Virtual Console

The Virtual Console is a service available on the Wii, the Nintendo 3DS, and the Wii U. It allows players to download port]s of certain games that were originally released for older consoles, such as Nintendo's own Nintendo Entertainment System (all models), Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Wii, Wii U, and New Nintendo 3DS), Nintendo 64 (Wii and Wii U), Game Boy Advance (Nintendo 3DS ambassadors and Wii U), Nintendo DS (Wii U), Game Boy, and Game Boy Color (Nintendo 3DS). Games within the main The Legend of Zelda series have often been re-released on the Virtual Console for the Wii, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii U respectively.

Games on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console do not have 3D capabilities except for 3D Classics. They are sold via Nintendo eShop. They have various sound effects that play upon selecting a game depending on their originating game system. The Game Boy and Game Boy Color games have the standard Game Boy boot-up screen sound effect play. The Game Boy Advance games have the Game Boy Advance bootup screen occur. The NES/Famicom Disk System games have a coin sound effect from Super Mario Bros. playing in the background. The Super NES games have the coin sound effect from Super Mario World playing in the background.

In 2011, Nintendo introduced the Nintendo 3DS Ambassador Program for consumers who purchased a Nintendo 3DS prior to the August 12, 2011 price drop, and they were given 20 free games, ten of which are NES titles while the other ten are Game Boy Advance titles. Three of these games are The Legend of Zelda titles, with The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link being included in the NES lineup and The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap in the Game Boy Advance lineup. The NES titles were first available in Japan on August 31, 2011 and then worldwide on the following day, September 1, 2011. The same NES games would later be re-released as purchasable Virtual Console titles on the Nintendo eShop, with The Legend of Zelda being the first of them, as it was made available on the Japanese eShop on December 22, 2011. The Game Boy Advance games remained exclusive to the Nintendo 3DS Ambassador Program, and would instead be released for the Wii U Virtual Console a few years later.

Games on the Virtual Console of the Wii U can be played on the Wii U GamePad and Wii U Pro Controller. As with the Nintendo 3DS, they are also sold via Nintendo eShop.

Wii Points
Wii Virtual Console games were bought with Wii Points via the Wii Shop Channel. Wii Points Cards, which were once sold at most game retailers, each came with 2,000 redeemable Wii Points on them. However, in Japan, cards were worth either 1,000, 3,000, or 5,000 Wii Points. Wii Points could also be purchased directly through the Wii Shop Channel with a credit card in blocks of either 1,000, 2,000, 3,000, or 5,000 Points.

As of March 26, 2018, Wii Points cannot be redeemed on the Wii Shop Channel. However, leftover points could be used to purchase software until January 31, 2019.

eShop Credit
Nintendo 3DS and Wii U Virtual Console games are bought with eShop credits via the Nintendo eShop. Nintendo eShop cards are sold at most retailers with the following values; $10, $20, $35, and $50. In Australia and New Zealand, there are $15, $30 and $60 cards.

Wii
In the United States, retailers once sold 2,000 points cards for $20 apiece, at a price of one cent per point.

Similarly, in Australia, retailers only sold 1,000 points cards for $20 apiece.

*Note: Games released on the Virtual Console Arcade are automatically set to 500 points. However, most Virtual Console Arcade games are priced higher than 500 points.

Wii U
*Note: Discounted price if originally purchased on the Wii Shop Channel via Wii Mode.

Controllers
Various controllers are needed used to play Virtual Console games.
 * Wii U GamePad - Can play all Virtual Console games in Wii U Mode. Only works in both Wii U and Wii Mode (only displays screen) on the Wii U console.
 * Wii U Pro Controller - Can also play all Virtual Console games in Wii U Mode. Only works in Wii U Mode for the Wii U console.
 * Wii Remote - When turned sideways, it can be used as an NES substitute. It is also compatible with Sega Genesis/Mega Drive and Master System games. Works on both Wii U and Wii as well as the Wii U via Wii Mode. Can be used for Wii U SNES and GBA games if is held while the game boots.
 * Classic Controller - Can play any game. It is made to fit the design of the SNES Controller. Works in both Wii U and Wii as well as the Wii U via Wii Mode.
 * Nintendo GameCube controller - Can also play any game, but it is best compatible with N64 games. It only works with the original Wii console.

List of The Legend of Zelda games for the Virtual Console
The Virtual Console service for the respective Wii, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii U systems have each had a certain The Legend of Zelda game available from the start, as a launch title.

Wii

 * Timed demos of several Virtual Console games are included in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, all of which star the game's various fighters. The Legend of Zelda is the only default title of its titular series; The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is also included, but it must first be unlocked.
 * Nintendo 64 games do not support suspend functionality.
 * Nintendo 64 Controller Pak functionality is not supported.
 * Nintendo 64 games do not support the Rumble Pak functionality, despite Nintendo GameCube controllers having built-in rumble controls.

Nintendo 3DS

 * Only NES titles support multiplayer due to the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance (Ambassadors only) games being too complicated to recode the games to add wireless features and there being no link port for multiplayer.
 * This feature can also be used when playing Game Boy titles to change the screen color from gray to the classic green.
 * While loading Game Boy, Game Boy Color, or (Ambassadors only) Game Boy Advance titles from the HOME Menu, by holding or  the game on the top screen will be shrunk to its original resolution.
 * Game Boy and Game Boy Color titles will also display virtual versions of their respective consoles surrounding the screen to give the illusion of playing on the actual console. Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and DSiWare games just shrink the screen to the screen size from the original consoles.
 * Many games have been given the ability to create one save file each. This can be disabled or enabled by simultaneously holding, and.
 * Game Boy Advance Ambassador games do not rely on hardware emulation; instead, they rely on hardware simulation with the 3DS booting into the GBA's firmware to play the games natively, the same way the Nintendo 3DS handles Nintendo DS backwards compatibility. Due to this, Game Boy Advance games do not support Virtual Console features like Save and Restore Points, sleep mode, and Home Menu Access.
 * This occurs because the 3DS is not powerful enough to emulate the Game Boy Advance in the same way it does other Virtual Console games. (This is also why GBA games are not available for purchase on the Nintendo 3DS eShop.) Through hacking, it is possible to load Game Boy Advance games into a regular Virtual Console emulator, but performance is slow and the ability to do this was removed in a later update.

Wii U

 * The player can create save states and remap controller buttons. For Game Boy Advance games, there are options to change scaling, enable pixel smoothing, and view scans of the original paper manual.
 * The Wii Remote can be used for Super Nintendo and Game Boy Advance games if is held while the game loads.
 * The NES games have a bilinear filter applied while the N64 games have a filter applied that doubles their resolution.
 * Nintendo 64 games support Rumble Pak functions, but won't support Transfer or Controller Pak functions.
 * Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS titles can only be played in single player mode.

Changes
Although Virtual Console games are mostly faithful to the originals, some of the games have received slight changes:


 * The Legend of Zelda
 * The English Virtual Console release is the same as the version included on The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition.


 * The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
 * For the Wii, since none of the Nintendo 64 Virtual Console games have Rumble support, the Stone of Agony has no use. This is fixed in the Wii U port because its Virtual Console readds Rumble support for its Nintendo 64 releases.