What is Zelda? (warning: Heavy Picture)

Last week i was talking with a couple of friends and one of them asked me what the Zelda series was. After i came out of shock, i tried to answere his question, yet i couldnt help but make it sound like a lame fairy tale.... so i began to think hard about what zelda truly was..... and then i thought.....if a picture is worth 1,000 words, then 100 pictures should roughly summarise zelda. And so i came up with this....



So i want to hear what YOU think zelda is.......is it a story of a Kigdom? or the story of its princess? is it the myth and legend of an evil demon? is it a tale of courage and about how various men rose to the occasion and managed to save Hyrule?........ again, i want to hear what YOU think the zelda series is.

ooh I like this thread. I have a feeling I'll be back here quite a few times.

Okay let's see..

Technically, Zelda is your basic..good vs. evil. You have a hero who usually starts out not a hero, and ends up being the hero. You have to save the kingdom from the antagonist who usually wants to gain power to do evil.

That sounds cliche, but the real magic of the Zelda series is the world, which you can't really convey verbally. It's just all the races, all the people, how they get along, all the different places, etc. It's how well done the games are, the puzzles, the secrets, the back stories. In theory it's so standard... you know... mystically created world, kingdom, the almost religious symbol/item that possesses great power (triforce), of course some bad guy wants it.. well I think the fact that zelda/link/ganon have the 3 pieces and what they represent is pretty original, thats not in every game. But anyway, my point is, the basic premise isn't what makes it so amazing. It's just a good foundation for them to create the amazing and captivating world that they did. All the characters and races and places are memorable and the creators managed to establish a solid Zelda feel.

So I dunno, that's kinda wordy, I don't know how to condense that to tell someone in person haha. I would probably just ramble on and say all of that.

edit: Oh and I firmly believe that music plays a big role. Obviously a mediocre game can't survive on music alone, so please don't think I'm underplaying how amazing Zelda is apart from the music. But the music helps a LOT, it gives it a signature feel, it lifts your spirits and gets you really engrossed and invested in the world and story. The Final Fantasy series is a really good example of this too. Game with a signature feel, extraordinarily well done, and has incredible music that matches the level and quality at which the games are done. It's not that I don't think these games wouldn't have done well without the music but...I really feel it would make a difference. It's not that they're not done well enough to survive without the amazing music, just that I think nothing can really make up for mediocre or crappy music. A game can still be good with ehh music, but better music can only help it.

Nice. Just out of curiosity, did you google image Zelda? There are some pictures there even I haven't seen so I would like to see them.

Zelda is not really that hard to explain, unless you start getting into the theories and all that. It's adventure, pure and simple. Save the damsel in distress, kill the rather repeated bad guy, save the damsel....start over. There's good guys and there's bad guys. Somehow the lovely people that make the series (most of the time) find a way to make the story, plot, characters, and ect. deep enough to make every game look like a brand new one. It's quite genius really. Also, I agree with medusaspath that music is a big plus. It's not exactly defining to the series but it's damn close, especially when it comes to being a fan of the series.

No "IT'S DANGEROUS TO GO ALONE! TAKE THIS."?
And you call yourself a fan!

Zelda is the story of a young elf with a silly-looking hat and a sword exploring dangerous places, battling monsters, and finding treasure on a quest against a powerful evil force. Also, most of the time there's a princess what needs some rescuin'.

Originally Posted by Mandrag

No "IT'S DANGEROUS TO GO ALONE! TAKE THIS."?
And you call yourself a fan!

Zelda is the story of a young elf with a silly-looking hat and a sword exploring dangerous places, battling monsters, and finding treasure on a quest against a powerful evil force. Also, most of the time there's a princess what needs some rescuin'.

I chose not to mention that heh heh. Every time I hear that I think of "The Legend of Neil."

But you've got it right basically. Usually the same formula just redone. And redone well.

This is Zelda.

Amiright?

Originally Posted by BrokenWing

This is Zelda.

Amiright?

hahahahahahha

Originally Posted by BrokenWing

This is Zelda.

Amiright?

Pure genius.

The story of a young boy thrust into the situation of becoming a hero by fate,
and naturally falling into the role. Really, a lot of what happens is just a bunch
of people telling Link what to do, he really just goes with the flow, he's just like
"okay whatever, I'll do that", and he does it and executes it extremely well.
It's about teaching us that anyone can become a hero, all you have to do is
to do it, do what needs done, and not sit around worrying about it...
...the midieval world just simplifies life and allows you to focus on the characters
and their actions, and helps give the sense of wonder in exploration, the series
is about exploring the world and your own possibilities at the same time...

...but Zelda is also about solving puzzles

Zelda is an adventure game with a heavy focus on solving puzzles. The story is typical fairytale fare, about a brave hero who needs to defeat an evil king and save a princess. There's usually quite a bit more to the story than that, but that's what it usually boils down to in the end.

Originally Posted by BrokenWing

This is Zelda.

Amiright?

Awesome!

Zelda's a rather generic Princess is captured, go rescue her sort-of-game. The hero has to prove himself by overcoming tasks, such as finding the eight Triforce shards in the original game or collecting the Spiritual stones and Sage medallions in Ocarina of Time.
The only real difference between the games are the mediums that the hero has t prove himself.
And seeing as most seem to be generic loosely-based A Link to the Past copies, then I think Zelda's a pretty easy game to explain.
Of course, if you ask a specific game, that's where things get more detailed.
Again, the main franchise is rather generic, so no real difficulties there as I see.

Its okay I have a friend that dosent know waht final fantasy is or halo
You gotta feel bad for these people. Tell your freind to go to a official zelda website like the official minish cap site:
http://www.zelda.com/minishcap/launch/index.html

It's a series of legends. Of tales and stories, or mystical kingdoms and evil monsters, of dangerous quests and of a young boy who becomes a hero. In essence, that's what all of them are- bedtime stories filled with adventure.

Originally Posted by King KK

It's a series of legends. Of tales and stories, or mystical kingdoms and evil monsters, of dangerous quests and of a young boy who becomes a hero. In essence, that's what all of them are- bedtime stories filled with adventure.

that's actually true.

I wish I had bedtime Zelda stories when I was little.

Zelda is all about puzzles with some nice action and cool bosses. Everything else is just sprinkles on an already delicious cake.

Zelda is about fulfilling the childhood fantasy of being a hero. When you pretended that your backyard was a kingdom and the stick you held in your hand was a sword. It's about adventure and that hero you always wanted to be as a kid. Miyamoto has said this himself. Over the years, Zelda has had some key things shaped into it such as a princess named Zelda, the kingdom of Hyrule being at LEAST Link's origin, a boy in a green tunic, a sword, and random puzzles/items along the way.

They have become symbols of the series. It's similar to the Mario series except it's more of a fairytale type of game. What I don't understand is how you see Zelda fans every day talking about replacing Link and Zelda and getting rid of Hyrule as the base kingdom, and using a weapon other than a sword--but you rarely (if ever) see Mario fans talking about replacing Mario as a character and using something other than star power, and if you do they are immediately flamed and told to shut up. What's the difference? These things have become prominent symbols in the Zelda series and we should learn to accept them and enjoy them.

If you try to take them out of the Zelda series, it doesn't make sense anymore. It doesn't feel like Zelda anymore. Just think about explaining the Legend of Zelda to someone except saying it's a gun instead of a master sword or describing Link as some bald guy on a motor bike in New York City. Yeah, doesn't seem like Zelda to me either.

It's the legend of the hero of time.

Originally Posted by LinksShadow66

It's the legend of the hero of time.

Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and Wind Waker are the only ones that involve the Hero of Time in their stories at all.

In Zelda you have the Courage of the hero and the questionable Wisdom of the princess struggling against the Power of the villian. So it really seems to me the story is about the constant struggle of the Triforce to reunite itself and bring balance and peace back to Hyrule.

The story is then told through vast overworlds, intriguing puzzles, and those wonderful charcters you grow to love and those you hate.


Edit: By the way I really like the pic you made Mr_Zora_Decu.