The Legend of Zelda 2-Disc Box Set DVD

The Legend of Zelda is the late-1980s American animated series adapted from the popular Nintendo video-game franchise, following the green-clad hero Link and Princess Zelda as they defend the Kingdom of Hyrule from the schemes of the demonic Ganon and his army of underworld creatures. The series aired on NBC and later on G4 in 1989 as part of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, with a tightly written 13-episode run.

The format is the appeal: each episode pairs a fresh Hyrule complication (a cold spell, a unicorn, a doppelganger, a fairy crisis, an underworld threat) with Link and Zelda's running adventures, holding the source video games' signature mood of fantasy adventure as the engine. Episode titles like "The Ringer," "The White Knight," "Sing For The Unicorn," "Underworld Connections," and "The Moblins Are Revolting" telegraph the show's commitment to video-game-faithful storytelling. The animation has the unmistakable late-1980s look of its era.

For late-1980s NBC programming, this was a confident swing at translating one of Nintendo's flagship properties into proper episodic animation, sitting in the lineage of game-to-cartoon adaptations of the era. Suited for longtime Zelda fans, viewers with affection for the era's particular brand of Nintendo-derived TV, and anyone curious about the lineage of video-game-property cartoons.

Memorable installments include "The Ringer" (the opener), "The White Knight" (an early classic), "Doppelganger" (a fan-favorite Link-twin riff), "Underworld Connections" (a moodier swing), and "The Moblins Are Revolting" (the closer). This 2-DVD collection brings all 13 episodes of The Legend of Zelda into one place, the complete short-form Hyrule run in one set, ready for a long evening on the couch with Link, Zelda, and Ganon.