In this section I've collected together some various bits and pieces related to the first Zelda game that may be of nostalgic interest to viewers. Have a giggle at the TV advert for the game and be sure to check out the concept art which gives an insight into how the game was planned out by Miyamoto and his team.

Legend of Zelda TV Advert - US Version

"It's the Legend of Zelda and it's really rad, those creatures from Ganon are pretty bad..." This is the US TV advert for the first game - first aired in 1987. Two kids (one a 'geek' and one 'cool') have fun playing Zelda and singing a crazy rap about it! It involves showing screenshots of the game in action (overworld and the dungeons) as well as a few shots of the NES itself. This advert may seem poor and cheesy by today's glossy standards but remember this WAS the 80s! Would it have convinced you the buy the game?

Legend of Zelda Early Concept Art

During an installment of the popular Iwata Asks (an interview slot with Nintendo's president Nintendo President Satoru Iwata regularly featured on Nintendo's official site) the group discussed extensively about Nintendo's handheld history but at the end a treat was in store when they pulled out some old sketches - concept art for Zelda dating back to 1985. The sketches - me and my sister used to do this sort of thing when we planned our stories and our concept art included notes, little drawings, maps etc. These ones show how the world map was thought out and even include sprite sheets, item ideas and show the very foundations on how the series was built. If you read the interview section for 'Ancient Documents from 1985' this discusses the art in more detail including how the game was oringally called 'Adventure Mario' and how Ganon was referred to as 'Hakkai'. If you click on the images on the left you can see a slightly larger version of the artwork. These screenshots were taken directly from Nintendo and they aren't that large to start with so some things aren't very clear. However you can still get a feel of what the designers were aiming for.

Legend of Zelda Old Man Quotes

In the original game, the vast majority of the dialogue actually comes from the a mysterious character(s) simply named 'The Old Man'. He is found in various places in both the Overworld and in dungeons often offering nuggets of wisdom to help Link out. Dungeon Quotes Dungeon One - "Eastmost penninsula is the secret." Dungeon Two - "Dodongo dislikes smoke." Dungeon Three - "Did you get the sword from the Old Man on top of the waterfall?" Dungeon Four - "Walk into the waterfall." Dungeon Five - "Digdogger hates certain kind of sound." Dungeon Six - "Aim at the eyes of Gohma." Dungeon Six - "There are secrets where fairies don't live." Dungeon Seven - "There's a secret in the tip of the nose." Dungeon Eight - "Spectacle Rock is an entrance to death." Dungeon Eight - "10th enemy has the bomb." Dungeon Nine - "One who does not have the triforce can't go in" Dungeon Nine - "Patra has the map" Dungeon Nine - "Eyes of skull has a secret" Overworld Quotes "It's dangerous to go alone! Take this" "Master using it and you can have this" "Take any road you want" "Let's play money making game" "Pay me for the door repair charge" "Show this to the old woman" "Secret is in the tree at the Dead-End" "South of arrow mark hides a secret"