The Legend of Zelda is 30.

[Lee]

The 21st February 1986, the Lee family were looking forward to their special little boy's third month on the planet. Meanwhile in Japan a hero was born.

Sure Mario took the world by storm the year before but Zelda opened things to the next level. Naming the game after the princess poor old Link was pushed aside but ultimately it allowed you to be the hero. Look at the back of the box if you still have it, it makes sense.

What was the first Zelda game you played?

Links Awakening for the Gameboy. My friend was stuck on the bit with the witch so let me loan the game. It blew me away, then I discovered Link to the Past and Ocarina of time.

What are your memories of the original The Legend of Zelda?

I was very late to the Zelda NES party. It's different to the rest of the games (aside from Links Between Worlds) and I love that exploration vibe. My favourite thing about it is that the areas could have been anwywhere so I was able to imagine them as home.

Which game is your favourite in the series?

A Link to the Past is my favourite game ever. I'm looking forward to Twilight Princess HD though. I also want to shout out to Minish Cap and Spirit Tracks. Very under rated games.

 

[Барбоса]

What was the first Zelda game you played?

I had played Link to the Past at some stage but my first real play was when I got completely wrapped up in the hype for Ocarina of Time. It did not disappoint.

What are your memories of the original The Legend of Zelda?

Literally zero. Never played it.

Which game is your favourite in the series?

OoT holds a place in my heart, but then Majora's Mask is better. LTTP gets an annual play-through, with Wind Waker close to following it.

I also think that Twilight Princess gets overlooked. The HD version could be truly spectacular looking.

Gun to my head, I might, just might, go with Majora's Mask for that combination of story, atmosphere and concept of time.

 

[Dagger Dias]

What was the first Zelda game you played?

Link To The Past on the SNES was my first Zelda game, although the original on the NES was not far behind.


What are your memories of the original The Legend of Zelda?

Many memories of having friends over and trying to figure out the temples as a kid. The temple music was eerie and fit its setting so well with all the intimidating enemies encountered inside. I hated the Darknuts and the Wizzrobes with a passion. Still do to this day.

Mocking the now infamous lines such as "It's dangerous to go alone! Take this." and "It's a secret to everybody". Puzzles that frustrated me to no end as a kid like the one where you had to give food to a hungry monster. I gave up on the game at that point in my childhood and during a run back through it as a senior in high school, intent on clearing the game once and for all, I figured it out.

Getting the Blue and Red rings, along with their respective changes Link's appearance.

The bosses.... now, this game had challenging bosses. The most epic was the 4 headed version of Gleeok.

Then there's memories of trying to second quest. I legitimately never cleared that.


Which game is your favorite in the series?

Link To The Past will always be the best. It is one of my favorite games of all time. Ocarina Of Time is a close second and Twilight Princess comes in at #3 to round out my top tier. The original holds a special place as well, even though it was actually my second Zelda title and despite me being 17 by the time I finally beat it.

Calling the first Zelda game "legendary" is no pun. May the series live on delivering excellence in gaming forever!

 

[ABMorales787]

What was the first Zelda game you played?

The first one I played was the original NES version my uncle had laying around. Of course me being a dumb little 5 year old, I got lost right away and got nowhere. But the first game in the series that I really played was Ocarina Of Time. And it was absolutely marvelous for all the reasons anyone who knows this game would expect.

What are your memories of the original The Legend of Zelda?

Originally, not good. But when I got the Collector's Edition for the GameCube, I managed to complete all the temple's except Level 2. Which I never fucking found and had no internet to look it up. Other than that, I far preferred it over the second game.

Which game is your favourite in the series?

Ocarina. But you mentioned Minish Cap which was a fantastic game as well and does deserve mention. The Oracle games were also very good and very unique in how they're linked up.

 

[OYDK]

What was the first Zelda game you played?

Link To The Past on my SNES. Never has a game frustrated me so damn much. I loved it, but I could never get through the whole thing.

What are your memories of the original The Legend of Zelda?

I remember playing this at my cousins all the time, but similar to Link to the Past, I could never get through it. I was really young so I found the puzzles and temples difficult as all hell. We broke more than one controller trying to pound out some of these bosses.

Which game is your favourite in the series?

By far OoT, and I'm surprised it's not to more. This is the game that LITERALLY made me fall in love with video games in general. I mean, I played Donkey Kong first, and I was definitely a gamer as a kid, but OoT made me start looking in to a bunch of other games because of its sheer depth. I still think it's the greatest video game EVER made.

 

[Blade]

What was the first Zelda game you played?

Ocarina of Time. While my brother and I had owned a SNES, we hadn't really been aware of Link to the Past. But when Ocarina came out, and was the most hyped up game of all time up to that point, everyone and their cat had a copy. So yeah, Ocarina of Time at the age of 7.


What are your memories of the original The Legend of Zelda?

I've played and finished it once. Funnily enough, I played it through Animal Crossing on the Gamecube, which had a collection of classic NES games to find and play.

Which game is your favourite in the series?

Oh, Christ. I have no idea. Ocarina is obviously a masterpiece. I also love Majora's Mask, Minish Cap and Twilight Princess.

I can tell you what's not my favourite: Skyward Sword.

Happy birthday to Link and Zelda!

 

[lenguy]

What was the first Zelda game you played?

Ocarina of time.

What are your memories of the original The Legend of Zelda?

As somebody has already said; zero. I have not played it and really don't have much of a desire to.

Which game is your favourite in the series?

Ocarina of Time. It was the first game I played that introduced me to the franchise. Ocarina of time not only stands as my favorite Zelda game but for me and I know a lot of people, my favorite game of all time. It was timeless and such a pure experience for myself having not played anything Zelda before it. I have a code when it comes to Zelda games. I play it all the way through without the help of walk through's or guidebooks. I only ever use them after I've completed the main game and mainly use them to find heart pieces and what not. The only time I ever used a guide book was to help on the Water temple in Ocarina of Time. I have a love hate relationship with that temple.

I've played every major console Zelda game since then and a few handheld ones. While some are great, for me, none has been able to capture that feeling from Ocarina of time. Looking forward to Zelda WII U though.

 

[enviousdominous]

What was the first Zelda game you played?

Zelda 2, The Adventure of Link. It was our only game for the Nintendo when we got one in 1988, and I think it had just recently come out. I was only about six years old, but I fell in love with everything about the game. I was solving puzzles that had my older brother cursing the game's existence and was wowing my friends with how well I could speed through the last level.

What are your memories of the original The Legend of Zelda?

We would rent that back when renting physical copies of media from places like Blockbuster was still a reality, around 1988 I think. Trying to find level six (the one where you had to burn the obstructive tree) had me and my brother pooling our hard earned cash together to keep renting the game and keep trying everything possible to make the damned level appear. I think we found every single hidden heart in the game before we FINALLY found that damned level. The rest of the game was a walk in the park compared to finding level six, killing Ganon was a piece of cake considering by that point I was at a level of hyperawareness on par with Neo from the Matrix. The second quest was a pain in the ass, but the only puzzle that could even compare to finding level six in the first quest was discovering that some walls could be simply walked through.

Which game is your favourite in the series?

Honestly, I absolutely loved Twilight Princess. Most of my friends hate that game with a passion because of the whole 'catch a fish so a cat can steal it' goofy ass intro, but apart from that I was very intrigued while playing it. I've always wondered about the backstory to the Gerudo tribe -- of which Ganon's human form seems to originate from -- and whether or not that plays into some kind of forgotten history of that universe. I liked how the Gerudo were a more prominent part of this game's storyline. I haven't even played Skyward Sword by the way.

A guilty pleasure of mine will always be Hyrule Warriors. The DLC lets you play as Young Link, who turns into the psycho warrior Link from Majora's Mask when you activate his spirit power. I literally had to put my Wii U in the closet because I was spending way too much time playing Hyrule Warriors. Also Cia is... umm:

Spoiler

Yeah.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

What was the first Zelda game you played?


For myself it was Zelda 2: The Adventures of Link. This was my dad's favorite game on the NES and I used to watch him play this game for HOURS while I was growing up, just waiting until I finally got a chance to play. It could very well be a nostalgia thing for me but I always liked Zelda 2, even after all these years I enjoy it quite a bit. Yeah Death Mountain before you're leveled up is a head scratcher and Dark Link is one of the toughest bosses I've ever played (until you figure out how to beat him, then it's super easy) but overall a solid game. For those of you wondering, yes Error does have a purpose in the game.

What are your memories of the original The Legend of Zelda?

I didn't play the original until I was much older, I think I was around 10 when I first played it. My best friend had a Sega Genesis but it was summer and we already played the shit out of it (and my Super Nintendo for that manner) so we dug out his old NES and hooked it up. We played quite a bit of Kirby at first but once we finally got his old Zelda cartridge working I think we spent most of the summer trying to beat it as he only remembered how to get to the 1st dungeon. For a kid trying to kick whooping cough all summer that was a great way to kill the time and one of my best memories on the NES.

Which game is your favourite in the series?

A Link to the Past is still my all time favorite video game. I very rarely visited my mom growing up and when I did she was more interested in doing her own thing but she did have a Super Nintendo with a collection of some great games but even with all of those the game I spent most of my time playing (by that I mean 90% of it) Link to the Past. I've beaten that game more times than I count at this point and I've never even gotten close to being sick of it. The fighting, the light/dark world, rabbit Link, that game has it all.

Ocarina, Twilight, Links Awakening and Skyward Sword were all games I wasted many a hour on but for my money it will always be Zelda 3.

 

[Sean Valjean]

What was the first Zelda game you played?

Link's Awakening. I borrowed it from a friend knowing next to nothing about the series, played it for a night and got stuck, then returned it the next day. I just didn't get the game at the time (I was maybe 6). I've since beaten the DX version on 3DS.

What are your memories of the original The Legend of Zelda?

I remember watching a friend play it when I was little, but I never touched it until I played the port on the Master Quest Collection on GameCube. I have it on my 3DS now. The game still holds up decently today, and I find that especially true if you're a fan of the Dark Souls series as they share several design philosophies.

Which game is your favourite in the series?

A Link to the Past. Bought it on the Wii Virtual Console as soon as it hit and just ran through it. I loved every bit of it and will replay it every couple of years. Twilight Princess is my favorite 3D entry. Some of that has to do with not playing Ocarina of Time before it, so I didn't have the "It's just a darker, not quite as good Ocarina" sentiment that some fans have with TP.

 

[Spidey Revivey]

What was the first Zelda game you played?

I started with Oracle of Ages/Seasons on the GBA. Quite a weird way to start now that I think about it. But I enjoyed them both.


What are your memories of the original The Legend of Zelda?

I haven't played the original. I need to get cracking on that.

Which game is your favourite in the series?

It's a toss-up. Usually I say OoT because my fondest memories come from there. I loved Death Mountain & Gerudo Valley (still one of my favorite bits of game music) and those fucking zombie things were great. Other days I'd say Majora's Mask, which I felt was quite better at story-telling than the Ocarina was, but significantly harder at the start. I enjoyed the challenge my first play through though.