The story, as we all know, follows Link on a quest to save Hyrule from Ganon and to protect the Princess Zelda. Throughout the years, Zelda herself has taken on many different roles; from the typical princess, to a best friend, to a sister, Zelda has done more than just remain stranded in a tower. She disguised herself as Sheik, the mysterious Sheikah to aid Link in his quest in Ocarina of Time.

The biggest and one of the most recognizable symbols in video game history is the Triforce. A symbol of the three most important aspects of a true archetypal hero: Power, Wisdom, and Courage. 

Since the series' birth, 16 titles have been released on multiple consoles. NES, Super NES, Gameboy, Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advance, Nintendo 64, Nintendo Gamecube, Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS and 3DS.

The biggest mystery is how the entire story amidst these 16 different titles all fit in. Nintendo released a timeline that places each title in order, and goes as such:

LEGEND OF THE GODS AND THE HERO OF TIME:
Skyward Sword 

The Minish Cap

Four Swords

Ocarina of Time.

Then the timeline is split into two parts: The hereo is defeated and the hero wins.

The hero is defeated-Hyrule's Decline:                                       The Hero is Successful-The Hero of Wind and a New World

A Link to the Past                                                                 (Child Era) Majora's Mask              (Adult Era) Wind Waker

Oracle of Seasons and Ages                                                   (Child Era) Twilight Princess           (Adult Era) Phantom Hourglass

Link's Awakening                                                                  (Child Era) Four Swords Adventure   (Adult Era) Spirit Tracks

The Legend of Zelda

The Legend of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.

The legend of Zelda is, in my personal opinion, one of the more perfect video games out there. Great story, beautiful music, challenging puzzles, a vast land to discover, various side quests and hidden gems to find, everything is just about flawless. The biggest aspect to this series however, is the music. Music plays a vital, and very powerful role in the history of Zelda. It helps you travel, you can conduct the winds, dictate time, start a storm, call a bird to pick you up, or travel through time, all by simply playing your ocarina or flute or using the wind's baton. Every tune, theme, and song is important in it's own way throughout the Zelda series, and as a musician myself, that really touches my video gaming heart. 

The roots of this wonderful adventure series lie within the heart of the creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, who designed the series after his own childhood adventures. He named "Zelda" after F. Scott Fitzgerald's wife, Zelda Fitzgerald, because he felt her name was perfect and beautiful, much like herself. When Miyamoto was a child in Japan, he would explore caves, rivers, forests, all of these adventures would soon enough turn into the adventures we return to time and again.

So what is it about this series that keeps us coming back? It's the most comfortable, pleasant, yet challenging, story and game to come back to time and again. There aren't many games out there I can honestly say are my absolute favorite, but I assure you Zelda is among them. The timeline alone makes me want to personally play every Zelda game in order to fully grasp the story so far. Everything about the Zelda franchise, to me, is perfect, and I pray to the gods of video games that this series carries on into the future. This is a story that will never die. The Triforce, and Hyrule, will live in on our hearts forever, so long as we keep playing them.