The Legend of Zelda is an Action-Adventure video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Family Computer Disk System and Nintendo Entertainment System video game consoles. This is the first installment in the Legend of Zelda series and became one of the Nintendo Entertainment System’s best sellers, selling over 6.5 million copies. The Legend of Zelda is often featured in lists of the greatest video games of all time or most influential.

Development of The Legend of Zelda began in 1984 by Nintendo R&D4 in conjunction with Super Mario Bros.  The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. were the first games that Shigeru Miyamoto, Takashi Tezuka and Toshihiko Nakago all worked on together as a team. Since the team was developing both titles at the same time, they would often remove some aspects of one game and include them in the other.

The inspiration for the games open world is based on Shigeru Miyamoto’s experiences exploring nearby fields, woods and caves as a child growing up in Kyoto. He drew inspiration for the games dungeons from memories of being lost amid the maze of sliding doors in his family’s home in Sonobe.

The Legend of Zelda is one of Nintendo’s staple franchises spawning multiple title releases on every Nintendo home console and handheld console since the Nintendo Entertainment System. The series has been going strong for over 30 years and has been established as one of Nintendo’s most popular and beloved.