A Link to the Past basically took all of the concepts from the first game, and turbocharged them into one of the best adventure games ever made. The visuals were obviously improved massively thanks to the SNES, but the aesthetic itself was also meticulously crafted to give the entire game a fairytale cartoon look that is absolutely timeless.

The soundtrack introduced classic songs for the series that while the sound design itself is a top notch effort into giving every interaction with an item its own unique feeling. Gameplay is upgraded in every way from the concepts of the first game, with most of the items returning, but adding new ways to interact with the world and the expanded dungeons which themselves build on the concepts used in the first game.

To cap all of this off, the story is a compelling narrative and the world feels way more lived in thanks to the various NPCs wandering the world. Taking all of this and then flipping it on its head mid-game with the time travel twist just expands upon the game even more in a clever way that allows them to reuse assets while still giving you a sense of exploring the world anew.

Quite simply, this is one of the best games of all time, and the best video game to have ever been made at the time of its release.

An absolute classic, and a very well-balanced experience. The world is big enough to not feel small, but small enough that it's not a bother to traverse. The world is dense with secrets and they all give you something worthwhile. The secrets are hidden enough that they feel satisfying to find, but not so obscure you'll need a walkthrough. The dungeons are short and sweet, with each dungeon item remaining useful throughout the game.

The one shortcoming is that combat can feel a bit awkward because you can move omnidirectionally but only attack cardinally. But I can excuse this because of the game's age (and because with extra hearts and bottles, getting hit is not that big of a deal most of the time).

This is a personal thing, but I like that there's a good selection of magic-based items in this game. It makes Link feel like a proper magic knight better than the couple token spells you get in OoT and WW.

This game holds a special place for me. It was the first Zelda game I beat on my own, without help from older siblings. It's a fun adventure that set a lot of standards that would carry on throughout the series.

Playing through it again for stream it was still a blast. The puzzles are fun, but not too hard (as long as we don't talk about Ice Palace). This was the first Zelda game to really be story driven instead of just dropped into a world expected to figure things out.

The art style is super cute, and the soundtrack is still one of my favorites to listen too! I will always recommend this game to anyone who hasn't played it yet.

Facing this game is a dilemma for me. I’ve always been against the idea of using “aged” as a descriptor for a game, as all games age. As people are social-historical, so are the games they make. A game is aged as soon as it’s released; a product of its own context, and it’s on us to adapt to it, not on it to be able to stand the test of time (and culture).

Of course, there are games that require less effort to get into than other contemporaries; this art constantly builds upon itself and whilst some paths led to where we are today, others got forgotten with time, most with good reason. And the lack of familiarity leads to adapting requiring more work and you can see where that goes.

Now you must be wondering, where does A Link to the Past fit into this discussion? You’ve seen the score, surely it means that this game “aged” so badly it made me change my mind about the whole concept.

But it didn’t.

A Link to the Past is a butter-smooth, sex-machine of a SNES videogame. Save for a few weird dead spots in the sword’s attacks and unintuitive puzzles that require out-of-the-box thinking, it’s straight-up perfection; a game-changer.

But I still think it has “aged poorly”, however in a different, unique manner.

Even with how important and influential it was, A Link to the Past has been surpassed. We stand in a point in time when its importance and greatness have been overshadowed by the fact that its concepts have been done and redone in multiple ways since then, in different (like Ocarina of Time) or in the same but straight-up better (like A Link Between Worlds) ways.

I don’t think I can recommend this over any other Zelda game, except for 1. Hardcore fans that somehow have not played it yet or 2. People interested in the history of videogames, in this specific era of gaming, or anything analogous to that. As an exercise.

But when it comes to standing on its own? It’s very important, but I don’t think it has anything to say anymore. And that’s why it’s hard for me to analyze it properly: it games my system; it contradicts my own philosophies.

Maybe I’m wrong about this, but it would require someone way more passionate about it than me to figure it out. As it stands, what was once the most important Zelda game is now just another one.

A Link to the Past es una obra maestra. Cuesta creer que ya salió hace poco más de 30 años, porque si lo sacase un estudio indie ahora, seguiría siendo considerado una obra maestra. TODO en este juego ha envejecido genial y se siente como si fuera original y nuevo.

Jugablemente, es una pasada. No entiendo como no se le tiene en tan alta estima como a otros de la saga. La cantidad de cosas que hay es increíble. Un montón de objetos diferentes y que no se sienten desaprovechados en ningún momento, una variedad de NPCs que me sorprende que fuesen capaces de hacer y que ninguno se siente forzado, hacen que el mundo del juego sea mucho más vivo (hablaré dentro de poco del mismo)

. Unas boss-fights que aunque sean en 2D, consiguen ser sobresalientes y siendo bastantes, consiguen tener variedad y muchos enemigos que hacen que el combate del juego sea bastante más estratégico de lo que puede parecer a simple vista. Ahora, quiero hablar de dos cosas que me parecen las mejores del videojuego: su mundo y las mazmorras.

Su mundo es sin duda una revolución para el medio. Nos ponemos en el contexto de 1992, un año en el que no había juegos tan grandes. Ver un mundo así con tantas localidades es increíble. Pero no solo eso, sino que de repente el juego (por si acaso, es spoiler así que no sigas precioso) te presenta el Dark World, que tiene más NPCs y es prácticamente un mundo apartado. Esto hace que haya puzzles hasta en el overworld, alternando entre las 2 versiones para poder pasarte el juego.

Y las mazmorras... Son increíbles. Aunque tengo que aclarar que son bastantes.¿Por qué digo esto? Te preguntarás. Pues gracias por la pregunta. Porque las 3 primeras son bastante más flojas. Ojo, no son malas, pero sí que se sienten peores que las siguientes. Pero las siguientes son sobresalientes. Tienen un montón de mecánicas y enemigos con los que crean puzzles muy buenos. Si bien tienen una estructura similar, al contener diferentes objetos desbloqueables, consiguen hacer salas parecidas y que se sientan diferentes.

Audiovisualmente, es muy bueno. El juego sigue siendo muy bonito a día de hoy y se mantiene muy bien. Gráficamente por motivos obvios no es la gran cosa, pero el estilo artístico y diseño de mundo, personajes y enemigos está genial. Aparte, la OST es una maravilla y tiene un montón de temas que son icónicos en la saga e incluso en la industria.

Narrativamente, también me ha sorprendido. La historia está muy bien contada ytiene un buen ritmo. No es demasiado original, pero el lore del mundo está bastante bien.

Por lo tanto, A Link to the Past me parece una obra maestra y un referente para hacer videojuegos. Que no te tires para atrás el paso del tiempo, porque lo vas a disfrutar como un niño. Un must-play de esa generación y de los juegos de aventuras.

My second time completing this. Just as amazing as I remember it from about 5 years ago. I wasn't a Nintendo kid when I was younger, so I've been discovering classic Zelda games later in life. There are definitely games that are considered "classic" now that have that label mostly based on nostalgia and rose-tinted glasses, but this isn't one of them. This game is timeless, and, save for a few awkward UI elements, could be released today and feel contemporary.

In a way, this game makes me realise that video games haven't really changed much in the last 30 years. Yes, aesthetically things have changed, more complexity has been introduced, but many of the best games of today are still emulating the masters, like this one, when it comes to core mechanics and puzzle design. Immense.

Probably one of my favourite games of all time. 10/10

“I know I don't quite have the figure of a faerie. Ganon's cruel power is to blame! You must defeat Ganon!”
— The Cursed Fairy, also known as the Fat Faerie

A Link to the Past has an unbeatable art style, an outstanding soundtrack, and an unparalleled amount of detail in its environments, side quests, and NPCs. I struggle to think of a flaw large enough to level against the game. Perhaps the only thing holding it back is its story.


While most Zelda games focus at some capacity on restoring peace within the monarchy, there is always a defining narrative thread that is at the core of any given one of the stories. I say most because A Link to the Past is not one of those Zelda games. It’s understandable why this was the blueprint for all future Zelda games to come until the series’ rebirth in 2017, but over it, there always looms this feeling of disappointment when it comes to the story. Skyward Sword, for all its flaws, at least had the surprisingly unexplored trait of being the coming-of-age story of Link and Zelda. While the latter character was not particularly fleshed out, the game provided a decent amount of depth for a story bearing the insurmountable pressure of being the canonical beginning of the entire series. Link’s Awakening remains the most well-thought-out and uniquely told Zelda story, and Majora’s Mask has this unique element in its story, questlines, and decidedly bold time loop mechanic. Ocarina of Time also fell victim to the ALttP paradigm, but it was and still is much grander in its vision of reconnecting a broken world, a broken people. Sure, this is all done under the guise of monarchy (blech), yet its ambitions were more, dare I say, diverse...

In the end, nothing changes. That is the pattern with most Zelda games; the perpetual neverending cycle, the cycle that never lets itself be defeated by petty uprisings and defiance. I’m not advocating a giant pig monster to destroy and enslave a perfectly happy little fantasy world, I’m only concerned with the fact that A Link to the Past was and still is probably the worst-told Zelda story. It is also worth noting that, after the credits roll and the supposed peace is restored, the Dark World is all but completely eradicated. What hints at an interesting story of the disparity between two paralleling worlds gives way to the standard cookie-cutter inoffensive and unperceptive conclusion that many fantasy game stories fall prey to. Out of sight, out of mind.

Some might balk at the idea of bringing…oh god…politics??? In MY Zelda game???? But I feel it is necessary to discuss, especially considering the backlash that came after Skyward Sword and its tiresome formula. After all, it has to start somewhere, right?

For all the (admittedly somewhat loose) criticisms I hold against this game, it still remains one of the most admirable video games I have ever played. This is the one that cemented The Legend of Zelda as a monolith series in gaming, and it's easy to see why. Playing a game over thirty years after its initial release and feeling as though it could have released any time in the last decade is a rare feeling to experience, and I'm glad to say A Link to the Past extrudes this feeling.