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62 MARCH 2016
GAMES
The Legend Of Zelda (1986)
The very first Zelda title was originally
released as The Hyrule Fantasy: The
Legend of Zelda – which makes more
sense considering the game revolves
around Link anyway. Shigeru Miyamoto’s
masterpiece goes on to define a
generation, alongside a little red plumber.
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
(1988)
The Adventure of Link is the first
game is a direct sequel to the previous
instalment. The title introduces Dark Link,
and came out less than a year after the
original in Japan.
A Link to the Past (1992)
A Link to the Past is the inception of
Link’s namesake as a “link” between
the past, present and future. This release
heralds the initial reveal of the Master
Sword – which has the power to repel evil
– often used by Link to take on Ganon (or
Ganondorf), his arch-nemesis.
Link’s Awakening (1993)
Link’s Awakening began as a SNES port
of A Link to the Past, developed
after hours by staff, before
eventually becoming a full-
fledged project. The game
is one of the few in the
franchise not to feature
Princess Zelda or the
Tri-Force relic, and doesn’t
take place in the land of
Hyrule.
Ocarina of Time (1998)
Originally a Nintendo 64 title, Ocarina
of Time introduced 3D graphics to the
world of Zelda, and played a large part in
the commercial popularity of Ocarinas.
Tasked once again with defeating
Ganon (Ganondorf in this iteration),
Link must learn songs on his
Ocarina and travel through
time to prevent his enemy
from retrieving the Tri-Force.
Majora’s Mask (2000)
“You’ve met with a terrible
fate, haven’t you?” The Happy
Mask Salesman is only one
of the creepy elements in this
time-bound tale. Link has only
three days to save the
world, using a variety
of different masks
to transform – and
ultimately stop – the
moon crashing into
the planet and
destroying life as
we know it. No
pressure.
The endearing Zelda series celebrates its 30th birthday this year.
We’ve done our best to compile a list of the biggest releases in
Zelda’s 30-year history, from ‘86’s
The Legend of Zelda
all the way through to HyruleWarriors. By Alesha Kolbe.
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