In The Legend of Zelda, you assume the role of an elf named Link. In a top-down view, you tour the world populated not only by monsters, but also by people who want to help you, shops, and more. Here, you will fight everything from bats to dragons, and will be equipped with an assortment of games and magical items.

The game play is in an arcade style. Every time you die, you can opt to continue, upon which you will appear again at the starting location with all the items you were able to collect so far. Or you can save the game and quit or simply start a new one. There is no possibility to save the game in the middle (well, there is but that's not the original Nintendo approach).