Forty years ago today (February 21, 1986), Nintendo dropped The Legend of Zelda on Japan’s Famicom Disk System and basically invented the modern “go get lost in a world” video game.
Back then, “open world” wasn’t a bullet point on the back of a box. It was you, a sword, a handful of hearts, and a big empty map that did not care about your feelings. Zelda trusted players to poke at every wall, burn every suspicious bush, and write down secrets like it was a school assignment. And the Disk System saving feature meant your adventure didn’t have to die with a power switch, which was a borderline supernatural luxury in 1986.
What still hits is the design confidence. No tutorials holding your hand, no quest log treating you like you’re short on oxygen. Just mystery, discovery, and that first “I wonder what’s over there” moment that the entire industry has been trying to bottle ever since.
