Though he may not seem like it, the sprightly faced Link, the star of the brilliant Legend of Zelda games, is 25 years old this year. From his debut in the top-down (and badly aged) Legend of Zelda on the NES way back in 1986, right up until the present day, Link's seen his adventuring ways constantly evolve over 17 games, right up to today's Skyward Sword, which will see its release later this year. Famed for its inventive mix of puzzle solving, exploration, and storyline, The Legend of Zelda has managed to remain relevant, and a huge hit through to today - which is part of the reason Nintendo are so keen to celebrate their success.
Skyward Sword - coming later this year.
This year marks the beginning of an interesting time for Zelda, with a number of events planned to mark the anniversary. Starting this coming Friday, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarine of Time 3D, a remastered version of an N64 classic, will release on the 3DS. We recently went hands-on with a near-finished version of the game, so to find out more, and how it's shaping up, why not read our hands-on preview. If you just can't wait to get your hands on a fix of Zelda, Nintendo have also released Game Boy Colour classic, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening on the 3DS eShop, although the price (£5.40) may be enough to put some people off.
As the year moves on, so to do the festivities, as Nintendo have announced that at a currently undecided date later this year, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords will be released as a free download for the DSiWare store - and, by extension, the Nintendo eShop on the 3DS. A four player, top-down adventure game, Four Swords was originally released on the Gamecube, and designed from the ground up for four player gameplay, and as such, remains a multiplayer fixture in many houses to this day. Think New Super Mario Bros for Zelda, but top down, and you won't be far off. Either way, this is something a lot of people would gladly pay for - so to release it for free almost makes up for the price of Link's Awakening on the eShop.
Four Swords. Fo(u)r Free.
To round off an already impressive list of announcement, Nintendo also announced that the first people to register The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D with Nintendo's online Stars Catalogue would receive a free soundtrack CD for the game. But perhaps even better, Nintendo also revealed that they'd be touring the world with a full orchestra later this year, putting on a series of concerts, dedicated to music from the Legend of Zelda games. While those who are unaccustomed to game music may sniff at that, it actually works really well with a full orchestra playing it. Game music's come a long way since the bleeps and bloops of old, and the Video Games Live concerts remain a favourite of ours at Everybody Plays, as an incredible way to experience popular tunes from games in a completely different way. They do a Legend of Zelda segment, which should give you an idea of what to expect. If Nintendo's concerts are anywhere near as good as this, we'd highly encourage anyone to go.
