The Legend of Zelda is one of the longest running and most popular game franchises of all time. The franchise made its debut on the NES back in 1986 and has remained one of the flagship franchises owned by Nintendo.
Back in the early 90’s a failed deal with Philips to produce a disc drive for Nintendo resulted in a contract loop hole that gave Philips access to the Zelda franchise. Three games were released to a lot of heavy criticism. The majority of fans will not consider this to be part of the franchise.
The Legend of Zelda remained a popular franchise since its launch on the NES but really hit its stride thanks to the release of the Ocarina of Time on the N64. Widely regarded to many as the best game in the franchise, the Ocarina of time earned its stripes as being one of the best games in the series and quite possibly one of the best adventure games of all time.
Over the years Nintendo have continued to produce more Zelda games that have helped keep the momentum going and making sure that all future generations of gamers know who Link and Princess Zelda are.
