The Legend of Zelda

The Good
The Legend of Zelda was created by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is an action-adventure game viewed from a top-down perspective, and it was the first of its kind. The game was only available for the NES, so having owned a Commodore 64 meant that I had to miss out on how great this game was when it was released.

There is one thing that I really love about this game, and that is exploration. The ultimate goal is to recover each piece of the Triforce of Wisdom, which Princess Zelda broke into fragments when she was kidnapped by Ganon. As Link, you go exploring forests, mountains, graveyards, and the like fending off Ganon's henchman and obtaining items that will help you on your quest. By killing certain monsters, you get a certain number of Rupies, which you can use to buy equipment such as potions, weapons, shields, and whatever items are required later in the game.

Hyrule is divided into two parts. The Overworld is where you spend the majority of the game, and it is here that you are free to explore the sights, obtain equipment and discover many secrets along the way. The underworld mainly consists of dungeons, where you have to retrieve one part of the Triforce. The dungeons themselves are laid out nicely, and by getting the map somewhere within you can see what shape they form. Level Five, for instance, looks like a lizard. There is a certain strategy in defeating certain bosses, and you will see the same ones in later dungeons.

The graphics are great, and the animations of the different monsters are smooth. The screen is laid out nicely, with the top half reserved for the map and several stats, and you will be referring to it more often than not. I like how the inventory appears, appearing from the top of the screen and moving into the center. All your special attacks appear as icons and laid out nicely next to each other. You don't need to press a button on the gamepad to get it into the special attack box. As soon as you move the cursor over it, it is automatically selected, ready to use.

A lot of music is brilliantly composed, but the one most memorable can be heard as you walk around the Overworld. A few sound effects, like the throwing of Link's sword and defeating a monster, sounds excellent. Also, letting the player know when a boss is nearby - with a "roar" sound - is a stroke of genius. (You even hear him when you access your inventory.)

Opening up the box reveals a huge map of Hyrule that players need to refer to if they don't want to get lost. The map goes beyond an A4 sheet, so virtually impossible to photocopy it without great difficulty. It also includes an instruction booklet the game asks you to refer to after you read the brief summary. The booklet is also quite colorful and is worth reading more than once.

One of the other things I like about Zelda is that it can be replayed over and over again, and it is a game that you won't get tired of playing, because you can discover new things that you previously missed. Once you defeat Ganon and rescued Zelda, you have the option of playing “The Second Quest”, basically the same game but the locations are slightly different and the difficulty goes up a notch.

Unlike most NES games that I played so far, Zeldauses a save game feature, which allows players to save their progress rather than start over. This feature is advanced for its time. Another advanced feature is the use of power-ups that enhance the player's abilities.

The Bad
Some reviewers here states that The Legend of Zelda is very difficult, and allow me to provide an example of this. On the very first screen you start on, you go into this cave to get a sword that you can shoot beams out of. But this only applies if you have full health. Come into contact with the monster, and you lose that ability, with the gaming forcing you to come up close to the monster and strike him with the sword, meaning that it is more likely that you lose more health by doing so. Also, you can spend rubies on new weapons or upgrades to existing weapons, but not one of these more advanced weapons is effective on the most powerful monsters.

The Bottom Line
The Legend of Zelda received special treatment over others as not only did it include a huge map and a colorful instruction booklet, but it also came with a gold cartridge. The game has everything that I like - exploration, fantasy, combat, and replayability. Most of Zelda is either spent exploring every inch of Hyrule, going in caves and buying stuff or upgrading weapons, or entering a series of dungeons and stealing one of the Triforce pieces back. The game gets more difficult as you progress, and the music and sound effects are nice to listen to. I am looking forward to playing the next Zelda game, whatever it is called.

The Good
I liked that they brought back an old classic without trying to add to it or make it better because that never works. I like that they put this game on GBA because now I can play it anywhere.

The Bad
I didn't like the fact that it took them so long to put this game on GBA or any of the Gameboy systems.

The Bottom Line
The NES Classic, The Legend of Zelda, is a great replication for GBA. If you like any of the Zelda games, you'll love this one. The original is always the best, proven by this game. And now you can take it anywhere.

The Good
After having played the dated "A Link to the Past" and the insufferable "Majora's Mask", it is kind of peaceful to go back to basics and enjoy the original Zelda. Simplicity is key and a lot of titles in the 80's stayed simple, but while staying simple, The Legend of Zelda also provided almost unmatched depth.

The part of Hyrule we are allowed to explore is HUGE and filled with interesting locations and secrets that you have to find. It is already rare to see a game that uses a full overworld as opposed to levels, but it is even rarer to see an NES title that does it this well. As you walk around Hyrule, the screens go past you without loading time, if you leave the screen it transitions to the next one just as smoothly as Super Mario Bros.

As mentioned before the Overworld is literally filled with secret areas to be found, some of these are simply filled with some currency, but others can be part of side-quests or reward you with new and interesting items to use in your adventure, I have even seen instances where a secret turned out to be the entrance to one of the key areas.

Just when I got over the initial surprise the Overworld had in store for me, I ran into the first temple/dungeon which introduced me to the actual goal of the game. As Link you are tasked with tracing down a number of hidden temples and obtain the pieces of the Triforce that are hidden within, this Triforce is the key to defeating Ganondorf, a monster that is holding the princess of the kingdom prisoner. These temples are very entertaining because they are all sprawling and full of monsters and best of all, it doesn't take too long to get through them once you went into all the side-paths found all the keys (take note, ALttP).

There is a huge amount of enemies that you can encounter on your travels and most of them require a different approach or weapons to beat. The Darknuts for example require that you stab them from the side or back, but a bomb would be more effective while a standard blob (no idea what they are called) just require a bit of timing when they are stabbed, but a boomerang should not be used against them. Enemies also make frequent reappearances in later dungeons and the bosses are very challenging (plus they turn up again in later dungeons as mini-bosses, just to punish you).

The difficulty curve is really well mapped out, as you progress through the story both your health and items improve, plus there are secret areas where you can upgrade your sword for better models. However at the same time the enemy ranks swell too and not only do they come in higher numbers, but they also start working together to form deadly combinations and some of the later enemies can kick your ass faster than you can run back to the exit.

The Bad
I have to admit that while A Link to the Past's interaction with characters was absolute crap, here there are barely any characters at all. There are a few people hidden in caves, but they act even more demented (read: out of place) than the ones from Ocarina of Time. I lost count of how many times I walked into a room and some old lady sat there with important information, that she forced me to pay or play a game for. Sorry lady, but a few rupees aren't going to help you much while you are stuck in a cave surrounded by monsters, demanding payment from the only one who is doing something against them.

There is little to no information regarding the location of the temples, I respect the game for been the first ever popular sandbox game, but unless you find a map somewhere in a game store, you are going to have a tough time getting anywhere. The first few temples aren't too bad and just demand a bit of exploration, but later ones will need you to use certain items in very specific locations. There were also annoying locations that refused to let you leave the screen unless you did a very specific cycle of entering and leaving the area without giving you any indication that you are doing it right.

The Bottom Line
The Legend of Zelda's legacy should be enough to tell you that the original was quite a hit, while I prefer Twilight Princess and Ocarina of Time, it is still a very decent adventure. While the story is kind of flat and the Overworld might be a little confusing, I feel comforted by the richness of the experience and the enjoyable gameplay that keeps me hooked for hours.

Playing it anno 2011 is limited to the nostalgia-fans and collectors, but if you are interested in gaming history, it is a stop worth taking. Skyward Sword is one the way though, so my advice is to keep your money in your pocket for that first!