The Legend of Zelda is the self-titled debut in the franchise created by Shigeru Miyamoto. It was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987. Legend of Zelda spans across a long timeline but generally centers around the land of Hyrule and three characters: Link, Zelda and Ganon. Link is your playable character throughout each game, and Zelda will feature prominently into the storyline whether you go to her for advice, you save her or she factors in another way. Ganon is your antagonist in most games; he is the primary villain in the first Legend of Zelda title.

The Legend of Zelda starts when Ganon invades the land of Hyrule and seizes the Triforce of Power.  Princess Zelda had split the Triforce of Wisdom into eight pieces and spread them in dungeons across the land.  This would force Ganon to go after them one by one and give the Hyrulian people a chance to fight back.  During a fight in the streets, Link, a young lad, defends an older woman by the name of Impa who details the plight of Hyrule to him.  He resolves to save the princess, stop Ganon and find the pieces of Triforce before his army takes control of the land.  Link embarks on a journey through Hyrule, fighting his way through eight dungeons before facing Ganon and ending his reign of terror.

I was too young to play The Legend of Zelda when it originally came out, and I didn't start playing games in the series until after A Link to the Past was released.  However, having had the chance to go back on the NES as a kid and play the game along with owning the Collector's Edition Legend of Zelda game on Gamecube gives me the opportunity to go back and play the original over and over again.  My favorite thing about the first Legend of Zelda game is the simplicity of it all.  Everything is very much from point A to point B to point C and on but it still manages to tell you the story of how Hyrule was invaded and how you overcome Ganon.  The most challenging aspect of the game is not beating it the first time around but playing your game a second time with all new dungeons and trouble.  For a NES classic, that is a pretty nifty way to get a new perspective on an old school video game.

Since the Legend of Zelda was released on the Nintendo Entertainment System, you may not have access to the console anymore. If you do, and have the original NES grey or gold cartridges, you can play on that just like any other video game. Without the NES, you can also play the re-release of The Legend of Zelda on the Gameboy Advance or the Nintendo Wii Virtual Console. It is available for purchase in the Wii Virtual Shop for 500 Wii Points and was one of the first titles released by Nintendo with the launch of the Wii system.  If you were lucky enough to snag a copy of the Legend of Zelda Collector's Edition for the Nintendo Gamecube, you can also play it on the Gamecube or Wii via disc.