Shigeru Miyamoto drew the core inspiration for The Legend of Zelda from his childhood experiences of wandering around the countryside near his home in Kyoto and bravely exploring dark, unknown caves with a lantern.

A closer look

Shigeru Miyamoto drew the core inspiration for The Legend of Zelda from his childhood experiences of wandering around the countryside near his home in Kyoto and bravely exploring dark, unknown caves with a lantern. He wanted to capture that precise feeling of miniature terror and boundless discovery, perfectly translating his nostalgic woodland trespassing into a revolutionary top-down adventure that completely changed video games. Of course, the virtual version features slightly more magic swords, ancient prophecies, and giant pig monsters than an actual Japanese forest, but the core essence of wandering aimlessly until you find a secret remains intact. It is frankly amazing that a multi-million dollar global franchise exists entirely because a bored kid in the 1950s decided to wander into a dark hole in the ground instead of doing his homework