The Legend of Zelda (video game)

The Legend of Zelda is a 1986 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Family Computer Disk System. It is the first game in the Legend of Zelda series. It is set in the fantasy land of Hyrule and centers on an elf-like boy named Link, who aims to collect the eight fragments of the Triforce of Wisdom to rescue Princess Zelda from Ganon. The player controls Link from a top-down perspective and navigates the overworld and dungeons, collecting weapons, defeating enemies and uncovering secrets. It was designed and directed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, being in development alongside Super Mario Bros., which was released on September 13, 1985.

The Legend of Zelda was released in Japan as a launch game for the Family Computer Disk System on February 21, 1986. More than a year later, in late 1987, it was released in North America and Europe on the Nintendo Entertainment System in cartridge format by which time a sequel had already been released in Japan. The US version was one of the first games to include an internal battery for saving data. This version was released in Japan on February 19, 1994 as Zelda no Densetsu 1.

The Legend of Zelda is regarded as one of the most influential and greatest video games of all time. It was a critical and commercial success, selling over 6.5 million copies and launching a major franchise. A sequel, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, was released in Japan for the Famicom Disk System less than a year later on January 21, 1987, and numerous sequels and spin-offs have been released since. The game has received numerous ports and remakes, in addition to re-releases on the Virtual Console and Nintendo Classics services. It was also one of 30 games included in the system.