“A long, long time ago the World was in an age of Chaos.” In 1986, a kingdom was in trouble and a boy was destined to save it.The Legend of Zeldawas the first installment of one of Nintendo’s most successful game series. Defending Hyrule from Ganon’s (Len Carlson) evil clutches became a mission for millions of people across the globe. With news of a film adaptation in the works, let’s take a look back at the history of this video game franchise.
The beloved series added a second game to its legacy in 1987,Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.By 1989, the Zelda universe decided to expand beyond the Nintendo console. On July 27, 2025,The Legend of Zeldamade its first appearance as a television show.
What Was the ‘Zelda’ Animated Series About?
The series follows the adventures of Link and Zelda, as they defend Hyrule and the Triforce of Wisdom from Ganon’s wicked designs. The series was a short-lived experiment, having only 13 episodes in its first and final season.The Legend of Zeldacame in a year when Nintendo was invested in creating TV programs for the characters people had fallen in love with.Zeldacame out at the same time asThe Super Mario Bros. Super Show!Both series were created by the animation company DIC Entertainment. The two shows ran in conjunction withZeldaairing on Fridays andMario Bros.on Monday through Thursday.Mario Bros., though, was split into a cartoon portion and a live-action portion. In addition to the live-action segments ofMario Bros.running between Monday to Thursday, they also ran withZeldaon Fridays. The final air date forThe Legend of Zeldawas August 23, 2025.
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‘The Legend of Zelda’ Characters Have a Different Look
Zeldamay not be recognizable to players who are accustomed to the video game series. Link (Jonathan Potts), the hero of this universe, bears little resemblance to the solemn and laconic Link players are familiar with in the game. In where video game Link is blonde, solemn, has blue eyes, is defined by his lack of speech, and gives off a strong-silent type of air, the Link of the animated series is brunet, brown-eyed, immature, amorous, and won’t leave a moment for silence. Video game Link pursues his mission of saving Hyrule and Zelda dutifully, animated Link simply deigns to protect Hyrule and the Triforce. The two simply couldn’t be more different. While there have been variations of Link’s expressiveness in video games — Wind Waker Link is much more expressive than, say, Ocarina of Time Link — animated Link feels to be Link in name only. Saving the kingdom and protecting the Triforce of Wisdom are his requirements, but they run secondary to what he truly wants: to kiss Zelda. After saving the princess, he usually follows his heroic act with a “kiss me.” Though no kiss between him and Zelda happens throughout the series (much to his dismay), he does manage to get a kiss from the king, so there’s that I guess. Animated Link has been defined by his catchphrase throughout the show, “Excuuuuse me, princess.” This would go on to become a cherished inside joke among many fans of the video game series.
The Zelda (Cyndy Preston) of the animated series looks different from what players are used to seeing in the games. However, the series avoids the constant damsel-in-distress scenarios the games often place Zelda in. Instead,Zelda in the showoften joins Link on his missions, assisting him with competence and tact.
Link and Zelda Have a Flirty Dynamic
The video games have so far never allowed Link or Zelda to make an admission of attraction for one another. In the series, Link’s pining for Zelda is no secret, and Zelda, though understandably turned off by Link’s puerile behavior, sometimes affirms her mutual attraction for him as well — “shut up and kiss me.” According to the creators, Zelda’s animated series was inspired byMoonlighting. But be warned, this Link is a player. Any pretty woman in the series endures Link’s infatuation.
But Link isn’t the only one who experiences adoration for others. Spryte (Paulina Gillis), a fairy-like creature that assists Link and Zelda, makes Link incredibly aware of her amatory feelings for him, causing him to be the pursued instead of the pursuer for once. Yet Link never reciprocates Spryte’s feelings, resulting in Spryte being jealous of Zelda.
Zelda Adventures You May Not Expect
A neat fact about the series is that a teenager,Eve Forward, wrote one of the episodes. Her inspiration came from her playing D&D. And according toBob Forward(Eve’s brother), story editor and writer, creating the series was, for the most part, enjoyable for the writers. It wasn’t nearly as stressful as previous projects he had been a part of.Super Mario Bros.received more attention from Nintendo, but this didn’t bother theZeldawriters since it took the pressure off of them. Plus, Nintendo gave writers the freedom to direct the series without much oversight since the company was primarily focused on the success of the video games. WriterPhil Harnageexpressed his disappointment that the series only lasted for one season since it was a fun show for them to create.
The Legend of Zelda’s storylines have a life of their own apart from the video games it’s based on. While there are similarities in that Ganon’s goals are to steal the Triforce of Wisdom and overthrow Hyrule, how it’s gone about is quite different. Some episodes have included plot points such as Ganon swooping in on a stolen unicorn to kidnap the king or Ganon enlisting a monster to enchant Link while in the form of a beautiful woman. But some episodes even stray from matters of combating Ganon, with one episode focusing on Zelda’s plans to construct a water park, with conflict only arising when monsters attempt to intervene.
The combat in the series is toned down. Instead of using his sword to cut his foes, Link’s sword “zaps” the monsters, referred to as “sword beams” in the video games. Zelda likewise only fights using beams. When the villains are struck with a beam, they merely disappear and respawn in the Evil Jar — a device that Ganon’s minions reappear in after having lost a battle with Link or Zelda — in Ganon’s underworld lair. So none of the villains are actually slain in the series, making it appropriate for young children. This is in contrast with the video games. InThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Link can collect organs and body parts from slain enemies, using them in a variety of ways.
Ganon is in hog form in the series. While players are used to seeing Ganon in different forms throughout the games, ranging from human/humanoid to pig to, as inBreath of the Wild, a smoke-like entity of pure evil, Ganon is only presented in his swine appearance on the TV show. Ganon also has the ability to teleport. He rules over his minions with an iron fist, though. In one episode, when thinking Ganon has been overthrown, his minions relish believing that they are no longer subject to his commands.
The Legend of Zeldawas met with some negative reviews. Some felt bored with the series and found it cheesy at times. And plotlines were also recycled, which, considering it only has 13 episodes, would become tiresome quickly. But it has also been regarded as a comfort watch. Hyrule always comes out on top, and no lasting damage incurs. It was of its time, feeling like many cartoons of the era. But while it wasn’t a major success, it did lead the way for some aspects of the video games. Spryte, Link’s fairy companion, wasn’t in the video games by the time the show was created. In fact, it wouldn’t be tillOcarina of Time(released in 1998) that Link would even have a fairy companion in the form of Navi. In one episode, Link procures a flute that is able to control the wind. In the early aughts,The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Wakerwas released, centering on Link’s ability to control the wind by using a flute.
So while the animated series may not have been a crowning achievement, in many ways, it laid the groundwork or at least predicted was what to come for the video games, which is magic in itself. And who knows, perhaps one day the Zelda series will reemerge tocreate another show or even film. But until then, we can always remember the television series Link by this: “Excuuuse me, princess.”
