The Legend of Zelda

Let's take a look at where it all began.

The Legend of Zelda
Developer: Nintendo
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System (GCN Collection version reviewed)
Genre: Action-adventure

My memories of childhood are hazy. I can clearly remember my life from the age of 11 until now, however everything before that gets blurrier and blurrier the further I try to go back. Part of the reason why videogames are such a huge part of my life is the fact that they represent the best memory-markers from my childhood that I can recall. I can barely remember the course of my days at the age of six, but I can clearly remember sitting on my my bedroom floor, playing the original Legend of Zelda with my older brother for hours.

As a child, I never beat the game. Hell, I couldn't defeat the first boss, let alone the entire adventure. However, in spite of this, the game kept reeling me back in and demanding that I play more and more of it.

Over a decade and a half later, I finally got around to finishing this one off. I managed to score a copy of the Zelda Collector's Edition Gamecube disc a while back, which contained copies of the first two Zelda games, and both of the N64 titles, Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. I plunged into the original right out of the gate, and after years and years of wondering, I finally conquered the first adventure.


Story

The land of Hyrule is watched over by the revered Princess Zelda. The line of rulership in Hyrule has, for the last several hundred years, passed along a "family heirloom" that guides and protects the sanctity of the kingdom. The Triforce of Wisdom. This mystical golden triangle offers the leader of Hyrule incredible sight and knowledge with which to lead the people into prosperity.

However, one day tragedy looms on the horizon for the peaceful kingdom. Zelda, through the aid of her Triforce, forsees the coming of a great evil. She sees the emergence of the demon sorcerer Ganon, and sees his intentions to use his own Triforce, the Triforce of Power, to wrestle control of Hyrule away from the Princess and take her Triforce of Wisdom as his own. Knowing that, at all costs, the Triforce of Wisdom must not fall into his vile hands, Zelda splits the object into eight pieces and scatters them across the land. Days later, Ganon's forces overtake the kingdom and capture Princess Zelda.

In the midst of this chaos, a wandering soldier named Link meets with Zelda's wounded servant, Impa. In her last moments, the elderly woman informs Link of the fall of the kingdom and begs him to save their fair lands. Grabbing the nearest available weapon (a sword made of wood), Link sets out to restore balance to the kingdom of Hyrule.


Gameplay

Being that this is the first game in the series, you're looking at some pretty simplistic gameplay by today's standards. However, even after almost 20 years, you can see how incredibly solid the game design was and still is. The fact is, in the context of the game's release, this game was perfect in terms of the gameplay. Obviously, comparing the Legend of Zelda to more contemporary titles like Resident Evil 4 or Metroid Prime, arguments could be made like the controls being too limited, or there not being enough options, or differing gameplay and whatnot. However, speaking solely in terms of what the game personified, it is without flaw.

You control Link with the d-pad, allowing you to move in four directions: up, down, left and right. The A Button swings Link's sword and the B Button allows you to use Link's equipped item. If you've got a shield equipped, most projectiles that hit Link from the front will be deflected entirely. The Start Button allows you to enter the menu, in which you can view and select from your available items, view your collected Triforce pieces and, if you're in a dungeon, view a map of the level you're in. Simple, but totally effective. Without flaw.

As Link, you're actually capable of quite a lot of cool abilities and actions. As you progress through the game, you'll find several equipable and permanent items that enhance your capabilities in-game. You can shoot arrows with your trusty Bow, you can lay Bombs to blow open walls and damage enemies, you can throw your Boomerang to stun enemies and reel in treasure, you can use your Magic Rod to attack enemies from a distance, your Blue Candle can be used to brighten dark rooms and burn bushes, your Whistle can be used outside of dungeons to transport you across the overworld map, Potions can be purchased to restore your health and Food can be dropped to distract certain types of enemies.

Most all of these items can also be upgraded to perform their duties more efectively. The Silver Arrows are the only items that can deal Ganon damage, the Magical Boomerang flies much farther and kills weaker enemies, the Magic Book enhances the Magic Rod so that enemies hit by the projectile are also set ablaze, the Red Candle can be used more frequently than the Blue Candle, and Red Potions can be used more frequently than Blue Potions.

On top of that, Link also earns a selection of permanent items which always display their beneficial effects once discovered. Link can find two upgraded swords, the White Sword and the all-powerful Magic Sword, an improved Mirror Shield that can block fireballs and energy projectiles, the Blue and Red Rings which cut recieved damage down to 1/2 and 1/4 respectively, a Raft to cross large bodies of water, a Ladder to cross small bodies of water, lava and narrow chasms, a Power Bracelet that allows Link to push large stones out of his way, and a Magic Key that opens all locked doors without the need for small keys.

As he explores the kingdom, Link will also locate items such as Heart Containers which increase his maximum health, Fairies that restore a large portion of life, Large Fairies that completely heal him, Stopwatches that freeze all on-screen enemies in place until you leave the area, and Rupees, the Hylian currency, which are used to buy new items.

The Legend of Zelda is really divided into two main parts: the overworld and the dungeons. There are no towns or anything of that sort. On the overworld, Link will need to fight his way through dense, mazelike forests, deserts crawling with enemies, dangerous mountaintops with crashing boulders, and eerie lakes brimming with violent Zolas. Some areas can only be accessed with the proper tools at hand. The graveyard, for example, can only be reached once Link has acquired the Ladder and can cross the rivers that cut it off from the rest of the map. Dungeon 8 can only be accessed once you have acquired a Candle and can burn away the tree blocking its entrance. Again, this is an example of the perfection in the balance of the game's design. You can't go everywhere right off the bat, so you need to be making constant mental notes in order to remember which places to revisit once you have the appropriate skills.

The dungeons are subterranean fortresses, dark and crawling with Ganon's minions. Each dungeon consists of a series of rooms filled with puzzles and traps. As you progress through each one, you will be granted a new item (such as the Bow or the Magical Boomerang) and then you will be pitted against the Dungeon Guardian, massive boss creatures that range from the fire-spewing dragon Aquamentus to the massive, single-eyed spider Gohma to the game's final enemy, Ganon himself. Each one requires a specific strategy and timing in order to defeat. Dodongo, for example, is a huge dinosaur-like beast whose skin is so thick, no attack can piece it. The only way to damage the beast is to lay a bomb in it's path and wait for the perpetually-hungry monster to devour the explosive. Again, as above, this is an example of what a great framework Nintendo hit upon with the creation of this game.

You can tell right from the start that Nintendo had a work of art on their hands when they crafted this game. The challenge in the game comes not from testing your reflexes (as was the case with Super Mario Bros.), nor does it come from testing your patience (as was the case with Final Fantasy). The challenge comes from using your brain. It comes from pitting you against challenging puzzles and cryptic environments. The fact is, not everyone is capable of making Mario run at full speed, jump and land on a platform an inch wide without falling off. Not everyone is capable of withstanding the mental torment that is mindlessly levelling up in a Final Fantasy game. However, anyone is capable of challenging their minds and solving the puzzles and obstacles that the Legend of Zelda pits you against. Anyone can accomplish these things so long as they focus and set their brains on it. Anyone can enjoy exploring the huge game world and discovering Hyrule's numerous secrets. That's what makes the Legend of Zelda stand out from the rest.

I terms of gameplay, by current-generation conventions, it's outdated. Nowadays you've got games like Splinter Cell, in which you can hold down a button to stop breathing while you aim a sniper rifle. Compared to that, Link's ability to toss a Boomerang is archaic. However, analyzing the game based solely on it's own merits, it's the most solid 8-bit game ever made. No game from the NES era featured gameplay design that was as perfect and timeless as this, and it's a game that anyone can get into.


Graphics

It's come to the point now where I can't even really look at The Legend of Zelda and say "well, for it's time it looked great." I can do that with gameplay, because solid gameplay is always solid gameplay. Graphics are a different thing.

By today's standards, the game is ugly. Now, that's not to say that I don't like the visual presentation of the Legend of Zelda. Quite the opposite, I love the graphics. They are nostalgic, and each weird corner of Link's sprite is dear to me. If Nintendo were to pull a Final Fantasy Origins and re-release the game with 16-bit graphics, I'd be outraged. I love the graphics because they mean something to me.

However, that doesn't make them technically good. The sprites are blocky and weird, the animations are literally no more than two frames, the effects are practically non-existent and there are glitches and tearing issues everywhere. It's an ugly game, but much like a Bassett Hound, I love it because it's ugly.


Sound

Very much the same story. The Legend of Zelda features maybe a half-dozen tracks in the entire game, and by the time you hit the 9th Dungeon, you'll be humming them while you sleep.

Here's where the division really comes in. In terms of the composition of these songs, I still think they are outstanding. The Overworld Theme is, in my opinion, the greatest piece of videogame music ever written. No single piece of videogame audio stirs up my insides like the first few notes of that theme, and it's instantly recognizable by basically anyone. I can play the song for my dad, who plays almost no videogames at all, and he can immediately identify it. The dungeon theme is the same way, only less-recognizable by the public. It's a perfect tune, with perfect mood and atmosphere.

The split comes from the quality of the music. This is an 8-bit game, so the songs are composed as basically a treble bleep and a bass bloop with no percussion behind it. By today's standards, it's cute, but sounds ancient.

Sound effects are the same way. They're "retro", and all the weird little doodles and zings are nifty, but they are old and not realistic in the slightest.


Flaws

Age. The graphics and sound are fossils of the 80's. This game is so old, that at this point, the ugliness of the title has gone full-circle and has gone from just flat-out ugly to "so ugly it's retro." See my Bassett Hound analogy above.


Overall

What more is there to say? It's a classic game, and in my opinion, the king of it's time. No game from the NES era has managed to remain as timeless as this one. While the technical aspects of the game are outdated and archaic, the gameplay is perfect, and will always be perfect. If you've never managed to knock this one off your "to do list", go out and buy a used NES and a copy of this old gold cartridge. Or, if you own a Gameboy Advance, grab the NES Classic re-release. Or, if you own a Gamecube, try desperately to find that neato Collector's Disc that I was lucky enough to procure for free. (Hah! Suckers!)

Either way, I think it's time for you to give your childhood a kick in the pants and fire this badboy up again, for old time's sake. It's always good for nostalgia, and it will be providing this reviewer a source of entertainment and fond memories until the day he dies.

Truly a videogame Legend.

Score: 8.5