History Videogame / TheLegendOfZeldaCDIGames

* OffModel: Several characters' sprites look different from the way the same characters look in the cut scenes. The difference is so great that you might wonder if the people who made the sprites even saw the cut scenes (or vice versa).
** Even Link and Zelda can't stay consistent. In some cutscenes, Link looks more like the artwork for ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'', and when Zelda gets the shroud, she's wearing her outfit from [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfZelda1989 the DiC cartoon]].

The most infamous by far are the two sidescrolling platformer games reminiscent of ''Zelda II'', both released in 1993. In ''Faces of Evil'', Link had to travel to the island of Koridai to liberate it from Ganon's forces; ''Wand of Gamelon'' featured Zelda traveling to Gamelon to save her father -- King Harkinian -- and Link. The games are quite infamous on the internet due to their animated cutscenes, often regarded as [[LargeHam hammy]], [[DerangedAnimation bizarre]], and [[{{Narm}} unintentionally hilarious]]; as a result, they are one of the sources most often used for humorous remix videos known as WebAnimation/YouTubePoop.

->'''Link:''' Gee, it sure is BORING around here!\\

-->'''Link:''' Gee, it sure is boring around here!\\

A series of games based on ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' (as Philips didn't have the rights to the franchise name, none of them actually use the name "Legend of Zelda" anywhere) made in the early 90s, as part of Philips Electronics' deal with Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s [[UsefulNotes/{{SNESCDROM}} SNES CD-ROM]]. The idea fell through, but Philips had been given [[LicensedGame the right to make several games based on Nintendo characters]] (not their respective franchises, just the characters), in this case from ''[[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]]'' and ''Zelda''. So, along with ''VideoGame/HotelMario'', they made three games for the UsefulNotes/PhilipsCDi system: ''Link: The Faces of Evil'', ''Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon'' and ''Zelda's Adventure''. These are [[OldShame not regarded]] [[CanonDiscontinuity as canon]] by Nintendo, and are ignored by the timeline inside material such as Official Nintendo Power Zelda game lists, and ''Zelda'''s 25th anniversary artbook ''Hyrule Historia''.[[note]]In fact, these games aren't mentioned at all in ''Hyrule Historia''. Not even so much as a footnote.[[/note]]

* AmbiguouslyEvil: Alma in ''Wand of Gamelon'' seemed to enjoy mocking Zelda, was quick to point off they're better off without Link, and it's revealed Link was trapped in her mirror. It's unknown if Alma was the one who trapped him.

** Ganon's fate in the end of ''Faces of Evil'' and ''Wand Of Gamelon'' is being trapped in a book for who knows how long.

* CanonDiscontinuity: Nintendo put little quality control into the CD-I games, only making sure the illustrations in the manual and cover were on-model. Nintendo dumped all endorsement of Phillips' games as soon as they hit shelves, and the attitude has only gotten stronger since then. The ''Magazine/NintendoPower'' guide to ''Ocarina of Time'' acknowledged all Zelda games except the CD-I games; ''Nintendo Power'' advertised ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks Spirit Tracks]]'' as the first time Zelda joins the adventure instead of just waiting to be rescued, even though Zelda was the ''player character'' in two of the Phillips games; the book ''[[AllThereInTheManual Hyrule Historia]]'' didn't even mention them at all, not even in footnotes. ''Nintendo Power'' does acknowledge the existence of the games, but only to mock them, even before the cutscenes went memetic.

* NoHuggingNoKissing:
-->'''Link:''' How about a kiss, for luck?\\
'''Zelda:''' You've got to be kidding.
** Almost averted at the end of ''Faces of Evil'', when Link awakens the sleeping Zelda and they lean in for a kiss, but they get interrupted by Gwonam.

** The ending to ''Wand of Gamelon'' makes no sense whatsoever. How and when did Link get trapped in Alma's mirror? How come The King acknowledges Zelda saving him only after they're back in the castle? What are The King and Zelda laughing at? Okay, the last one is most likely them laughing at Link's stupidity.

* MetaphoricallyTrue: In ''The Wand Of Gamelon'', when Zelda expresses concern to Impa over her Father going by himself to aid Duke Onkled and his kingdom, even with the Triforce of Courage, Impa declares that "The Triforce of Wisdom promises The King will safely return"... [[ExactWords it just didn't say when or how he would safely return.]]

* ModestRoyalty: Played straight with Zelda and The King, but averted with Duke Onkled.

* NeverSayDie: Averted with extreme prejudice; characters will freely refer to the act of death or killing with reckless abandon!

* {{Corpsing}}: Even Link's voice-actor couldn't take the line about the "Smart Sword" seriously. He snickers when he gets to "In fact, it makes them talk!"

* CanonForeigner: Everyone except Ganon, Link, Zelda and Impa, the enemies, and the King, who comes from the [[ComicBook/TheLegendOfZelda comics]] and [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfZelda TV series]].

* MythologyGag: The manual for ''The Wand of Gamelon'' reveals that the king's name is "King Harkinian", a nod to [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfZelda the DiC cartoon]], where the king of Hyrule is also named "Harkinian".

* DeclarativeFinger: King Harkinian memetically uses this in ''Faces Of Evil'', while saying: "MAH BOI, this peace is what all true warriors strive for!"

-->'''Ice Queen:''' This shield both sword and spear deflects, but cannot stop the vilest curse. This crystal makes the shield reflect, [[RhymesOnADime cursing the curser with twice the]] [[RhymingWithItself curse]].

-->'''Ice Queen:''' This shield both sword and spear deflects, but cannot stop the vilest curse. This crystal makes the shield reflect, [[RhymingWithItself cursing the curser with twice the curse]].

* ArtisticLicenseSpace: Odranoel the astronomer claims that stars are made of ice. Our own sun is proof that it isn't true. Even the coldest stars would be considered hot for humans.

-->'''Odranoel:''' The stars are made of ice, thus the night is cold.

* BagOfSpilling: {{Hand Wave}}d.
-->'''Link:''' Great, I'll grab my stuff!\\
'''Gwonam:''' There is no time, your sword is enough!

** The name Harkinian first appeared in the ''ComicBook/TheLegendOfZelda'' comics and ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfZelda'' cartoon. All versions of Zelda's father in those media seem based off of the King in ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink.''
** Probably unintentional, but lamp oil, which first appears as an item in ''Faces of Evil'' and ''Wand of Gamelon'', becomes a real Zelda item in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]''. There was a lantern in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'', but it ran on Link's magic power. Yellow Rupees also first appeared in ''Zelda's Adventure'' before they appeared in ''Wind Waker'' eight years later.

* HandWave: Nearly everything is interacted with by stabbing it with the sword. The tutorial simply hand waves all this away by stating it to be a magical property of the sword itself to pick up items and compel villagers to talk.

'''King Harkinian:''' Mah boi, this peace is what ''all'' true warriors strive for!\\

* SmitingEvilFeelsGood: When Zelda kills Hektan, she says "Good." with a smile. She also seems happy when she kills Omfak.
* SomeDexterityRequired: Controls in the games for using items are very complex, due to the controller only having two buttons, far too little action-adventure titles.

* SmitingEvilFeelsGood:
-->'''Hektan:''' You've killed me!\\
'''Zelda''': Good.

''WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd'' reviewed ''Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon'' in Part 2 of his review of the CD-i, and ''Link: The Faces of Evil'' and ''Zelda's Adventure'' in Part 3.

''[[LargeHam Mah]] [[MemeticMutation boi]], [[DescribeTopicHere this description is what all true tropers strive for!!]]''

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zelda_cdi.png]]

* AcCENTUponTheWrongSylLABle: Almost every single character has a bad grasp on how to emphasize certain words.

** Probably unintentional, but lamp oil, which first appears as an item in ''Faces of Evil'' and ''Wand of Gamelon'', becomes a real Zelda item in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]''. There was a lantern in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'', but it ran on Link's magic power.

Less (in)famous is the top-down adventure game ''Zelda's Adventure'', released in 1995 in Europe. In a reversal from the norm, Ganon has kidnapped Link and invaded the Kingdom of [[SdrawkcabName "Tolemac"]], plunging the Kingdom in an Age of Darkness. Princess Zelda sets out to save the young adventurer, and learns from the astronomer Gaspra that she must first collect the seven celestial signs before she can conquer the dark king and bring Tolemac to an Age of Lightness. ''Zelda's Adventure'' featured live action full-motion video cutscenes and pre-rendered sprites and backgrounds (primarily through a combination of live-action footage and surprisingly impressive model effects), and was generally more reminiscent of the very first ''Zelda'' game for the NES.

* AcCENTUponTheWrongSylLABle: Almost every single character has a hard grasp on how to emphasize certain words.

Believe it or not, these games are of genuine historical importance not just to the games industry, but to the entire global political and economic sphere. Specifically, this marked the very first time an American company outsourced work to Russian labor, representing a thawing in US-Russia relations in the wake of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar's end on Christmas Day of 1991. Developers Animation Magic hired a team of four Russian animators to work on the cutscenes for ''The Faces of Evil'' and ''Wand of Gamelon'', flying them into the States to work on the project. The end result was... ''[[DerangedAnimation distinctive]]'', to say the least, but it was this of all things that became a significant touchstone in the post-Cold War era of global politics.

27 years after the release of ''Faces of Evil'' and ''Wand of Gamelon'', amateur developer Dopply created {{Fan Remake}}s of both games, retaining all of the original assets while updating the gameplay to be less frustrating. Their downloads were only available for a limited time, [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes but mirrors can be found elsewhere online]]. Tropes specific to the remakes should go [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDiRemasters here]].

[[caption-width-right:350:[[FanNickname The Unholy Triforce]]]]

All three of these games were reviewed by ''WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd'' in Parts 2 and 3 of his review of the CD-i.

--->'''Hectan''': "''YOU'VE '''KILLED''' ME!''"
--->'''Zelda''': ''Good.''