The Legend of Zelda

Miyamoto in 2004

The Legend of Zelda is a series of open world adventure video games. The games are typically about a boy named Link who has to rescue Princess Zelda from Ganon. The first game of the franchise was made by Shigeru Miyamoto and was first sold February 21, 1986 by Nintendo. Most of the Zelda games take place in the fictional kingdom of Hyrule. The games all have fighting, adventuring, item collecting, puzzle-solving, and sometimes racing parts. The Legend of Zelda series has sold over 125 million games, with 23 different games in the series during 2017, making it the 20th best-selling video game series ever.

Main characters

Games

Main series release timeline
Original games in bold
1986The Legend of Zelda
1987The Adventure of Link
1988
1989
1990
1991A Link to the Past
1992
1993Link's Awakening
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998Ocarina of Time
Link's Awakening DX
1999
2000Majora's Mask
2001Oracle of Seasons
Oracle of Ages
2002Four Swords
The Wind Waker
2003
2004Four Swords Adventures
The Minish Cap
2005
2006Twilight Princess
2007Phantom Hourglass
2008
2009Spirit Tracks
2010
2011Ocarina of Time 3D
Four Swords Anniversary Edition
Skyward Sword
2012
2013The Wind Waker HD
A Link Between Worlds
2014
2015Majora's Mask 3D
Tri Force Heroes
2016Twilight Princess HD
2017Breath of the Wild
2018
2019Link's Awakening
2020
2021Skyward Sword HD
2022
2023Tears of the Kingdom
2024Echoes of Wisdom
2025
2026Ocarina of Time

Right now, there are 30 games in the main series, including the compilations and remakes. Another game is planned to release later in 2026.

Universe

Hyrule

Hyrule is a fictional world in The Legend of Zelda series. It is inhabited by many races, including Hylians, Gorons, Gerudos, Zoras, and others.

Timelines

The Zelda series timeline places each of the games in chronological order up until The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. At the end of this game, three separate timelines (and one secret timeline) are created, and many of the games take place in these separate universes.

The Hero is Successful: Adult Timeline

When Link helps seal away Ganon at the end of Ocarina of Time, he is sent back in time to become a child and warn Princess Zelda to prevent Ganondorf from rising to power in the first place. With Link gone in the future, Ganondorf is able to break free from his seal and get very close to taking over Hyrule. Without Link to stop him, the people of Hyrule ask the Goddesses to flood Hyrule. This flood creates the Great Sea, leaving the tops of Hyrule's mountains as the only land above the water. Many years after the flood, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker takes place.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is set a few years after the events of The Wind Waker and The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks is set many years after Phantom Hourglass.

The Hero is Successful: Child Timeline

As a child sent back to the past, Link warns Zelda and stops Ganondorf from taking over Hyrule. With this job complete, Link travels deep into the Lost Woods to search for his fairy, Navi, who had left him at the end of Ocarina of Time. In this forest, he is transported to a land called Termina that is in danger of being destroyed by a falling moon, sent crashing into the world by an evil mask named Majora. Link's journey to stop the moon from falling is shown in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. After saving Termina, Link returns to Hyrule.

Many generations later, another young man named Link works as a ranch hand in Hyrule. This Link joins a creature named Midna in her quest to defeat Zant, an evil ruler from the Twilight Realm, who is attempting to take over Hyrule. Throughout his journey, shown in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Link is aided by many people in his quest, including the Hero's Shade, who is the ghost of Link from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask.

The Hero is Defeated

In a world where Link is defeated by Ganon in The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, Hyrule enters a period of decline after being taken over by Ganon. A war to defeat him is fought and lost, and Hyrule is left in a state of ruin. Everyone becomes enslaved to Overlord Ganon. Within this timeline, the events of many of the early Zelda games occur, including The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening and The Legend of Zelda.

Master Sword

The Master Sword is a sword found in The Legend of Zelda series. Link uses it as a weapon in most games.

Known as the Sword of Evil's Bane, the Sword of Time, the Sword of Resurrection, the Smartsword and the Sword That Seals the Darkness, the Master Sword is to only be held by a person destined to be the Hero chosen by the Goddesses. The Link in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is the first holder of the Master Sword. The other Links are then given the right to wield the Master Sword because they carry the spirit of the Hero.

Triforce

The completed Triforce.

The Triforce is a mystic object in The Legend of Zelda universe created by gods Din, Nayru, and Farore. It has three parts - the first part is the Triforce of Courage, which Link has, the second is the Triforce of Wisdom, which Princess Zelda has, and the third is the Triforce of Power, which Ganon has. When it is completed, the person who unites it can make a wish using the power of the gods.

  1. ↑ Sao, Akinori; Tatsumi, Ginko; Mikame, Chisato; Gelinas, Ben (writers) (2018). The Legend of Zelda Encyclopedia. Milwaukie, Oregon: Dark Horse Books. pp. 322-327. ISBN 978-1-5067-0638-2.
  2. ↑ https://zelda.nintendo.com/about/