Title Screen: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 23:34, 10 February 2023

The Title Screen is a recurring interface in the Legend of Zelda series, visible upon starting up the game and when quitting.^[1]^{[name references needed]} It usually displays the game's title logo and copyright date with a looping intro. Pressing the START button or an equivalent input takes the player to the File-Selection Screen.

Overview

The Legend of Zelda

A waterfall flows between two cliffs under a pink sky in the NES version, or a yellow sky in the GBA version. At 0:09, the sky fades to night and the intro rises in, surrounded by vines.

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA
MANY YEARS AGO, PRINCE DARKNESS "GANNON" STOLE ONE OF THE TRIFORCE WITH POWER.
PRINCESS ZELDA HAD ONE OF THE TRIFORCE WITH WISDOM. SHE DIVIDED IT INTO "8" UNITS TO HIDE IT FROM GANNON BEFORE SHE WAS CAPTURED.

GO FIND THE "8" UNITS "LINK" TO SAVE HER.

-NES version

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA
LONG AGO, GANON, PRINCE OF DARKNESS, STOLE THE TRIFORCE OF POWER.
PRINCESS ZELDA OF HYRULE BROKE THE TRIFORCE OF WISDOM INTO EIGHT PIECES AND HID THEM FROM GANON BEFORE SHE WAS KIDNAPPED BY GANON'S MINIONS.

LINK, YOU MUST FIND THE PIECES AND SAVE ZELDA.

-GBA version

At 0:27, the intro rises out and a list of the items in the game scrolls up.

**ALL OF TREASURES (NES)** ALL TREASURES (GBA)
HEART	CONTAINER HEART
FAIRY	CLOCK
RUPY^[SIC]	5 RUPIES^[SIC]
LIFE POTION	2ND POTION
LETTER	FOOD
SWORD	WHITE SWORD
MAGICAL SWORD	MAGICAL SHIELD
BOOMERANG	MAGICAL BOOMERANG
BOMB	BOW
ARROW	SILVER ARROW
BLUE CANDLE	RED CANDLE
BLUE RING	RED RING
POWER BRACELET	RECORDER
RAFT	STEPLADDER
MAGICAL ROD	BOOK OF MAGIC
KEY	MAGICAL KEY
MAP	COMPASS
TRIFORCE

At about 1:20 after all the items have passed, Link holds up a comically large sign saying "PLEASE LOOK UP THE MANUAL FOR DETAILS." Finally it loops back to the beginning.

The Adventure of Link

A sword is stuck in the ground on a cliffside at night, with a view to the sea. A single meteor descends at 0:04. The title logo rises up in the background at 0:09 and holds. The intro starts to scroll up at 0:43.

AFTER GANON WAS DESTROYED, IMPA TOLD LINK A SLEEPING SPELL WAS CAST ON PRINCESS ZELDA. SHE WILL WAKE ONLY WITH THE POWER OF NO.3 TRIFORCE SEALED IN A PALACE IN HYRULE. TO BREAK THE SEAL, CRYSTALS MUST BE PLACED IN STATUES IN 6 WELL GUARDED PALACES. LINK SET OUT ON HIS MOST ADVENTURESOME QUEST YET... ©1987 NINTENDO

-NES version

AFTER GANON WAS DESTROYED, IMPA TOLD LINK A SLEEPING SPELL WAS CAST ON PRINCESS ZELDA. SHE WILL WAKE ONLY WITH THE POWER OF THE THIRD TRIFORCE SEALED IN A PALACE IN HYRULE. TO BREAK THE SEAL, CRYSTALS MUST BE PLACED IN STATUES IN 6 WELL GUARDED PALACES. LINK SET OUT ON HIS MOST ADVENTURESOME QUEST YET... ©1987-2004 NINTENDO

-GBA version

The title logo then rises once again and the loop repeats.

A Link to the Past

Different things happen depending on the version of the game being played.

SFC version (1991): NINTENDO PRESENTS flashes on a black background. Then, the Triforce spins into place. The title logo fades in, and a couple seconds after that, the Seal of Seven Maidens intro starts to play. When that is concluded, the Triforce appears again and the loop repeats.

SNES version (1992): Unlike the SFC version's black background when the title logo appears, there is a castle standing in a lake with trees and a mountain in the distance. The title logo itself has the Master Sword stuck through the Z and it flashes epilepsy-warningly when it appears. Otherwise the timing is the same.

GBA version (2003): It is accessed from the A Link to the Past & Four Swords combined file select, skipping straight to the Triforce spinning into place without the NINTENDO PRESENTS. The admonition to PRESS START is now in place underneath the title logo, as the screen with the castle sits in silence indefinitely. When START is pressed, the Seal of Seven Maidens intro plays only once and leads straight to the gameplay.

Link's Awakening

Upon startup, a cutscene plays of Link sailing back to Hyrule in his small boat, as he had gone on vacation to distant lands in the ending cutscene of the Oracles Linked Ending. Unfortunately, he's now encountered inclement weather, and his boat is struck by lightning! Cut to Marin walking on the beach. She stops in her tracks when she sees Link offscreen, and runs forwards. She steps slowly the last few meters, looks down at him, and shakes him. Then as the music speeds up, pan upwards to the Wind Fish's Egg atop its mountain (surrounded by a cloudy sky in the DX and NX versions) where the title logo appears. The upbeat title music loops 3 times as the title logo sparkles, and then the cutscene loops to the beginning again.

Ocarina of Time

Link rides Epona across Hyrule Field in the dawn. (Wrong-warping there with the Back In Time glitch reveals his inventory to contain an improbable assortment of items^[2].) The title logo appears to be on fire. Link and Epona take a brief break by the river, and then the camera flies into the entrance to Kokiri Forest with a lens flare. One of a set of three cutscenes then plays before the loop repeats.

Field
Nabooru is attacked by Twinrova in the Spirit Temple as Link watches
Field
Sheik appears in Death Mountain Crater and walks towards Link
Field
Ganondorf rides his horse through flames