The Legend of Zelda has just turned 30 years old based on Nintendo's release date of the classic action-adventure game in Japan on the Famicom Disk System. It was launched on Feb. 21, 1986 before a cartridge version was available, and since then over 75 million copies have been sold making it one of the best-selling video games ever.

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During the past three decades the Zelda franchise has had its ups and downs. While the TV show only lasted one season, the magical land of Hyrule had a major influence on action-adventure games for decades.      

Nintendo is celebrating Zelda's 30th birthday by releasing a Twilight Princess remaster for Wii U and Hyrule Warriors Legends for 3DS, according to Engadget.

When Zelda was first released it was not on the gold cartridge sold in the West. In Japan it was launched on the upgraded Famicom Disk System allowing gamers to play games from floppy disks called "Disk Cards."

The discs provided various benefits. It was a cheaper method of data storage and allowed games to be stored on readable/writable disks, which was another option besides cartridges and password systems.      

In fact, Japanese gamers could have new games written on the Disk Cards at special kiosks. This was a cheaper option than buying new games.

The Famicom Disk System was launched with seven games. They included Baseball, Golf, Tennis, Soccer, Mahjong, Super Mario Bros., and Zelda, according to Kotaku.

Famicom's disk included the title "The Legend of Zelda" and the subtitle "The Hyrule Fantasy," and lacked a dust cover.

The game itself differed from the cartridge rolled out in North America and Europe in 1987. Loading times were slower but the sounds were clearer due to the built-in synthesizer.  

Another big difference was the way the Pols Voice creatures are sent out. The Japanese version used the gaming system's built-in mic to kill the rabbit-like creatures with loud noises, but the NES lacked the feature so they were weakened by arrows.  

Zelda is actually the second-biggest money-maker in Nintendo's history after Mario. Thus, new games featuring Link and Princess Zelda could also appear on the NX gaming console.

Here's the ending for Zelda: