Game Specs for The Legend Of Zelda

NOTE: When possible, the game's official manual or official documentation from the game maker's company or Nintendo is used — with spelling or terminology presented as is, despite some translation errors.

SPOILER ALERT: Some of the categories below may have a question mark to conceal important or secret revelations in the game. If you would like to see the unknown revealed, a rollover option or external link will be attached to the question mark.

Title

The Legend Of Zelda

Company

Nintendo

Developer(s)/Designer(s):

(Executive Producer) H. Yamauchi
(Producer) S. Miyahon
(Director) S. Miyahon, Ten Ten
(Designer) Ten Ten
(Programmer) T. Nakazoo, Yachan, Marumaru

Composer(s)/Musician(s):

(Sound Composer) Konchan

Year:

1986

Release Date:

U.S. - August 1987

System:

NES

Genre:

Adventure RPG

Ratings/Suitable For Age Group?:

E for Everyone (Mild Fantasy Violence)

Arcade Version?:

Port To Other Game Systems:

Included in NES Classic Edition (Direct Port of NES),

Picture of the Nintendo NES Classic Edition console.

(Nintendo 3DS) Virtual Console as a digital download from the Nintendo eShop

and (Nintendo Switch) Nintendo Switch Online Service.

Part of Franchise:

Original title (first) in The Legend Of Zelda series
Zelda II: The Adventure Of Link (NES)
Numerous sequels and re-issues based off of this title

Rarity/Availability:

Included in NES Classic Edition (Direct Port of NES),

Picture of the Nintendo NES Classic Edition console.

on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
(as a download from Nintendo eShop) and

Nintendo Switch Online Service.

Cartridge is fairly hard to find and becoming more expensive to buy (at least, in the St. Louis, MO metropolitan area).

Add'l Game System Peripheral Needed To Play?:

N/A

1 or 2 Player:

1 Player

Number of Reserve Players:

Start with 1 Player

1-Up's

None

Life Meter

Yes. It increases as you earn and find Heart Containers. Can grow to 16 Heart Containers.

Password

Battery

Register Your Name from The Legend Of Zelda

Yes

Continue?

Yes, but will begin at checkpoint from earlier point, usually start of Level or beginning of game

Perspective/Orientation Gameplay

2D and Screen by Screen freedom to explore - Overhead/Bird's Eye View

Number of Levels

Nine Levels of the Underworld

Checkpoints?

Usually begin at start of Underworld Levels or first screen of Overworld

Save points?

Uninterrupted Play?

Upon death of Link, play stops and resumes from last checkpoint.

Internal Map(s)?

Yes - each Level contains a Map and Compass to find

Level-1 Map from The Legend Of Zelda

Above: These screens show the filled-in Map of Level-1, as an example.

Score?

Difficulty Settings

No, but after completion of game or after entering ZELDA as your Password, the harder second quest of The Legend Of Zelda is unlocked.

Time Limit?

Hero

Link with White Sword from The Legend Of Zelda

Link holding Triforce up from The Legend Of Zelda

Link

Sidekick(s)/Cast

Princess Zelda

Old Man

Old Woman

Merchant

Fairy

Molblin (some)
Hungry Goriya from The Legend Of Zelda

Goriya (some)

Yes - All NPC's (non-playable characters)

Weapons

All Of Treasures

Items/Equipment

Power-Ups

Hearts, Fairy and Life Potion/Water Of Life (refills energy)
Heart Containers (life meter extension)
Rupy/5 Rupies (currency)
Clock/Magical Clock (freezes enemies)
White and Magical Swords (sword upgrade)
Magical Shield (shield upgrade)
Magical Boomerang (boomerang upgrade)
Magical Key (unlimited keys)
Blue and Red Rings (strength upgrades)
Red Candle (unlimited candle usage)
Silver Arrow (arrow upgrade)
Power Bracelet (reveals shortcuts)
Book Of Magic (Magical Rod/Magic Wand upgrade - adds a flame at point of contact, like the Candle)

Power-Downs

Main Enemy

Ganon or Gannon from The Legend Of Zelda

Ganon/Gannon

Person/Place Being Saved

Princess Zelda, Hyrule

Objective/Goal

Rescue Princess Zelda, Defeat Gannon/Ganon

Ending?

Yes

Secret Code(s)?

Yes... secret Name to enter

Stage Select

Invincibility

Extra Players

Continues

N/A

Sound Test

Additional Secret Codes

Trivia/Little Known Facts

In The Legend Of Zelda, Zelda's name was inspired by the author of The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald's wife—Zelda Fitzgerald.
The official U.S. title for the game is The Legend Of Zelda; in Japan, it is The Legend Of Zelda: The Hyrule Fantasy.
In The Legend Of Zelda, Link's name was inspired by what could have been a major plot difference than what Shigeru Miyamoto's final vision became. Early on in development, there were plans to give the game an element of time travel—set both in the future and the past. The meaningful name, Link, served to suggest that he was a connection between both of those different eras... and it stuck. (Later games in the series would explore these plots.)
The late comedian and actor, Robin Williams, named his daughter, Zelda, in honor of the game.
Link was designed and inspired, in part, by the Disney version of title character of J.M. Barrie's famous book — Peter Pan.
In an earlier prototype of The Legend Of Zelda, the Triforce pieces were actually going to be replaced by microchips that Link would have collected instead.
Speaking of the Triforce, there is an almost illogical or unexplained detail of the game's plot—Why are the pieces of the Triforce, that Princess Zelda hid, guarded by Ganon's minions? How did Ganon know where they are, and more importantly, why doesn't he just steal them to form the Triforce of Wisdom for himself???
The majestic theme to The Legend Of Zelda almost never existed—Maurice Ravel's famous piece, Bolero, was Nintendo's first choice of music, but after learning of copyright issues, Koji Kondo created the memorable anthem instead!
Link was going to originally begin the game with a sword, but after some pre-release testing, test groups seemed confused as to what to do next in this new genre. So Miyamoto, surprisingly, removed the sword and placed it into a cave. This seemingly-counterintuitive stroke of genius goaded players into exploration and fostered communication between one another to share tips and secrets.
The Legend Of Zelda was the first game cartridge to have an internal battery pack to store and save game progress.
The Legend Of Zelda was the first Nintendo game to have a bonus quest included within it. The bonus can be accessed upon defeating the game the first time through or by using the name, ZELDA, in the game's "REGISTER YOUR NAME" screen. The programmers realized that after they completed the game, they had enough space left to fill the cartridge with another quest with items and dungeons in new locations.
The Legend Of Zelda was the first Nintendo cartridge to be released in a color, other than gray—shiny gold.
As a result of a hotline number used to help give hints to stumped players of The Legend Of Zelda, Nintendo's Counselor's Corner was created and eventually became a major fixture in the Nintendo Power magazine.
The maps to all nine levels of The Legend Of Zelda can be fit together to form a rectangle—a clever tactic to get more data out of the game's limited memory.
The first five levels of the Second Quest of The Legend Of Zelda (albeit in a scrambled order) form the letters - Z, E, L, D and A - spelling out ZELDA.
Nintendo's censorship standards were set high and were usually strictly-enforced. Such offenses as religious imagery, however, were ignored in The Legend Of Zelda—Link's Magical Shield prominently displays a cross, as well as his regular shield. The Book Of Magic, also, has a cross on its cover.

Interestingly enough, Level-4's Manji shape, which is a prominent and respected symbol of Buddhism, wasn't avoided, either. In Western cultures, the Manji, which is a left-facing swastika, can be confused with the notorious symbol that faces the opposite direction adopted by the Nazis.

Level-3's Manji shape is reminiscent of the outline of the Manhandla, the main enemy of the level.
As Shigeru Miyamoto was working on his The Legend Of Zelda, he was simultaneously toiling on Super Mario Bros. He intended to create two unique games, however, some programming remnants crossed over. They can be seen, most obviously, with the similar Piranha Plants of Super Mario Bros. and the Manhandla of The Legend Of Zelda.
An homage paid to The Legend Of Zelda can be found in Super Mario Bros. 3. Warp Whistles, that look very similar to Link's Recorder/Whistle can be uncovered in Super Mario Bros. 3. When blown, Mario or Luigi will be carried away to later stages via a whirlwind, just like Link. Furthermore, the same tune is played in both games.
The Legend Of Zelda was featured along with a number of other games from similarly-high profile series of the day (Super Mario Bros., Mega Man, StarTropics, DuckTales, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, Ninja Gaiden, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Castlevania) in a special gaming guide.

Officially released by Nintendo, the NES Game Atlas, was printed in 1991. The publication, replete with road signs on its cover, dissected 18 of the best titles the NES had to offer at the time, and created intricately-detailed maps and tips for each game.
The first two games of The Legend Of Zelda series were actually released in Japan on the Famicom before The Legend Of Zelda was even released in the U.S. The Legend Of Zelda was on store shelves on February 21, 1986, while Zelda II - The Adventure Of Link was introduced on January 14, 1987. North America began selling the first game on August 22, 1987!
An unintentional error remained as a remnant from The Legend Of Zelda's earlier release in Japan on its Famicom system. The Famicom's controllers had a built-in microphone; a feature that its sister system—the Nintendo Entertainment System—did not. The microphone allowed for audio responses to actually play a role in game play in Japan.

The manual for The Legend Of Zelda included the following passages:

Pols Voice
A ghost with big ears and a weak point — he hates loud noise.

Link will surprise himself if he hits upon Pols Voice's (the monster with the big ears) weak point. Do this by...Sorry! That's a secret!
Although there is an item in The Legend Of Zelda that plays music—the Recorder or Whistle—it has no effect on the Pols Voice enemies. However, the gamer playing the Famicom version could use his/her voice on its controller to defeat the character.
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! was a short-lived series that aired in late 1989. It was part live-action, part animation, and centered around storylines that featured a large lineup from the Super Mario Bros. 2 cast of characters. 65 episodes were broadcasted between September 4 and December 1 of that year.

As an interesting side-note, the animated segment from The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! that aired every Friday, was dedicated to The Legend Of Zelda. Only 13 episodes were ever shown.

(By The Legend of Zelda and all characters are owned by Nintendo. - Legend of Zelda:The Complete Animated Series DVDs, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=891022)
In 2016, The Legend Of Zelda was inducted, along with five other games, into the second annual class of The Strong National Museum Of Play - World Video Game Hall Of Fame ®.

Click here to learn more about its induction.

RETURN TO TOP

www.retro-grades.com

Game Specs for The Legend Of Zelda