when The Legend of Zelda Released in 1986, it didn't seem like the start of a revolution. It was a top-down adventure starring a silent hero dressed in a green tunic and armed only with a wooden sword. Still, no one, not even Nintendo, could have predicted what it would turn out to be. The philosophy buried deep within its seemingly simple design would leave a lasting mark on the industry, and many modern games can trace its roots to this day. over the next few years The Legend of ZeldaSince its release, that philosophy has fundamentally changed the way developers approach world design, player agency, and long-term progression.
40 years later, the shock waves of its release are still being felt, as the franchise remains one of the industry's greatest inspirations. In fact, evidence The Legend of Zelda's enormous influence can be found in the fact that it ranks in at least three of what are widely considered to be the top ten best video games ever made. After a rather passionate gaming fan culled a list of over 900 of the best games to create a master list of the top 100 video games of all time, here are the results. Zelda: Breath of the Wild, ocarina of timeand link to the past In the top 10, breath of the wild It remains in first place. This is an achievement no other franchise has achieved. super marioAcquired. This says a lot about what. zelda Find out why this technology, introduced 40 years ago, is still leading the industry today.
In 1986, Zelda introduced players to a believable open world.
In the mid-1980s, most console games were linear. Players moved from one level to the next, often repeating the pattern with increasing difficulty. But when The Legend of Zelda Released in 1986, the game challenged what many people primarily expected from games because it completely rejected that structure. After a brief startup screen and very little hand-holding, players are placed in the center of Hyrule and essentially told to figure it out. This is something young gamers might have thought started out with games like breath of the wild or Tears of the Kingdom—I feel driven by curiosity and the thrill of discovery—but no. for zeldaThat happened 40 years ago.
Who is that character?
Check out the silhouette before time runs out.
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Check out the silhouette before time runs out.
Easy (7.5 seconds) Medium (5.0 seconds) Hard (2.5 seconds) Eternal Death (2.5 seconds)
zelda It basically standardized the idea that the game world could exist independently of the player's path. That is, most console games at the time tied player progress directly to world development, with levels unlocked in a specific order or screens progressing in a fixed order. In that space, the world existed only in the order the developers presented it to the player. But when the player starts zelda In 1986, the entire overworld was already there, so you could instantly walk in almost any direction and tackle the dungeons in any order. But the craziest part is that it gives you all the freedom without explanation, so that curiosity-based discovery becomes its own reward.
Equally important, The Legend of Zelda Introduced one of the first battery-assisted storage systems on a console. This essentially turns the experience of an arcade-style session into a much longer, more sustained adventure. Unlike almost every game on console, zelda There was no need to hit it all at once. Rather, it felt like a real world that you could visit whenever you wanted, a world that would remain the same even after it was turned off.
zeldaThe second quest from the 1986 original is also one of the earliest examples of post-game “remixes”, now popularly known as “New Game Plus”.
Two key design choices – non-linear exploration and continuous progression – changed console gaming forever. technically Super Cassette Vision game Pop and Chips In 1985, batteries were used for conservation purposes, but zelda A title that ultimately set an industry standard worldwide. And although it wasn't the first “open” game, it was like an early PC RPG. ultima The fact that it was non-linear made it the first product to bring this philosophy to home consoles, which represented a much larger portion of the gaming audience. at last, zelda It laid the foundation for the action-adventure genre, influenced the development of RPG hybrids for decades, and set a new standard for gaming as a whole.
Zelda's ability to reinvent herself without losing herself has added years to its influence
If Nintendo stopped releasing zelda Since the original release in 1986, the game is still recognized today for the impact it had on the industry 40 years ago. However, as of 2026, the franchise consists of over 30 titles, including over 20 mainline, canon entries. Few video game IPs have lasted that long; zelda's ability to do so largely comes down to its knack for reinventing itself without losing itself in the process. Because it has done so well, it has established itself as a trendsetter in the industry by continually raising the bar with innovative mechanisms and ideas. Especially when one of the games hits gold (which happens more often than most franchises can claim).
Ocarina of Time's Z-targeting system became the blueprint for virtually all 3D action games that followed.
when The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Released in 1998, the game translates all the ideas of the original game into three-dimensional space, while still maintaining its most distinctive characteristic: respect for player intelligence. The idea itself has had a significant impact on the franchise since then, but the Z-targeting system in particular has influenced everything from third-person action games to modern Soulslikes, changing the way third-person combat works across 3D games. mega man legends (released a year earlier) had a similar locking system, but it did not allow flexible movement or central camera positioning. zelda It was introduced in 1998. ocarina of time's version essentially became the blueprint for almost every 3D action game that followed.
Breath of the Wild reintroduces the game to the groundbreaking design philosophy of the original Zelda.
Then we came together Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2017 – One of the most widely known games of the 21st century. In many ways, breath of the wild It felt like a modern return to the 1986 classic. Players once again step into the vast and mysterious Hyrule with minimal instructions and nearly limitless possibilities. They can go anywhere, climb anything, experiment with physics, and solve problems in their own way. Tears of the Kingdom They then expanded this philosophy with mechanics like Link's Ultrahand ability and other skills that allow players to improvise through the game rather than following a mechanical path.
Pearl Abyss's upcoming crimson desert There's also a feature that looks like a copy-and-paste version of Link's Ultrahand.
later breath of the wild and Tears of the KingdomAs is often the case zelda“The industry responded. breath of the wild's systematic design, physics-based interaction, and emphasis on emergent gameplay influenced numerous open world games in the years that followed. games like Elden Ring, genshin impact, sableand dredge It's all been explicitly stated at some point. breath of the wild There are no doubt many others who have been inspirational and whose influence is very evident even if not pointed out by the developers.
But as the series evolved, it never abandoned its identity. Even if labeled breath of the wild a radical departure for zeldaAs corny as it sounds, it was a real return to form. That was essentially 1986. zelda It's been reimagined with modern hardware and a modern open world design, which is probably why it's been so well received. In an era when open world games felt repetitive, bloated, and overdone, breath of the wild We've taken everything back to basics with a design philosophy that believes players can find their way forward. If nothing else, it just proves how the industry thinks over and over again. zelda It's an example of what games are, and often should be.
Even if labeled breath of the wild a radical departure for zeldaAs corny as it sounds, it was a real return to form.
40 years after the silent hero first set foot in Hyrule with a wooden sword, The Legend of Zelda It still doesn't feel like a design benchmark against which the rest of the industry measures itself. In 1986, developers showed that players don't need a rigid structure to keep them engaged, but instead need a world that respects freedom, mystery, and intelligence. In 2026, that same philosophy still influences how games are made. This is especially true as developers seek deeper immersion and more meaningful exploration. in other words, The Legend of Zelda has reset expectations several times over the past 40 years, and the fact that modern developers keep coming back to its ideas proves that its blueprint still holds up.
- released
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May 12, 2023
- ESRB
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Rated E for everyone ages 10+ for fantasy violence and mildly suggestive themes.
- developer
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nintendo
- publisher
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nintendo
