40 years in, I still love Zelda… and that's taught me something important about creativity

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A pixelated adventure that began in 1986 still captivates millions. Here's what every creative can learn from that.

Princess Zelda, donned in a blue hood, rides a small horse through a lush landscape alongside her glowing companion, Tri.
(Image credit: Nintendo)

Let me tell you about a piece of entertainment that has been releasing new work for nearly four decades, has never felt like it was running out of ideas, has never shed its original fanbase while constantly attracting new ones, and is almost universally regarded as getting better over time.

You might think I'm describing a visionary filmmaker, or a band so beloved that each new record becomes a cultural event. Nope, I'm talking about a video game that focuses on a magical character collecting magical triangles.

Zelda stands confidently at the entrance of Hyrule Castle, flanked by stone braziers and armored guards.

(Image credit: Nintendo)

1. The bones stay solid, the flesh keeps changing

Every Zelda game shares certain elements: a hero's journey, a world to explore, puzzles to solve, a great evil to overcome. But within that framework, Nintendo takes genuine risks. The art style changes completely between games. The mechanics shift dramatically. The formula is a container, not a straitjacket.

For creatives, this is an important lesson. Knowing what your work is fundamentally about (its emotional core, its essential promise to an audience) frees you to experiment boldly with everything else. Constraints and identity are not the enemy of originality; they're its precondition.

2. It respects the audience's intelligence

Zelda drops you into a world and trusts you to figure it out. The reward for curiosity is always genuine discovery; the actual thrill of finding something no one told you was there, not a notification or a trophy.

In short, the game plays to human strengths (our curiosity, our eagerness to learn) rather than the compulsive reward loops that make so many modern titles feel hollow. Finishing a dungeon feels like an achievement, not a transaction.

The takeaway: whatever you make, ask yourself: does it respect the people engaging with it? Does it offer the pleasure of genuine discovery, or does it just hand everything over?

Deep within a dungeon, Zelda uses the power of Tri’s rod to bind and move a massive boulder across a dark pit.

(Image credit: Nintendo)

3. It means something beneath the surface

At its core, every Zelda game tells the same story: courage and wisdom are more powerful than brute force. That is, quietly, a radical and beautiful thing. And because that meaning runs through everything (the characters, the music, the puzzles), it resonates with eight-year-olds and 50-year-olds alike.

The lesson here is that the best creative work knows what it's actually about, underneath the surface. Not just what it depicts, but what it means. That depth is what separates work people love, from work people merely consume.

Robin Williams loved Zelda so much, he named his daughter after it. Doctors play it to decompress. Grandmothers play it with grandchildren. Great creative work transcends its medium; and when something is made with genuine care and genuine meaning, it turns out people will find it, in whatever form it takes.

Even if that form is a pixelated adventure, founded on a 1980s games console, that – impossibly – just keeps getting better. Even the Zelda remakes are good.

For more Zelda fun, play our Zelda crossword below (let us know how you got on in the comments) or see the best deals on Zelda games and accessories.

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Tom May
Tom May
Freelance journalist and editor

Tom May is an award-winning journalist specialising in art, design, photography and technology. His latest book, The 50 Greatest Designers (Arcturus Publishing), was published this June. He's also author of Great TED Talks: Creativity (Pavilion Books). Tom was previously editor of Professional Photography magazine, associate editor at Creative Bloq, and deputy editor at net magazine. 

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