The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

1001 Video Games

The SNES version of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Competition

There is a very well-hidden secret room with the name Chris Houlihan written on a wall tile. He is the winner of a Nintendo Power contest to have his name featured in a game.

Development

The original SNES version of this game took approximately 58,240 hours to program. (Source: Nintendo, World Features Syndicate)

Reception

To add to the evidence of the game's popularity and longevity: When Nintendo Power retired their Top Games list for the SNES, A Link To The Past had remained number 1 on the chart for more than five consecutive years.

References

In various homes across Hyrule, there are pictures of our favorite plumber, Mario on the North wall of each home.

Release date

The Japanese version of the game was released on November 21, 1991. Exactly seven years to the day later, the N64 game Ocarina of Time, was released in the U.S.

Title translation

The English translation of the Japanese title is "The Legend of Zelda: Triforce of the Gods".

Awards

• Electronic Gaming Monthly
  • March 1992 (Issue 32) - Game of the Month
  • 1993 Buyer's Guide - Best Sequel
  • November 1997 (Issue 100) - ranked #3 (Best 100 Games of All Time)
• FLUX
  • Issue #4 - #2 on the "Top 100 Video Games of All-Time" list
• Game Informer
  • August 2001 (Issue #100) - #23 in the "Top 100 Games of All Time" poll
• GameSpy
  • 2001 – #28 Top Game of All Time
• Retro Gamer
  • October 2004 (Issue #9) – #16 Best Game Of All Time (Readers' Vote)

Information also contributed by Big John WV, CaptainCanuck, Echidna Boy, gamewarrior, Robbb and Tiago Jaques