The Legend of Zelda was created by Shigeru Miyamoto, who is a Japanese video game designer. During his childhood, Miyamoto drew inspiration from his own childhood experiences, such as exploring the countryside, reading manga and listening to music. He also developed the concept of an open world and an adventure game.
Known as chabudai gaeshi, “upending the tea table,” Miyamoto was interested in creating an interactive video game that evoked feelings of wonder, anxiety and confusion. As he grew older, he became a fan of reading manga and watching puppet shows.
In 1985, he began work on what would eventually become The Legend of Zelda. At the time, RPG-like experiences were still uncommon on consoles.
Featuring an open world, characters and dungeons, and a variety of puzzles, The Legend of Zelda is a classic of action-adventure games. It was popular in Japan, and was later released internationally.
Zelda was a huge success, selling more than six million copies worldwide. It also introduced an open world, a new genre of gameplay and technical innovations.
Several more games followed in the Zelda series, including Four Swords Adventures, A Link to the Past, and Link’s Awakening. All of these titles were highly acclaimed.
When the Game Boy was released, Link’s Awakening was the first Zelda game for the handheld. Link’s Awakening DX added extra colour-based dungeons, a photo shop and interaction with a Game Boy printer.
The Zelda games are incredibly popular, and continue to thrill players. They feature a wide variety of puzzles and challenging missions, all of which reward the player for overcoming them.
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