The Legend of Zelda

Gameplay was deceptively simple. Played from an overhead perspective, characters moved link through the world screen by screen, fighting or avoiding the enemies they encountered. Early enemies, Octoroks for example, posed little challenge, especially once the player had located some better weaponry. Later in the game, however, even veteran players can find themselves in some hairy situations, facing a room full of Gibdos or Darknuts.

Just as players thought they had the game beat, Miyamoto threw in a surprising twist... Link is thrown back to the beginning, but now faces monsters twice as strong as previously encountered, and a map where everything has been moved around. To finally beat the game, one had to play all the way through the second quest.

From a young boy with a wooden sword, to a master-sword welding powerhouse with all of the pieces of the legendary Tri-Force in his pack, Link evolves constantly throughout the game. New outfits bring new colors and defense levels, while shields and swords can be upgraded as the going gets tougher and tougher. Further, items such as the magic wand and the boomerang allowed for creativity in dealing with monsters, rather than the hack-and-slash the game might've devolved to.

The Legend of Zelda's influence can be seen in videogames far and wide, and with good reason. Containing gameplay that remains engrossing to this day, a whole host of items, weapons, monsters and dungeons, extremely creative (and fun) enemy design, and a theme song that will stick in your head for days, Zelda certainly deserves its place in the GameSpy Hall of Fame.

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