Video games have become deeply ingrained in popular culture worldwide over the past several decades. Now that the video game industry rakes in more dollars than even the mighty film industry, what was once merely a fun hobby has become a part of daily life for many—for everyone from children to the elderly!

Nintendo has long been one of the standard-bearers of video gaming, and one of the video game giant’s most beloved creations has been the Legend of Zelda series. The first Zelda game, also titled The Legend of Zelda, was first released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) console in 1986. Since its inception, the Legend of Zelda franchise has sold over 67 million games worldwide! It has since had a game created for virtually every Nintendo platform, or sometimes multiple games.

Since the first NES game, the central characters of The Legend of Zelda have remained constant. Link is the chief protagonist and invariably is the character controlled by the player. Though Link is always the protagonist’s name, he seems to be a different person in each game, with a distinctive green tunic and pointed cap but a varying backstory. He is humble and brave.

Princess Zelda is the game’s eponymous lead female character, and though Link’s quests usually have the aim of rescuing Zelda from some dire predicament, she occasionally takes part in battle alongside Link. (Curiously, Zelda was named after American novelist Zelda Fitzgerald, the wife of F. Scott.) Zelda’s identity is also fluid from game to game.

The game’s main villain and final boss is Ganondorf, also known as simply Ganon. Ganondorf is the only consistent character of the three—his identity remains unchanged from game to game, though his looks do vary.

New media critics and the gaming public have widely acclaimed the Legend of Zelda series, and spinoff merchandise has proved popular. The games have had a wide cultural and financial impact on the real world; the Zelda game Ocarina of Time was indeed so popular that the ocarina itself—a rather obscure wind instrument—experienced a spike in sales during the game’s heyday!

Armory Replicas is pleased to offer a wide variety of Legend of Zelda weaponry and armor—from the Dark Night Training Sword to the Triforce Link Fiberglass Shield, and many more swords and shields directly out of the games’ fantasy world! Check our online store today.