The Legend of Zelda​ (, Zeruda no Densetsu?) is a high fantasy action-adventure video game series created by game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka and developed and published by Nintendo. The gameplay consists of a mixture of action, adventure, puzzle solving, and role-playing. The series centers on Link, the main playable character and protagonist.

Link is often given the task of rescuing Princess Zelda and the most common setting of the series, Hyrule, from Ganon who is the primary antagonist of the series. However, other settings and antagonists have appeared throughout the games, with Vaati having recently become the series' secondary antagonist. The story commonly involves a relic known as the Triforce, a set of three golden triangles of omnipotence.

The protagonist in each game is usually not the same incarnation of Link, but a few exceptions do exist. The Legend of Zelda series has sold over 52 million copies since the release of the first game, The Legend of Zelda, and continues to be successful worldwide. The series consists of fourteen official games on all of Nintendo's major consoles, as well as several spin-offs.

An animated series based on the games aired in 1989, and individual manga adaptions which are officially endorsed and commissioned by Nintendo have been produced in Japan since 1997. The Legend of Zelda games feature a mixture of puzzles, strategic action, adventure/battle gameplay, and exploration. These elements have remained constant throughout the series, but with refinements and additions featured in each new game.

The player is frequently rewarded for solving puzzles or exploring areas. Most Zelda games involve locating and exploring dungeons, in which puzzles are solved and enemies fought, then defeating the dungeon's boss. Each dungeon usually has one major item inside, which is usually essential for solving many of the puzzles in that dungeon and often plays a crucial role in defeating that dungeon's boss.

Some items are consistent and appear many times throughout the series, while others are unique to a single game. The series also consists of stealth gameplay, where the player must avoid enemies while proceeding through a level, as well as racing elements. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is a prequel to The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, the first two games released in the series.

The back of its packaging states it takes place before The Legend of Zelda. Ocarina of Time is also a prequel, going even further back and implicitly retelling the backstory of A Link to the Past. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask has been cited by Nintendo as the direct sequel to Ocarina of Time.

The Wind Waker takes place hundreds of years after the events of Ocarina of Time. The game explicitly references the "Hero of Time" from that game, and states that, due to the hero's absence, it was necessary to flood Hyrule to stop Ganon. The Minish Cap, Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures include references to other titles and Eiji Aonuma have stated that these games are supposed to be the oldest games in the series, predating Ocarina of Time.

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