|
At the same time that Shigeru
Miyamoto was working on Super Mario
Bros. he was also working on The
Legend of Zelda. These two
games defined the NES and put the NES on a level far beyond any video
game system available. Both games
are similar in that you no longer are going for a high score and have
graphics far beyond what had been seen before but that is about where
their similarities end. In an
interview that Miyamoto gave, he said that he had to divide all of his
ideas between the two games and decided that all linear ideas would go
into Super Mario Bros. where as
all non-linear ideas  went into The Legend of Zelda.
Zelda was a game that had been in Miyamoto’s head since childhood
when he went hiking and found himself in a creepy cave. That experience never left him and he incorporated
it into this amazing adventure game.
While both games were worked on
together, The Legend of Zelda
did not appear on the markets until 1987.
This was over a year after the NES had already shocked the world
with its original launch titles.
Zelda proved to be so popular that it reached number one on the
first ever Top 5 poll in Nintendo
Fun Club in 1987 and was also the number one game in the final NES
Top 20 poll in Nintendo Power in
1994.
The
Legend of Zelda mixed
many popular elements from action games, adventure games and role-playing
games. You control Link, a young
man on a quest to find eight pieces of an important item called the
Tri-Force. After you have retrieved
all eight pieces you must go fight Ganon and save the Princess named Zelda. The game is shown in an overhead view
and you must wander around, what was in 1986, the largest world ever seen
in a video game. In this world
there are lots of secrets to uncover.
You can find heart containers that increase your hit points, you can
find better swords than the one that you begin the game with and you also
must find certain items that must be used to kill dungeon bosses. You can find items through bombing
caves or burning down trees, not very environmentally friendly but still
a cool idea.
The non-linear aspect to the game
is that you can attack the dungeons in whatever order you want although
you may find yourself stuck in one because you don’t have a crucial item
from an early dungeon. You can
also decide how important it is to find heart containers early on. In order to upgrade to a better sword
you have to have a certain amount of heart containers so most people try
to find the hidden hearts around the overworld so that the dungeons are a
bit easier.
This is a pretty long game if
you’ve never played it before because you will get lost many times. But once you have beaten it a couple
times, you can beat the game in a couple hours. On top of all this greatness, in
classic Miyamoto fashion, you are given a 2nd Quest to complete
after you beat the first. In this
quest, most of the items have been hidden in new places, most of the
dungeons have been rehidden and the dungeons themselves are completely
different on the inside. Talk
about one heck of an extra!
 Positives:
Well it is possibly the greatest
game on the NES or any other system.
The huge world that you walk around in was an amazing feat for its
time and is still one of the largest on the NES. The controls are spot-on and the music
is very catchy although super repetitive.
The 2nd Quest adds a great level of challenge to any
seasoned Zelda player.
Glaring
Negatives:
None, it's just about
perfection. Although, I guess I’ll
complain that your rupee total maxes out at 255 for some strange
reason. Plus, I’ll complain that
there isn’t a third quest…
Graphics
and Sound: Great
The graphics are quite good. The
backgrounds are very nice and the end guys are all cool looking. Heck even the intro screen looks
sweet. It’s one of the few games whose music I
actually like.
Gameplay
and Controls: Great
The controls are excellent. Everything is smooth as silk.
Features:
Tons
There are tons of items and
features in this game. Each level has new items to be found. You can find more heart containers,
bow, bombs, swords, candles, rafts, rings, shields, on and on.
Fun?: Oh
Yeah
Its simply an amazing game.
Challenge:
Pretty Hard
Some of the dungeons are pretty
tough, and if you don't cheat, it can be hard to find everything. Just
pay attention to what people in the game tell you. These clues will help
you find everything. 
Replay:
Some
So you killed Ganon, good for
you. Did you know there is a
second quest? Time to find all
those treasures again.
2
Player: None
There aren't any two player
options. But you know what, who cares! Just tell your friend to shut up
and watch the pure joy on your face as you play.
Online
Manual?: Yes at Nintendo Age
http://www.nintendoage.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=Element.View&egID=1304&lgID=569
Bottom
Line: Yes, Yes, Yes
If you don't have this game buy
it. If you don't have a NES, buy one and then buy Zelda. It'll be cheaper
than buying a crappy new game and a billion times more fun. Seriously
stop reading this review and just go buy the game.
|
