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Legend of Zelda Celebrates 20 Years

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the triforce-for-200-alex dept.

The Legend of Zelda is one of the most beloved gaming franchises Nintendo has created. It is also celebrating two decades of life this week. 1up has a great feature on the anniversary, exploring the different games in the series with a list of 'stuff to love'. From the article: "Twenty years ago this week -- February 21, 1986 -- thousands of Japanese gamers played The Legend of Zelda for the first time, and their perspective on gaming was forever changed. Here was a huge world, a massive quest, an open-ended odyssey that demanded exploration. When we Americans first placed that golden cartridge in our Nintendo Entertainment Systems a few months later, we learned what our friends overseas had already discovered: Zelda was addictive. It was adventurous. It was ambitious. It was amazing." Four Colour Rebellion also has commentary on this auspicious occasion, with a Happy Birthday look back and some fond remembrances.

3 of 213 comments (clear)

  1. The Legend of Zelda was awesome ... by nbvb · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Wow, 20 years ago.

    Man, I feel old.

    This was one of my favorite games many years ago. Who am I kidding? It still is!

    What a BLAST it was. Always something new to find, explore, or otherwise.

    I bet I could still remember which trees to burn so I could buy cheap shields; and which ones took your money. :)

    Fun times; I guess I'm getting old. The new games just don't do it for me anymore. Too complicated.

    I still somewhat regularly plug in my Intellivision and NES, but that's about where I stop. The newer games are all show, no go. There's just no gameplay compared to, say, Astrosmash. Or Super Mario Bros (1, 2 or 3, take your pick!) Or for sports games, try Super Sprint. Or of course, Intellivision Baseball (one of the best games ever written, anywhere, by anyone -- except for that annoying get-the-run-in-before-the-third-out-and-it-still-c ounts bug. :)

    Good stuff; I think the gaming industry today should be locked in a room with these old games to remind them how to make the games FUN!

    1. Re:The Legend of Zelda was awesome ... by Gulthek · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Now that's just silly. Are Kirby: Rainbow Run, or Advance Wars: Dual Strike or Trauma Center all about the graphics? How about lumines? How about geometry wars?

      I think your case is hardest to argue when I mention games like the excellent "Spider and Web" or "Photopia."

      Nostalgia is great, but there have always been crap games and good games. Then and now. But you have to admit that in general the ratio of crap to good was much higher in the 80s. Or did you enjoy "endings" that were one sentence long? Or playing Tiger Heli? Or Yo! Noid?

  2. Props. They haven't lost it, either. by ianscot · · Score: 3, Insightful
    My two twelve-year-olds are currently eagerly anticipating "Twilight Princess." They've had it on their lists at Amazon for months. They delay in its release gave the two of them fits.

    Maybe Windwaker wasn't to everyone's taste -- it was mine -- but Zelda has to be up there with the best of the best. What other series has lasted nearly as long, producing a mid-arc title (in Ocarina of Time) that's regarded as one of the best games of all time?

    Aside from the various EA sports titles, you don't have anything else with near as much longevity, and Madden and company partly just sell you updated rosters every year.

    --
    "Fundamentalism" isn't about divine morality. It's about human authority.