The Legend of Zelda (Nintendo, 1986) - NES Gameplay 4K
23All audio/visual elements copyright Nintendo, 1986. Music composed by Koji Kondo.
The player performance in this gameplay was produced by the NESguide archive: an independent project, not affiliated with Nintendo or any other game company.
The original goal of this archive (completed in 2009) was to produce reference-worthy gameplays for the entire NES catalog. Now that it's 2025, I'm trying to update the catalog with new 4K captures using FPGA hardware (to faithfully recreate the og) and upscaling (to make it 4K).
NESGUIDE PLAYER NOTE (P1: Crow)
It's hard to say anything about this game that hasn't already been exhaustively discussed elsewhere. Along with Super Mario Bros, this was the other "killer app" for the NES back in the day. It had a battery inside the cartridge so you could save your game. You didn't have to start the game completely over every time you played, because the game was just too much of an epic for that. Once you finally found you way through the the end and defeated Ganon, there was a second quest with rearranged dungeons and more challenging enemies.
ABOUT THE LEGEND OF ZELDA
When Zelda was released, its gameplay defied categorization, incorporating elements from action games, adventure games, computer role-playing games, and computer puzzle games. The game begins with the player controlling Link, armed with a small shield. A sword is immediately available in a cave behind him. To advance, Link must explore the overworld, a large outdoor map with varied environments. Scattered across the overworld and hidden in caves, shrubbery, or behind walls are merchants, gamblers, old ladies, and other people who guide Link with cryptic clues. Barring Link's progress are creatures he must battle to locate the entrances to nine underground dungeons. Each dungeon is a unique, labyrinthine collection of rooms connected by doors and secret passages and guarded by monsters different from those found on the overworld. Link must navigate through each dungeon to obtain the eight pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom. Items, many required to complete his quest, are also stored in dungeons. The third dungeon, for example, contains a raft needed to reach the entrance to the fourth dungeon. Other accessories include upgrades for Link's sword and shield, bombs for uncovering secret caverns, a boomerang for retrieving items and freezing some enemies in their tracks, and a recorder with magical properties. The first six dungeons have visible entrances, but the remaining three are hidden. The order of completing the dungeons is arbitrary, but it is recommended to complete them in sequential order, because the higher the level number, the more difficult it is, but the final dungeon can only be entered after assembling the entire Triforce of Wisdom.
Known on Famicom as: The Hyrule Fantasy: Zelda no Densetsu ゼルダの伝説 ゼルダノデンセツ
NES Relatives:
• Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (Nint...
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