The Legend of Zelda Oddities

A 25th-anniversary look back at a dozen strange sidelights of Nintendo's classic fantasy game.

Posted by  | Monday, February 21, 2011

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Hold up your Triforce and sound the ocarina! The Legend of Zelda is 25 years old. On February 21st, 1986, Nintendo released the seminal game for the Famicom (the Japanese version of the NES). It arrived in the States 18 months later.

Zelda spawned a lucrative franchise that spans over 15 releases for nearly every one of Nintendo’s consoles. It also defined a genre of action-adventure RPGs that are popular to this day. I dove headfirst into the shady corners and back-alleys of the Zelda universe to pull out various oddities for your entertainment. You’ll encounter them as you adventure through the slides ahead.



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Slides: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

23 Comments For This Post

  1. chris Says:

    Or you could just play the flute and freak them out.

  2. Mark Says:

    "Or you could just play the flute and freak them out. "

  3. Michael Says:

    ""Or you could just play the flute and freak them out. ""

  4. Moopie Says:

    """Or you could just play the flute and freak them out. """

  5. JaredNewman Says:

    A save slot in slide six! What an honor.

  6. Benj Edwards Says:

    You know it, man. I think I stumbled across the Technologizer community Zelda cartridge. 🙂

  7. Mark Says:

    I remember that 1987 commercial all too well. I was 11 and the only thing in the world I wanted was to buy an NES to play The Legend of Zelda. I saved for almost a year and bought it at my local Sears. Remember when Sears had a toy section?

  8. OldGamer Says:

    There was a second cartoon produced in the 90s as well.

  9. Charles Says:

    I still Have the First NES and the Zelda game set. I get it out some times and play just to see if i still remember all the hidden items. My dad has the first Atari and a lot of the games for it. Does that tell my age.

  10. MLStrand Says:

    My friend Jazzy, who collects games/game consoles said:

    I’m surprised they didn’t include in that list the CD-i Zelda games! there were 3 Zelda games that were released on the Phillips CD-i – the only Zelda games to appear on a non-Nintendo console!

  11. Arnum Says:

    I believe I am the only human to have never played The Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy. I have a Wii, is it worth getting? Maybe I will rent it for one night first.

  12. EZPC Recycle, Inc. Says:

    LOOOVE zelda @ Arnum it is VERY worth it to get! These are rpg classics that should never disappear.

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    What a great read, this was truly an entertaining article.
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  15. howtomakerapbeats Says:

    Nice for share about this article. I like it and appreciate for you.

  16. Form Printing Says:

    happy anniversary to you.

  17. Pimples Says:

    What a fantastic game. it is nice article I was surprised to know about the CD_i zeldge game. Best of luck for you in future.

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  20. giv Says:

    Arrows kill Pols Voice easily, 1 arrow will go through a row of them.

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  22. Julien Says:

    What a nice post. Thanks for for bringing back good memories! I am glad I stumbled upon this.

  23. Andrew Says:

    I know when I first read about Pol's Voice weakness, I immediately thought "use a bomb – that'll be loud", and it seemed to work. Never even knew about the microphone on the Japanese Famicom at the time.