40 Years Later, Nintendo Pretends These 3 Zelda Games Don't Exist

Published Sep 13, 2026, 1:30 PM EDT Lee D’Amato is a writer born, raised, and based in Queens, New York. With collective thousands of hours in games like Final Fantasy, Metal Gear, Elden Ring, and The Legend of Zelda, he's now writes game features, guides, and reviews for Screen Rant, but has covered a wide range of topics, including ancient history, affordable travel, and overall health. Nintendo seems to have conveniently forgotten the existence of several titles in The Legend of Zelda series. The landmark action-adventure series is best described as "sprawling": it includes no fewer than 20 mainline games, depending on how you count them, plus a plethora of spinoffs. They span a variety of different genres across seven console generations, and show no sign of stopping as the series approaches its 40th anniversary. That 40th anniversary is set to be celebrated in a variety of different ways, not least of which is the upcoming Ocarina of Time remake due out later this year. However, Nintendo isn't celebrating all of Zelda's history evenly, although there may be a good reason for that. Nintendo Has Forgotten Zelda's CD-i History Nintendo of America recently shared a Zelda series roundup on Bluesky, including images of the main protagonist of 20 mainline Zelda games. Fans noticed, however, that the three Zelda titles developed and released for the Philips Compact Disc-Interactive (CD-i) platform, a sort of combination game console and media player. These were Link: The Faces of Evil, Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon, and Zelda's Adventure. Notably, none of these games were developed by Nintendo; Faces of Evil and Wand of Gamelon were both productions of Animation Magic, and released simultaneously in 1993. Developer Viridis made Zelda's Adventure for a 1996 release. But the timeline above includes other major Zelda games that weren't developed by Nintendo, including Capcom's Oracle of Ages, Oracle of Seasons, and The Minish Cap. Zelda's CD-i Games Are Awful, But They're Part Of The Series' Legacy What's really behind the CD-i games' exclusion, then, is likely their critical and commercial failure. Faces of Evil and Wand of Gamelon had side-scrolling gameplay, taking cues from the divisive Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link. On top of that, their controls were exceptionally awkward, while the gameplay itself was repetitive and overly difficult. The first two CD-i games lack an overworld, with players instead navigating from one area to the next on a static world map. This detracts from the sense of grand exploration that's characteristic of Zelda as a whole. Zelda's Adventure was more traditional in terms of its gameplay, but its messy graphics, lackluster sound, and poor sense of progression didn't do it any favors. But the first two games are much more iconic, largely because Animation Magic got Zelda's tone all wrong. Faces of Evil and Wand of Gamelon featured these brightly-colored animated cutscenes, awash with uncanny animation, strange-looking character models, and stilted voice acting. This has become the games' enduring legacy; you may have never heard of the Zelda CD-i games before, but you've almost certainly seen footage of their cutscenes in one context or another. They've been endlessly mocked online, their voice lines constantly chopped up and mixed into entirely new, often vulgar sentences that feature heavily in YouTube Poop mashups. Another poorly received Nintendo-licensed CD-i game, Hotel Mario, met with a similar fate. So, really, I understand Nintendo's desire to bury these missteps when it comes time to celebrate Zelda's 40th anniversary. They didn't even make these games, so it's easy to pass the buck, and they're not at all representative of Zelda's identity as a series. But the ceaseless memeification of The Faces of Evil and The Wand of Gamelon have helped keep the franchise relevant. Someone out there had their first exposure to Zelda through King Harkinian's baritone cry of "dinner," or Morshu's bizzarely animated posturing, sending them down a rabbit hole they'd never climb out of. The CD-i games might not be the most fondly remembered Legend of Zelda titles, but face it: they're an integral part of the series' history. Movie(s) The Legend of Zelda (Live-Action) TV Show(s) The Legend of Zelda Video Game(s) The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Four Swords, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess , The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017), The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Hyrule Warriors, Hyrule Warriors Legends (3DS), Cadence of Hyrule, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity First TV Show The Legend of Zelda First Game The Legend of Zelda Character(s) Link, Princess Zelda, Ganon