LCD games from The Legend of Zelda series

LCD games are electronic games played on an LCD screen. Since the release of the Zelda Game & Watch game in August 1989, several LCD games based upon the theme of The Legend of Zelda have been licensed by Nintendo to be released for both Japanese and foreign markets. While Zelda (Game & Watch) was both published and developed by Nintendo, later LCD games would merely be licensed and published by Nintendo. The Legend of Zelda game watch (October 1989) is an LCD wristwatch game produced by Nelsonic as part of their Nelsonic game watch series, and Zelda no Densetsu: Kamigami no Triforce (ゼルダの伝説 神々のトライフォース) is an LCD fighting video game licensed by Nintendo and produced by Epoch Co. for the Barcode Battler II (バーコードバトラーII) platform, and released only in Japan.

Zelda (Game & Watch)
The Zelda Game & Watch (serial numberZL-65) was a multi-screen Game & Watch system released by Nintendo in 1989. It is based on the NES's original The Legend of Zelda.

The handheld console would be Nintendo's last before the release of the Game Boy.

Gameplay
Players control Link and fight through labyrinth chambers on the Game & Watch's lower screen. In the labyrinth chambers, Link faces Poe-like Ghosts, up to four Stalfoses, and a Moblin-like Goblin mini-boss. Stalfoses and Ghosts cannot be defeated and must be dodged and blocked with the shield respectively. The Goblin must be killed in order to complete the lower-screen labyrinth Once the Labyrinth is complete, stairs appear and the action shifts to the Dragon's Lair in the upper screen where Link battles a dragon while avoiding its fire and tail attacks. While fighting the dragon Link gains access to the Tomahawk item —unique to this game. Upon defeating the dragon, the game starts again with quicker enemies and retaining the player's high score.

Plot
Eight unruly dragons are creating havoc in the world. After they kidnap Princess Zelda, it is up to Link to defeat them and rescue the princess. The dragons have imprisoned Zelda behind a seal that requires all 8 pieces of the triforce to unlock. After defeating each dragon, Link gains one piece of the triforce.

Development
The Zelda Game & Watch was developed by Gunpei Yokoi and Nintendo R&D1.

Reception
Zelda is thought to have pushed the limits of what is possible on the Game & Watch LCD format, though the gameplay is far simpler than the NES original.

In total, three million Zelda-version Game & Watch systems were sold.

Zelda Mini Classic
In 1998, Toymax Inc. was licensed to make the Mini Classic series, keychain-sized remakes of the Game & Watch series, one of them being Zelda. It has a significantly smaller screen size. This keychain version, along with Oil Panic and Donkey Kong, was only released in Europe. By at least 2007, Stadlbauer and It's Outrageous! began distributing the Mini Classics version in select locations within the United States, using art from A Link to the Past and Four Swords Adventures.

Zelda in Game & Watch Gallery 4
In October 2002, Nintendo included a port of the game as a hidden unlockable extra in Game & Watch Gallery 4 for the Game Boy Advance. This Zelda minigame is the most difficult to unlock, requiring the player to have beaten all other games (and to have earned all 160 stars).

The game world is significantly different in this port. To fit everything on-screen at once, the second screen was reduced. Its height is about two-thirds of that of the original screen, but almost twice its width.

The Legend of Zelda (game watch)
The Legend of Zelda version of the Nelsonic game watch is a multi-purpose wristwatch made by Nelsonic. It tells the time and allows players to play a game. The game is based on the NES's original The Legend of Zelda, and it was manufactured in black, red, white and pink colors.

Gameplay
The player controls Link as he defeats enemies in dungeons to retrieve pieces of the Triforce. The game consists of four dungeons with four rooms each. In each room, Link has to collect a boomerang and sword to defeat several enemies. Defeating all of the enemies in the room grants Link a key to the next room, upon which collected items are lost. Once all enemies in the fourth room are killed, Aquamentus—the dungeon's boss—appears. After Link defeats Aquamentus, a Triforce fragment appears, giving him access to the next dungeon. After collecting all four pieces of the Triforce, the game ends.

Plot
The kingdom of Hyrule is attacked by a monster king called Aquamentus along with his three sons. They shatter the Triforce into three pieces, steal the fragments, and take over the three sacred dungeons. This puts Hyrule into chaos. Bitter fighting breaks out between monster forces, and many Hylian soldiers lose their lives. Link must defeat the monsters and retrieve the Triforce to save Hyrule.

Reception
In total, twelve million The Legend of Zelda (game watch) systems were sold.

Zelda no Densetsu: Kamigami no Triforce (Barcode Battler II)
In 1992, Epoch Co. was licensed to print a series of Nintendo-themed cards for their Barcode Battler II platform. Card sets were printed with both Mario and Zelda themes. Functioning similarly to an LCD e-Reader, the Barcode Battler II required players to swipe barcodes printed on cards across a visual input in order to enter characters, enemies, items, and spells into the console. The Zelda no Densetsu: Kamigami no Triforce set features 30 software-only cards (専用カードソフト), and is based on the SNES's original The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

Gameplay
Played in the C2 mode on Barcode Battler II, Zelda no Densetsu: Kamigami no Triforce set allows the player to play as either Warrior or Wizard. After choosing the hero card (either "Link" or "Link(Magic)"), the player scans it into the Barcode Battler II where its stats are recorded and displayed on the LCD screen. For each battle, the players choose an enemy and swipe it in to fight against the hero. The battle is conducted based on an algorithm within the Barcode Battler, and the results of the fight are displayed in new character stats on the LCD screen. If the enemy is defeated, the enemy card is discarded and the next enemy card is swiped in. At any point between fights, the player may choose to swipe in and discard one of the ten item cards. Item cards provide a variety of benefits to the hero including boosting weapon stats, restoring life, and increasing defensive stats. Discarded item cards may be returned to the player from the discard pile upon defeating a Wizard enemy. After all other enemies are defeated, the player must swipe the "Ganon" card to fight the final boss. If Ganon is defeated, the player has won.

Plot
Ganon has transformed the sacred land into the "World of Darkness" and is now plotting to take over the "World of Light" (i.e. Hyrule). To achieve this end, the evil priest Agahnim strives to sacrifice the daughters of the seven sages to break the seal holding Ganon in check.

You play as Link, the hero who must venture through the Worlds of Light and Darkness to defeat Ganon. Along the way numerous puzzles and monsters await.

Reception
Both the Zelda no Densetsu card set and the Mario card set were released as Nintendo-licensed special-edition cards for the Barcode Battler II. The system itself was extremely popular in Japan, inspiring the creation of a comic book series as well as the commission of products for Falcom and NTV.