40 Years Of Zelda’s Legend

My foray into a lifetime of gaming and storytelling was informed deeply with my childhood acquisition of an original NES, and along with that, The Legend of Zelda absorbed me entirely. I remember following up with the (underrated) Zelda II: The Adventure of Link while chowing on NES Cereal and working on my Link costume for Halloween, then staying up late at my friend Raphael’s house to play Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past on his SNES before I ever had my own. The sweeping promise of getting lost in Hyrule has grown up with me, and with each iteration of the story, I eagerly return to this realm I feel at home in. The chance to now be a living, breathing part of that world means more than I can express.

Favorite entry? Majora’s Mask or Tears of the Kingdom.

Pre-2017, I would’ve said my favorite game was Ocarina of Time. But The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild became something more personal – a life-changing experience that reshaped how I measure every game since. Through this series, I’ve celebrated extraordinary cosplay, art, music, and personal stories with countless humans around the world. For me, The Legend of Zelda isn’t just a collection of innovative games – it’s a network of people, a deeply playful and romantic global community.

My favorite Zelda game is probably Link’s Awakening for Game Boy. It was my first introduction to Zelda so it has a special place in my heart. And something about that game had a very “indie” feel to it. It was creative and unique in a way that seems harder to find in modern triple-A games.

One thing about Zelda games that has influenced me is the sense of exploration and foreshadowing. You’ll see an area that you can’t currently access. But you know that, eventually, when you find the right items, you will be able to get there. That’s an exciting feeling that makes you want to continue playing.

The more I think about it, there are a lot of little things in Zelda that have influenced my game design approach… from the menus, to the little bushes you can cut, to the idea of finding “special items” that grant new abilities. It’s kind of basic stuff, but it just shows how important Zelda has been for influencing all of gaming.

I fell in love with The Legend of Zelda when I played A Link to the Past, which is by far my favorite. It felt like an open, living world before we had a term for it. I spent hours just roaming around, picking up chickens, and shooting arrows into fences. I wanted to immerse myself in that world. It wasn’t until Breath of the Wild that I felt that way about Zelda again. It’s a series that has had a profound impact on me as a designer.

The best game in the Zelda franchise in my opinion is Tears of the Kingdom, but Ocarina of Time is my favorite. Ocarina was my first time playing a game where I felt a true sense of adventure and it also happened to be the first time in my life I took note of the people who were in the credits. It’s the first time I wondered what a programmer, artist, or designer actually did to create a video game. Ocarina inspired me to figure out how to become a game developer. I still replay it every couple years, start to finish. Also, there’s that all-timer opening title screen. An incredible vibe. I mean, come on.

My uncle played [Zelda] and I think that made me feel like, “Oh, this is a game for adults. I shouldn’t play this game.” And so it wasn’t until, obviously, the 64 and Ocarina that I was like, “Oh my God.” That game my brother and I played, and we thought, “This is unbelievable.” And so strangely, that was the first Zelda game that I played. And from there I went on, and we played A Link to the Past, and we’re like, “Well, this game is just incredible.” But I will say that the Zelda game that I think I loved the most, that my brother and I had the most fun with, is actually The Wind Waker, which is, to this day, I think just gorgeous. I just really loved Wind Waker.

The Zelda series has always been important to me because it’s so strongly committed to a sense of adventure, and always through the most creative lens. What games let you fly a mechanical beetle with your Wii-mote, scale walls on a spinning top or collapse your faithful DS like a stamp for a puzzle?

All of my most inspiring gaming moments have been in Zelda games, and Breath of the Wild cemented the status of the series by taking it into such a playful direction, pushing you to experiment and explore all the time. There’s just nothing quite like diving into a new Zelda game and I doubt there ever will be.

The Legend of Zelda is one of those rare series that sparks the same excitement across generations. On our team, that shared passion connects people whose first adventure was the NES original with those who discovered the series on the Wii. Every new entry feels like coming home: familiar in the best ways, yet full of new stories, characters and mysteries waiting to be explored.

I’d like to offer my heartfelt congratulations on The Legend of Zelda’s 40th anniversary. The first Zelda game I ever played as a child was Link’s Awakening on Game Boy. I still remember how delighted I was by the playful inclusion of the Yoshi doll in the claw machine. I also vividly recall the simple joy of cutting down grass and using the Spin Attack to collect Rupees. These incredible details and sense of fun and enjoyment have evolved throughout the series to this day. The sensation of cutting in Zelda also shares a connection with the satisfying Issen critical strikes and dynamic dismemberment mechanics we’re developing in Onimusha: Way of the Sword. Zelda has undeniably influenced my work as a game maker, and I’d like to offer my deepest gratitude and congratulations once again.

The first Legend of Zelda for the NES shaped my childhood and I have fond memories of my father drawing the game’s dungeon maps, while me and my sister played the game. It opened up a world of possibilities for me and made me realize that I wanted to make games myself.

Ever since I first played that solid-gold cartridge for the Nintendo Entertainment System, I’ve found the Legend of Zelda series to be really captivating. It’s a series all about creating a strong sense of discovery, which I think is one of the greatest sensations games are capable of creating just in general. As part of this, the Zelda series has successfully reinvented itself time after time. There aren’t many if any other series of games with so many influential, landmark titles in them, from A Link to the Past, to Ocarina of Time, to Breath of the Wild. I have to say, though, that my personal favorite is 2002’s The Wind Waker, with its iconic visual style, amazingly well-executed nautical theme, and unforgettable final confrontation. That so many different Zelda games could easily be someone’s favorite is a testament to how outstanding and consistent the series has been for all these years!

I think The Legend of Zelda is one of the most innovative game franchises of all time. Look at how Ocarina of Time revolutionized locking on to a specific enemy with Z-targeting, or how Majora’s Mask had NPCs living an entire life regardless of what the player was doing with the three-day time loop mechanic. These were mind-blowing features almost 30 years ago and games being released today are still using them. More recently, Breath of the Wild is my favorite Zelda. Its resource management may seem tedious, but it’s actually encouraging you to always expand and experiment. The open-world mechanic is genuinely freeing by allowing you to go at your own pace. It’s genius.

It’s no exaggeration to say that The Legend of Zelda is the reason I became a game developer. At the tender age of seven, I was so awestruck by the majestic scale of A Link to the Past that I boldly wrote to Nintendo requesting the novelization rights to the series. Though they understandably declined, their acknowledgment of my sincerity and their encouragement to pursue my ambitions committed me to a future where I might one day inspire others the way Zelda inspired me.

As a native French speaker, I played The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past before I was fluent with its English text – but I realized later in my career that the series cleverly uses more than words to communicate. Level design, enemy design, UX – those are all types of communication that guided me through A Link to the Past, long before I could read its script. That game was formative in helping me understand the different ways you can speak to and guide players.

The Legend of Zelda, wow! The 40th anniversary. Yet for me, Zelda has always felt timeless. Across the decades, in all its expressions it has remained familiar and creatively courageous. Whether through the haunting strangeness of Majora’s Mask, the bold art style of The Wind Waker or the breathtaking freedom of the series masterpiece, Breath of the Wild. The series tells stories with real narrative depth yet amongst the wide cast of memorable characters and colourful inhabitants it explores human nature with a light, graceful touch, simply, elegantly. A line of dialogue here, a melancholic tune there. What has always stood out most for me is how deeply it seems to care for the player. Every puzzle, environment or mechanic feels crafted with empathy and trust in the player’s curiosity. Having grown up with the series and now as a developer myself, I increasingly feel that each Zelda game authentically reflects the people who made it – their creativity, generosity and belief in the treasure of play.

I have no great duty to nostalgia, save for a few games. I feel the two recent open-world Zeldas have given me so many hours of pleasant exploration. A tone I’ve needed more as an adult. I have had some important game experiences in my life that changed my mind on games or how varied they can be. Basically, that they can be anything. Majora’s Mask had such a profound impact on tone and story presentation to me, and the darkness of it at the time. It felt like it told a story through setting and tone and didn’t need to specify all of its intent, though you felt a concise plan present. I saw this in other media at the time as well, and I had started on a path of wanting to make games of a certain style, and I’ve yet to make many of those plans, and I need to get my ass in gear.

A Link to the Past was the first and last game my dad gave me before he passed away, so it has always meant a lot to me. As a kid I was too scared of the Zora enemies to finish it, but when I returned to the game in high school it became one of the most memorable experiences I’ve ever had with gaming. Completing it felt like a message from my dad about the beauty of games, and it inspired me to become a game developer so I can create worlds that inspire others.

Zelda’s been a huge touchstone for me throughout my life and it’s something that has grown up with me. As a designer today, what I find most inspiring about Zelda is the way it creatively changes up from game to game. Where most franchises (and players) fixate on superficial features as essential aspects, Zelda is defined by a much more subtle and rich underlying philosophy that can be expressed in many different forms without losing its essence. Each instalment manages to be a lauded success, and then they throw it all away and start over with something different for the next one… even its most iterative sequels aim to establish a ton of radical design ideas. As a creator myself, I also strive to be someone who will continue to challenge myself, take risks and delight players after 40 years. Thank you, Zelda! Stay weird!

Congratulations to The Legend of Zelda on its 40th anniversary! It’s been a source of inspiration in countless ways for so many game creators, and even after 40 years, its influence continues to endure. For both gamers and developers alike, it’s a series that always delivers new discoveries and experiences, surprising us time and again. I’m very excited to see what lies ahead on the journey Zelda continues to take.

Zelda is important to me mainly because of the music. It was one of the first series where I really noticed how strong and memorable game music could be. The melodies stick with you for years, and they help shape the whole experience. As a composer, it definitely influenced how I think about writing themes and making music that people remember. My favorite Zelda game is The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. I love the sense of adventure sailing across the ocean, and how the music ties everything together. It’s one of those games that just feels good to play every time.

Congratulations on the 40th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda series. As a fan, I have nothing but gratitude for the Zelda team, who, amidst the industry’s rapid changes, have never given up while carefully building upon a foundation of comfort and wonder. The gaming experience, where freedom gradually expands from small puzzles within vast worlds, is truly unique to the Zelda series. I believe these past 40 years have been a journey of continually exploring what a Zelda game can be, and I look forward to seeing Zelda continue its legacy and evolve in the years to come.

Link’s Awakening was the first game I fully completed on my own, and I will treasure that constant feeling of adventure and discovery forever. This experience deeply influenced how I understand video games; moreover, I feel it has marked many generations of game creators. You can find the cultural heritage of Zelda still kicking strong in modern games: The Legend of Zelda has undeniably defined the language of video games.

I gained invaluable experience while working on The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap. The advice I received from Shigeru Miyamoto-san left a lasting impression on me, which has greatly shaped the way I approach game development even today. He is, and will always be, a North Star guiding all game creators. Congratulations on the incredible milestone of Zelda’s 40th anniversary!

I was six years old when The Legend of Zelda was released. Even though I was a little young to fully appreciate it, it already felt special. It was the first game I played where you could wander in any direction and even tackle dungeons in different orders. On top of it, with its mesmerizing music, punchy sound effects, and a world in which only a few old people survive living in caves, it felt full of mysteries. I loved it at the time and it’s maybe even better today!

From my perspective as a game designer, it’s a game that proves that with such an elegant design, you can trust the player’s ability to learn your game’s mechanics and secrets without hand-holding. It’s a masterpiece of suggestion and subtle guidance.

My favorite game in the series is probably a tie between A Link to the Past and The Adventure of Link, with The Legend of Zelda following very closely. These three games had a huge impact during my childhood, and they’re my “comfort food” of gaming.

The Legend of Zelda has had a profound impact on both my life and career as a designer. The first game I played was the original The Legend of Zelda on the NES and Disk System, and its revolutionary design, offering freedom, exploration, and intuitive mechanics, shaped how I view game development. I’ve played every entry in the series since, and working with the Zelda team on Sonic Lost World was a memorable highlight of my career. While each game is unique, Breath of the Wild is my favorite in the franchise, as its expansive world and unmatched sense of discovery brought back the same joy and wonder I felt playing the original.

The first real system I played as a kid born in 1984 was the NES. And as such, the first Zelda game I ever played was the original. I still have my gold cartridge. It’s a load-bearing game. A foundational game. Its design principles have not aged a day and are still being applied in games today. The characters and world are timeless. 40 years on and each new Zelda game feels just as fresh as ever. It’s one of the most remarkably consistently incredible gaming franchises of all time. With nearly no equals! That’s probably why they call it “The Legend.”

I believe A Link to the Past is a perfect video game. It’s truly, actually, literally timeless. Both in terms of design and style. Even the music. Especially the music. It has never aged and never will. That’s just one of the many reasons why it’s not only my favorite Zelda game but arguably one of the greatest video games of all time. Easily top 5. Probably top 3. Could even be 1. Did you have the Link to the Past Dark World theme stuck in your head before? Well, I bet you do now.

I believe The Legend of Zelda series has always been an epoch-making presence in the games industry, captivating players around the world ever since the very first title.

When thinking about game design, The Legend of Zelda is like a textbook. Even without explanations, players naturally play, learn, and experiment – and this play cycle is incredibly important for game design. I look forward to the series’ continued success as a frontrunner in the industry, and as a player myself, I always look forward to the next title. Congratulations on the 40th anniversary.

The Legend of Zelda is one of the franchises that made me love gaming and I think that is true for a bunch of people at Yacht Club Games! As developers, the series has helped shape the way we think about adventure games. Shovel Knight and Mina the Hollower simply would not exist without Zelda. Every game adventure follows in its giant footsteps! Happy 40th Birthday Zelda. Cheers to many more years of adventure!

The Zelda Series is important to me because each title acts like their own temple of time. I am able to use them to jump through time to specific key moments in my life.

For example Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. I originally played it as a kid but this one is extra special because I ended up replaying it as a new dad. I had to stay up at night with our newborn (who was a contact sleeper) so my wife could get some rest. I held my daughter in the crook of my arm in our rocking chair while I played Zelda II all night on my Switch. Now when I think of Zelda II I get to relive that beautiful, fleeting moment in time that I shared with her.

Each title of the series has core memories of my life, my family, my friends tied to it. I love the series and play every one that releases not only because I adore the playful surprises and ingenious design but because I get to seal that current time in my life into another “Temple of Time.”

Favorite entry? The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Congratulations on the 40th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda.

I still vividly remember the excitement and sense of wonder I felt when I first encountered the series on the Disk System back in middle school. With just small visual motifs – like cracked stones or grass growing between them – the game stirred my imagination and filled me with the thrill of adventure.

I also fondly recall playing late at night after my family had gone to sleep, engrossed in the game with only the glow of the television lighting the room. As I grew older, the series evolved tremendously as well, becoming a title that people of all ages can enjoy.

As a game developer, I have nothing but deep respect for how far it has come.

The Legend of Zelda on the NES is one of the games that first sparked my desire to pursue game development. I remember being completely immersed in what felt like an endless open world, with monsters around every turn, secrets tucked into every corner, and harrowing dungeons to overcome. That sense of wonder stayed with me, and I knew that one day I wanted to build worlds that could give others that same feeling.

The Legend of Zelda is the work that made me who I am today. To me, The Legend of Zelda series is far more than just a game – it is a work that showed me the direction toward becoming who I am today. It was through this series that I first learned the courage to stand against fear in the name of justice and realized that such a journey can be not only perilous, but also joyful and filled with wonder.

Among them, A Link to the Past, which I first encountered in my childhood, remains the greatest title in my heart. The world that unfolded beyond the screen, its music, and the thrill of adventure continue to form the foundation of my creative work.

I hope that Link – the timeless symbol of pure courage – will continue to live on within me for years to come.