The land of Hyrule, first depicted in The Legend of Zelda, released in July of 1987 for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), was the mythical backdrop for the adventures of a boy-to-hero character, Link. As Link battles his way through different areas and terrains of Hyrule and through seven levels. Your quest in Hyrule was to rescue the princess Zelda who was being held captive by the evil wizard Ganon. Hyrule was the home land of a mystical triangular object known as the Triforce, which was split into three separate pieces for you to recover before Ganon and foil his plans to rule with an iron fist.
In later editions of the Zelda series of games (for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, Nintendo 64, Gameboy Advance, and Nintendo GameCube) more characters and mysteries of the land of Hyrule were unveiled and explained.
Although the original Legend of Zelda was the first game to depict the land of Hyrule, it was not the first chronologically. A later game in the series, Ocarina of Time, was set in Hyrule as well, but before the events in the original. The chronologically last Zelda game is Link to the Past, according to the official word from Miyamoto, not Zelda 2: Adventure of Link as some sources stated.
Many of the designated areas of Hyrule have traversed through the series, notably The Lost Woods, Death Mountain, and Lake Hylia. Several games in the series take place away from Hyrule: Link's awakening (Koholint Island), Majora's mask (Termina), and Oracle of Ages/Oracle of Seasons.
The currency of Hyrule is rupees.