The Legend of Zelda is a video game series created by game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. Nintendo, a company that makes and sells video games, is mainly responsible for developing and publishing the series. The world of the Legend of Zelda includes many different lands, with Hyrule being the most important. This series takes place in a fantasy world that looks like medieval Europe, featuring many places, races, and creatures. The world was also inspired by the hometown of Miyamoto and designer Hidemaro Fujibayashi, which is Kyoto. The most common race in the series is the Hylians, a human-like group with elf-like features, such as long, pointed ears. The series includes a story about how the world was created, fictional writing systems, such as the Hylian alphabet, and a fictional currency called the rupee. The games usually follow the story of Link and Princess Zelda as they fight monsters to save their lands and defeat Ganon, the main villain. Link is typically the player’s character, but in the 2024 game Echoes of Wisdom, players mainly control Zelda. Nintendo has organized the series’ story into a timeline that covers thousands of years.
Hyrule was first introduced in the 1986 game The Legend of Zelda and has remained the main setting for later games. Inspired by games where players explore dungeons, Miyamoto and Tezuka created a fantasy world with a 2D map filled with monsters, puzzles, and dungeons. In 1998, the game Ocarina of Time changed Hyrule into a 3D environment. For the 2017 game Breath of the Wild, Nintendo expanded Hyrule into a large, open world that players can explore without limits. Since the first game was released, the series has been very successful and has introduced new ideas in game design that have influenced many other games.
Overview
The Legend of Zelda series takes place in a fantasy world first introduced in the original The Legend of Zelda, which Nintendo created and published. This game established Hyrule as the main setting of the series, along with the main hero, Link, and the main heroine, Princess Zelda. The primary villain in the series is Ganon. Link has been the main player character in most games, except in Echoes of Wisdom, where he is only playable during the prologue. Each game in the series has a unique story, but they all follow a similar main plot. In these stories, Link, a young Hylian man or boy, travels through Hyrule or other lands to save the world from evil, which is usually caused by Ganon. Zelda, a young Hylian woman or girl from Hyrule’s royal family, often helps Link in these stories. She appears in every game except Link’s Awakening and Tri Force Heroes, and she is the main player character in Echoes of Wisdom. A common part of the series’ stories is Ganon’s attempts to obtain the Triforce, a magical object introduced in the first Legend of Zelda that gives him great power. While Link and Zelda look similar in each game, different characters with those names appear whenever evil threatens the world. Skyward Sword is considered the beginning of the series’ history. It tells the story of the antagonist Demise cursing the first versions of Link and Zelda, causing them to be reborn repeatedly in a never-ending cycle to protect Hyrule from evil.
Hyrule
A person went hiking and discovered a lake. It was surprising to find it by accident. While traveling without a map and exploring the country, the person found many interesting things and realized how exciting it was to have an adventure.
Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto created the land of Hyrule for the original The Legend of Zelda (1986). He described it as "a small garden you can keep in a drawer and visit anytime." Miyamoto was inspired by the Kyoto countryside he explored as a child and wanted to recreate the feeling of adventure and discovery. With writer Takashi Tezuka, he designed a fantasy world similar to those created by authors like Tolkien. The world was viewed from above, and it included colorful characters, monsters, and dungeons for players to explore.
Miyamoto and Tezuka began working on The Legend of Zelda while developing Super Mario Bros. (1985). At first, the game did not include a large map. In Hyrule Historia, Miyamoto explained that Nintendo aimed to create a launch title for the Famicom Disk System. An early version of the game used the Disk System’s ability to rewrite data, allowing players to create dungeons and explore others’ creations. Miyamoto said, "We made a one-player game with dungeons under mountains around Death Mountain, but we wanted to explore above ground too. So we added forests, lakes, and eventually Hyrule Field."
On February 1, 1985, Miyamoto and others wrote the first game ideas on a whiteboard. These were copied onto a document that described early plans for items like a compass, bows and arrows, and a boomerang. A character named "Hakkai" was an early name for Ganon. The game was initially called "Adventure." Long paper was used to draw the first map of Hyrule, created by Miyamoto and Tezuka working together. Miyamoto said "Hyrule" was a good name for a fantasy region. In Japan, the game was released as The Hyrule Fantasy, but the name was later changed to The Legend of Zelda.
The original Hyrule map was designed to encourage exploration and take several hours to navigate. It was nonlinear, meaning players could choose from many unmarked paths, with only some areas being inaccessible at first. Miyamoto was inspired by games like The Black Onyx (1984) and Ultima (1981), which focused on exploring fantasy dungeons. The Zelda world included mazes, hidden rooms, and treasures. The game’s nine dungeons were hard to find, requiring players to solve map mysteries. The overworld was a large grid, 16 blocks wide and 8 blocks high, with 128 areas. Maps in North America included hints, but Miyamoto said players should rely on their own skills. The game began with players starting in Hyrule’s center, searching for an old man in a cave who gives Link a sword and says, "It’s dangerous to go alone!" Players must find dungeons with enemies, items, and bosses.
In the 1980s, role-playing games were new to players. The gameplay was different from fast-paced arcade games or home console games like Super Mario Bros.. The game offered an open world to explore, puzzles to solve, and a story about saving a princess from an evil villain. Nintendo’s management was worried about the game’s difficulty. In 2003, Miyamoto said, "We were nervous because The Legend of Zelda was our first game that made players think about what to do next. We feared players might get bored or stressed." During testing, players complained about getting lost in dungeons, but Miyamoto made the game harder by removing Link’s sword at the start, forcing players to find it. He wanted players to help each other solve puzzles.
Link to the Past (1991) introduced a dark version of Hyrule called the "Dark World," often caused by Ganon. The game and later games allowed Link to travel between similar versions of Hyrule or other lands—one without evil and one with—so Nintendo could reuse game assets and save space on game cartridges.
The characters and world of The Legend of Zelda were partly inspired by the American TV series Twin Peaks (1990–2017). In an interview, Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma and SRD president Toshihiko Nakago said Link’s Awakening (1993) was the first game in the series with a proper plot. Tezuka suggested making characters in Link’s Awakening "suspicious" like those in Twin Peaks. Aonuma and former Nintendo president Satoru Iwata believed this opened up new possibilities for characters and stories in later games.
Hyrule changed over time. The shift from 2D to 3D happened with Ocarina of Time (1998), made possible by the Nintendo 64. This allowed players to experience a more realistic world. The 3D world also expanded the game’s fictional story, creating an official timeline for the series. Dungeons were unique and connected to specific parts of Hyrule. Races like the Gorons, Zora, and Gerudo were introduced with their own histories and cultures. Hyrule Field, a large open grassy area, became the central hub connecting other regions.
Miyamoto was concerned about the Nintendo 64’s limitations and initially planned the game to take place in a central hub near Ganon’s Castle, like Peach’s Castle in Super Mario 64 (1996). He called Ocarina of Time a "huge project" because it used 3D polygons to create a larger world than any he had worked on before. Miyamoto focused on characters first, then the story and game features. The game included innovations to help players navigate its large 3D world.
Objects
The Triforce, also called the "Power of the Gods" and the "Golden Triangle," is a triangular holy object left behind by the three Golden Goddesses after they created Hyrule. It is made of three smaller triangles: the Triforce of Power, the Triforce of Wisdom, and the Triforce of Courage. These represent the qualities of the goddesses and show a struggle and balance between the characters Ganon, Zelda, and Link. The Triforce first appeared in the original game as a central part of the story, where Ganon steals the Triforce of Power, and Link searches for the scattered pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom to stop him and protect Hyrule from evil. The Triforce of Courage was added later in The Adventure of Link as the third piece. When all three pieces are united, the person who touches the Triforce can make a wish that usually lasts until they die or the wish is completed. If the person who finds the Triforce does not have a balance of the three virtues it represents, the pieces will separate, and the finder will only receive the piece that matches the trait they value most.
The Master Sword, also known as "The Blade of Evil's Bane," "The Sword of Resurrection," or "the sword that seals the darkness," is a magical, divine weapon and Link's main tool. It is one of the few weapons that can harm Ganon and serves as a key to the Sacred Realm. It first appeared in A Link to the Past and has the ability to "defeat evil," allowing it to fight powerful dark magic and destroy creatures that cannot be harmed by regular weapons. In Skyward Sword, it is revealed that the sword was originally called the Goddess Sword and was home to a spirit named Fi. Near the end of the game, the Goddess Sword becomes the Master Sword after being strengthened by the Three Sacred Flames, and Fi's spirit disappears after the Master Sword absorbs the remains of Demise. The sword is usually found in a stone pedestal hidden in special places in Hyrule, such as the Temple of Time or the Lost Woods. Like the Sword in the Stone, the Master Sword can only be removed by someone who is considered worthy of using it.
Other lands and worlds
Hyrule is the main setting in The Legend of Zelda series. Some games take place in other lands, realms, and parallel worlds outside of Hyrule. It is not clear how Hyrule is connected to these other places.
Characters
The Legend of Zelda series often includes characters that return in different games, even though many of the games take place in different time periods. The main hero, Link, and Princess Zelda are shown in new forms in most games. Ganon, the main villain and final boss in many games, is born from an ancient evil named Demise and returns in new forms. Other characters who appear in multiple games include Impa, who cares for Princess Zelda, and Tingle, who loves fairies. In games like Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and Twilight Princess, Link gains a horse named Epona. Epona can also be unlocked by scanning an Amiibo toy in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.
In many Zelda games, Link is accompanied by a helper who guides him. In Ocarina of Time, this helper is Navi. In Twilight Princess, it is Midna, and in Skyward Sword, it is Fi. These helpers teach players how to play and comment on events in the story. In Echoes of Wisdom, Zelda has a similar helper named Tri. Other popular characters in Breath of the Wild include Purah, Prince Sidon, and Urbosa.
Link is the main character in the series and is usually shown as a young Hylian wearing a green cap and tunic. He is the hero in nearly every game, often in a new form. He travels across Hyrule to save Princess Zelda and defeat Ganon. He uses the Master Sword to fight enemies. Every version of Link is brave and worthy of carrying the Triforce of Courage, one of three pieces that make up the Triforce. Link appears in other games, such as Hyrule Warriors, comics, and Super Smash Bros. Although he is silent in most games, he speaks in the Legend of Zelda cartoon and some CD-i games. In 2011, Link was named the second greatest video game character of all time by Guinness World Records.
Princess Zelda is the ruler of Hyrule and protects the Triforce of Wisdom. She was once shown as a princess in danger, but in games like Breath of the Wild, she is a more complete character. Zelda is the reincarnation of the goddess Hylia and can use magic to help Link, such as light magic to trap Ganon. She has different names in some games, like Sheik in Ocarina of Time and Tetra in The Wind Waker. Zelda is playable in a few games, including Spirit Tracks, Echoes of Wisdom, and Hyrule Warriors. She was named one of the most iconic female video game characters by Digital Spy.
Ganon is the main villain in the series and the final boss in most games. He seeks the Triforce for power and to conquer Hyrule. He has two main forms: Ganon, a monstrous pig-like creature, and Ganondorf, a human Gerudo warrior first introduced in Ocarina of Time. In Breath of the Wild, he appears as Calamity Ganon and Dark Beast Ganon during the final battle. In Tears of the Kingdom, he is called the Demon King. Ganon is very powerful, and only Link and Zelda can defeat him. He also appears in Hyrule Warriors and Super Smash Bros. In 2013, he was named one of the greatest video game villains by Guinness World Records.
Impa first appeared in the original The Legend of Zelda as an elderly woman who protects Princess Zelda and helps Link save her from Ganon. She guides Link in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link and plays a major role in Ocarina of Time as a young warrior. In Skyward Sword, she appears in both young and elderly forms. In Breath of the Wild, she is an old Sheikah elder in Kakariko Village. She is playable in Hyrule Warriors and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. In Tears of the Kingdom, she is retired and asks Link to investigate mysterious symbols called Geoglyphs. Impa is known for being a smart and respected warrior.
Impa’s appearance has changed over time. In the original game, she was an elderly woman. In Ocarina of Time, she was younger and had a ponytail. In Oracle of Seasons, she was overweight. In Skyward Sword, she appeared in young and elderly forms, with the younger version having a gender-neutral look and the older version wearing a sundial-like robe. In Breath of the Wild, she was very old and small. In Hyrule Warriors, she looked athletic, like her younger self in Ocarina of Time. In Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, she resembled her future granddaughter, Paya. Impa’s design was inspired by characters from Naruto.
Impa is a member of the Sheikah tribe, known for having white hair and red eyes. She often wears the Sheikah symbol, which looks like an eye with three lines.
Races
Since the original game was released, the series has included several races. Along with the Hylian race, which created the land of Hyrule, other important races in the series are the Gorons, Gerudo, Rito, and Zora.
Reception
In their January 2010 issue, Nintendo Power included Hyrule, along with the Mushroom Kingdom from the Super Mario series, Planet Zebes from the Metroid series, the player’s town from the Animal Crossing series, and Metro City from the Final Fight series, as five of their 50 "reasons to love Nintendo." Steve Watts of GameSpot praised the original game world, noting that even though it is simple, it creates the feeling of exploring a vast wilderness. He added that the lack of direct guidance in the game made the world feel larger and more mysterious. Yannick LeJacq of Kotaku wrote in 2014 that Hyrule is one of the most famous settings in video game history. Players of The Legend of Zelda have explored it in some form for nearly 30 years.
Critics highlighted the influence of the game world in Ocarina of Time on both gamers and the design of later 3D game worlds. The open world of Hyrule in Breath of the Wild has been praised for its design. In 2021, Noelle Warner of Destructoid said the game’s world had a comforting feel, especially after the post-quarantine period. She said she would be happy living in seven of the nine towns she ranked for coziness. She gave the highest praise to Tarrey Town, which is surrounded by a lake, has houses arranged in a circle, and offers views of autumn trees. She also praised the beauty and visuals of other towns. Other critics praised the size of the open world, its visual appeal, and how well it was designed for navigation.
In 2020, senior editor Caty McCarthy of USgamer ranked the in-game map of A Link to the Past as the best video game map. IGN listed Hyrule as the sixth greatest game world. In 2021, Evan Narcisse of Kotaku included Hyrule among the most detailed science fiction and fantasy worlds in video games.
Influence and legacy
Since the original The Legend of Zelda game was released, experts have discussed how the game and its universe have shaped the video game industry. They noted that the first Zelda game influenced games like World of Warcraft, Grand Theft Auto (1997–present), The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011), Dark Souls (2011–2016), and the entire action role-playing game genre. The original game was very successful in sales, with over 6.5 million copies sold, and many experts have called it one of the greatest video games ever made.
Experts said that Ocarina of Time was important for 3D adventure games, especially because of its technical features like the "Z-targeting" system. The Guardian’s Keza MacDonald mentioned that a similar mechanic from the 1998 game was used in Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018). The way the game’s controls were rearranged and quickly mapped was also noted by Tom Power in GamesRadar+ as an influence on other genres, such as the first-person shooter series Halo (2001–present) and Call of Duty (2003–present), as well as Gears of War (2006–2019). The feeling of wonder players experienced when entering Hyrule Field for the first time was also cited as an influence on similar moments in Grand Theft Auto III (2001), Red Dead Redemption 2, Crackdown (2007), and Fallout 3 (2008).
After Breath of the Wild was released in 2017, many video game developers were inspired by its open world design. Alx Preston, creator of Hyper Light Drifter, said, "the sense of freedom and experimentation is incredibly inspiring." Adam Saltsman, creator of Canabalt, commented on the game’s consistent environment and the player’s ability to explore and experiment. Rami Ismail of Vlambeer said, "no game has done verticality as well as BotW." Experts and developers noted that Breath of the Wild influenced the game worlds of Genshin Impact (2020), Immortals Fenyx Rising (2020), Horizon Forbidden West (2022), Death Stranding (2019), and Elden Ring (2022), as well as the free-form storytelling in the narrative game Telling Lies (2019). When it was released, Breath of the Wild received high praise and became the most successful game in the Zelda series, selling 29 million copies on the Nintendo Switch as of December 2022 and over 1.6 million copies on the Wii U as of July 2022.