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The Legend of Zelda (1986)

Nintendo R&D4

Family Computer · Family Computer Disk System · Nintendo 3DS · Nintendo Entertainment System · Wii · Wii U

3.73 from 2919 ratings

6110 members have it in their collection · 201 playing now · 1189 backlogged · 576 wish listed

How long? Main story 10h · with extras 6h · 100% 10h (from 49 logged playthroughs)

The Legend of Zelda is the first title in the Zelda series, it has marked the history of video games particularly for it's game mechanics and universe. The player controls Link and must make his way through the forests, graveyards, plains and deserts of the Otherworld to find the secret entrances to the eight dungeons and try to restore the … Read more
The Legend of Zelda is the first title in the Zelda series, it has marked the history of video games particularly for it's game mechanics and universe. The player controls Link and must make his way through the forests, graveyards, plains and deserts of the Otherworld to find the secret entrances to the eight dungeons and try to restore the broken Triforce. Among the game's mechanics, it was the first time we saw a continuous world that could be freely explored, power-ups that permanently enhanced the main character's abilities and a battery save feature that allowed players to keep their progress instead of having to start over. The gameplay balanced action sequences with discovery, secrets and exploration. Read less
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Details

Developers
Nintendo R&D4
Publishers
Nintendo, Playtronic
Genres
Adventure
Themes
Action, Fantasy, Open world
Franchises
The Legend of Zelda
Series
The Legend of Zelda
Event
Nintendo Direct 6.21.2012

Release dates

  • Feb 21, 1986 (Full Release) (Japan) Family Computer Disk System
  • Aug 22, 1987 (Full Release) (North_America) Nintendo Entertainment System
  • Nov 15, 1987 (Full Release) (Europe) Nintendo Entertainment System
  • Feb 19, 1994 (Full Release) (Japan) Family Computer
  • Sep 1994 (Full Release) (Brazil) Nintendo Entertainment System
  • Nov 19, 2006 (Full Release) (North_America) Wii
  • Dec 02, 2006 (Full Release) (Japan) Wii
  • Dec 07, 2006 (Full Release) (Australia) Wii
  • Dec 08, 2006 (Full Release) (Europe) Wii
  • Mar 31, 2009 (Full Release) (Korea) Wii
  • Dec 22, 2011 (Full Release) (Japan) Nintendo 3DS
  • Apr 12, 2012 (Full Release) (Europe) Nintendo 3DS
  • Jul 05, 2012 (Full Release) (North_America) Nintendo 3DS
  • Aug 28, 2013 (Full Release) (Japan) Wii U
  • Aug 29, 2013 (Full Release) (North_America) Wii U
  • Aug 29, 2013 (Full Release) (Europe) Wii U
  • Feb 03, 2016 (Full Release) (Korea) Nintendo 3DS

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Featured in lists

Games Everyone Should Play At Least Once by Roach · 155 games · 5
Game of the Year: 1985-2025 by anarchistica · 40 games · 3
The Legend of Zelda - Ranked by lingsdook · 33 games · 3
Short Games by Roach · 42 games · 2
NSO Classics Collection - NES by Roach · 84 games · 2
Zeldathon Extravaganzafest by cakeatjobs · 6 games · 1

Rating distribution

5 stars
761
4 stars
949
3 stars
921
2 stars
240
1 star
48
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Community All Reviews Statuses

Prophdng

Status Prophdng Oct 5, 2025

If it weren’t for random pathing of some enemies and some absolutely no way to find secrets/progressions, this would still hold up. As is, exploring the world is fun, the first few dungeons are cool to see the origin of so many of my favorite games. But the second half of the game is not fun anymore. Maybe back in …

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If it weren’t for random pathing of some enemies and some absolutely no way to find secrets/progressions, this would still hold up. As is, exploring the world is fun, the first few dungeons are cool to see the origin of so many of my favorite games. But the second half of the game is not fun anymore. Maybe back in the day when I had one new game every 6-12 months and was willing to do stuff like push every wall in wolfenstein to find secrets this would have been ok. And obviously for the time and what it inspires it’s worthy of the respect. But definitely makes me feel like people should have to clearly delineate most “influential” games of all time vs “greatest” of all time. I think an all time great should still be fun to play and Mario, Tetris, etc hold up. This almost does, but in the end it’s probably best left in the past.

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0 Comment Permalink
Roach

Status Roach Mar 4, 2024

I decided on watching a longplay of the first Zelda game because I could not progress beyond the starting area. I'm glad I did because there is no way I'd be able to complete it based on its difficulty and honestly, I would not have found it worth it based on what I saw.

2 Comment Permalink
leukas

Status leukas Feb 12, 2024

Finished playing this with my husband today. Clocked in a little over 5 hours for 100% completion. Enjoyed it a lot besides it being pretty challenging. It was so cool to see where my favourite series came from, though! Definitely glad the games got a little easier as they went on though, haha. Onwards to Zelda 2 (which I hear …

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Finished playing this with my husband today. Clocked in a little over 5 hours for 100% completion. Enjoyed it a lot besides it being pretty challenging. It was so cool to see where my favourite series came from, though! Definitely glad the games got a little easier as they went on though, haha. Onwards to Zelda 2 (which I hear is harder but I'm up for a challenge)!

Also screw that Ganon fight, went from full hearts to 3 in like 1 minute before I managed to knock him down and shoot and arrow at him. >:^l

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2 Comment Permalink
benhenry3

Status benhenry3 Jan 18, 2024

The beginning of an amazing series. Pretty much impossible to fully beat without a guide but that's not a bad thing. The combat is pretty trashy but it was very ahead of its time. The variety of items are really cool as well as the enemies. The dungeons are pretty boring. Music is awesome!

0 Comment Permalink
WerqKween

Status WerqKween Aug 20, 2023

Add Wizzrobes to the list. Assholes.
Ok so I'm the hero of Hyrule. Squadalah and all that jazz. Now the question is do I resume my current backlog, or play Zelda 2 and LttP again? Or do I do some sort of challenge run for some older Final Fantasy because I've been thinking about that too. I'm burdened with choices!

3 Comment Permalink
WerqKween

Status WerqKween Aug 7, 2023

I'm being a slave to nostalgia these days, I suppose. Playing this again, but speeding through with a map. It's pretty hard, huh? Those dang Like Likes...

4 Comment Permalink
enokizu

Status enokizu Jun 13, 2023

Me: wow I sure do have a lot of games started, I should probably finish some of them before I forget where I'm at!

Also me: starts The Legend of Zelda (1986)

4 Comment Permalink
YohanYun

Status YohanYun Apr 26, 2023

I can see how it was revolutionary long ago but I just played it for the sake of playing it. Whipped out a walkthrough and followed blindly.

Can’t say I loved it but also didn’t hate it. Was worth playing once to appreciate gaming history.

4 Comment Permalink
OJ

Status OJ Jan 21, 2023

Somehow I found most of the dungeons, including the final one, before I was able to find the first dungeon. Since I was exploring the map*, I also got most of the items from the overworld before getting my first dungeon item. Breezed through the first five dungeons, but dungeon six is kicking my butt (even with savestates).

* playing …

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Somehow I found most of the dungeons, including the final one, before I was able to find the first dungeon. Since I was exploring the map*, I also got most of the items from the overworld before getting my first dungeon item. Breezed through the first five dungeons, but dungeon six is kicking my butt (even with savestates).

* playing Zelda Redux romhack which includes an automap feature to fill in places you've explored.

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3 Comment Permalink
Mixplit

Status Mixplit Apr 7, 2022

Disc version is on Computer Gaming World 200 cdrom. This has a few demos:Sacrifice, Star Peace, Advanced Civilization, Diablo, Warcraft 2, Quake, Need for Speed, Tomb Riader, Mechwarrior 2, Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Duke Nukem 3D, HalfLife. As well as a number of full games: Crusader No Remorse, Mystery House, Betrayal at Krondor, X-Com, B-17 Flying Fortress, Kampfgrup, Acheton, Alphaman, Alternate …

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Disc version is on Computer Gaming World 200 cdrom. This has a few demos:Sacrifice, Star Peace, Advanced Civilization, Diablo, Warcraft 2, Quake, Need for Speed, Tomb Riader, Mechwarrior 2, Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Duke Nukem 3D, HalfLife. As well as a number of full games: Crusader No Remorse, Mystery House, Betrayal at Krondor, X-Com, B-17 Flying Fortress, Kampfgrup, Acheton, Alphaman, Alternate Reality:The City, Avoid the Noid, Blance of Power, Bunni-flip, Elite, Elite Plus, Empire, Net Hack, Pirates 2, Rogue, Super Dune 2, Tac Ops, Zelda Classic for Dos.

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0 Comment Permalink
Esquared77

Status Esquared77 Nov 21, 2021

Just beat it again on the Game and Watch, still remember so many secrets from playing this over and over as a kid.

2 Comment Permalink
Daninokuni

Status Daninokuni Sep 10, 2021

Game finished. I was enjoying it a lot... until the last dungeon. There, the game seems to try to be unfair with dozens of rooms filled with annoying wizards, and a final boss awfully boring.

I know the game was revolutionary, but I just can't give a good mark to a game that was painful to finish. So, before the …

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Game finished. I was enjoying it a lot... until the last dungeon. There, the game seems to try to be unfair with dozens of rooms filled with annoying wizards, and a final boss awfully boring.

I know the game was revolutionary, but I just can't give a good mark to a game that was painful to finish. So, before the last dungeon, I was thinking in 4/5 stars, but now I can't give it more than 2/5.

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2 Comment Permalink
Daninokuni

Status Daninokuni Sep 5, 2021

I'm in the last dungeon and... this is being more enjoyable than I expected. With a pencil and a paper, you don't need to use any guide or walkthrough. The game is mostly well designed, and it feels like an adventure even 25 years after its launch.

2 Comment Permalink
trayson

Status trayson Jul 30, 2021

Recently played through this game for like the 20th time in my life, as a start to playing through every Zelda game in release date order. And i still just love its climb into a chaotic but still very manageable nature. I can play this game forever with its semi-tactical flowstate that i fall into

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Recently played through this game for like the 20th time in my life, as a start to playing through every Zelda game in release date order. And i still just love its climb into a chaotic but still very manageable nature. I can play this game forever with its semi-tactical flowstate that i fall into

enter image description here

Read less
5 Comment Permalink