The Legend of Zelda

Nintendo · Since 1986

Nintendo's action-adventure series defined the genre's vocabulary: item-gated progression, dungeon structure, and overworld exploration. Ocarina of Time extended this language to three dimensions with equally enduring results.

The Legend of Zelda (1986) established the action-adventure genre's fundamental design vocabulary in a single game: item acquisition unlocking previously inaccessible areas, dungeon completion providing heart containers, overworld exploration rewarding curiosity. A Link to the Past (1991) refined these ideas into their classical expression; Ocarina of Time (1998) translated them into three dimensions so effectively that its solutions to camera and movement remain the field's reference points. The series has never produced a poor critical reception for its mainline entries and maintains a consistent reputation for polish and design innovation. Breath of the Wild (2017) deconstructed the established formula by removing the traditional dungeon sequence and item-gated progression entirely — and produced the franchise's best-reviewed entry.