The game that started it all, the original Legend of Zelda on the NES introduced all of the key elements that are still in the series to date. Characters like Link, Zelda, and Ganon all appear (though Ganon doesn’t have a name just yet), as do the iconic Triforce and the land of Hyrule. Even the structure is largely the same: it may be a 2D game played from an overhead perspective, but it lays the foundation for the entire series.

The sequel moves in a different direction. You still play as Link attempting to save Princess Zelda, but you do you so from a side-scrolling perspective. Whereas as Zelda games tend to focus on exploration, The Adventure of Link has a heavy emphasis on combat, and introduces RPG-like mechanics, letting Link earn experience to upgrade his abilities. He can even cast spells. It’s a formula that no other game in the series emulated, making The Adventure of Link the black sheep of the Zelda family.

For the series’ debut on the SNES, Nintendo went back to the original formula. Much like its contemporaries Super Metroid and Super Mario World, A Link to the Past takes the familiar structure of a popular NES game and expands on it for new hardware. It also introduces a new concept that became a series trademark: parallel worlds. The game has Link traversing two different realms — one light, one dark — swapping back and forth in an attempt to defeat Ganon.

The first portable game in the series is also the first to not take place in Hyrule. Link’s Awakening introduces a new island, called Koholint, that Link needs to escape. It plays a lot like the other top-down games in the series, but it’s missing two key ingredients: neither Zelda nor the Triforce make an appearance.

The Zelda games Nintendo would prefer you'd forget, The Faces of Evil and The Wand of Gamelon were released simultaneously as the first games in the series for non-Nintendo hardware, launching on the CD-ROM powered Philips CD-i. That extra power is used to add animated cut-scenes, complete with voice acting for the typically silent Link. Unfortunately, the games themselves are awful — though licensed by Nintendo, they're developed by animation company Animation Magic — and serve as probably the biggest stumble for the series.

Zelda’s 3D debut was an important moment for gaming. The early days of the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 were filled with awkward 3D experiences, as game designers were still coming to grips with the notion of navigating three-dimensional spaces. Ocarina of Time, on the other hand, is confident and ambitious. Its vast, open rendition of Hyrule is a joy to explore, and it introduces concepts that helped shape the way 3D games were made moving forward.

A year after Ocarina of Time, Nintendo introduced a crazy idea: a fighting game where characters from its most popular games would beat the crap out of each other. From the very beginning, Zelda characters have been a big part of Smash Bros., with the likes of Link and Zelda appearing in every instalment, often in multiple incarnations.

Much like The Adventure of Link, Majora’s Mask is a direct sequel that differed from its predecessor quite a bit. Though it looks like Ocarina of Time, the sequel swaps the wide open fields of Hyrule for the parallel land of Termina, where Link must re-live the same three days over and over, Groundhog Day-style. Its smaller scope made it a disappointment to many looking for more of the same, but the game has since gone on to become a cult classic.

Zelda games are often about interconnected worlds, and these Game Boy Color games took that idea to its logical conclusion. Though separate, and taking place in two different locations, Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages tell one interconnected story that you can only fully understand by playing both.

When Nintendo ported A Link to the Past to the Game Boy Advance, it added a special bonus: Four Swords, a co-operative, multiplayer twist on the Zelda formula that was later expanded into the Gamecube game Four Swords Adventures in 2004.

If nothing else, The Wind Waker will be remembered for its distinctive look. The Gamecube debut for the series looks and feels like a playable cartoon, with cel-shaded visuals that turn its watery rendition of Hyrule into a beautiful fantasy world.

Fresh off of his appearance in Smash Bros., Link became a playable character in yet another fighting game, though one not made by Nintendo. Those who picked up the Gamecube version of Soulcalbur II were able to play as the green-clad hero, facing off against familiar faces like Heihachi and Yoshimitsu.

Many Zelda games are focused on scale, giving you a huge world to explore. But The Minish Cap goes in a different, much smaller direction. The GBA game partners Link with the titular cap, which turns the hero into a miniature version of himself, letting him explore a new, tiny world hidden in Hyrule.

One of the rare spin-offs for the series, Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland takes one of Zelda’s strangest characters and gave him his own game. It features somewhat familiar adventure and puzzle solving, but instead of Link it stars Tingle, a grown man who thinks he’s a fairy.

After the bright and colorful Wind Waker, Nintendo went in a much darker direction for Link’s next big adventure. Twilight Princess features a hero who could turn into a wolf, and a dark parallel world called the Twilight Realm. It's the first game in the series to launch on the Wii and utilize motions controls, though a more traditional, controller-based version was available on the Gamecube as well.

The cel-shaded look wasn’t gone for long, though. Nintendo followed The Wind Waker with a direct sequel on the DS. Phantom Hourglass keeps the same colorful look and aquatic theme, but introduces a new control scheme that lets you draw a path for your boat on a map using the handheld’s touchscreen. Two years later it was followed by another similar DS game, Spirit Tracks, which swapped the boat for a train.

Nintendo continued its quest to make motion controls an important part of Zelda with Skyward Sword. Not only is it the first game in the series built from the very beginning for the Wii and its unique controller, it also requires a special add-on, the Wii MotionPlus, that offers greater precision for virtual sword fighting.

More than two decades after A Link to the Past, Nintendo followed it up with an inventive spiritual successor on the 3DS. A Link Between Worlds takes place in the same world as its predecessor — though a few generations later — but adds a new twist, letting Link turn into a two-dimensional painting so that he can slide along walls to sneak past enemies and solve puzzles.

What do you get when you combine the iconic Zelda universe with the ridiculous, mindless action of the Dynasty Warriors series? The answer looks a lot like Hyrule Warriors on the Wii U, a surprisingly enjoyable action game that lets you battle literally hundreds of enemies simultaneously while playing as characters like Link and Zelda. Later this year will see the release of a 3DS version of the game, which introduces a brand new character: Linkle, the crossbow-wielding female version of Link.

Not content with just co-starring in fighting games, Link is now a racer as well. As part of a downloadable content package for Mario Kart 8, you can now not only race as Link, but speed through a track in Hyrule while riding a motorcycle that looks like his horse Epona.

Following in the footsteps of the Four Swords games, Tri Force Heroes is a collaborative game where three players need to work together to solve puzzle-filled dungeons. It’s also arguably the goofiest — and stylish — Zelda game yet, letting you deck out Link in everything from a Goron suit to a princess dress.

The next big Zelda game is largely a mystery. We know that it will feature an open-world rendition of Hyrule, offering players more freedom to explore however they like. Other than that, though, we know very little. After multiple delays, the game is finally set to launch sometime this year, and it’s likely to be the swan song for the Wii U platform; a new console, codenamed NX, will be revealed later this year.