, occasionally called
Legend of Zelda or simply
Zelda, is a
high fantasyHigh fantasy or epic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is set in invented or parallel worlds. High fantasy was brought to fruition through the work of authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, whose major fantasy works were published in the 1950s...
action-adventureAn action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
video game series created by Japanese game designers
Shigeru Miyamotois a Japanese video game designer and producer. Miyamoto was born and raised in Kyoto Prefecture; the natural surroundings of Kyoto inspired much of Miyamoto's later work....
and
Takashi Tezuka, sometimes credited under his nickname Ten Ten, is a video game designer working for Nintendo. A graduate of the Design Department of Osaka University of Arts, he joined the company in April 1984 and was involved with some of the most critically acclaimed Nintendo series, including Mario and The...
. It is
developedA video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
and
publishedA video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer....
by
Nintendois a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
, with some portable installments outsourced to Flagship/
Capcomis a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
,
VanpoolVanpool, Inc. is a Japanese developer of video games, music software, computer software and toys. Its employees include Taro Kudou and Kazuyuki Kurashima, both of which worked for the independent game developer Love-de-Lic.-Games:...
, and
GrezzoGrezzo is a Japanese video game developer. It was founded in December 2006. Koichi Ishii, known for his work on the Mana series of games by Square Enix, signed on as CEO and president of the company in April 2007...
. Considered one of Nintendo's most important franchises, its
gameplayGameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it...
consists of a mixture of
actionAction game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
,
adventureAn adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
, and puzzle solving. The series centers on Link, the playable main character and
protagonistA protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
.