In early versions of the game, the old man at the beginning of the game would give you a choice between the boomerang or the wooden sword.

The sound of the Recorder (also known as the Flute or Whistle) In The Legend of Zelda was later used as the sound for the Warp Whistle in Super Mario Bros. 3, and can be heard in the title screen theme of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

If you name yourself "ZELDA," you can start the second quest right away.

In the American version, an old man in Level 8 tells you that "10th enemy drops the bomb". In the Japanese version, he just tells you to "search for the lion key", which is the Magical Key. The American quote actually has some meaning: killing 10 enemies in a row, the last one being killed by a bomb, significantly raises the chances of it dropping a bomb, even for red Octoroks (which normally never drop bombs).

In the game's instruction booklet it states that the Pols Voice hates loud noises. Consequently, many players mistakenly believed this to be a reference to the game's recorder item, and were surprised to find that the instrument had no effect on the creatures. The text only applies to the Japanese version of the game, as the Famicom's (Japanese NES) second controller had a built-in microphone. By talking into this mic you can effectively kill the Pols Voice.

In an interview between Shigeru Miyamoto and "Gamekult", Miyamoto revealed that at the start of The Legend of Zelda's development, the pieces of the Triforce were actually intended to be electronic chips. The game was to be set in both the past and the future. And as the hero was the link between them, they decided to call him "Link".

You can bypass the first locked door in the first dungeon by simply leaving and walking back in. Upon re-entering, the north door of the room is open and you can claim the key to the east to keep as a spare.