is a high-fantasy video game series created by Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments have been outsourced to Capcom, Vanpool and Grezzo. The series' gameplay incorporates elements of action, adventure, and puzzle-solving games.
The series centers on Link, the playable character and protagonist. Link is often given the task of rescuing Princess Zelda and the kingdom of Hyrule from Ganon, who is the series' principal antagonist; however, other settings and antagonists have appeared in several games. The plots commonly involve a relic known as the Triforce, a set of three omnipotent golden triangles.
Since the original The Legend of Zelda's release 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. Individual manga adaptations commissioned by Nintendo have been produced in Japan since 1997. The Legend of Zelda is one of Nintendo's most prominent and successful franchises. Many of its games are considered by critics and fans alike to be among the greatest video games of all time.
Main characters
Link
Link is the silent protagonist of the series and the playable character. He is a Hylian youth of varying age who has traditionally been depicted wearing a green cap and tunic. He has appeared as the hero of every game in the series, each time as a new iteration of the same character. Although each game offers a new variation of Link, he typically sets out on a journey across Hyrule with the aim to defeat evil, usually in the form of Ganon, in order to save Princess Zelda. To defeat his enemies, he typically obtains and wields the legendary Master Sword. Each incarnation of Link is humble, brave, and worthy to bear the Triforce of Courage, one of three relic pieces that form the Triforce. As the series protagonist, Link has appeared in numerous related media, including spin-off games such as Hyrule Warriors, comics and manga, and other video game series, such as Mario Kart 8 and the Super Smash Bros. series. Although he is mainly silent in the video games, he does speak in the Legend of Zelda cartoon series and the CD-i games from The Legend of Zelda series produced by Philips. Link was recognised as the second greatest video game character of all time behind Mario in the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2011. Nintendo Life counts Link as "one of gaming's most iconic heroes". GamesRadar described him as, "one of the most enduring heroic archetypes". Time named him as one of the most influential video game characters of all time.
Princess Zelda
Princess Zelda is Hyrule's princess and the guardian of the Triforce of Wisdom. While older titles portray Zelda as a "princess in peril" requiring Link to save her from Ganon, since Ocarina of Time she has been developed as a more fully realised character, particularly in Breath of the Wild. Zelda is the reincarnation of the goddess Hylia in mortal form and is therefore capable of using various magical powers to aid Link. She is powerful enough to use light magic to seal Ganon away from Hyrule. She has used her Bow of Light as a recurring weapon in the series. Zelda occasionally has aliases and alter egos, including Sheik in Ocarina of Time and Tetra in The Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass. Although she is the titular character, Zelda is only a playable character in Spirit Tracks in the main series and the CD-i games, but is playable in spin-offs such as Hyrule Warriors, or other games, such as the Super Smash Bros. series. She was named as one of the most iconic female game characters of all time by Digital Spy. Alongside Link, she was counted as one of the greatest video game characters of all time by the 2011 Guinness World Record Gamer's Edition.