Take a look behind-the-scenes with design documents from The Legend of Zelda!

It’s The Legend of Zelda’s 30th anniversary this year, and so we thought you might appreciate a look at some illustrations created during the development of the first The Legend of Zelda game, originally released on the Nintendo Entertainment System!

First up: recognise this?

That’s right – it’s the overworld map from the original The Legend of Zelda! If you look carefully, you might spot some secrets hidden around Hyrule.

Here’s a sketch of the ominous skull room, drawn by Takashi Tezuka. Let’s see how it compares to the final game…

This chap looks familiar, right? Mr Tezuka drew this one, too.

We have a few drawings of maps from Shigeru Miyamoto as well! Maybe you remember these places from your adventures in Hyrule.

If you enjoyed looking at these, the four new amiibo in The Legend of Zelda Collection, released to commemorate the series’ 30th anniversary, might also be of interest! An 8-bit style Link, Link (Ocarina of Time), Toon Link (The Wind Waker) and Zelda (The Wind Waker) are all out now!

Want to see more The Legend of Zelda? Check out our The Legend of Zelda hub, or visit our The Legend of Zelda Facebook community!