The Legend of Zelda has been one of Nintendo's most popular series of games for years. The success of the game, especially with people who favor the more traditional RPGs is easy to understand, considering they use many of the same themes, most notably character development and puzzle solving.

The history of the action adventure roleplaying game started with the release of The Legend of Zelda, but the action-adventure role playing game did not gain popularity on other consoles until the release of the Playstation, where Parasite Eve for the Playstation and a number of Xbox games used elements that were first used in The Legend of Zelda.

The History of Hyrule Begins

The 8-bit glory that started the Zelda franchise made history when it was released in 1987. The Legend of Zelda was the first role playing game to require a small amount of coordination and incorporated elements of more traditional games. Keeping the role playing genre in mind, game play was non-linear. Gone from The Legend of Zelda were hit points and interruptions from random monsters while traversing through the game world.

The Super Nintendo's Zelda Game: A Link to the Past

The next chapter in the history of Zelda was the release of the Super Nintendo title The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. It made sense to take advantage of the better graphics and memory storage available on the Super Nintendo, even if the Zelda games would follow a predictable plot pattern.

Zelda's history would continue by at least one title released on every system that Nintendo made available, including the Wii. Even if you have to acquire a shield and sword at the beginning of each game, it is the puzzle solving and the games light-hearted humor that keeps people coming back to the Zelda games. It has also made the character of Link a cultural icon.

Zelda History Changes: A Right-Handed Link

Although Link has traditionally been left-handed, the release of Twilight Princess for the Wii caused the Nintendo designers to flip the game world around and offer a right-handed version of the main Zelda character. Left-handed gamers may have wished the designers would stick to their principles, but it had more to do with the awkward motion of the left-handed movements Wii when the Wii controller was held in the right hand.

This is the first game where the player gets an option to change Link's handedness. This is probably the most significant change in the history of The Legend of Zelda franchise, and will likely continue if Nintendo's systems continue to require more interaction on the part of the user.