include. It was used to defeat the large-eared rabbit-like monster Pols Voice by blowing or shouting. The U.S. instruction manual still hints that this enemy "hates loud noise", confusing many into thinking the recorder item could be used to attack (in actuality, it has no effect). The cartridge version made use of the Memory Management Controller chip (specifically
1344-619: A game and sent in a warranty card became a member of the Fun Club, whose members got a four-, eight- and eventually 32-page newsletter. Seven hundred copies of the first issue were sent out free of charge, but the number grew as the data bank of names got larger. From the success of magazines in Japan, Nintendo knew that game tips were a valued asset. Players enjoyed the bimonthly newsletter's crossword puzzles and jokes, but game secrets were most valued. The Fun Club drew kids in by offering tips for
1440-666: A magical recorder that lets Link teleport to the entrance of any dungeon he has previously cleared. Once Link has collected all eight pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom from these dungeons, he gains access to a ninth and final dungeon in order to defeat Ganon and rescue Zelda. The game may be completed by traversing any given dungeon on the overworld and is largely flexible to players, although gameplay steadily increases in difficulty, and some rooms can only be passed by using items gained in previous locations. There are dungeons with secret entrances which must be uncovered while freely wandering
1536-544: A major franchise, and has been regularly featured in lists of the greatest video games of all time . A sequel, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link , was first released in Japan for the Famicom Disk System less than a year after its predecessor, and numerous additional successors and spinoffs have been released in the decades since its debut. The Legend of Zelda incorporates elements of action , adventure , and role-playing genres. The player controls Link from
1632-467: A new arrangement of the overworld theme within one day, which has become an iconic motif echoing throughout continued entries of the series. In February 1986, Nintendo released The Legend of Zelda as the launch game for the Family Computer 's new Disk System peripheral, joined by a re-release of Super Mario Bros. , Tennis , Baseball , Golf , Soccer , and Mahjong as part of
1728-417: A new dungeon called "The Den of Trials" and two additional costumes. "The Den of Trials" contained a greater number of stages than the original dungeons and players could defeat all enemies in each of its stages in order to progress. The update was released on December 2, 2015. Tri Force Heroes is set several years after A Link Between Worlds and centers on Link, who was originally planned on appearing with
1824-414: A player can begin a more difficult version referred to as the "Second Quest" ( 裏ゼルダ , Ura Zeruda , translated literally to "Other Zelda") , which alters many locations, secrets, and includes entirely distinct dungeons and stronger enemies. Although more difficult "replays" were not unique to Zelda , few games offered completely different levels upon the second playthrough. By starting a new file with
1920-711: A side-scrolling platformer format with adventure exploration, creating the Metroidvania platform-adventure subgenre. Similarly, games like 005 (1981), Castle Wolfenstein and Metal Gear (1987) combined action-adventure exploration with stealth mechanics, laying the foundations for the stealth game subgenre, which would later be popularized in 1998 with the releases of Metal Gear Solid , Tenchu: Stealth Assassins , and Thief: The Dark Project . The cinematic platformer Prince of Persia (1989) featured action-adventure elements, inspiring games such as Another World (1991) and Flashback (1992). Alone in
2016-400: A single avatar as the protagonist . This type of game is often quite similar to role-playing video games . They are distinct from graphic adventures , which sometimes have free-moving central characters, but also a wider variety of commands and fewer or no action game elements and are distinct too from text adventures , characterized by many different commands introduced by the user via
SECTION 20
#17327916197102112-474: A single commercial could reach US$ 5 million, easily four or five times more than most companies spend. One of the first commercials made under Bill White, director of advertising and public relations, was the market introduction for the Legend of Zelda , which received a great deal of attention in the ad industry. In it, a wiry-haired, nerdy guy ( John Kassir ) walks through the dark making goofy noises, yelling out
2208-584: A solitary sequel , many prequels and spin-offs and is one of Nintendo's most popular series. It established important characters and environments of the Zelda universe, including Link , Princess Zelda , Ganon , Impa , and the Triforce as the power that binds Hyrule together. The overworld theme and distinctive "secret found" jingle have appeared in nearly every subsequent Zelda game. The theme has also appeared in various other games featuring references to
2304-484: A special stage inspired by the original Legend of Zelda in the video game Super Mario 3D Land for the Nintendo 3DS. There have also been a few substantially altered versions of the game that have been released as pseudo-sequels, and ura - or gaiden -versions. As part of a promotional advertisement campaign for their charumera ( チャルメラ ) noodles, Myojo Foods Co., Ltd. ( 明星食品 , Myoujou Shokuhin ) released
2400-521: A total of 1.69 million for the Famicom Disk System in Japan. In North America, the game was highly anticipated and topped the video game charts upon release. It became the first NES game to sell over 1 million cartridges in the United States during 1987, increasing to more than 2 million cartridges sold by 1988. It went on to sell 3 million cartridges in the United States by 1990, and eventually 6.51 million copies worldwide. Critics lauded
2496-462: A version of the original The Legend of Zelda in 1986, Zelda no Densetsu: Teikyō Charumera ( ゼルダの伝説 提供 チャルメラ ) . It is one of the rarest video games available on the second-hand collector's market, and copies have sold for over US$ 1,000 . From August 6 to September 2, 1995, Nintendo, in collaboration with the St.GIGA satellite radio network, began broadcasts of a substantially different version of
2592-517: A voice actor narrator, broadcasting live from the St.GIGA studio, would give them plot and gameplay clues. In addition to the SoundLink elements, BS Zelda also featured updated 16-bit graphics, a smaller overworld, and different dungeons. Link was replaced by one of the two Satellaview avatars: a boy wearing a backward baseball cap or a girl with red hair. Between December 30, 1995, and January 6, 1996,
2688-447: Is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, classical adventure games have situational problems for the player to explore and solve to complete a storyline, involving little to no action . If there is action, it is generally confined to isolated instances. Classical action games, on the other hand, have gameplay based on real-time interactions that challenges
2784-557: Is a game that has enough action in it not to be called an adventure game, but not enough action to be called an action game." In some cases an action game with puzzles will be classified as an action-adventure game, but if these puzzles are quite simple they might be classified as an action game. Others see action games as a pure genre, while an action-adventure is an action game that includes situational problem-solving. Adventure gamers may also be purists, rejecting any game that makes use of physical challenges or time pressure. Regardless,
2880-435: Is able to possess phantoms. Tri Force Heroes director Hiromasa Shikata, who had also worked on Spirit Tracks , explained: "That element [the ability to control phantoms] really intrigued me and brought out the idea that I wanted to try multiplayer as well". Shikata's interest in working on a multiplayer Zelda game "was sort of revitalized and came out of hibernation" during the development of A Link Between Worlds . The game
2976-605: Is described in the instruction booklet and during the short prologue which plays after the title screen: The small kingdom of Hyrule is engulfed by chaos when an army led by Ganon , the prince of darkness, invades and steals the Triforce of Power, one part of a magical artifact which alone bestows great strength. In an attempt to prevent him from acquiring the Triforce of Wisdom, Princess Zelda splits it into eight fragments and hides them in secret underground dungeons. Before eventually being kidnapped by Ganon, she commands her nursemaid Impa to find someone courageous enough to save
The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes - Misplaced Pages Continue
3072-424: Is heavily reliant upon the player character's movement, which triggers story events and thus affects the flow of the game. Popular examples of action-adventure games include The Legend of Zelda , God of War , and Tomb Raider series. There is a good deal of controversy over what actually constitutes an action-adventure game. One definition of the term "action-adventure" may be '"An action/adventure game
3168-491: Is sent with two teammates across the Drablands, where they travel to The Lady's lair and defeat her, lifting Styla's curse. Link is then celebrated by Hytopia for his actions. The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes is similar to Marvelous: Another Treasure Island , and is considered a spiritual successor . The inspiration for Tri Force Heroes originated in 2009 from a portion of Spirit Tracks in which Princess Zelda
3264-465: Is the eighteenth title in The Legend of Zelda chronology. Tri Force Heroes begins as Link arrives in the kingdom of Hytopia in the middle of a crisis surrounding its fashion obsession; its princess Styla has been cursed by "The Lady" to wear a brown jumpsuit. Her father, King Tuft, sends out a call for a hero to save the princess depending on a prophecy's characteristics. Link, fitting perfectly,
3360-584: The Nintendo Switch Online - Nintendo Entertainment System service on September 18, 2018. A special "Living the life of luxury!" edition of the game, which grants players all equipment and extra items at the start of the game, was later added to the service on October 10. In November 2021, Nintendo released a Legend of Zelda edition of the Game & Watch console, similar to the rereleased Super Mario Bros. Game & Watch. This version includes
3456-585: The Uncharted franchise, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Ark: Survival Evolved . The Legend of Zelda (video game) The Legend of Zelda , originally released in Japan as The Hyrule Fantasy: Zelda no Densetsu , is an action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo . The first game of The Legend of Zelda series , it is set in the fantasy land of Hyrule and centers on an elf -like boy named Link , who aims to collect
3552-666: The Family Computer Disk System in February 1986. More than a year later, North America and Europe received releases on the Nintendo Entertainment System in cartridge format, being the first home console game to include an internal battery in the US for saving data . This version was later released in Japan in 1994 under the title The Hyrule Fantasy: Zelda no Densetsu 1 . The game
3648-607: The Game Critics Awards Best Handheld/Mobile Game and IGN 's Best 3DS Game awards. While the game's presentation, soundtrack and multiplayer gameplay were praised, many reviewers criticized its single-player mode and lack of a two player option. Many reviewers also criticized the game's online functionality and matchmaking features. The game has sold over 1.36 million copies worldwide as of December 2020. Notes Citations Action-adventure game An action-adventure game
3744-549: The Zelda series. An arcade system board, called the Triforce, was developed jointly by Namco, Sega, and Nintendo, with the first games appearing in 2002. The name "Triforce" is a reference to Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda series of games, and symbolized the three companies' involvement in the project. GameSpot featured The Legend of Zelda as one of the 15 most influential games of all time, for being an early example of open world , nonlinear gameplay , and for its introduction of battery backup saving worldwide, to laying
3840-411: The closing credits ). Miyamoto produced the game, and Tezuka wrote the story and script. Much of the programming was done by Toshihiko Nakago of Nintendo's partner SRD. Keiji Terui, a screenwriter who worked on anime shows such as Dr. Slump and Dragon Ball , wrote the backstory for the manual, drawing inspiration from conflicts in medieval Europe . Development began in the fall of 1984, and
3936-837: The "Top 100 Games of All Time" and "The Top 200 Games of All Time" (in 2001 and 2009 respectively), thirteenth in Electronic Gaming Monthly ' s 100th issue listing the "100 Best Games of All Time", fifth in Electronic Gaming Monthly ' s 200th issue listing "The Greatest 200 Videogames of Their Time", seventh in Nintendo Power ' s list of the 200 Best Nintendo Games Ever, 77th in Official Nintendo Magazine ' s 100 greatest Nintendo games of all time and 80th among IGN readers' "Top 99 Games". Zelda
The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes - Misplaced Pages Continue
4032-818: The "first to utilize multiple screens as playing area". Mark J.P. Wolf credits Adventure (1980) for the Atari VCS as the earliest-known action-adventure game. The game involves exploring a 2D environment, finding and using items which each have prescribed abilities, and fighting dragons in real-time like in an action game . Muse Software 's Castle Wolfenstein (1981) was another early action-adventure game, merging exploration, combat, stealth, and maze game elements, drawing inspiration from arcade shoot 'em ups and maze games (such as maze-shooter Berzerk ) and war films (such as The Guns of Navarone ). According to Wizardry developer Roe R. Adams, early action-adventure games "were basically arcade games done in
4128-510: The "hefty" price tag of £39 or $ 69 (equivalent to $ 180 in 2023) in the United Kingdom. ACE magazine reviewed the game in 1989, calling it a "role-playing epic" that proves "consoles can be just as good at role-playing games as they are for arcade entertainment" while listing it as one of the top four best games available for the NES (along with Super Mario Bros. , Mike Tyson's Punch-Out and Super Mario Bros. 2 ). Zelda
4224-490: The Dark (1992) used 3D graphics , which would later be popularized by Resident Evil (1996) and Tomb Raider (1996). Resident Evil in particular created the survival horror subgenre, inspiring titles such as Silent Hill (1999) and Fatal Frame (2001). Action-adventure games have gone on to become more popular than the pure adventure games and pure platform games that inspired them. Recent examples include
4320-646: The Hero of Time's potential failure in Ocarina of Time , leading to the events of A Link to the Past . It is the fifth title on this timeline branch (the Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages as a joint title), taking place between A Link Between Worlds and the beginning of a part of this timeline called the "Era of Decline", which involves the events of The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link . It
4416-629: The MMC1 model), which could use bank-switching to allow for larger games than had previously been possible, and could also use battery-powered RAM letting players save their data for the first time on the NES. When Nintendo published the game in North America, the packaging design featured a small portion of the box cut away to reveal the unique gold-colored cartridge. In 1988, The Legend of Zelda sold two million copies. Nintendo of America sought to keep its strong base of fans; anyone who purchased
4512-559: The NES. Upon release in Europe, Tony Takoushi reviewed the game in British magazine Computer and Video Games and called it a massive arcade adventure packed full of dragons, imprisoned princesses, traps and pitfalls. They said it has "an enormous country to examine" with "dozens of things to collect" along with hidden power-ups and bonuses, while praising the "supreme" playability and the "excellent" graphics and sound, but they criticized
4608-498: The U.S. and in Japan, and asked 'Do we think we're going [to get] too much of a negative reaction by having Link wear a dress? ' " The development team arrived at the conclusion that having a cross-dressing Link would not be an issue. Shikata expressed the team's hope that having the dress and similar outfits in the game would widen its appeal to young female gamers. Tri Force Heroes received mixed reception, according to review aggregator Metacritic . At its showing at E3 2015, it won
4704-489: The action-adventure label is prominent in articles over the internet and media. The term "action-adventure" is usually substituted for a particular subgenre due to its wide scope. Although action-adventure games are diverse and difficult to classify, there are some distinct subgenres. Many games with gameplay similar to those in The Legend of Zelda series are called Zelda clones or Zelda -like games. Popular subgenres include: A Grand Theft Auto clone belongs to
4800-548: The amount of damage Link takes from enemy attacks; and stronger swords which allow Link to inflict more damage to enemies. These items are mainly found in caves scattered throughout the land. Some are easily accessible, while others are hidden beneath obstacles such as rocks, trees, and waterfalls. Defeated enemies sometimes drop items including hearts, which refill the life meter, and Rupees, the in-game currency. Rupees can also be found in hidden treasure caves and are used to buy equipment, information, and ability upgrades. Hidden in
4896-607: The completed Triforce of Wisdom, he is able to infiltrate Ganon's hideout in Death Mountain , confronting the prince of darkness and destroying him with the Silver Arrow. Obtaining the Triforce of Power from Ganon's ashes, Link returns it and the restored Triforce of Wisdom to the rescued Princess Zelda, and peace returns to Hyrule. The Legend of Zelda was directed and designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka (credited as S. Miyahon and Ten Ten respectively in
SECTION 50
#17327916197104992-402: The eight fragments of the Triforce of Wisdom in order to rescue Princess Zelda from Ganon . The player controls Link from a top-down perspective and navigates throughout the overworld and dungeons , collecting weapons, defeating enemies and uncovering secrets along the way. Designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka , it was originally released in Japan as a launch title for
5088-464: The extra sound channel provided by the system was utilized for certain sound effects; most notably Link's sword beam at full health, roars and growls of dungeon bosses, and those of defeated enemies. Sound effects had to be altered for the eventual cartridge release version of Zelda which used the Famicom's PCM channel. The game also took advantage of that system's controller having a built-in microphone,
5184-418: The foundations for later action-adventure games like Metroid and role-playing video games like Final Fantasy , while influencing most modern games in general. In 2009, Game Informer called The Legend of Zelda "no less than the greatest game of all time" on their list of "The Top 200 Games of All Time", saying that it was "ahead of its time by years if not decades". In 2011, Nintendo celebrated
5280-475: The game also spawned several clones trying to emulate the game. Despite this, Miyamoto did not consider Zelda an RPG, but 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. The Legend of Zelda spawned
5376-662: The game is by using an Action Replay . An official re-release was included in 2003's The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition for the GameCube , and the game was again re-released on the Game Boy Advance in 2004 along with its sequel, The Adventure of Link , as part of the Famicom Mini/Classic NES Series . In 2006, it was released on the Wii 's Virtual Console , and a timed demo of the game
5472-472: The game was originally intended to be a launch game for the Famicom Disk System . The development team worked on The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. concurrently, and tried to separate their ideas: Super Mario Bros. was to be linear, where the action occurred in a strict sequence, whereas The Legend of Zelda would be the opposite. In Mario , Miyamoto downplayed the importance of
5568-488: The game's 25th anniversary in a similar vein to the Super Mario Bros. 25th anniversary celebration the previous year. This celebration included a free mailout Club Nintendo offer of the Ocarina of Time soundtrack to owners of the 3DS version of that particular game, the first digital for Nintendo eShop release of Link's Awakening DX , special posters that are mailed out as rewards through Club Nintendo, and
5664-466: The game's five music tracks. He had planned to use Maurice Ravel 's Boléro as the title theme as it perfectly matched its speed. In Japan, music is publicly released over 50 years after the composer's death. But Kondo was forced to change it in November 1985, late in the game's development cycle, after learning that it had only been 47 years and 11 months after Ravel's death. As a result, Kondo wrote
5760-406: The gameplay still follows a number of adventure game genre tropes (gathering items , exploration of and interaction with one's environment, often including an overworld connecting areas of importance, and puzzle-solving). While the controls are arcade-style (character movement, few action commands) there is an ultimate goal beyond a high score. In most action-adventure games, the player controls
5856-537: The genre. GamesRadar ranked it the third best NES game ever made. The staff praised its "mix of complexity, open world design, and timeless graphics". The Legend of Zelda has continued to receive critical acclaim from modern critics and remains well regarded. It is often featured in lists of games considered the greatest or most influential. In 1995, Flux ranked the game 2nd on its "Top 100 Video Games". It placed first in Game Informer ' s list of
SECTION 60
#17327916197105952-469: The gold cartridge, full color manual, and fold-out map. In 2016, The Strong National Museum of Play inducted The Legend of Zelda to its World Video Game Hall of Fame . The Legend of Zelda is considered a spiritual forerunner of the modern action role-playing video game (RPG) genre. Though it is often not considered part of the genre since it lacked key RPG mechanics such as experience points , it had many features in common with RPGs and served as
6048-592: The graphics, storytelling and setting, and gameplay, hailing the latter as groundbreaking. In Japan, Famicom Tsūshin ( Famitsu ) magazine gave it a full score of 5 out of 5 stars, while the first Famitsu Best Hit Game Awards gave Zelda the award for best background music and listed it as the third best Game of the Year (just below Dragon Quest and Gradius ). Upon release in North America, Computer Entertainer called it an "excellent" adventure game that exceeded expectations and said it had "more to offer than
6144-420: The high score in favor of simply completing the game. This concept was carried over to The Legend of Zelda . Miyamoto was also in charge of deciding which concepts were " Zelda ideas" or " Mario ideas". Contrasting with Mario , Zelda was made non-linear and forced the players to think about what they should do next. According to Miyamoto, those in Japan were confused and had trouble finding their way through
6240-431: The items they receive at the start of each level to help each other progress. One of the key puzzle-solving techniques is stacking the three player characters in a totem pole, allowing the top player to reach higher elevations, attack enemies, be thrown across gaps, and perform other actions. Another game mechanic involves collecting items in order to craft outfits that grant the characters various abilities. Players share
6336-478: The kingdom. While wandering the land, the old woman is surrounded by Ganon's henchmen, when a young boy named Link appears and rescues her. Upon hearing Impa's plea, he resolves to save Zelda and sets out to reassemble the scattered fragments of the Triforce of Wisdom, with which Ganon can then be defeated. During the course of the tale, Link locates and braves the eight underworld labyrinths, and beyond their defeated guardian monsters retrieves each fragment. With
6432-518: The liberty of using [it] for the very first title". Early Zelda concepts involved technological elements, with microchips for the Triforce made of electronic circuits and a time-traveling hero, another factor of their name relating to the idea of a computer hyper-"link". While the final game and subsequent games in the series follow a more traditional medieval -like sword and sorcery setting, later entries have incorporated some technology-based concepts. Koji Kondo (credited as Konchan) composed
6528-511: The maze of sliding doors in his family's home in Sonobe was recreated in Zelda ' s labyrinthian dungeons . Tezuka finalized the designs for each "level" of dungeons and handed them all to Nakago in December 1985 so he could closely replicate them in the actual game. Nakago ended up using only half of all the dungeon pieces while copying the whole map. Miyamoto said it was good enough, and
6624-492: The more complicated games, especially Zelda , with its hidden rooms, secret keys and passageways. The mailing list grew. By early 1988, there were over 1 million Fun Club members, which led then-Nintendo of America president Minoru Arakawa to start the Nintendo Power magazine. Since Nintendo did not have many products, it made only a few commercials a year, meaning the quality had to be phenomenal. The budget for
6720-442: The multi-path dungeons, and in initial game designs, the player would start with the sword already in their inventory. Rather than merely simplifying matters for players, Miyamoto forced the player to listen to the old man who gives the player their sword, and encouraged interaction among people to share their ideas with each other to find the various hidden secrets, a new form of gaming communication. Relatedly, this concept turned into
6816-444: The name entered as "ZELDA", this mode can instead be accessed without needing to beat the game first. Within the official Zelda Chronology, The Legend of Zelda takes place in an Era called "The Era of Decline", which exists within an alternative reality. In this era, Hyrule has been reduced to a small kingdom where the residents now live in caves, setting the background for The Legend of Zelda . The story of The Legend of Zelda
6912-537: The names of some enemies from the game, and screaming for Zelda. The Legend of Zelda was first re-released in cartridge format for the Famicom in 1994. The cartridge version slightly modified the title screen of the Disk Card version of the game, such that it displayed the number 1 at the end of the title. In 2001, the original game was re-released in the GameCube game Animal Crossing . The only way to unlock
7008-564: The original Legend of Zelda , as well as Zelda II: Adventure of Link , and the Gameboy version of Link's Awakening . The Zelda Game & Watch also includes a modified version of the Game and Watch original, Vermin , with Link replacing Mr. Game and Watch. The Legend of Zelda received highly positive reviews from critics and was a best-seller for Nintendo. Upon release in Japan, it sold 1 million copies on its first day of release, and sold
7104-584: The original The Hyrule Fantasy: Legend of Zelda for a Super Famicom peripheral, the Satellaview —a satellite modem add-on. The game, BS Zelda no Densetsu ( BS ゼルダの伝説 ) , was released for download in four episodic, weekly installments which were rebroadcast at least four times between the game's 1995 premiere and January 1997. BS Zelda was the first Satellaview game to feature a " SoundLink " soundtrack—a streaming audio track through which, every few minutes, players were cautioned to listen carefully as
7200-402: The overworld after acquiring useful items. This freedom allows many ways of progressing through the game. It is possible to reach the final boss without receiving the normally vital sword at its outset. The game world contains 600 separate scenes, with the overworld consisting of over 97 scenes and the underworld consisting of nine multi-scene labyrinths. After initially completing the game,
7296-441: The overworld are entrances to eight large dungeons housing the pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom. Each dungeon has a unique maze-like layout of rooms connected by doors and secret passages , often barred by monsters (which must be defeated) or by blocks (which must be moved to gain entrance). Dungeons also contain useful items Link can add to his inventory, such as a boomerang for stunning enemies and retrieving distant items, and
7392-489: The player has enough ammunition and recovery items to " survive " the horror setting. This is a thematic genre with diverse gameplay, so not all survival horror games share all the features. The Resident Evil franchise popularized this subgenre. Action-adventure games are faster-paced than pure adventure games, and include physical as well as conceptual challenges where the story is enacted rather than narrated. While motion-based, often reflexive, actions are required,
7488-400: The player's reflexes and eye-hand coordination . Action-adventure games combine these genres by engaging both eye-hand coordination and problem-solving skills. An action adventure game can be defined as a game with a mix of elements from an action game and an adventure game , especially crucial elements like puzzles inspired by older adventure games. Action-adventures require many of
7584-476: The player's poll "Top 30" in Nintendo Power ' s first issue and continued to dominate the list into the early 1990s. The Legend of Zelda was also voted by Nintendo Power readers as the "Best Challenge" in the Nintendo Power Awards '88. The magazine also listed it as the best Nintendo Entertainment System video game ever created, stating that it was fun despite its age and innovated on
7680-404: The prior games' use of link cables , and a stronger emphasis on cooperation rather than competition. The story follows the same incarnation of Link from the aforementioned A Link Between Worlds , who this time is called forth along with two other Links by the fashion-obsessed kingdom of Hytopia to lift a curse placed on their princess, Styla, from the evil Drablands Witch. Tri Force Heroes
7776-406: The root of another series to be developed many years in the future: Miyamoto said that Zelda became the inspiration for Animal Crossing , a game based solely on communication. With The Legend of Zelda , Miyamoto wanted to flesh out the idea of a game "world" even further, giving players a "miniature garden that they can put inside their drawer". He drew his inspiration from his experiences as
7872-520: The same design as the protagonist of A Link Between Worlds . This was ultimately replaced with the "Toon Link" design in the final version, as the developers felt it made the models easier to see on the smaller screens of the 3DS. However the Tri Force Heroes protagonist and the A Link Between Worlds protagonist are still the same Link. In the series' official timeline, Tri Force Heroes takes place in an alternative timeline that results from
7968-439: The same physical skills as action games, but may also offer a storyline, numerous characters, an inventory system, dialogue, and other features of adventure games. They are typically faster-paced than pure adventure games, because they include both physical and conceptual challenges. Action-adventure games normally include a combination of complex story elements, which are often displayed for players using audio and video. The story
8064-582: The system's introduction. It made full use of Disk Card media's advantages over traditional ROM cartridges, with an increased size of 128 kilobytes which would be expensive to produce on cartridge format. Due to the still-limited amount of disk space, all of the text used in the game was from only a single syllabary known as katakana , which under normal circumstances primarily relates more to foreign words which supplement those of traditional Japanese origin as with hiragana and kanji characters. Rather than passwords , rewritable disks saved players' game progress, and
8160-562: The team decided to use half of the left-over memory to create the Second Quest. Tezuka also wrote the setting to be a fairytale adventure, taking inspiration from fantasy books such as J. R. R. Tolkien 's The Lord of the Rings . The hero "Link" was so named in part to connect players inserted into this world with their interactive role, as something of a blank slate representing their individuality or methods. Designed by Miyamoto as
8256-440: The template for the action role-playing game genre. The game's fantasy setting, musical style and action-adventure gameplay were adopted by many RPGs. Its commercial success helped lay the groundwork for involved, non-linear games in fantasy settings, such as those found in successful RPGs, including Crystalis , Soul Blazer , Square 's Seiken Densetsu series, Alundra , and Brave Fencer Musashi . The popularity of
8352-507: The typical hack-and-slash " epics, with "monsters to fight, secret doors to discover, and plenty of frustration" rewarded with new treasures, weapons, experience, places and discoveries. The review also praised the "very appealing" and "beautiful, fairy-tale" quality, the battery backup save feature, the "charming graphics, superb original music, excellent animation, and smooth transitions in scrolling between locations". They called it "an incredibly rich, deep gaming experience that goes far beyond
8448-489: The typical cartridge game" with appeal "to both male and female players" of all ages, making it a "must-have" for every Nintendo owner. Computer Gaming World in 1988 named the game as the best adventure of the year, stating that Zelda had been a "sensational success" in bringing elements of computer action-adventures to consoles. In 1990, the magazine implied that the game was a killer app , causing computer RPG players who had dismissed consoles as "mere arcade toys" to buy
8544-701: Was ported to the GameCube and Game Boy Advance , and was available via the Virtual Console on the Wii , Nintendo 3DS and Wii U . It was also one of 30 games included in the NES Classic Edition system, and is available on the Nintendo Switch through the Nintendo Switch Online service. The Legend of Zelda was a critical and commercial success for Nintendo. The game sold over 6.5 million copies, launched
8640-519: Was inducted into GameSpy ' s Hall of Fame in August 2000 and voted by GameSpy ' s editors as the tenth best game of all time. Editors of the popular Japanese magazine Weekly Famitsu voted the game among the best on the Famicom. In 1997 Next Generation listed the North American release in their "Five Greatest Game Packages of All Time", citing the die-cut hole which revealed
8736-420: Was originally going to not include a single player option, as Shikata believed the game should be kept multiplayer only, but series producer Eiji Aonuma personally requested it. Shikata later admitted that not including a single player option would have been a huge mistake. Regarding Link's ability to don a dress typically worn by Zelda in other installments in the series, Shikata said they consulted with folks in
8832-450: Was released for the 2008 Wii game Super Smash Bros. Brawl , available in the Vault section. All re-releases of the game are virtually identical to the original, though the GameCube, Game Boy Advance, and Virtual Console versions have been altered slightly to correct several instances of incorrect spelling from the original, most notably in the intro story. A tech demo called Classic Games
8928-532: Was released to the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console in September 2011, as a part of the Nintendo 3DS Ambassador program, and was later released to the Nintendo 3DS eShop on December 22 in Japan; in 2012, it was released in Europe on April 12 and on July 5 in North America. The version released to the Japanese 3DS Virtual Console was the cartridge version. The game was released for the Nintendo Switch as part of
9024-747: Was released worldwide in October 2015 and received generally mixed reviews from critics. While the game's presentation, soundtrack and multiplayer were praised, many reviewers criticized the game's single-player mode and its online functionality and matchmaking features. The game has sold over 1.36 million copies worldwide as of December 2020. The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes is a cooperative action-adventure game in which three players control differently colored versions of series protagonist Link and join forces to fight enemies and solve puzzles. Similar to previous multiplayer Zelda titles, such as Four Swords Adventures , players must work together, using
9120-530: Was reviewed in 1992 by Total! where it received a 78% rating due in great part to mediocre sub-scores for music and graphics. A 1993 review of the game was printed in American magazine Dragon #198 by Sandy Petersen in the "Eye of the Monitor" column, scoring the game 4 out of 5 stars. It was reissued in 1992 as part of Nintendo's "Classic Series" and featured a grey cartridge. The game placed first in
9216-460: Was shown for the Nintendo 3DS at E3 2010 , showcasing more than a dozen classic games using 3D effects, including The Legend of Zelda . Reggie Fils-Aimé , president of Nintendo of America , said that the games were slated for release on the 3DS, including The Legend of Zelda , Mega Man 2 , and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island , using some of the 3DS's features, such as 3D effects, analog control, or camera support. The Legend of Zelda
#709290