10 Powerful Video Game Stories Told Without Words

Despite coining one of the most well-known lines in video game history: ‘It’s dangerous to go alone! take this.’, the Hero of Hyrule’s first outing in 1985 didn’t have much in the way of a script.

Dialog was included in the game, but the immense sense of adventure and the satisfaction of collecting each of the Triforce fragments weren’t conveyed in any writing, instead were bolstered by the iconic overworld theme and freedom of exploration that the series has since returned to in 2017’s Breath of the Wild.

It’s easy to critique the Zelda series for its recycled narrative with hindsight and scores of new titles, but it had to start somewhere.

Sequentially acquiring each fragment of the Triforce felt like progression, and allowing the player to march through an open space on their quest to defeat Ganon meant each player’s experience was different.

The freedom The Legend of Zelda gave fans meant players could create their own narrative. Players would be sure to throw on their ‘Frankie Says Relax’ shirt and vibrant leg-warmers (I don’t know how the 80’s worked) and rush to boast to their friends about their heroics in the land of Hyrule.