The Legend of Zelda's 25th Anniversary

February 21, 1986. That's 25 years ago this Monday, the day when, in Japan, Link took up his very first sword. The original Legend of Zelda launched in that country on that day, and no one at the time could have predicted what else was being launched simultaneously -- an entire series. A franchise, one of the most popular and beloved in the history of the gaming industry. It's The Legend of Zelda's 25th Anniversary, friends, and it's time to give this great game its well-deserved recognition.

Now, this year is huge for the Zelda franchise already. We've already been calling it "The Year of Zelda" around here, and 2011 will be home to two major new releases for the storied series - the 3D remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for Nintendo's new 3DS, and the highly-anticipated The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for the Wii. Those games will be incredible, no doubt, and you can look forward to much more coverage on them - and the entire Zelda franchise - as the year rolls on. But, today, that's not exactly where we're going.

Today is all about The Legend of Zelda - meaning Zelda 1. The first one. It's the game whose anniversary it is, after all, and the one who laid the foundation for the entire franchise to follow. And that's exactly what we'll highlight through the rest of this feature. In honor of the game turning 25, we're going to present 25 different ways that Link's original adventure through Hyrule set the stage for all the sequels to come. The innovations and achievements that set it apart as a true classic - the elements it contained that are still being turned to today, in the series' more modern installments. By the end of the list, we hope you'll have a renewed appreciation for this Nintendo masterpiece. And maybe even be convinced to go back and play through it again - or, maybe, for the first time.

To give your brain a bit of assistance in keeping up with all of this, too, we're going to divide things into five separate categories. The Enemies, The Items, The Gameplay, The Presentation, and our first category that we'll jump into right now:

The Heroes
The Legend of Zelda series has had a few supporting players introduced in later installments, but Zelda 1 was the game that gave us the core characters we know and love.

The Hero of Hyrule. This elfin boy clad in head-to-toe green has been the main protagonist and playable character for every single installment in the Legend of Zelda series, excepting only a handful of spin-off projects. And though many of the later Links have technically been different characters - ancestors or what have you - the basic, established look and feel of Link was laid down right here in Zelda 1.

He's got the green cap. The green tunic. The boots, the belt and the pointy ears. He's holding his sword in his left hand - a characteristic that would become the standard for most all appearances of later Links - and he's hefting his shield in his right. (The Cross emblem emblazoned on it was eventually replaced with less religiously suggestive designs, but that's a topic for another day.) Link was a strong, capable character design that has proven timeless now for 25 years. He's Zelda 1's first major achievement.

Link, however, is not the character featured in the title of the game - that honor goes to our little-seen heroine, Princess Zelda. Here in Zelda 1, she's only featured at the very end of the quest, after Link has won the final battle and arrived to rescue her. As it should be. She's the focus of the adventure, and her heartfelt thanks and message of congratulations before the credits roll is all the role she needed to fill.

But this Zelda, of course, inspired an entire line of other characters to bear the same name in the years that followed - most of whom have been more active, and more visible, princesses. Zelda even became a playable character herself in a couple of spin-off games and the Super Smash Bros. fighting series, showing that she's one dangerous damsel who can get herself out of her own distress, when need be. Zelda 1's first edition of the young lady might not have done too much, but she set the precedent - and held the name - that's been reverberating since '86.

Link and Zelda are the obvious picks - the clear first and second to feature. Diving just a bit deeper, though, we find that the first Legend of Zelda also laid the groundwork for the many supporting characters that would come to compliment our two main heroes in the years to follow. Starting with Impa, Princess Zelda's common nursemaid.

Impa didn't actually appear in the game itself, but she featured prominently in The Legend of Zelda's instruction manual as the catalyzing character that inspired Link's journey. (This was back in an age when game manuals were actually read and contained important information on the game, as the games themselves didn't feature elaborate cutscenes or much extra backstory.) So Impa encounters Link, who saves her from an attack by Ganon's henchmen, and she tells him the full story of Zelda's imprisonment - spurring him on to adventure.

This original Impa would later, like Link and Zelda, go on to inspire other characters in the series with the same name - the most notable being the Sage Impa in Ocarina of Time, who introduced the Sheikah race.

The Kingdom of Hyrule was sparsely populated during the events of the first Legend of Zelda, as the game featured no towns or villages and very few other people beyond just Link. Those few he did encounter, though, were often huddled inside dark caves or hidden corners of dungeons - and ready to help our hero on his quest.

They included the Old Man, a wizened, bearded fellow who bestowed Link's first sword to him and also popped up several times later to offer free Heart Containers, chances to gamble your way to wealth through his Money-Making Game, and random bits of poorly-translated advice. Then there was the Old Woman, who worked as a Potion saleswoman and inspiration for the series' later cauldron-stirring witches.

And the Bearded Salesman. He was willing to help out too - for a price. Commerce continues even when the Kingdom's under siege, you see, so Link would have to pay to earn his assistance. Zelda 1's shops were more important than later games have made them, too, offering exclusive items for sale - at least one of which was required to complete the game.

Rounding out our sub-list of five featured heroes from the first Legend of Zelda, here we have the ever-popular and wonderfully friendly fairies. Fairies have gone on to play a pretty major role in the rest of the Zelda series - there are Great Fairies that upgrade Link's equipment and boost his magical powers, fountains full of fairies you can capture and stuff into bottles and even a spell to transform into one and fly around in Zelda 2. Here in Zelda 1, though, they've just got one job. Health refills.

Finding a fairy fountain in Zelda 1's overworld was an occasion for celebration and relaxation, as they were some of the only locations on the map where enemies wouldn't spawn to attack you. And, bonus, the thoughtful little fairy hovering over the water there would surround you with a circle of hearts, completely recharging all of Link's Heart Containers. You'd also occasionally find other fairies in the wild or in a dungeon after defeating a foe, and those could offer you a lesser life boost on the spot.

Again, these are ideas that are easy to take for granted now, 25 years later. But Zelda 1 had them first.

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