Action & Adventure · 1980s
The Legend of Zelda
An open overworld with secrets under nearly every screen, released with a battery backup so progress could be saved for the first time on console. It trusted players to draw their own maps and find their own way.
| First released | 1986 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Nintendo |
| Original platform | Famicom Disk System / NES |
Why it matters
It founded one of gaming's longest-running franchises and defined the exploration-and-discovery loop that action-adventure games still center. Its combine-items-and-secrets structure became the template for the genre.
Play it today
Included in the Nintendo Switch Online NES library.
Start here
Play with a map handy — the original expects note-taking. Its openness means you can wander into dungeons meant for a stronger Link; that freedom is the feature, not a flaw.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda_(video_game) — release date, save-battery history, design
Sources for this page were checked 2026-09-21.