The Legend of Zelda is the name of a video-game franchise, released by Nintendo in 1986, and since then every new Nintendo console had a new Zelda version, if not two. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, The Legend of Zelda is the longest-running action-adventure game series and one of the best game series in the history of gaming.
The Legend of Zelda is, according to the world’s leading gaming publications, one of the best adventure games the world has ever seen. It is also one of the most successful and long-lived Nintendo franchises on a par with Super Mario.
Zelda is an adventure game that follows a single formula. The core of the game is the dungeons, which the player has to get out of. There are a series of puzzles in the dungeons with the obligatory boss at the end. After passing one gameplay chapter, the player gets an item that allows him to enter a new area of the game world with another dungeon. And so on until the finale, with the finale boss.
The Legend of Zelda went on sale in Japan on February 21, 1986, on the Famicom Disk System and was an incredible success. The game offered incredible features for the time, becoming one of the first nonlinear story games. As a result, The Legend of Zelda sold 6.5 million copies, received critical and gamer acclaim, and is still frequently listed as one of the best games of all time.
Zelda is a pioneer of the adventure video game genre. Many developers of iconic projects of related genres often cite the Nintendo series among their sources of inspiration.
The issues of Zelda formally fit into a branching chronology, but in essence, they are all independent stories.
What is the Legend of Zelda?
The Legend of Zelda is one of the most popular Nintendo video games, released in 1986. The franchise is also a pioneer of the adventure genre, and the longest-running action-adventure game series.
The Legend of Zelda logo was initially designed specifically for the Western release by the Seattle-based design studio. For a few years, the badge was used only on the European and American markets, but later it will be used for the Japanese versions as well.
The original logo of the famous franchise was introduced in 1987 and featured a bright red uppercase serif “Zelda” inscription drawn in flat lines against a white background and enclosed between the two thin horizontal lines, with the cursive “The Legend Of” written over the top.
The new version, designed in 1991, featured a three-dimensional wordmark in glossy red, with sharp massive serifs on the ends of the bold lines, and a minimalistic geometric ornament, engraved on the diagonal line of the “Z”. The additional lettering was also set in all-caps of a classy serif Ont, but in smaller size and thinner lines, placed in the upper right corner of the composition.
The iconic logo of The Legend of Zelda has the wordmark, written in the custom typeface, created by the designer team specifically for the franchise, which is most often seen in red color and has various additional decorations depending on the volume of the game.
The Legend of Zelda logotype is set in two levels, with the massive and sharp “Zelda” in the center, and “The Legend of” written in small capitals above it, with a slight shift to the right. If the upper line of the lettering is executed in a pretty traditional bold serif font, which is close to URW Antiqua Small Caps Medium, the main part of the logo, with the first letter enlarged and usually having some kind of an ornament on its diagonal bar, features unique shapes of the letters with triangular serifs and diagonal lines.
In 2001 the Zelda wordmark was rewritten in flat red lines, with no gloss or gradients. But this time it was outlined in white and gold, and the golden accent was supported by the additional lettering, which was set in the upper right corner of the badge.
Another version of the Zelda logo, designed in 2006, has brought back the volume and gloss. The crimson-red lettering now gained a light accent in the upper corner of the “Z”, which made the badge look sleek and modern. As for the “The Legend Of”’ part, it was also rewritten in the same shade of red, supporting the main wordmark.
The redesign of 2017 has kept the composition of the Zelda logo but redrawn it in flat black lines with no colorful accents, yet with uneven contours of the lines, which make the badge look interesting and recognizable. The additional lettering has also kept its style and typeface but changed the color to black.