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On 21 February 1986, The Legend of Zelda (Nintendo EAD, 1986) was first released in Japan. The creation of legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, The Legend of Zelda launched one of Nintendo’s most popular franchises. This year, I’m dedicating every Wednesday to Nintendo’s most famous silent protagonist, Link and his vast and enduring fantasy world of sword and sorcery.

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Released: 5 September 2019
Originally Released: 21 November 1991
Developer: Nintendo
Original Developer: Nintendo EAD
Also Available For: Game Boy Advance, Nintendo 3DS (Virtual Console), Nintendo Wii, Nintendo Wii U, Satellaview, Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) Classic Edition, SNES

The Background:
Created by designer Shigeru Miyamoto, The Legend of Zelda was purposely designed to emphasise exploration and experimentation, with Miyamoto drawing inspiration from his childhood love of exploring forests and caves. The game was a massive success for Nintendo, selling well over 6.5 million copies and being widely regarded as one of the greatest adventure game of all time. Miyamoto followed this breakout hit with a decidedly different experience; Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (Nintendo R&D4, 1987) remains one of the franchise’s more divisive titles for ditching the top-down perspective in favour of traditional 2D sidescrolling sections, incorporating a level-up mechanic, and its unreasonable difficulty spikes that saw even Miyamoto express regret over the game’s execution, which was simply hampered by the hardware of the time. Though the game sold well and was met with positive reviews, and is often seen as being ahead of its time, Miyamoto returned to the top-down perspective for the third entry, which he initially planned to include a party of protagonists and which was developed to showcase the power of Nintendo’s new 16-bit console. Utilising a 8 Mbit cartridge as opposed to the usual 4 Mbit allowed A Link to the Past to be the largest and most detailed Zelda adventure yet; graphical decompression and clever use of overlays allowed the game to include two worlds, the bright and vibrant Hyrule and its far more desolate (and game-changing) Dark World counterpart, resulting in what many have deemed to be the greatest Legend of Zelda game of all time. This was reflected upon the game’s release, with it becoming a best-selling SNES title and being accompanied by overwhelmingly positive reviews. Not only was A Link to the Past host to one of gaming’s most obscure Easter Eggs, adapted into both a comic book and a manga, and eventually followed by a direct sequel, it was ported to the Game Boy Advance alongside some additional gameplay mechanics and elements and made available on numerous later Nintendo consoles for new generations to play.

The Plot:
A young apprentice named Link takes up his uncle’s sword and shield to rescue Princess Zelda from the clutches to the malevolent sorcerer Agahnim. However, Agahnim is merely a pawn of the King of Evil, Ganon, who imprisons seven maidens in the Dark World, a dimension of evil and chaos, into which Link must venture to restore peace to Hyrule.

Gameplay:
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is a top-down adventure game in which players once again assume the role of Link, a young boy in a green tunic whom they can now rename from the file selection screen in order to personalise their quest. In many ways, the game is an expanded and enhanced remake of the original Legend of Zelda and follows many of the same gameplay tropes, but also brought them to life in ways that would come to define the franchise for decades. The game employs a simple control scheme, with Link enjoying a greater freedom of movement compared to the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) releases thanks to the SNES’s hardware; in this version of the game, you can control Link with either the left stick or the directional buttons, which offers even more freedom of movement. There are multiple functions tied to the A button; it allows you to grab and throw objects (bushes, pots, rocks, bombs, and so forth), open chests to acquire new items and keys, advance dialogue boxes and, later, you can hold it down to charge up a running dash when you get your hands on the Pegasus Shoes. Once you acquire your uncle’s sword and shield, B allows you to attack enemies with slashes; holding down B will charge Link’s patented Spin Attack to defeat multiple enemies at once and, when you later upgrade to the fabled Master Sword, your sword will shoot out a swirling energy projectile when you’re at full health. Link’s shield is automatically equipped and will defend against most projectiles, but you’ll need to upgrade it to fend off later energy attacks. The Y button allows you to use an equipped item; you’ll find and acquire many different items from chests and helpful non-playable characters (NPCs) and you can equip them using the ‘Start’ button. These range from familiar weapons like the boomerang, bow and arrows, and bombs, to items that drain your magic meter (including magic powder, the lantern, and the elemental rods) and consumables stored in bottles. As is often the case, Link cannot jump; he can drop down from ledges or through holes and climb up ladders and staircases but you won’t be performing any mid-air attacks here. The Pegasus Shoes do allow you to blast yourself over some gaps, however, but mostly you’ll be relying on the hookshot, magic platforms, and various other means to progress. As Hyrule is bigger than ever, this means a great deal of backtracking, exploration, and trial and error; often, areas will be blocked off by larger rocks, bodies of water, or even ancient texts or the use of powerful magic medallions.

Link’s quest will take him all across Hyrule, which you can view at any time with the X button; story-specific locations are indicated on this map but you’ll need to converse with NPCs and pay attention to signs and dialogue to work out where you need to go. There’s a degree of freedom here but the game’s dungeons are best conquered in numerical order so you have all the tools you need to progress; there’s nothing worse than venturing all the way to the swamp to find you need the Book of Muldora to read the ancient text and open up the dungeon, or making it all the way to the top of Death Mountain without the Quake Medallion. Thankfully, you can later acquire a flute to fast travel across the map and make use of the Zora Flippers to warp to various points using whirlpools, but it can be difficult figuring out where you need to go and what you need to do. To start with, you’ll need to travel to three dungeons and acquire three magical pendants in order to rescue Princess Zelda. This offers a taste of A Link to the Past’s formula and sees you venturing into hazardous dungeons, acquiring new items in each along with a map and compass to help you navigate via a grid-like map on the menu screen, and defeating a boss. Dungeons are typically maze-like, growing more complex and involved as the game progresses, and contain many puzzles that you’ll soon become familiar with: you’ll be pulling levers, defeating all enemies, and stepping on switches to open doors or spawn chests containing keys, pushing blocks, activating crystal switches to raise and lower coloured blocks, struggling on ice and moving platforms and paths, dodging fireballs, running across narrow paths as they collapse beneath you, lighting torches, and blowing up weak walls to find new areas. When in dungeons, you can find special tiles to converse with the wise Sahasrahla for hints, but mostly you have to figure out what you’re doing on your own, which can quickly become very tough; it’s easy to end up wandering around aimlessly, taking out the respawning enemies and searching every nook and cranny to try and progress. Some dungeons require you to venture outside and change something on the overworld in order to progress, such as opening a dam, navigating a haunted forest, or using your magical medallions. Others see you dropping through or pushing blocks down specific holes to reach chests, warping around on tiles, escorting NPCs, blasting across lava pits through pipes, creating your own platforms with a magic wand, avoiding various spiked hazards, and lighting up dark areas with your lantern or by blowing up cracked floor tiles.

Just reaching the dungeons can be a quest in itself as you venture through caves, guide NPCs to safety, pay a cheeky monkey to open the way, buy a bigger bomb to blow open a wall, and figure out the path through the misty Lost Swords to retrieve the legendary Master Sword. Most prominent, however, is the presence of the Dark World; this ashen, nightmarish dimension is reached through warp tiles found across Hyrule and will render you defenceless without the aid of a special item. When in the Dark World, the map changes in various ways; not only are the enemies tougher, the overall atmosphere more ominous, and the land reduced to an apocalyptic hellscape, but certain paths are now blocked and alternative ones are opened up, and just navigating this hazardous landscape is made all the more difficult as a result (and the fact that you can’t use your flute to warp about). Link can return to Hyrule at any time using a Magic Mirror, which also leaves behind a sparkling warp point to quickly shunt back to the Dark World if necessary, and you’ll be jumping between these two worlds to solve puzzles, access new dungeons, and progress through the story. As the game progresses, things get noticeably tougher for Link; newer, more powerful enemies appear on the map and the dungeons get longer and more complicated, though you can pay a fortune teller to point you in the right direction. You can also find fairy fountains to replenish your health (but not your magic), acquire Heart Pieces and Heart Containers to extend and refill your health, and purchase various useful items from shops or from NPCs using Rupees, Hyrule’s traditional currency. Be sure to save your game often; you’ll be returned to the title screen and won’t restart at full health, but this allows you to pick from various starting points, which can make getting around easier. There are also some distractions on offer to help break things up, such as a time trial race, a shooting gallery, a chest opening game, and numerous hidden rooms; often, these award Rupees and Heart Pieces, but you’ll occasionally encounter NPCs in need of assistance who will bestow you with a new item or upgrade your existing ones (though often at a price).

Graphics and Sound:  
Without a doubt, A Link to the Past is the finest 2D Zelda experience on offer. The first game was ambitious but painfully limited in its visuals, but this isn’t an issue here thanks to the SNES’s greater power. The game absolutely pops with colour and variety; parts of Hyrule are often overcast by raging thunder and rainstorms, each compass point of the map feels distinct from the others while still being logically connected, and there’s an incredible amount of detail packed into every aspect of the game. No longer an obscure mish-mash of green and brown pixels, Link is an expressive and colourful sprite; he doesn’t have any idle animations but he strains with effort when pushing and pulling rocks, sports a mop of red hair, holds up items and his sword in triumph, collapses comically in defeat, flashes his skeleton when he’s electrocuted, and the Game Boy Advance port even includes sound bites from his 3D adventures. The game’s NPCs are also far more varied and lively; inhabitants of Kakariko Village will scream and run into their houses, alerting the guards when you’re near, a lazy thief naps outside the swamp, a mysterious flute boy plays for an audience of cute little woodland critters before vanishing, the blacksmith worries for the fate of his brother, two lumberjacks hack away at a tree at the foot of Death Mountain, and various fairies and sea-dwelling creatures await in caves and bodies of water. When in the Dark World, Link will be able to talk to more monstrous NPCs and is transformed into a strange, bunny-like creature devoid of weapons. When he acquires upgrades to his tunic, sword, and shield, Link’s sprites change colours so you can see this progression and even the game’s enemies exhibit a lot of personality, charging at you the moment they see you and hopping and stomping about the place.

Hyrule is larger, more varied, and more luscious than ever before; at the centre is Zelda’s Castle, a massive structure of stone and regality where Ganon’s forces constantly patrol. To the North looms Death Mountain, identified by its confusing network of dark caves and the constant barrage of falling boulders falling; to the East lies the Desert of Mystery, a scorching desert filled with cacti plants and ancient ruins; South is home to Lake Hylia, with Hyrule’s rivers eventually taking you to the outskirts of Zora’s Domain; and heading West will taking you to the murky swamps, the bustling Kakariko Village, and the misty and mysterious Lost Woods. You’ll be exploring and opening up new areas in each of these locations throughout the game, lifting rocks to discover hidden pathways, blasting open caves, and altering the landscape with your items and magic. Link enters many buildings on his quest, such as the church-like Sanctuary (and its network of rat-infested sewers), shops, and other homesteads, and will explore forests, a haunted graveyard, and caves. There are always enemies, NPCs, and other objects to encounter and interact with in every area but, when you travel to the Dark World, even the friendliest of areas becomes far more ominous as wrecked houses, rotting trees, and bones of titanic animals litter the landscape. Zelda’s Castle is replaced by a gigantic and foreboding Pyramid of Power, the bright and sunny sky replaced by an unsettling dusk (or raging thunderclouds around Death Mountain), and even Kakariko Village is replaced by the post-apocalyptic Village of Outcasts. Both the swamp and the Lost Woods become dangerous and haunted wastelands, Lake Hylia is transformed into a polluted sea home to a frozen temple, Ganon’s magically sealed tower looms atop Death Mountain, and the entire overworld takes on a dark, depressing colour palette to separate it from its livelier counterpart.

Much of this visual variety doesn’t really translate to the game’s interior locations; caves are mostly the same, sometimes being darker, more maze-like, or requiring different items to bypass hazards and pits but mostly utilising the same sprites. The dungeons are generally distinguishable only by their different colour palettes and altered layouts, but there are some exceptions; the Eastern Palace sports bulbous cycloptic statues, the Tower of Hera features more vertical traversal and pits, the Dark Palace has ramps you need to propel yourself off with the Pegasus Shoes, you’ll lose a lot of traction in the Ice Palace and need to open floodgates to traverse the Swamp Palace, find yourself heading outside to reach new areas of the Skull Woods, and will navigate a series of platforms in the cavernous Turtle Rock. All the puzzles, gimmicks, and most of the enemies you’ve encountered will be recycled in each dungeon, especially the final one, Ganon’s Tower, a perverted mirror of Zelda’s Castle that features a veritable gauntlet against everything you’ve encountered previously. As visually impressive as the game is, the music is equally memorable; things start out dark and ominous but the iconic Legend of Zelda theme kicks in triumphantly once you bring Princess Zelda to Sanctuary and will accompany you on the overworld from then on. Dungeons and boss battles are punctuated by suitable menacing overtures, victorious symphonies play whenever you conquer a dungeon or acquire a new item, and more calming, even melancholic melodies play whenever the story is being related through dialogue. The game’s few cutscenes are rendered entirely using the in-game sprites and graphics, with simply dialogue boxes being the order of the day, but there are some impressive instances of layering (paths, bridges, and walkways overlapping with lower areas), weather effects (lightning, rain, clouds, even a brief drought), parallax scrolling (particularly when at the peak of Death Mountain), and even a 3D effect to render the legendary Triforce onscreen.

Enemies and Bosses:
The forces of darkness are many and varied throughout Hyrule; Link will have to fend off smaller, weaker enemies like bat-like Keese, snake-like Ropes, crows, rats, crabs, and even killer bees if he disturbs the wrong tree with his Pegasus Shoes. River Zoras pop up from the various streams around the map to spit projectiles at you, thieves steal your ammo, Rupees, and even your weapons, Buzz Blobs will electrocute you if struck with your sword, and you can’t even attack the chicken-like Cuccos without facing harsh retribution. Hyrule is filled with strange monsters, too, such as the spider-like Tektites, Goomba-like Deadrocks (which turn to stone when struck), annoying Anti-Fairies that bounce around and reduce your magic and your health on contact, Armos Knights that tremble to life and bounce around when you touch them, and helmeted enemies that have an annoying tendency to send you ricocheting down pits. Ganon’s forces are far more dangerous and versatile, however; his knights come in various different colours and sporting various weapons, from swords, spears, bows and arrows, bombs, and even chained maces. Octoroks wander about spitting rocks at you, their balloon-like counterparts explode when hit, Wizzrobes teleport about firing energy waves, Beamos statues blast you with a high-powered laser beam, pig-like Moblins attack with spears, and you’ll find more than a few hulking, bomb-tossing Hinox in the Dark World. Ganon’s Tower is guarded by the tough Lynels, centaur-like creatures that spit fireballs at you and require an upgraded sword to defeat; Pikkus and Goriyas also prove troublesome as they mirror your movements, while Eyegroes are best defeated with your arrows. Stalfos and Gibdos are also quite common, with the former jumping about or throwing bones at you and the latter proving almost as difficult to dispatch as the Freezors and Geldman unless you utilise your elemental rods. You should also watch for Wallmasters dropping from above to return you to the dungeon entrance, indestructible Chain Chomps, and the dragon-like Zazaks.

By far the most intimidating of Ganon’s regular enemies, however, are the Stalfos Knights; unlike other Zelda games, A Link to the Past doesn’t contain any mini bosses but these large, sword-wielding skeletons almost fit the bill. However, they’re easily reduced to a pile of bones with a swipe of your sword and dropping a bomb on their remains will finish them off before they can reform to pester you again. Your quest will see you battling twelve mammoth bosses, with four of them being encountered again in the gruelling gauntlet that is Ganon’s Tower. The first boss you’ll face is actually six large Armos Knights; they’ll bounce around in a circle, expanding and constricting and charging at you, but you can make short work of them using the bow and arrows as opposed to even your upgraded Master Sword, though the fight is made tricker in Ganon’s Tower thanks to the ice covering the floor. Next, you’ll face three Lanmola, giant worms that burst from the sand and send small rocks flying your way; as long as you avoid these projectiles, and their writhing bodies, they’re pretty easy to defeat, especially if you use the Ice Rod, though you’ll also need to watch for a fireball-spitting statue when facing them in Ganon’s Tower. The last Pendant is defended by Moldorm, a large, strange worm-like creature that slithers erratically around a small platform. Its only weak point is its tail and Link will bounce back, most likely down to a lower floor, if he attacks any other part of the creature; though the surface area of the rematch against Moldorm is even smaller in Ganon’s Castle, this fight is a joke with the fully powered-up Master Sword. Once you have all three Pendants of Virtue, you can confront the dark wizard Agahnim in Hyrule Castle; Agahnim cannot be attacked directly with any of your weapons, instead you need to deflect his projectiles back at him much like boss battles in later Zelda games. Agahnim will teleport around the enclosed arena and charge up a projectile, but you can only hit the large, flaming ones back at him and these can sometimes go off course; when you face him again in Ganon’s Tower, he duplicates himself to make things tougher, but it can actually speed things up as you potentially get three shots to reflect back at him.

After being sent to the Dark World, Link must defeat seven more bosses before having a final showdown with Ganon. First up is the gigantic Helmasaur King, a dragon-like creature whose weak spot is initially hidden behind a mask. Using the Magic Hammer, Link can break and eventually destroy this mask to target the Helmasaur King’s glowing weak spot with either his sword or arrows, but players will need to watch out for the creature’s extendable spiked tail and the fireballs it spits from its mouth. Though visually less intimidating, Arrghus is a slightly more laborious boss; Link must use his hookshot to extract and destroy the individual Arrgi protecting this jellyfish-like creature until Arrghus is fully exposed, after which it tries to crush Link and moves erratically around the room, being vulnerable only upon landing but causing splash damage if you’re not careful. Mothula awaits in the Skull Woods and is perhaps the most difficult boss so far thanks to its crazed movements making it best to use the magic-consuming Fire Rod, the moving floor sending you into the spiked hazards surrounding the arena (which also move at you), and the creature itself both trying to ram you and firing lasers, though you can make things easier if you have a Golden Bee in a bottle as this will attack the boss and allow you to focus on avoiding damage. You’ll battle Blind the Thief in Gargoyle’s Domain only after exposed an NPC you’ve rescued into the light and revealing her to be this demonic former thief in disguise. Blind hovers about shooting lasers and can only be damaged by hitting his head; eventually, his shroud drops and he sends his head floating around the arena to blast at you independently from his body, which sprouts another head for up to three times the danger, but it’s not especially difficult to avoid these heads and the fight’s all the easier since you don’t need to make use of the dungeon’s weapon to defeat Blind.

This isn’t quite true of Kholdstare, a bulbous eye that you must first free from its block of ice using either the Fire Rod or the Bombos Medallion while avoiding the blocks of ice it drops from above. Once freed, Kholdstare splits into three and just kind of wanders about doing nothing, making it a ridiculously easy boss. Vitreous provides a bit more of a challenge; another eye-themed boss, this glaring monster sits in a puddle of swamp water and is protected by several smaller eyeballs, which it also uses as projectiles. The sword, bow, and hookshot are all useful here but you need to watch out for the erratic bolts of lightning Vitreous will occasionally send your way; once all the smaller eyes are gone, Vitreous resorts to bouncing around in a temper tantrum, leaving it vulnerable. If you venture into Turtle Rock without some green potion or, at the very least, having awoken the Mad Batter to reduce your magic consumption, Trinexx can prove to be especially difficult. This massive rock-like dragon sports three heads: a red one the breathes fire, a blue one that freezes the ground and ruins your traction, and a stone one that extends at you. You need to use the Fire Rod on the red head and the Ice Rod on the blue head, but don’t just fire away willy-nilly; time your attack to hit and stun the head and then switch to you sword because you’ll have no way of damaging either head if you run out of magic. Once these two heads are destroyed, Trinexx dramatically (and explosively) changes into a snake-like form, frantically slithering about but easily finished off by swiping its glowing middle section. If you’re playing the Game Boy Advance version of the game, you can also tackle the optional Palace of the Four Sword dungeon, where four dark variations of Link reside; each one is battled separately and showcases many of the same attacks and abilities as Link, such as his Pegasus Shoes and Magic Cape, while also unleashing their own versions of the Spin Attack and even a jumping strike. Blind, Mothula, the Helmasaur King, and Arrghus are also battled again in this dungeon, which rewards Link with the Four Sword.

Regardless of which version of A Link to the Past you’re playing, your adventure culminates in the hardest and longest dungeon of the game, Ganon’s Tower. Here, many of the game’s enemies and almost all the hazards and gimmicks you’ve encountered are recycled, with some of the toughest enemies attacking in large groups and you being forced to battle the first four bosses again with slightly different variations to each. It’s absolutely essential that you fully upgrade the Master Sword and your bow and arrows before tackling this dungeon, as it leads directly into the final confrontation with Ganon and you’ll need the Silver Arrows to finish him off. Assuming his monstrous pig form, Ganon awaits in the Pyramid of Power and is easily the game’s hardest and most laborious boss and will put all of your skills to the test. Make sure you’re swiping as soon as you drop into the arena to land a couple of free shots on him while he’s gloating, then avoid his trident when he tosses it at you; Ganon is invulnerable and intangible when teleporting but is open to a few good hits before he throws his trident so make sure you get them in while you can. The second phase greatly increases the difficulty; Ganon will surround himself with tiny flames that he transforms into indestructible bats to use as projectiles, making it very difficult to get close and land a hit. In the third phase, these bats leave a circle of fire around Ganon, who stomps about and destroys the tiles lining the outside of the room. After a few more hits, Ganon will extinguish the two torches and become invisible as well as intangible; you must light both torches to expose his location, hit him with your sword, and then fire a Silver Arrow at him when he turns blue. Do this four times and the King of Evil will finally be defeated, restoring peace to Hyrule, but make no mistake this is a gruelling encounter; you’ll need all four bottles filled with a variety of restorative potions in order to best him, or make liberal use of the Switch’s save and rewind feature to get around his more erratic and frustrating attack patterns.

Power-Ups and Bonuses:
If you’re anything like me, you play your Legend of Zelda games constantly swiping at bushes, breaking pots, and defeating enemies to fill up your health, magic, ammo, and Rupees. Link can carry 999 Rupees, which is an easy enough limit to reach thanks to the many secret Rupee rooms and chests found all over the place, and can spend these on potions, ammo, shields, and other items in various shops. Some prices are higher than others, however; you’ll need to toss an extortionate amount of Rupees into the Lake of Happiness to increase the maximum number of arrows and bombs you can carry, and it’ll cost you a whopping 500 Rupees to acquire the Zora’s Flippers so you can swim, but tempering your sword is surprisingly cheap. Other times, you simply need to find hidden fairies or NPCs who will provide new items or upgrade existing weapons like your sword, bow, and boomerang for free or locate the Big Key and the large chest in each dungeon to acquire some nifty new gear. Link begins his journey with a regular sword but later embarks on a quest to acquire the legendary Master Sword, which boasts a higher attack power and a variation on the Sword Beam; this can then be tempered and finally magically upgraded into the far stronger Golden Sword. Similarly, his shield can be upgraded to defend against small fireballs and is later replaced by the Mirror Shield, which reflects laser bolts.

Many recognisable Zelda weapons and items are up for grabs here. Link can toss a boomerang as a ranged weapon, blow open walls with bombs, shoot enemies from afar with his bow and arrows, and cross gaps with the hookshot (which, like the boomerang, can also pick up faraway items). Link can dash across the screen and swim when he acquires the Pegasus Shoes and Zora Flippers, respectively, lift heaver objects with the Power Glove and Titan’s Mitt, call a bird to fast travel across Hyrule with the flute (more of an ocarina, really…), dig up items with a shovel, pound down certain blocks with the Magic Hammer, and capture bugs and restorative fairies with the bug-catching net (providing he has one, or all, of the four empty bottles). There are also many magical items available: the Bombos, Ether, and Quake Medallions cause the ground to explode, call down a lightning storm which also illuminates hidden paths, and unleash a shockwave, respectively, while the Cane of Byrna and Cane of Somaria protect Link with a magical barrier and spawn moveable blocks, respectively. The Magic Cape also renders you invisible and invincible for as long as you have it equipped and your magic meter lasts, and you’ll find both a blue and red mail that not only change Link’s sprite but also greatly reduce the amount of damage he takes.

Additional Features:
There’s a fair amount to do in A Link to the Past, though some Zelda staples are noticeably missing; there is no trading sequence here, no fishing game, and no collectibles to trade in for upgrades and other items. You can find items such as a mushroom and NPCs like the blacksmith’s brother to acquire new items, and will receive upgrades from fairy fountains and such, and there are four empty bottles to be discovered. These can be filled with coloured potions to restore your health and magic, fairies to resurrect you, and bugs to attack your enemies so they’re well worth tracking down. There are also twenty-four Heart Pieces scattered throughout Hyrule and the Dark World; every time you collect four, you’ll gain an extra heart of health and you’ll also get a whole new one for every boss you defeat, bringing Link’s health up to a maximum of twenty hearts. You can also reduce the amount of magic you use by half, are required to locate the Moon Pearl to freely move about in the Dark World, and can find hidden rooms (usually behind destructible walls) that yield Rupees and other goodies. You get three save files to play on and can take on Ganon as many times as you like after finishing the game, and hunt down any items and Heart Pieces you’ve missed, though there’s no second, harder adventure to unlock here. This version of the game also allows up to four save states and lets you rewind the game if you make a mistake, which is a godsend for some of the tougher areas, and the Game Boy Advance version of the game includes an optional dungeon, two additional quests that yield new items, and a multiplayer mode in which two to four players work together to solve puzzles and defeat bosses.

The Summary:
There’s a reason why The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is so lauded within the Zelda community. It really was the greatest Zelda experience at the time, expanding upon the ambitious but limited first adventure and the aspiring attempt of the second game to be a more elaborate role-playing experience, and delivering the quintessential Legend of Zelda formula that was retained even when the series moved into 3D. A Link to the Past has long eluded me; growing up a SEGA kid, I wouldn’t get the chance to play it until I went out of my way to buy the Game Boy Advance port, which I was able to play through all the way to the final battle but never actually carried through to finish the game. The Nintendo Switch version offers gamers far more options to make this difficult adventure title a little easier thanks to the rewind function and save states, but this is still a title that refuses to hold your hand; the overworld is large and full of secrets, enemies, NPCs, and locations to explore, some of which are relevant and others you’ll have to come back to later when you have the right items. The presentation is absolutely top-notch; it’s a colourful, very detailed title that showcases the power of the SNES, with only a few moments of slowdown caused when there’s a little too much happening on the screen. The inclusion of the Dark World helps to keep things visually interesting, creating a distinct atmospheric vibe between the vibrant Hyrule and its desolate dark counterpart. The dungeons are a little too samey and confusing at times, some of the bosses were a bit disappointing, and it was lacking a few of the more prominent side quests and distractions that made later Zelda games so much fun to revisit, but I loved the sheer amount of detail packed into every aspect of the game. I didn’t grow up with A Link to the Past so I can’t say it’s my favourite of the classic Zelda games, but after finally playing it all the way through and really experiencing everything it has to offer, it definitely belongs in the top five of all-time Zelda greats and it’s obvious to me that this game alone fully justified the purchase of a SNES back in the day as it’s a fantastic showcase of everything that console was capable of.

My Rating:

Fantastic

Was The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past a part of your SNES library back in the day? If not, when did you first play the game and how do you think it compares to other Zelda titles, particularly the two that came before it? What did you think to the introduction of the Dark World and Link’s quest to rescue the seven maidens? Which of the dungeons, bosses, and weapons was your favourite? What did you think to the visual presentation of the game, and would you say that A Link to the Past is the best 2D Zelda title? Did you ever find all of the Heart Pieces and fully upgrade Link’s arsenal? How are you celebrating the franchise today? Whatever your thoughts on A Link to the Past, leave a comment below or share them on my social media.

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On 21 February 1986, The Legend of Zelda (Nintendo EAD, 1986) was first released in Japan. The creation of legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, The Legend of Zelda launched one of Nintendo’s most popular franchises. This year, I’m dedicating every Wednesday to Nintendo’s most famous silent protagonist, Link and his vast and enduring fantasy world of sword and sorcery.

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Released: 16 January 2019
Originally Released: 14 January 1987
Developer: Nintendo
Original Developer: Nintendo R&D4
Also Available For: Famicom Disk System, Game Boy Advance, GameCube, Nintendo 3DS (Virtual Console), Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), NES Classic Edition, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo Wii U

The Background:
The brainchild of designer Shigeru Miyamoto, The Legend of Zelda purposely emphasised exploration and experimentation based on Miyamoto’s childhood love of exploring forests and caves. Selling well over 6.5 million copies, the game was a massive success and has been widely recognised as one of the greatest adventure games ever made. A sequel was released the very next year, one that proved to be one of the more divisive titles in the franchise for abandoning almost all of the original’s gameplay mechanics, This, however, was Miyamoto’s intention all along; he assembled an all-new team for Zelda II and infused traditional role-playing game (RPG) mechanics with both the adventuring gameplay of the first game and the sidescrolling action of the likes of Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo R&D4, 1985) and CastleVania (Konami, 1986). Emphasising tactical combat, obscure dialogue, and levelling-up to improve your abilities, Zelda II was a stark contrast to the first game but, surprisingly, this didn’t impact its sales or reception at the time. The game sold nearly 4.40 million copies worldwide and was apparently met with positive reviews for its unique presentation, expansion of the formula, and challenging gameplay. However, while many consider it a hidden and underappreciated gem in the series, Zelda II retains a largely negative reception; interestingly, while Miyamoto returned to the familiar top-down formula for the far more successful sequel, Zelda II went on to influence the franchise’s larger narrative and jump to 3D. The game has been re-released multiple times, though never with any enhancements beyond save states and rewinds, to allow new generations of players to form their own opinions of this black sheep of the franchise,

The Plot:
After saving the kingdom of Hyrule, fated hero Link must embark on a new quest to awaken Princess Zelda’s slumbering ancestor by placing six crystals in six temples, all while contending with monstrous forces seeking to revive the Dark Lord, Ganon, using Link’s blood!

Gameplay:
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is a 2D action/adventure game in which players assume the role of the titular green tunic-clad protagonist and journey across the fantasy land of Hyrule, which is divided into forests, deserts, caves, and towns, searching for six crystals to revive a sleeping princess. At first glance, things are somewhat similar to the last game; you’re given three save files which you can name (though this name isn’t reflected in the in-game dialogue) and dropped into the game world after a bit of story text for context. However, as soon as you take control of Link, the differences between the first and second games become immediately apparent; firstly, Link begins in Zelda’s throne room in a traditional sidescrolling format like Super Mario Bros. This comparison becomes increasingly apt as you play with the controls and progress through the game; pressing B or X will see Link swipe with his sword, unleashing his patented Sword Beam when at full health, while A jumps! Jumping?! In a Zelda game? Outrageous! Link can also crouch (though less to duck beneath projectiles and more to perform a low attack) and holds a shield that will defend against some incoming ranged and melee attacks, but that’s it for his options at the start of the game. As soon as you leave the throne room, the game suddenly switches to a top-down view, but one markedly different to that of the first game; rather than presenting an action-oriented overworld, Zelda II takes more inspiration from traditional RPGs like Final Fantasy (Square, 1987) this time, with a few interactable elements and swarms of random battles appearing on the map. 

Yes, as you move around the overworld, little black monsters will randomly appear and make a beeline for you; if you come into contact with them, you’ll be warped to a sidescrolling section where you’ll either have to battle past enemies, simply walk offscreen, hop between platforms and over hazards, or collect special items to exit to the overworld. The enemies you face are determined by the sprite that touches you, the area you’re in, and how far into the game you are; touching a Bot-like enemy usually puts simpler enemies in your path, but touching a larger monster will spawn a greater challenge. Sometimes, these sidescrolling sections are mandatory to progress; you’ll randomly be deposited into a lava-filled cave, onto a bridge swarming with Bago-Bagos, or into a haunted graveyard and will have to fight your way out to move on. Defeating enemies will usually (but, annoyingly, not always) award experience points (EXP); yes, like other RPGS, Link must now gain EXP to level-up and increase his attack, health, and magic, all of which is essential for overcoming the game’s more challenging enemies and bosses. Occasionally, you’ll find Point Bags (either out in the open or dropped by defeated enemies) which will give you an EXP boost, and conquering each of the game’s Palaces will automatically award you with a free level. Link can level-up to a maximum level of eight and you’ll be able to select whether its your health, magic, or attack that’s increased each time you level-up, but the amount of EXP you need to level-up increases each time so it’s definitely worth defeating as many enemies as you can and grabbing all the Point Bags you see to get stronger faster. If you were paying attention there, you’ll have seen I mentioned magic; Zelda II introduced magic to the franchise, though it’s used a little differently than you might think. Each town Link visits shelters a wise old man who will freely teach you a spell (though sometimes you need to perform tasks, such as talking to specific non-playable characters (NPCs) or jumping down chimneys, to reach the old man). Pressing + brings up your list of spells and displays how many points they cost to use; you can then press – to perform the spell, though you can only perform them in sidescrolling sections, and the effects will only last for as long as the screen you’re on. Spells range from reducing the damage you take to changing your Sword Beam into a fireball and increasing your jump height and they’re absolutely essential for clearing the game’s Palaces. 

The first game is notoriously obtuse, rarely giving you much guidance about where to go and what to do, and Zelda II tries to address this by placing more emphasis on interacting with NPCs but, unfortunately, mistranslations muddy the water and leave you either with nonsense vagaries or out-right lies. In each of the game’s towns, Link can talk to NPCs for “hints” or have his health and magic restored, though some NPCS are actually enemies in disguise! There are also times when you need to perform fetch quests or talk to specific NPCs to gain new items or access to new areas; it’s again all annoyingly vague so I’d recommend just cutting out the middleman and using a guide right from the start. All the walkthroughs and level-ups in the world can’t help you when it comes to the game’s difficulty, though; while Zelda II is light on puzzles, requiring little more than the acquisition of keys and the use of certain items on the overworld, its Palaces are often sprawling mazes filled with instant-death lava or water and frustrating enemies, many of whom either take multiple hits to defeat or can resist your Sword Beam, making it useless a lot of the time. While enemies won’t respawn screen to screen, some come in seemingly endless swarms, others are invisible or invincible without certain items or spells, and others are placed in cramped hallways, making attacking and avoiding their attacks extremely aggravating. Perhaps because he’s not used to hopping over platforms, Link’s momentum is a bit janky here, meaning it’s easy to slip or bounce into death pits, and he also flies back upon taking damage, easily costing you a life. Yes, Zelda II also uses a life system; you start with three lives and, when they’re drained, you’re given the option to save your game or continue, which will return you to North Castle or the start of the current Palace, respectively, reducing your current accumulated EXP to zero in the process. While I can just about forgive a lot of the game’s oddities, the combat is awful here; since many enemies block your Sword Beam, you’ll be relying on jumping slashes to attack them, and Link’s range of attacks is sadly limited even after he gains new sword abilities, meaning combat is often as much of a chore as the tricky platforming and insane difficulty spikes peppered throughout the game. 

Graphics and Sound:
Fundamentally, Zelda II is graphically superior to the last game; the sidescrolling sections allow for greater detail in the sprites, particularly Link, and more detailed backgrounds than in the last game. Depending on where you are, you’ll load into various different areas on the overworld, from swamps that restrict your walking speed, to forests and traditional caves. The game’s Palaces share the same Roman-inspired aesthetic, featuring bricks and columns and statues and elevators, but each has a different colour palette and utilises its labyrinthine nature in different ways, such as incorporating crumbling platforms, destructible or falling blocks, lava pits, hidden drops, or pits that lead to lower areas. While Link looks more impressive than in the last game, he has no idle poses and his animation frames are severely limited; his sprites change when you acquire new moves or utilise certain spells, but he’s still limited by the NES hardware so he’s little more than a clunky lug here. Indeed, Zelda II may have been a little too ambitious for the time as the game’s performance struggles noticeably when enemies swarm on the overworld and when there are multiple sprites onscreen in the sidescrolling sections. Sprite flickering, slowdown, and even some glitches are surprisingly commonplace, which is odd considering how well made the first game was and how simplistic so much of the game is. Zelda II even struggles in the various towns, when NPCs wander around, going in and out of houses, to say nothing of the haunted graveyards and hazardous bridges, and you’ll see a lot of sprite tearing and performance issues when battling against the game’s bosses, too. 

On the plus side, Zelda II includes some chirpy and memorable tunes; the main Zelda theme is here, of course, and the main Palace and boss themes are fun little earworms (which is good as you’ll be hearing them again and again). Sound effects like Link’s Sword Beam and blocking projectiles and nice and clear, too, and there’s a decent amount of variety in the game’s locations, if not in the Palaces, which are very copy/paste even with their different colour schemes. Occasionally, you’ll find areas on the overworld where you need to use certain items, either manually (like the hammer and flute) or automatically (like the raft), and there are even some hidden paths and tiles that lead to Point Bags, Magic Jars, or upgrades to your health or magic bar.  Although Zelda II emphasises interacting with NPC, dialogue is extremely limited and littered with mistranslations; thankfully, you can simply hit B to skip dialogue without missing out on the benefits, such as having your health restored. Cutscenes are basically non-existent here; there’s a little animation on the title screen, some story text, and some flashing visuals when you defeat a boss, but that’s basically it until you reach the final Palace. Zelda II is one of the few Zelda games where series antagonist Ganon doesn’t appear at all (unless you lose all your lives and then he’ll taunt you from the Game Over screen) and it also doesn’t feature Link’s iconic secondary weapons like the boomerang or bow and arrow, meaning things get very basic and repetitive very quickly. 

Enemies and Bosses:
A wide variety of monstrous beings will dog Link’s progress in the game’s sidescrolling sections and Palaces, many of them new and unique to this game (as far as I can tell). We’ve got the standard bat-, bird-, snake-, spider-, and jelly-like cannon fodder that swoop, spit, and pounce about, annoying skeletal fish that leap out from water and spit projectiles, and ghostly eyeballs and floating heads that swarm the screen endlessly, bobbing about and decimating your health bar in seconds. It’s not long before you’re challenged by more frustrating enemies; Moblins, Iron Knuckles, Lizalfos, and Stalfos quickly become commonplace, defending against your Sword Beam and attacking with daggers, swords, maces, tridents, and even jump attacks. It can be difficult to land hits on them since you’re reliant on your jumping attacks and their projectiles can be incessant, making them frustrating encounters even when you’re at a higher level. This threat is escalated by the likes of the Doomknockers, Fokkas, Fokkerus, and various teleporting wizards; these guys will hop about, toss a barrage of axes or flames, and need the use of a spell in the latter’s case to even defeat. Toss in the barrage of damage sponge Bubbles, expendable Wosus, fireball-spitting statues, and worm-like creatures and it quickly becomes an uphill battle getting past even the simplest of areas as you have to avoid attacks or switch up your playstyle to overcome the enemies before you.  

Seven crystals in seven Palaces means, you guessed it, eight bosses to overcome in Zelda II, including the game’s true final boss. This time around, the bosses all have a life bar, similar to the Mega Man series (Capcom, 1987 to present), and drop a key after being defeated, which unlocks the Palace exit. The first boss you encounter is the horse-headed Mazura, whose armour protects him from all your attacks and whose swinging mace will decimate you if it makes contact. Your best bet here is to avoid being backed into a corner and activate your Shield spell to reduce the damage you take since you’ll need to use jumping slashes to hit his only weak point, his head. You’ll use these same tactics against the second boss, Jermafenser, a massive armour-clad knight whose head will detach after a few hits! However, Jermafenser is a bit of a joke; your shield will block his projectiles and, by this point, you should have the downward thrust, which makes short work of him, meaning the journey through Death Mountain and battles against the aggravating Dairas is more of a challenge! The third boss you encounter, Rebonack, is essentially a blue Iron Knuckle on a mechanical horse. He’ll charge across the screen and try to skewer you with his lance, meaning you need to time a downward thrust to rob him of his steed, after which you simply need to block, jump, or duck to defend against his barrage of daggers and attack his head as you would a normal Iron Knuckle. What makes Rebonack unique, though, is that you battle him again later in the game as he appears twice more as a mini boss in Three-Rock Palace, though he’s even easier in these encounters since you’re more powerful at that point. When you reach the Great Palace, you’ll also encounter another mini boss-like enemy, a Giant Bot that splits into several regular Bots upon being hit and slows the game to a crawl as a result. 

Journeying through Maze Island Palace will see Link clash with the wizard-like Carock, which is essentially a larger Wizzrobe variant. Because of this, battling it is extremely easy as you can simply activate the Reflect spell and crouch down in a corner; Carock will teleport about firing energy waves at you, but Reflect will send them right back, killing it in seconds. In comparison, the hulking Gooma is more of a challenge; slow and lumbering and wielding a spiked, chained ball, this monster requires a lot of patience as you use the Jump, Shield, and Life spells to avoid and endure his attacks and land hits to his torso. The dragon-like Barba was probably a lot harder in the original game but is made a lot easier with the Nintendo Switch’s rewind feature; it randomly rises from one of three lava pits to spew easily-voidable flame breath at you, so you need to be in the right spot to attack its head when it appears, which is easy to do when you can rewind the game on the fly! The penultimate boss, Thunderbird, poses the most significant challenge; not only must you reach it with a full magic bar since you need to cast Thunder to make it vulnerable, but it floats about spitting endless fireballs and can only be damaged by hitting its face. Once you defeat it, you’ll go straight to the final room and boss, with the damage and magic you lost fighting Thunderbird carrying over. Thankfully, the final boss, Dark Link, can be a bit of a let down; while Link’s shadow copies all his sword attacks and blocks yours with his shield, you can crouch or stand in the corner and easily cheese him, making the final challenge extremely anti-climactic considering how tough the rest of the game is. 

Power-Ups and Bonuses:
Unlike most Zelda games, Zelda II doesn’t include Rupees or shops and defeated enemies will not drop hearts to refill your life meter. The only way to restore Link’s health is to find a fairy on the overworld or in a sidescrolling section, level-up, visit an NPC at a town, or find a Heart Container, meaning you’ll mostly be relying on spells like Shield and Life to help reduce damage and restore your health. On the plus side, NPCs will aid you for free, though you’ll sometimes have to jump through some hoops to reach the old man and helpful knights who provide new spells and attacks. Although Link doesn’t get to use iconic sub-weapons like the bombs or hookshot, he can acquire items in each Palace to aid his quest; many of these are passive, automatically activating once you acquire them, such as the candle, raft, boots, key, and magic cross. These automatically light up dark areas, reveal hidden enemies, allow you to traverse streams or bodies of water, and open every door in the game unlike items like the hammer, flute, handy glove, which are activated on the overworld in the case of the former and powerup your sword attacks in the case of the latter to let you smash blocks. 

Link is taught eight spells throughout the game that are required to conquer the Palaces. Some are more tactical than others; for example, you don’t have to cast Shield or Life if you’re skilled enough to defeat enemies and bosses with little to no damage, and I only cast Spell a few times in dungeons swarming with Girubokkus and Moas since it turns them (and many other enemies) into harmless Bots. However, you absolutely will need to cast Jump to increase your jump height and reach new areas, you’ll need Fairy to transform into a tiny fairy and bypass larger gaps, and Fire and Reflect are both necessary to defeat certain enemies. Thunder, the most powerful spell in the game, will obliterate all onscreen enemies but it costs so much to use that I only employed it against Thunderbird since that’s the only time it’s unavoidable. Link can also learn two additional sword attacks, the downward and upward thrust, which are super useful for defeating enemies beneath and above him, though it’s not going to help you against Iron Knuckles and other similar enemies, which is annoying. Finally, in addition to finding Point Bags and magic jars, you’ll occasionally come across Link Dolls that will grant you an extra life, though this is sometimes detrimental as it means wasting more time just trying to save the game. 

Additional Features:
As is tradition for the Zelda franchise, numerous Heart Containers can be found all across Hyrule; acquiring these will refill and extend your health bar, and you only need to find one to do this rather than four or five like in other games. Additionally, Magic Containers will do the same thing for your magic bar, so it’s worth exploring a bit to find these, even if it means battling more enemies. As alluded to earlier, some NPCs will only help you after you’ve performed certain tasks or spoken to certain characters; there’s a mirror, water, and kidnapped child to find in order to learn certain spells, Link will need to use Jump and Spell to reach certain houses or unearth areas, and you’ll need to use the flute and hammer on the overworld to eliminate otherwise impassable monsters or reveal hidden areas. Finishing the game allows you to save and alters your save file; selecting it will begin the game anew, with all your spells and level-ups intact, though you’ll have to find all the items and beat all the Palaces again. You can skip to this game by selecting the “SP” version from the Nintendo Switch Online menu, and of course you can abuse the rewind and save state feature to make the game a bit less challenging, but it’s still a tough experience even with these quality-of-life features. 

The Summary:
I put off playing Zelda II: The Adventure of Link for years; I purposely downloaded it for the Nintendo Wii just to play it years ago but never actually sat down with it until this playthrough, and even then I was very reluctant after all the negativity surrounding it. Unfortunately, I have to say that the criticism this game often gets is entirely justified; it’s such a radical departure from the first game that it’s almost like a completely different game, and the challenge it offers is neither fun or rewarding. Things start out okay enough, but the difficulty spikes dramatically once you reach Death Mountain (the second area of the game, I might add!) and then becomes wildly inconsistent after that. Sometimes you’ll be bombarded with small, annoying enemies and projectiles or forced to fight tricky enemies like Iron Knuckles in narrow hallways, and other times rooms will be largely empty or contain simple platforming sections. I wasn’t a fan of the basic overworld, the aggressive random battle system, or the switch to a sidescrolling perspective; this only works in small doses in Zelda games and the NES just isn’t capable of giving Link the range of movement or attack options required to best utilise this perspective. I didn’t mind the level-up mechanics, or the use of spells, and grinding wasn’t too much of a slog for me unless I was battling Iron Knuckles, but the spells were quite mundane and circumstantial, and I missed using other weapons and solving puzzles. Instead, the game relies on mazes, vague hints, and trial and error to nudge you along, making for a confusing and aggravating experience as I don’t like referring to a walkthrough when I’m playing games. I liked the music, and aspects of the graphics, and the bosses were visually quite impressive, if mostly ridiculously easy compared to what you go through to reach them. Ultimately, I don’t think you’re missing out if you’ve never played this one; it’s a curious oddity in the franchise, one that’s easily skipped over in favour of the more enjoyable sequels, but it could provide some enjoyment for nostalgic gamers seeking to relive the days when videogames were unnecessarily difficult.

My Rating:

Could Be Better

Have you ever played Zelda II: The Adventure of Link? Were you put off by the changes to the gameplay and mechanics, or did you enjoy that it mixed up the formula? What did you think to the game’s difficulty and use of RPG mechanics? Did you struggle to work out where to go and what to do? Which of the game’s spells and bosses was your favourite? What did you think to the final boss? Would you like to see Zelda II remade or a return to this style of game for the franchise? How are you celebrated The Legend of Zelda this month and where games are your favourite? Whatever your thoughts, leave a comment below and maybe check out my other Zelda content.