What is the name of the first game in the Legend of Zelda series?

The first game in The Legend of Zelda series is The Legend of Zelda. Nintendo released it in Japan in 1986 for the Family Computer Disk System, introducing Link, Princess Zelda, Ganon, Hyrule, and the Triforce to players.

The game presents a top-down action-adventure world filled with enemies, dungeons, puzzles, hidden passages, and collectible equipment. Link must gather the eight fragments of the Triforce of Wisdom and rescue Princess Zelda from Ganon. Its open-ended overworld encouraged exploration and discovery rather than sending players through a strictly linear sequence of stages.

The game reached North America and Europe in 1987 on the Nintendo Entertainment System. The NES cartridge was notable for using battery-backed memory, allowing players to save progress instead of relying only on passwords. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link followed as the second series entry, while Ocarina of Time and A Link to the Past were later landmark games, not the first.