The Legend of Zelda was the first game in the series but not the first game in the storyline. The Legend of Zelda actually takes place after Zelda A Link to the Past for the SNES.

                                The Story

  Of how Ganon came by the Triforce of power no tale is told. When she discovered that Ganon had acquired a piece of the Triforce, though, Princess Zelda broke the Triforce of Wisdom into eight pieces and hid them. She knew a hero was needed to challenge Ganon, So she sent her nurse, Impa, to search throughout the land, even as Zelda herself was captured.
  During her quest , Impa long evaded Ganon's reach, but in a forest glade she too fell into his clutches and would have been carried off if not for the heroic actions of a passing youth named Link. Once the villiains had been driven away, Impa told the young man about Zelda's secret. Then , unable to hold back her tears, she told him how the Princess had been taken captive.
  No sooner had the youth heard the tale of Zelda's sorrow than he pledged to defeat Ganon and rescue the Princess. He set off at once , knowing only that he had to collect the eight pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom. At every turn in the path he met monsters and other evil soldiers of Ganon who challenged him in battle.
  Link's first task was to find the hidden dungeons where Zelda had secretly hiddent the divided Triforce. Many of the entrances were disguised , and only by using all of his wits and scraps of hints that he picked up along the waywas he able to succeed. Inside the dungeons, he met countless enemies, for Ganon's minions had taken hold of even the most remote chambers.
                                                                                    Read on
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