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YKYMF. Price of Play

The Legend of Zelda

Released 21 February 1986 Developer Nintendo R&D4 Publisher Nintendo

You explore a large open map as Link, find hidden caves and dungeons, and collect the pieces of a broken Triforce so you can rescue Princess Zelda from the villain Ganon. It was one of the first console games to let you wander freely and to save your progress, and it suits older children and adults who enjoy working things out for themselves.

Money health FairPay clearly, know the ceiling
Addictive design None0 of 5 — counts the hooks designed in
Average price —no price listed yet
Spending ceiling Has a ceilingYou can buy it all

How it makes money

Fair: pay clearly, know the ceiling

The Legend of Zelda began as a one-off purchase (on a rewritable disk for Japan's Famicom Disk System in 1986, then as a battery-backed cartridge elsewhere), and Nintendo no longer sells those new. Today the official way to play it in Australia is the NES library in Nintendo Switch Online: A$29.95 for 12 months, or A$5.95 per 30 days, for an individual membership. It is not sold separately, and you lose access when the membership ends. The game has no ads, timers or in-game purchases.

How you pay

  • Pay once

    A one-off purchase: Famicom Disk System disk in Japan (21 February 1986), then a NES cartridge in North America (August 1987) and Europe (1987). It isn't sold new today, and the Virtual Console downloads were on stores that have closed (3DS and Wii U eShops stopped sales on 27 March 2023).

  • Game library

    Today the only official way to play it is the NES - Nintendo Classics library, included with a Nintendo Switch Online membership (A$29.95 for 12 months or A$5.95 per 30 days, individual). It was one of the library's launch games in September 2018.

    minor part of the game
  • Editions

    Re-sold several times: a Game Boy Advance release (2004), Virtual Console on Wii and 3DS, the NES Classic Edition, a Game & Watch edition (November 2021) and now Switch Online.

    minor part of the game

What it costs

Price: —

WhatWherePriceChecked
Individual membership, 12 months (NES library)
Standard Nintendo Switch Online tier; the game is not sold separately and is only playable while the membership is active.		 Nintendo Switch Online (AU) ↗ A$29.95/year Oct 2026
Individual membership, 30 days
Renewal price shown on the Nintendo membership page after the free 7-day trial.		 Nintendo Switch Online (AU) ↗ A$5.95/30 days Oct 2026

Store prices change often and sales are common; we record the regular price on the date shown.

Reviews from across the web

What the critics said

  • 8/ 10

    Nintendo Life ↗

    Philip J. Reed · 30 August 2013 · Wii U eShop (NES)

    Judged that the game has aged surprisingly well, with a brilliant soundtrack and a deep, layered adventure, though its lack of hand-holding may put some players off.

Scores belong to the outlets that published them; follow the links to read the full reviews. Summaries are ours.

Age ratings

Classification

No classification recorded yet.

Safety & parental controls

Who can talk to your child, and what can they buy?

  • No chat
  • No contact with strangers
  • No user-made content
  • Needs an online account

Cartoon-style fantasy combat against monsters with a sword, bombs and a bow; no blood. On Nintendo Switch Online the NES library has no in-game chat. Online play is set up with friends ("join with friends online and share your screen" on Nintendo's page), and on Switch 2 the separate GameChat feature adds voice and screen sharing with friends. A Nintendo Account and a paid membership are needed to play it at all. I could not find an individual Australian classification for the NES game; the NES library app as a whole carries a PG classification, which is not specific to this game.

Platforms & release

Where you can play it

PlatformReleasedStore
Nintendo Switch 2
NES - Nintendo Classics also runs on Switch 2.		 — Store page ↗
Nintendo Switch
NES - Nintendo Classics, included with Nintendo Switch Online.		 September 2018 Store page ↗
NES / Famicom
Famicom Disk System (Japan) 21 February 1986; NES cartridge in North America August 1987 and Europe 1987.		 21 February 1986 —

Further reading

Facts last checked 22 October 2026. Sources: en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org, www.nintendo.com, www.nintendo.com, ec.nintendo.com, en.wikipedia.org, www.nintendolife.com, www.museumofplay.org. Spotted something wrong? Send a correction.