The Legend of Zelda in other media

There are a number of Zelda video games and other media creations that have been licensed by Nintendo, but not officially acknowledged as part of the series canon.

Cartoons


The Legend of Zelda was made into an animated series as a "show within a show" in the semi-live-action Super Mario Bros. Super Show TV series produced by DiC. The animated Zelda shorts were aired each Friday, instead of the usual Super Mario Bros. cartoon that aired during the rest of the week. The series loosely followed the NES Zelda games, mixing settings and characters from those games with original creations. Thirteen animated Zelda shorts were featured within the show's 65-episode run. The show's incarnations of Link and Zelda also appeared in various episodes of Captain N: The Game Master during its second season.

Comics and manga
Valiant Comics released a short-lived series of comics featuring characters and settings from the Zelda cartoon as part of their Nintendo Comics System line. In addition, manga have been created based on the many of the series' games, including A Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, the Oracle series, The Wind Waker, Four Swords Adventures and The Minish Cap. The comics and manga are not considered canonical.

CD-i games
A series of video games were developed and released for the Philips CD-i in the early 1990s as a product of a compromise between Philips and Nintendo, after the companies failed to develop a CD-based peripheral for the Super Nintendo. Created with no influence from Nintendo, the games are Link: The Faces of Evil, Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon, and Zelda's Adventure. The "trilogy" is a large departure from the rest of the series, and they are generally considered poor efforts by fans and reviewers alike. Nintendo has erased them from the Zelda canon, evidenced by their absence from any of Nintendo's websites and publications. The character designs and personalities used in the games appear to be based heavily on the cartoon series.

LCD games
Two Zelda-themed LCD games were created in the late 1980s. The "Zelda Game Watch" by Nelsonic was released first, and was an actual digital watch with primitive gameplay based on the original Legend of Zelda. The similarly titled "Zelda Game & Watch" was a dual-screen handheld electronic game similar in appearance to today's Nintendo DS and it featured a gameplay style similar to The Adventure of Link. It was re-released in 1998 as a Toymax, Inc. Mini Classic and later as an unlockable extra in Game & Watch Gallery 4, a 2002 compilation for the Game Boy Advance.

Unreleased games
There have been several titles in The Legend of Zelda series that have never been released for various reasons. One such title is The Legend of Zelda: Mystical Seed of Courage for Game Boy Color, which was originally intended to be the third part of The Triforce Trilogy (later renamed as Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages), but was later cancelled due to complications in trying to link three games by a password system. Another title is The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Ura, intended to be an upgraded remake of Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 64DD. For a long time the game was not released as the N64DD was never sold outside of Japan due to poor sales. Prior to the release of The Wind Waker, a bonus disc called The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest was released, containing a port of Ocarina of Time and a GameCube-modified version of Ocarina of Time Ura. This modified version lacks many of the features that were said to have been in the cancelled N64DD version.

Spin-off games
There have been several titles released that are set within or star a minor character from the The Legend of Zelda universe but are not directly connected to The Legend of Zelda series. One such title is Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland for the Nintendo DS. Supporting character Tingle stars in this spin-off RPG, released in September of 2006 in Japan and in the summer of 2007 in the UK. Another title is Chinkuru no Barūn Faito DS (Tingle's Balloon Fight DS) for the Nintendo DS. Supporting character Tingle also stars in this spin-off arcade style platformer, released in April 2007 only in Japan and available solely to Platinum Club Nintendo members. The title BS Zelda no Densetsu Kodai no Sekiban (BS The Legend of Zelda: Ancient Stone Tablets) for the Satellaview is also a spin-off. It stars the "Hero of Light" (portrayed by either Broadcast Satellaview's male or female mascot) as the protagonist of Hyrule. Both map versions of the title BS Zelda no Densetsu (BS The Legend of Zelda) for the Satellaview could also be considered spin-offs. Despite being graphically enhanced remakes of The Legend of Zelda, both versions of this game star the "Hero of Light" (portrayed by the Broadcast Satellaview mascots) as the protagonist of Hyrule. There is also the spin-off shooter title Link's Crossbow Training for the Wii, released in November 2007. Bundled with the Wii Zapper, this game has players assume the identity of Link as he progresses through a series of tests to perfect his crossbow marksmanship. Currently this is the only spin-off that has been made available in the United States and Canada.

Zelda in other video games
Outside the realm of what is normally considered a spin-off to the The Legend of Zelda series, characters and other elements from The Legend of Zelda universe have made minor appearances in other video games that go beyond what is considered a typical cameo appearance. This may include major story elements, character development, and even effect major game features. Link appears as a fighter in Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64. Link, Young Link, Zelda (also able to transform into Sheik), and Ganondorf appear as fighters in Super Smash Bros. Melee for the GameCube. Link and Zelda have been confirmed to appear as fighters in the soon-to-be-released Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii. Instead of their Ocarina of Time appearances that have been used in previous games, Link and Zelda will be depicted in their styles from Twilight Princess. Link also appears as a fighter in the GameCube version of Soul Calibur II. Link also appears in three micro-games from WarioWare: Smooth Moves, where he is shown in his The Wind Waker form, gliding on a Deku Leaf; his Nintendo 64 form pulling the Master Sword from its pedestal; and as one of the "Pixel Orchestra". Link was also in WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$! where the player had to navigate Link into a dungeon. The Game Boy Camera: Gold Version contains Ocarina of Time themed stamps of characters and items for editing photos that are not found in any other color version of the Game Boy Camera.