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It's not the original, but it is the quintessential example of what a Zelda game is, was and always will be.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Developer: Nintendo
Platform: Super NES, Gameboy Advance (GBA version reviewed)
Genre: Action-adventure
This is the game that made me fall in love with the Zelda series. Sure, I had enjoyed the original as a kid, and Zelda II certainly has some nostalgic fondness attached to it. However, it wasn't until I was basically peer-pressured into playing the third game in the series, A Link to the Past, that I came to see how engrossing, epic and brilliant the franchise truly was. Link's third adventure hooked me, and if you never gave it the opportunity before, do so now, because I guarantee the same will happen to you.
Story
Hundreds of years before Zelda shattered the Triforce of Wisdom, hundreds of years before Link set foot into the Great Temple and claimed the Triforce of Courage as his own, another young boy named Link set out on a quest to rid his homeland of a sickening evil presence and to restore his kingdom to peace and prosperity.
Centuries ago, Hyrule was on the cusp of a doorway to another dimension. This alternate world, known as the Sacred Realm, was a land of golden light and warmth. This goodness radiated outwards into Hyrule, and the source of the light was the Triforce, an artifact composed of three mystical golden triangles that embodied the essence of all life. However, one day, the pure golden light of the Sacred Realm turned black, and a vile, poisonous essence began spilling from the holy land. The Sacred Realm became a world of darkness, despair and hatred. Wishing to protect Hyrule from this unrelenting blackness, seven wise Sages used their powers to seal the entrance to the Sacred Realm, forever separating the two worlds, restoring light and balance to the kingdom.
Centuries later (and still centuries before the previous two games), a young boy named Link is lying asleep in his bed. A violent storm passes through his homeland of Hyrule, whipping rain against the house and bringing uneasy, disturbed sleep along with it. Link awakens to hear his uncle, the closest thing he has to a parent, and the only family has has anymore, wish him goodnight and step out into the night rain. Wondering where his uncle could be going at such an hour, Link quickly dresses and curiously follows the old man toward Hyrule castle.
Link, apparently having fallen much further behind than he thought, enters the castle too late. He finds the near-dead body of his uncle laying in a stone hallway, gasping for breath. The old man confesses to his nephew that he was not strong enough to complete his quest and that Link must take up his sword and shield in his stead. He explains to Link that the Princess of Hyrule, Zelda, is in grave danger. A sorcerer named Agahnim has recently taken up residence in the castle and has placed Zelda's father, the King, under his unholy influence. Agahnim has dark intentions in mind for the Princess, and his evil deeds must be thwarted pre-emptively, or all of Hyrule could be lost to darkness. With a few last words of encouragement, the old man dies and Link is left alone to bear the burden of this mission.
Gearing up for battle, Link sets out on his quest to rid Hyrule of Agahnim's vicious influence. However, doing so will require him to recover the fabled Master Sword, a relic of Hyrule's ancient history and the sword of evil's bane. In order to complete his quest, the young hero will also need to cross the barrier between dimensions and explore the long-sealed Sacred Realm, now so poisoned by it's own affliction that it has become a twisted mirror image of Hyrule itself, and is now no longer known as the Sacred Realm, but as the Dark World. He must travel between these two polar extremes of his homeland, and restore peace and prosperity to both.
There's a lot more, but I'll leave it as it is for the time being. The biggest note that needs to be made of the differences between the stories from A Link to the Past and the previous two games is that all of this plot exposition takes place in the game. In the first two titles, all of the introductory plot was explained in the instruction booklet. So, to go from no in-game introductory plot at all, to quite a good bit of it so suddenly is a pretty huge leap forward for the series.
One final important thing to give mention to would be the differences in a lot of the dialogue between the SNES and GBA versions. The GBA version has a lot of re-worked dialogue, for the purposes of fixing questionable grammar (although, there was very little issue with that to begin with), and also for the purpose of tying the story into the rest of the series a lot more heavily. There is a lot of talk about "The Hero", and about various universal plot-devices introduced to the series by Ocarina of Time. This is one of the main reasons why I prefer the GBA version, simply because it feels more compatible with the plot of the rest of the games.
Gameplay
Having tested the waters and recieved less-than-emphatic responses in regards to the departure that was Zelda II, Nintendo decided it was in their best interests to return to some of the more classic conventions of the original title. In A Link to the Past, the series returns to the familiar and popular top-down perspective that the original title introduced. In addition, Link's selection of spells from the second game was scrapped in favor of an extremely robust selection of items and weapons: some classics returning from the first game, and a ton of new ones that this entry unforgettably brought to the series.
As in the original adventure, you control Link with the D-pad, swing his sword with the B button, use his equipped item with the A button and enter the Menu with start. However, Link also has a handy map of Hyrule, a first for the series, showing his exact location and a solid visual representaion of the rest of the kingdom. On top of that, Link has a healthy selection of brand new abilities and skills. First and foremost, by holding the B button, you can charge Link's sword, and upon releasing it, he will unleash the Spin Attack, a 360 degree sword strike that greatly damages anything in range. Link can now also pick up and throw pots, rocks and bushes, he can cut down shrubs and grass with his blade, pull switches and jump from an elevated plane to a lower surface. All of these abilities come built-in, without a need for enhancing items or anything of that sort.
The big focus of this game, however, is on Link's staggering arsenal of equippable items. In the first game, you had about eight of them to choose from, in Zelda II you had about the same number of spells. In the third entry, Link now has the capability to lug around an impressive twenty-four pieces of equipment. That's three times the size of his previous arsenal capacities. That's not even counting the "permanent effect" items he finds, either.
Many of the classics have returned, such as the always-handy Bow, Bombs, Boomerang, Magic Hammer and Flute. However, the majority of items in Link's inventory are brand-new, and most have become mainstays of the series. The Hookshot is a spring-loaded grappling hook that reels in items and enemies, as well as pulling Link across chasms and rivers, the Magic Hammer pounds down barriers and flips over shelled enemies, and the Lamp lights Link's path and allows him to ignite torches and illuminate rooms. However, don't be content to think that the Magic system introduced by Zelda II is gone. Oh no, it's still here, but it functions in a far more appealing manner.
About a third of the equippable items Link has at his disposal require the use of Link's magic meter in order to use. This green guage is displayed near his health and depletes little by little as he uses magic-draining items. To restore his magic power, Link must simply kill an enemy or destroy a pot, rock, bush or patch of grass and collect a Magic Jar that might pop out. It's pretty easy to refill your meter, and is nowhere near the frustration that Zelda II's magic system was.
Among the magical items that Link can use are his Fire and Ice Rods, which burn and freeze enemies respectively, the Cane of Byrna, which creates a shield of energy that protects Link from harm and the Magic Cape, which turns Link invisible for as long as he has magic power to sustain the effect. But, don't think that Link's spell selection has gone completely out the window. He can collect three Medallions that, when equipped and used, cast a destructive magical attack that affects all on-screen enemies. There's no pansy-ass "Fairy" spell and no completely worthless "Spell" spell to be found here. The Ether Medallion, my favorite of the three, calls down a bolt of lightning to strike Link's sword. Upon doing so, a blast of energy radiates across the screen from Link's position, freezing solid everything in the vicinity. The other two Medallions, Quake and Bombos, execute equally-impressive attacks that debilitate or out right slaughter anything unlucky enough to be in your way. Much better than transforming into a fairy.
Another mainstay item that deserves some mentioning is Link's supply of Bottles. In the first adventure, Link was capable of carrying around a single Red or Blue potion with which to heal his wounds in battle. In A Link to the Past, Link is given four empty bottles which he can fill with a selection of either Red, Green or Blue potions (which heal life, magic and both, respectively). You can also capture stray Fairies which, when Link loses all of his health, automatically bring the hero back to life and fill his HP about a third of the way. A few other random objects, like pesky Bees, can also be caught and stored in these containers.
And then you've got Link's arsenal of permanent-effect items. Among these are the Pegasus Boots, which allow Link to perform a high-speed dash, capable of destroying barriers and defeating enemies quickly, the Zora Flippers, which allow Link to swim (another first for the series), and the several upgrades he recieves toward his swords (yes, cooler swords, no more lame EXP system!), tunics and shields.
However, all of this cool stuff wouldn't be nearly as interesting if you didn't have a giant, explorable world map and dark, scary dungeons to fight through, right? Well, you're in luck, because A Link to the Past features one of the best overworlds and some of the best dungeons to be found in the entire series. Hyrule itself is huge. The massive Lake Hylia rests in the southeast, the Desert of Mystery lies to the Southwest, Death Mountain dominates the north and several other large and unforgettable environments fill out the remainder of the map. You will fight off bandits in the Lost Woods, defeat Armos Statues in the Eastern Palace Valley and do battle with Agahnim's possessed Hylian Knights in the fields of Hyrule. Another cue from Zelda II is the inclusion of Kakariko Village, a rather large hamlet populated by the peaceful citizens of the kingdom. It's the only full town in the game, but you'll also find dozens of houses and cottages occupied by interesting characters littered all over the kingdom.
And then you've got the Dark World, a malignant, evil mockery of Hyrule's pristine lands. In this place, the Desert of Mystery is the disgusting Misery Mire, a walled-off swampland populated by vicious reptilian creatures and the abhorrent eyeball-monster, Vitreous. In the Dark World, Kakariko Village is instead the Village of Outcasts, a destroyed, haunted ruins populated only by monsters and ghosts. In the Dark World, everything is putrid and ruined, and all is constructed in a hateful display of contrmempt for the purity of Hyrule Kingdom.
Both worlds contain a massive amount of land to explore, and they both also yield their fair share of dungeons to crawl through. In total, you're looking at about thirteen separate dungeons to explore, each with its own distinct theme and monstrous boss creature to defeat. There are desert, forest, ice, lava, swamp, tower and many other types of monster lairs to fight through, and each one poses its own series of tailor-made enemies and challenging puzzles to complete. Then, after tearing through rooms and rooms of demonic baddies and mindgames, you must go toe to toe with the dungeon's boss. The Helmasaur King, a giant, masked dinosaur-like beast, guards the Palace of Darkness, and can only be defeated by first removing his protective faceplate and and then attacking his weakened flesh. Moldorm, a massive, eratically-moving worm guards the Tower of Hera, and only one with incredible reflexes and concentration will be able to defeat his bouncy hide. The boss selection in the game is fantastic, and is only hindered by the fact that one particular boss theme (the guardian made of many eyes) is repeated a few too many times.
So, basically, aside from a few stale moments in the roster of boss monsters, the gameplay is near-perfect. I guess my only other complaint would be the fact that there are a few items that are only minimally useful (the Book of Mudora and the Shovel, to be specific) and that some of the cooler items either dont have any specific uses, or that their effects overlap. The Cane of Byrna is certainly badass, but I don't recall a single place in the game where it was absolutely necessary to use it. The Hookshot is one of the coolest items in the entire series, but in A Link to the Past, it very seriously negates the Boomerang because it can draw in items too.
Other than those few very minor gripes, the game is basically perfect. it's just a joy to play, and it exemplifies everything that a Zelda game should be at its' core.
Graphics
Now, as much as I bagged on The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II for their technological limitations, I cannot honestly do the same for A Link to the Past. By today's standards, the game is outdated on a console. But not on a handheld, and it's the GBA version of the game that I'm basing this review off of, because it's the most recent (and honestly, most in-tune with the rest of the series) version that I have played.
With that in mind, the graphics look great. The sprites are free of pixellation, and have a lot of great detail and animations. The environments are free of blemishes and are simply filled with wildlife and various other objects and structures. The efffects look pretty good too. In the opening moments of the game, the rain pouring down on Hyrule looks great, with flashes of intermittent lightning. Bomb explosions, while not as cool as the curling smoke from Wind Waker, look good. The rippling lightning effect from the Quake Spell is awesome, and the various spells and attacks that the bosses throw your way look good as well. Granted, there has been better 16-bit work done in all of these areas (Chrono Trigger, Donkey Kong Country, Super Metroid, etc), but not much. For a first-generation SNES title, the graphical presentation still holds up in comparison with the vast majority of late-generation SNES games.
Sound
Considering the fact that I'm reviewing the GBA re-release, I should make a point of mentioning what is undoubtedly one of the biggest alterations to the game. Since Ocarina of Time, the fifth game in the series, Link has been supplied with a familiar voice. He doesn't speak any full words, instead simply yelling and grunting and such. The sounds of action and battle. Those same vocal patterns have been inserted into the GBA version of A Link to the Past, and personally, I like the fact that they are there. In my opinion, it adds a lot more life and character to Link, instead of just making him into a soulless avatar for the player. Hardcore fans scream heresy, but I'm a pretty devoted fan, and I think it's great.
Beyond that, the music and sound effects are a vast improvement over the preceeding games. This game's version of the Overworld Theme is, without a doubt, the best in the series. It features several layers of melody and harmony, as well as bonafide percussion, complete with fanfare drumroll. This version is so good, in fact, that it is the friggin' ringtone I've been using on my cell phone since I bought it.
Beyond being responsible for housing the best version of the Zelda theme, however, this game is also responsible for creating a great number of the traditional themes and pieces used in various locations throughout the rest of the series. You'll hear the Lost Woods theme re-appearing in the Minish Cap and Four Swords Adventures, as well as the Death Mountain and "sewer" themes making re-appearances as well.
The effects are also well-done, for the time in which they were created. The Hookshot fires with a chainlike sound, water ripples around Link as he swims through Lake Hylia and arrows stick into soldier's armor with a firm "thwack!" Plus, certain effects like the boss-death sound, and the "well crap, Link just fell down a hole" sound have also become mainstays of the series since this game was released.
All in all the sound is perfect. I honestly can't think of a single track or effect that was irritating or outright bad in this game. Granted, better 16-bit music quality was certainly delivered as the SNES grew with age, but in terms of what it was capable of at the time, a Link to the Past knocked the ball out of the audio park.
Flaws
1) Some repetitive boss designs. There are too many guardians made of a pile of eyeballs, and by the time you hit the third one, you're going to wonder if either a supervisor happened to fall asleep at the wrong time, or if one of the artists had a serious cornea fetish.
2) Not all of the items are even minimally useful, not all of them have specific in-game uses where their assistance is actually required and a few of them overlap their effects on top of other items. A little bit more focus and dedication to some of these pieces of equipment would have been nice.
3) Age. Granted, even by today's 16-bit standards, A Link to the Past looks and sounds great. However, there are better looking and better sounding 16-bit games, and it has entirely to do with the limitations of early-generation 16-bit programming.
Overall
If you've never played a Legend of Zelda game, I cannot think of a better place to start than here. It is the core essence of what every Zelda game is at its heart, and it is the spiritual framework that countless legions of games outside of this series have been based on. It is a massive adventure, spanning two separate worlds, thirteen dungeons, over thirty different upgrades and items, huge bosses, tons of secrets and a goldmine of charm. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is an experience you cannot afford to miss.
My highest recommendations.
Score:9.5
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