“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.
— 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.
This is the pivotal classic Zelda game for many reasons: the music is great, the graphics are fun, the gameplay is wonderful, and the story is definitive. This is the best 2D Zelda game and is the model for any future iterations.
when i was 6 i lost to the first boss and broke the gameboy i was playing this game on
I am now Linkpilled and a Pastchad
Og Great zelda
This is the third review in a marathon of reviews for “The Legend of Zelda” series. If you haven’t yet, please read my previous review here. Please also check out Reyn, Phantasm, Steinco, Dunebot & ptcremisi who are doing this marathon with me. They will also be posting reviews for each Zelda game in the marathon, though not all of us are playing the same games. I will also be linking specific individuals who will be playing specific Zelda games alongside us, so please check them out also! Without any further delay, let’s get right into The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past!
The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past, or LTTP as I’ll be calling it for this review, might just be the most important Zelda game ever. Not only did it establish so many essential staples to the franchise such as the master sword, heart pieces, the big/boss key, puzzle themes, item progression, and basic formula of Zelda games having three dungeons in order to retrieve the Master Sword, and then a plethora of more complicated dungeons afterwards, the final dungeon, and then the final boss. It’s not just what LTTP did for Zelda though that’s important, it’s how The game did it, and how it did it successfully, especially after coming off from The Legend of Zelda II: the Adventure of Link, which was a huge departure from the series.
Link has never felt more capable or more easy to control before. Link can now easily walk in all directions, which allows for more complex level design and enemy design. Link now swings his sword in an arch instead of a stab, allowing for much less frustration on top of a generous hitbox that will stop enemies in their tracks. Link now has a new spin attack which will go on to become an essential staple in his swordplay for every entry afterward, allowing Link to protect himself in a large circle that also deals rather good damage. In LTTP however, Link holds his sword in front of him to charge before spin attacking, which also serves as a hitbox which is thoughtfully designed to ensure the player isn’t fully compromised from attacking while trying to charge up this attack. Link can now also pick up pots and bushes to throw at enemies to deal considerable damage and also gives him an essential ranged option for encounters early on, they can even be used to knock poor unsuspecting foes off from balconies to kill them instantly. This ability would also be in every Zelda game afterward, however in the 2D entries specifically, the pot-throwing feels more reliable and significant as an offensive option due to the higher accuracy and damage, whereas 3D entries don’t emphasize it as much for combat, but definitely more for puzzles. Link can also hop off ledges, pull and push levers and blocks, and even his sword bounces off harder materials, adding a sense of realism to everything. Not only are these mechanics incredibly polished and always useful throughout the game, but Link is very animated and expressive which adds further charm to these additions, like when he’s visibly struggling to lift up an object before carrying it over his head. It’s things like this that remind us Link is still young, or at least inexperienced, but still very much capable and resourceful when he needs to be, even if a single line of dialogue is never spoken, this particular incarnation of Link has a lot more personality and flair to him than any Link before.
LTTP does more than give Link better characterization though, the writing has also taken a significant leap forward. LTTP establishes a lot of lore and mechanics that later Zelda games would flesh out, such as the seven wisemen who sealed Ganon away, the “Golden Power” known as the Triforce that can grant a wish when touched, unlike Zelda 2 where it simply lifted Zelda’s eternal coma, and Princess Zelda’s inclination to magic. While not everything LTTP presents is exactly compelling, it certainly makes an attempt in both the World and narrative as each dungeon completed, and each NPC talked to provide more context and information that can add deeper appreciation to what the game is going for. The Overworld presents a lot of history and nuance as well, such as the Zoras for example. Before, the Zoras were nothing more than nuisances in Zelda 1 and LTTP, yet they still offer Link their help should he compensate them with the right amount of rupees. Small ideas like this would later snowball into the Zora becoming an entirely peaceful race that Link assists and allies with in future titles. It’s not just the Zora either, many monsters in LTTP offer services to Link in exchange for money, while Zelda 1 did have the friendly Moblins who gave Link rupees, they pushed the envelope here a lot more and allowed for more monsters to present this human-like contrast to them where they’re not all necessarily evil or working for Ganon, which I really appreciate. Other aspects I like are the ancient hieroglyphs you can find in Hyrule, you need an item called “The Book of Mudora '' to read. .While as a gameplay mechanic, it makes sense you’d need this book to translate these hieroglyphs to receive an item, but from a lore perspective it’s incredibly interesting. An ancient civilization at one point who perhaps knew now long-lost magic that Link learns and uses to access later areas in the game, as well as needing the Master Sword to even obtain them almost makes it seem like a previous Hero of Legend left this power behind for the next Hero to inherit. It’s small details like this that LTTP is able to overlap in both gameplay and lore that makes it so interesting to think about, on top of just having a satisfying progression where every item you receive feels impactful throughout most of the game.
Item progression is perhaps the best it’s ever been for Zelda in LTTP as well. Every single item, even the boomerang now has a substantial purpose that justifies having it, as well as smart design decisions that continue giving these items importance and utility throughout the entire game. Let’s go back to the boomerang for example! I conceded in my Zelda 1 review that I rarely used items like the boomerang because the game never really much reason to use it over something like the Magic Wand. In LTTP, this is entirely different now as the Boomerang can now be used to pick up items from afar, this includes enemy drops such as rupees and arrows, to much more important items like small keys. Even if the boomerang is never required to use, the utility of collecting items out of reach or inconveniently far away is now a non-issue because the Boomerang can grab it for you. This can even become useful if an enemy drops a key but is surrounded by dangerous hazards, rather than having to take damage, you can simply use the Boomerang! It’s not just the Boomerang either that has this sort of thoughtfulness to it, the bug-catching net allows you to capture bees and fairies which each have their own use, yet the bug-net is useless without its partner item, the bottle. The bottle is used to store things you catch with the net, which I really like, it allows for two items to overlap in how they’re useful to the player which gives them both value. Yet, even the bottle can be used to store potions as well, so it still has its exclusive use besides being reliant on the net, it’s this sort of design that always allows for an item to be useful. It gets even better when items need to be used in tandem in order to succeed. Even the items by themselves stay relevant after you’ve received them, such as the Hookshot. The Hookshot is a fan favorite item, and was introduced in this game, it allows you to hook onto specific objects to pull Link far distances. You can hook chests, blocks, kill enemies with it, and even pull items and specific enemies to you as well. Due to the sheer vastness of the Hookshot, it always stays useful, but the game always accounts for you having this item once you get it, and is always creating scenarios you need to use it in, such as getting to the other side of Death Mountain, or being able to enter Misery Mire at all. LTTP is incredibly smart with its items, and even innovates old items like the bombs. Originally in Zelda 1, bombs were a very finite resource that you needed to be careful about placing correctly or you’d be wasting them, much unlike LTTP. In LTTP, you can now pick up your bombs, you can throw them, they have a longer detonation time, you can even upgrade your bomb capacity up to 40 bombs, ensuring you’ll never run out. These new mechanics not only make bombs more practical in combat and puzzles, but it allows the developers to make far more convoluted puzzles involving them, while also being able to evolve the puzzles steadily so players can continue mastering the art of using bombs. Without these mechanics that require precision and fidelity, bombs would feel just as one-dimensional as Zelda 1’s, but thankfully LTTP does nothing but improve everything established before it, even Zelda 2.
In my review for Zelda 2 I mentioned how shielded enemies always annoyed me because you had to always jump-strike to land a hit, and even then it wasn’t always consistent. I’m happy to say LTTP somehow made this mechanic far better, and much less annoying! As early as the start of the game, LTTP establishes that not every enemy can just be mindlessly slashed to defeat. The corrupted Hyrule knights who fight Link are equipped with shields which protects them from Link’s attacks. This teaches the player very quickly that positioning is key to dealing with certain enemies, and for these knights, attacking them to the left of their shield, behind them, or in front of them will be able to damage them. Zelda 1 had this concept with the Darknuts, but didn’t have the technology to allow for Link to hit their exposed body their shield isn’t covering, and Zelda 2’s perspective limited it to low and high hits. LTTP hits this sweet spot of allowing the enemies to have resilience, but not a perfect defense either, it has compromises, just as Link’s defense is in every Zelda game prior and including this one. Other enemies such as hardhat beetles have unique reactions to attacking them, knocking Link back like a bumper. Other enemies such as Gibdo’s that are now far tankier than Zelda 1, now have a crippling weakness to fire. Having these specific weaknesses and attributes to enemies only serves to enrich combat, and these are just a few examples. Other enemies outright justify certain items you have, such as the red variants of Goriyah’s and Eyegore’s requiring the bow to even harm, Terrapin’s needing to be knocked over with the hammer to expose their weak stomachs, and the Freezor’s needing to be melted by the Fire rod or Bombos. It’s because of these enemy designs and behaviors that allows LTTP to elevate itself far past previous entries. Enemies that require specific strategies to defeat, requiring specific items, and having certain immunities and strengths that individualize them. It becomes much better when a variety of enemies are placed into the same room, it creates extremely dynamic gameplay of swapping out your items to deal with each one methodically like a dance. Yet the game never expects you to switch items constantly per room, and there’s plenty of enemies you can dispose of with just a simple swing of your sword, such as the Gibdo’s again, but it’s never annoying. In Zelda 1, they often bombarded you with too many enemies, and Zelda 2’s enemies were too difficult to dispose of and their placements were often unfair and frustrating. LTTP has neither flaw, at least, not to the same severity. Many of the enemy placements and combinations felt thoughtful, balanced, and most importantly, it feels fair. That’s the most important part to me, LTTP always felt fair even in the most harrowing of rooms, enemy placement never felt too overwhelming, there was never a moment where I said “wow, that’s some terrible enemy placement!” Things that I thought and said many times in the previous entries of Zelda. The game always gives you the tools to win, you just have to utilize them, and that’s one reason I love LTTP!
Let’s talk about something that’s not so great about LTTP, the minigames. Now, let me just preface that I don't find these games mechanically bad, rather their reliance on RNG is what kills me. I think the most infamous of these is the digging minigame. In the digging minigame, you pay 80 rupees to start digging around, but you only have 30 seconds. Now, to be as fair as possible here, the digging minigame usually pays out enough rupees to try again, so it’s just a matter of repetition to get the piece of heart. However, the issue is how long it can take, for this playthrough it took me about 10 attempts, which isn’t bad. I understand the idea, and it’s not even a bad minigame, but the reliance on luck rather than skill when the rest of this game is the exact opposite of that is a bit jarring for me. Same could be said for the Chest minigame in Thieves' Town which I’d argue is worse had the town itself not have 600 rupees you can grab with relative ease. You also have the racing minigame in Kakariko town which actually isn’t that bad at all and is kind of fun! The rest of the minigames don’t provide a substantial reward, but are fun enough on their own to kill time or make some extra money.
In the previous entries of Zelda, I found it rather odd that most of the items you receive don’t necessarily help with traversal. Zelda 1 had the stepladder which was useful, but didn’t really provide much help, Zelda 2 was especially bad considering a lot of those items could’ve actually been great, but instead were relegated to very specific paths that mostly just led to the next dungeon. LTTP once again just kills it with both explorative progression, but ease of travel. The Pegasus Boots being one of the most substantial, allowing Link to run super fast in one direction without being able to turn. On the plus side, he keeps his sword out in front, shoving enemies out of your way to keep the sprint going. This alone makes LTTP far less intrusive to play, especially when in the Overworld and backtracking. Not only does it serve its own purposes as an item, but it doubles as improved transportation which was really smart. The Zora Flippers allow you to swim, a first for Zelda. They once again, not only allow you to swim, but unlock so many new avenues to explore via the whirlpools which will warp you throughout the map, which is very convenient. Zora flippers also serve as a paramount item later in the game for dungeons like Swamp Palace, which gives it immense value. My absolute favorite has to be the flute though. The flute allows you to warp to 8 different points on the map, and usually puts you in a spot of interest, such as Link’s House, the Old Man’s cave house, the Witch’s hut etc. All of these areas serve a purpose, or are a significant landmark to help distinguish where you are and what you can do. And yet again, even something like the flute allows you to gain access to a new area you couldn’t otherwise, which as I’ll say again, is so smart. Not only does it make it easier for the player to explore the World and find things easier and faster, but the progression feels strong, it’s quantifiable how much more capable Link is as the game progresses, not just in strength, but in utility. I wanted to stress this point, because Zelda 2 drove me wild with having to start from the very beginning every time you died because Link doesn’t feel anymore capable or faster to get somewhere even by the end of the game. Compared to LTTP, I can save my game, warp to Link’s House, use the flute to get to death mountain and reach the final dungeon in a manner of 5 minutes. This comparison alone, along with my horrible experience with Zelda 2, made this one simple feature hold far more value for me, and I am very grateful to have it, it’s a luxury Zelda didn’t always have, but very glad it exists in LTTP!
Now, for the most important question, how cryptic is this game? Zelda 1 and Zelda 2 I dubbed as “guide games” in my reviews because I legitimately couldn’t fathom how someone could’ve realistically figured out what to do in those games due to the lack of visual tells, or the game not relaying the information you could even do certain things that it asks of you later on. So, what about LTTP? Well, I can happily say it’s a lot better! LTTP was smart with the Castle Escape sequence exposing players to very important concepts early on. Opening chests, defeating enemies to open doors, enemies dropping keys, being able to push things/interacting with the environment, the map, and the big key. All of these things plus dark rooms, torches, and levers are introduced and exposed to the player so they can understand them in a controlled, but not hand-holding environment. Interactable environments such as bombable walls now have a visual tell with cracks to represent a weak wall. The map and compass aren’t incredibly reliable, but a step-up from Zelda 1. The overworld is far less cryptic, items now give descriptions on what they do in-game so the player doesn’t need to guess their functionality anymore. Dungeons such as Eastern Palace introduce more complex dark rooms and simple block puzzles. Desert Palace forces the player to find the second part of the dungeon by leaving the dungeon, which later dungeons like Skull Woods do a lot more of. Desert palace also teaches you about torch puzzles in a manner that’s easy to understand as well. Tower of Hera introduces the idea of descending floors through holes to reach normally inaccessible areas which becomes incredibly common in later dungeons and the Overworld. Tower of Hera also introduces the red and blue blocks that rise and drop depending on the color of the switch you use. LTTP is very considerate about introducing and having the player practice new mechanics slowly while not fully spelling it out for them. It allows the player to keep their agency and sense of discovery, but also doesn’t allow them to get frustrated because the solutions themselves aren’t too difficult, and some good perception will lead them to the answer. Now granted, there are a few moments in this game that are still cryptic, I won’t deny that. However, the fortune teller pretty much removes any possibility of being stuck in this game. Essentially an in-game guide, you can pay the fortune teller to give you a hint about what to do next, or specific points of interest you might want to look into doing. You do have to pay 10 to 30 rupees for this info, but considering just how generous LTTP is with money, you won’t need to worry about spending them to progress in the game. It’s this sort of resource that allows the player to steadily progress without getting stuck for too long outside of dungeons. Considering the time this game came out, strategy guides and hotlines you could call for help with games would’ve been an easy solution that would’ve provided more revenue for Nintendo. Yet they decided to add the Fortune Teller into LTTP so players could always know what to do, where to go, and other tidbits of helpful info and insight to make the playing experience as smooth as possible. I deeply respect the decision, and I am glad they did this, it probably allowed many players over the years to enjoy the game that much more. With that said, any issue of the game being too cryptic to figure out is pretty much eliminated, a flaw the previous two games had that LTTP doesn’t, a gigantic plus for LTTP.
Dungeons this time around feel a lot more familiar to the rest of the Zelda series. Zelda 1 and Zelda 2 certainly had maze-like dungeons, though they relied a lot more on overpopulated enemy placements and cheap tricks to create difficulty. LTTP on the other hand is much more focused on puzzles and figuring out where to go by using your resources carefully. Unlike the previous entries as well, LTTP designs its dungeons in a way that prevents you from having to leave or reset the dungeon if you do something incorrectly, they’re incredibly interconnected and have a plethora of keys for the player to use so they can eventually find the right path. As I mentioned before though, LTTP is much more focused on puzzle-solving within the dungeons than combat. One example is the Ice Palace, while it’s undeniable this dungeon has a rather annoying gimmick and plenty of enemy encounters, the puzzle revolving around finding buttons to open doors, navigating the slick terrain, and the last puzzle involving you pushing a block down to the bottom floor and then going around the dungeon to get to the other side to push the correct block down when the conditions are right feel very tightly designed and clean cut. LTTP is also incredibly open-ended, allowing you to do dungeons out of order to get a specific item before tackling another dungeon which could make it much easier. Let’s use the Ice Palace again as an example, the only item you need to complete this dungeon is the fire rod. So you’ll have to go to Skull Woods before going to the Ice Palace of course. However, if you decide to do Swamp Palace to get the Hookshot, and then do the Thieves hideout, you can go to Misery Mire before Skull Woods. Doing so gets you the cane of Somaria, which allows you to use magic to create a block you can use freely, and has the same properties as a block with a few fun additional capabilities such as throwing it, or discharging it to create four projectiles to hit switches and enemies. If you go to the Ice Palace after receiving the Cane of Somaria, you can skip the last puzzle entirely by just placing a block on the button. The design of these dungeons allows for more than one solution to solve them, and LTTP allows players to mostly go about the dungeons in many different sequences which can lead to an entirely different experience each time. While it’s true the dungeons are numbered like Zelda 1 and have a recommended order of doing them, you don’t have to. I’m glad LTTP took the freedom that Zelda 1 allowed but made it much more valuable to the player by making earlier dungeons much easier. While the dungeons do get progressively harder and more complex in layout and enemies as well, it’s not too difficult that it would be inconceivable for even a newer player to accomplish this, which I appreciate and gives the game a lot of replayability in this aspect.
Last thing I have yet to go over are the Heart Pieces. Heart Pieces were introduced in LTTP as well, and I think they were a smart decision mostly. In the prior two games, you would get Heart Containers, increasing your maximum life as soon as you found one. Zelda 1 also gave you Heart Containers when you defeated a boss, which LTTP also does. The difference is that Heart Containers outside bosses were basically broken up into four pieces, finding four gives you a Heart Container. The reason I think ultimately this was a good idea is it simply makes the game more justifiable to play. In the originals, there’s certain areas and screens you can ignore entirely because there’s nothing of interest there, so it’s just a waste of time. In LTTP, due to the higher abundance of worthwhile items to find, specifically Heart Pieces, it not only makes exploring a lot more valuable, but it also allows for a lot less waste. Even the minigames in LTTP are worth doing because you can get a Heart Piece. Health is valuable in Zelda games, and for completionists it’s even better because the game is diversifying how you obtain your upgrades. Zelda 1? Find a cave, get a Heart Container every single time. Zelda 2? Find a random tile on the map and get a Heart Container. LTTP? Do this puzzle, play this minigame, find a way to this area to get the Heart Piece, use your items to get it etc. LTTP allows for itself to essentially take more risks in design because the game will always be able to grant the player a reason to do it in the first place with Heart Pieces. But also, since Heart Pieces are in this in-between of important and not so important, and are also very high in quantity, it allows players to choose what they want and don’t want to do much easier. If there’s a Heart Piece that’s frustrating to grab, the player can skip it and have solace in the fact there’s plenty more to get to increase your health. It’s not a full-encompassing positive though since the creation of Heart Pieces could feel like padding, bloated, and annoying compared to the previous 2 games that feel much more generous in hindsight because you get an instant health upgrade, even if they're optional. The issue is, Zelda 1 and 2 did nothing unique with these Heart Containers, you just find them and move on. LTTP always creates value with an item that arguably has less value than the Heart Containers. They always allow for a small puzzle to be made, a minigame to play, or an obstacle to overcome. It's engaging, it’s diverse, and it’s fun. I’m glad later Zelda games continued to keep the Heart Pieces, because from here-on, how they’re rewarded and obtained simply become better and better since their inception. Even in the first game introduced in, they’re executed very well and feel like a worthwhile addition!
Now for some smaller points I couldn’t really dedicate an entire paragraph to. I love the sprite work in this game, it’s not exactly the most expressive besides Link, but it’s top-notch. A lot of these monster designs really came to life with this game, and I think a lot of how these enemies were designed moving forward oftentimes use LTTP as a reference point. The map in this game is fantastic It's incredibly detailed and showcases points of interests and dungeons remarkably well so the player won’t get lost. It’s a far cry from Zelda 1’s terrible map, and much better than Zelda 2’s map because it has detail, it has personality, and it’s a very accurate depiction of Hyrule! I enjoy the antagonist not being Ganon for the first time in a Zelda game, well at least initially. Agahnim feels very intimidating and powerful, even though his boss fight is relatively easy, he’s certainly an imposing antagonist that was a nice change of pace in a while. I also love Ganon in this game when he’s revealed, probably my favorite design of classic Ganon, he’s also just charming because he calls Link “lad”. It’s such a tiny detail, but Ganon calling Link lad doesn’t feel like it’s from a place of disrespect, honestly it feels to me like Ganon is somewhat impressed by this young man being able to overpower him. I might be reaching a bit here, but this Ganon feels a lot more respectable despite destroying two entire worlds practically, yet he doesn’t underestimate or talk down to Link, he absolutely views him as a worthy adversary. I like the idea of the seven maidens, though I think games like Ocarina of Time do it way better, but not a bad start. I also enjoyed how Zelda appears at the start and asks Link for help through telekinesis. It’s a small detail again, but hints at Zelda’s affinity for magic that later Zelda games, like Ocarina of Time once again, delve into deeper, and especially a game like Breath Of The Wild. Unfortunately, Zelda just like Zelda 1 and 2 has barely any presence here, but I think it’s also a step in the right direction for her. Really most NPC’s in this game are charming, not exactly well-written, but definitely makes the world feel more alive. I enjoy all the treasures in this game, especially when there’s bundles of 4 or 5 chests in one given room and you get to open them one-by-one. It’s something that’s incredibly satisfying and fun that later Zelda games would also do, for LTTP it’s especially gratifying, especially with that little jingle it always plays. Sound design is superb here, it’s very unique, but there’s nothing here that feels out of place or annoying like Zelda 2, everything is balanced well and doesn’t grate on the ears. The entire OST is fantastic! I really love Kakariko Village a song that every future Kakariko in Zelda would use, I love the Hyrule field in this game as well, the SNES really made this song feel more heroic and hopeful. My favorite song in the entire game though is Majestic Castle, this song is only played in two areas in the whole game, the tutorial, and the Castle Tower after obtaining the Master Sword. This song has an air of seriousness and danger to it, it really encapsulates the tone and situation of LTTP. It’s incredibly apt especially after seeing your uncle die in the castle sewers, this game isn’t necessarily light-hearted, but not so serious that it can’t also be fun or whimsical. Majestic Castle is definitely my favorite, it also just has this great atmosphere to it with the rain you can hear in the background, it’s magical really, especially if it’s the first time you’re hearing it. Last thing I’ll mention is the magic meter which I really liked. Powerful magical items and spells now have a resource you need to manage in order to use, but the game does a great job at supplying it when you need it, and is rather generous with the drops in the first place. It’s a substantial improvement from Zelda 2 because the Magic Meter isn’t used to heal yourself, it doesn’t cost nearly as much to use most magical items. Rather it’s more for puzzle-solving and convenience like using the powerful medallions to clear an annoying room of enemies, it helps the game makes sure you’ll always have magic when you need it too, or else it’d be as bad as Zelda 2, but LTTP is just always making sure the player has what they need to do things, kind of similar to how Zelda 1 did it, but is much more attentive.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to The Past is a masterpiece. It’s one of my favorite games ever made, and the quality still holds up to this day. I’ve played this game hundreds of times through the randomizer and vanilla playthroughs, and the charm still persists for me even now. I’ll end up playing this game for the remainder of my life solely due to all the memories attached to it, and it helped me establish a lot of important relationships in my life to get a bit personal for a second, Disregarding that though, the game is just polished extensively, it’s got a very open-ended design, tons of improvements from the last two games, implementing tons of ideas that are executed the best here even now. It corrects all the wrongs, it pushes Zelda to what it is today with the formula, the lore, the heart pieces, the magic meter, and the master sword. Introduced so many iconic songs as well like Kakariko and the Fairy Fountain theme. Without Link to The Past, Zelda would not be what it is now, and I’m forever thankful for this game for that, and will always love it. Thank you all for reading my longer LTTP review, the Zelda Marathon has a new king for now, but next up is Link’s Awakening! I played the Switch remake on release, but it didn’t grab me. I'm gonna be playing Link’s Awakening DX and hopefully it’ll pull me in this time! After Link’s Awakening DX, I’m going to take a break from the Zelda marathon for a bit to finish up some reviews, and finish playing Banjo Kazooie. As soon as I hit the 3D entries for Zelda, I’ll also be slowing down, but we’ll get there when we get there. Thank you all for reading, and I’ll see you all in the next one!
Reyn’s review - Steinco’s review - Dunebot's review
The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past, or LTTP as I’ll be calling it for this review, might just be the most important Zelda game ever. Not only did it establish so many essential staples to the franchise such as the master sword, heart pieces, the big/boss key, puzzle themes, item progression, and basic formula of Zelda games having three dungeons in order to retrieve the Master Sword, and then a plethora of more complicated dungeons afterwards, the final dungeon, and then the final boss. It’s not just what LTTP did for Zelda though that’s important, it’s how The game did it, and how it did it successfully, especially after coming off from The Legend of Zelda II: the Adventure of Link, which was a huge departure from the series.
Link has never felt more capable or more easy to control before. Link can now easily walk in all directions, which allows for more complex level design and enemy design. Link now swings his sword in an arch instead of a stab, allowing for much less frustration on top of a generous hitbox that will stop enemies in their tracks. Link now has a new spin attack which will go on to become an essential staple in his swordplay for every entry afterward, allowing Link to protect himself in a large circle that also deals rather good damage. In LTTP however, Link holds his sword in front of him to charge before spin attacking, which also serves as a hitbox which is thoughtfully designed to ensure the player isn’t fully compromised from attacking while trying to charge up this attack. Link can now also pick up pots and bushes to throw at enemies to deal considerable damage and also gives him an essential ranged option for encounters early on, they can even be used to knock poor unsuspecting foes off from balconies to kill them instantly. This ability would also be in every Zelda game afterward, however in the 2D entries specifically, the pot-throwing feels more reliable and significant as an offensive option due to the higher accuracy and damage, whereas 3D entries don’t emphasize it as much for combat, but definitely more for puzzles. Link can also hop off ledges, pull and push levers and blocks, and even his sword bounces off harder materials, adding a sense of realism to everything. Not only are these mechanics incredibly polished and always useful throughout the game, but Link is very animated and expressive which adds further charm to these additions, like when he’s visibly struggling to lift up an object before carrying it over his head. It’s things like this that remind us Link is still young, or at least inexperienced, but still very much capable and resourceful when he needs to be, even if a single line of dialogue is never spoken, this particular incarnation of Link has a lot more personality and flair to him than any Link before.
LTTP does more than give Link better characterization though, the writing has also taken a significant leap forward. LTTP establishes a lot of lore and mechanics that later Zelda games would flesh out, such as the seven wisemen who sealed Ganon away, the “Golden Power” known as the Triforce that can grant a wish when touched, unlike Zelda 2 where it simply lifted Zelda’s eternal coma, and Princess Zelda’s inclination to magic. While not everything LTTP presents is exactly compelling, it certainly makes an attempt in both the World and narrative as each dungeon completed, and each NPC talked to provide more context and information that can add deeper appreciation to what the game is going for. The Overworld presents a lot of history and nuance as well, such as the Zoras for example. Before, the Zoras were nothing more than nuisances in Zelda 1 and LTTP, yet they still offer Link their help should he compensate them with the right amount of rupees. Small ideas like this would later snowball into the Zora becoming an entirely peaceful race that Link assists and allies with in future titles. It’s not just the Zora either, many monsters in LTTP offer services to Link in exchange for money, while Zelda 1 did have the friendly Moblins who gave Link rupees, they pushed the envelope here a lot more and allowed for more monsters to present this human-like contrast to them where they’re not all necessarily evil or working for Ganon, which I really appreciate. Other aspects I like are the ancient hieroglyphs you can find in Hyrule, you need an item called “The Book of Mudora '' to read. .While as a gameplay mechanic, it makes sense you’d need this book to translate these hieroglyphs to receive an item, but from a lore perspective it’s incredibly interesting. An ancient civilization at one point who perhaps knew now long-lost magic that Link learns and uses to access later areas in the game, as well as needing the Master Sword to even obtain them almost makes it seem like a previous Hero of Legend left this power behind for the next Hero to inherit. It’s small details like this that LTTP is able to overlap in both gameplay and lore that makes it so interesting to think about, on top of just having a satisfying progression where every item you receive feels impactful throughout most of the game.
Item progression is perhaps the best it’s ever been for Zelda in LTTP as well. Every single item, even the boomerang now has a substantial purpose that justifies having it, as well as smart design decisions that continue giving these items importance and utility throughout the entire game. Let’s go back to the boomerang for example! I conceded in my Zelda 1 review that I rarely used items like the boomerang because the game never really much reason to use it over something like the Magic Wand. In LTTP, this is entirely different now as the Boomerang can now be used to pick up items from afar, this includes enemy drops such as rupees and arrows, to much more important items like small keys. Even if the boomerang is never required to use, the utility of collecting items out of reach or inconveniently far away is now a non-issue because the Boomerang can grab it for you. This can even become useful if an enemy drops a key but is surrounded by dangerous hazards, rather than having to take damage, you can simply use the Boomerang! It’s not just the Boomerang either that has this sort of thoughtfulness to it, the bug-catching net allows you to capture bees and fairies which each have their own use, yet the bug-net is useless without its partner item, the bottle. The bottle is used to store things you catch with the net, which I really like, it allows for two items to overlap in how they’re useful to the player which gives them both value. Yet, even the bottle can be used to store potions as well, so it still has its exclusive use besides being reliant on the net, it’s this sort of design that always allows for an item to be useful. It gets even better when items need to be used in tandem in order to succeed. Even the items by themselves stay relevant after you’ve received them, such as the Hookshot. The Hookshot is a fan favorite item, and was introduced in this game, it allows you to hook onto specific objects to pull Link far distances. You can hook chests, blocks, kill enemies with it, and even pull items and specific enemies to you as well. Due to the sheer vastness of the Hookshot, it always stays useful, but the game always accounts for you having this item once you get it, and is always creating scenarios you need to use it in, such as getting to the other side of Death Mountain, or being able to enter Misery Mire at all. LTTP is incredibly smart with its items, and even innovates old items like the bombs. Originally in Zelda 1, bombs were a very finite resource that you needed to be careful about placing correctly or you’d be wasting them, much unlike LTTP. In LTTP, you can now pick up your bombs, you can throw them, they have a longer detonation time, you can even upgrade your bomb capacity up to 40 bombs, ensuring you’ll never run out. These new mechanics not only make bombs more practical in combat and puzzles, but it allows the developers to make far more convoluted puzzles involving them, while also being able to evolve the puzzles steadily so players can continue mastering the art of using bombs. Without these mechanics that require precision and fidelity, bombs would feel just as one-dimensional as Zelda 1’s, but thankfully LTTP does nothing but improve everything established before it, even Zelda 2.
In my review for Zelda 2 I mentioned how shielded enemies always annoyed me because you had to always jump-strike to land a hit, and even then it wasn’t always consistent. I’m happy to say LTTP somehow made this mechanic far better, and much less annoying! As early as the start of the game, LTTP establishes that not every enemy can just be mindlessly slashed to defeat. The corrupted Hyrule knights who fight Link are equipped with shields which protects them from Link’s attacks. This teaches the player very quickly that positioning is key to dealing with certain enemies, and for these knights, attacking them to the left of their shield, behind them, or in front of them will be able to damage them. Zelda 1 had this concept with the Darknuts, but didn’t have the technology to allow for Link to hit their exposed body their shield isn’t covering, and Zelda 2’s perspective limited it to low and high hits. LTTP hits this sweet spot of allowing the enemies to have resilience, but not a perfect defense either, it has compromises, just as Link’s defense is in every Zelda game prior and including this one. Other enemies such as hardhat beetles have unique reactions to attacking them, knocking Link back like a bumper. Other enemies such as Gibdo’s that are now far tankier than Zelda 1, now have a crippling weakness to fire. Having these specific weaknesses and attributes to enemies only serves to enrich combat, and these are just a few examples. Other enemies outright justify certain items you have, such as the red variants of Goriyah’s and Eyegore’s requiring the bow to even harm, Terrapin’s needing to be knocked over with the hammer to expose their weak stomachs, and the Freezor’s needing to be melted by the Fire rod or Bombos. It’s because of these enemy designs and behaviors that allows LTTP to elevate itself far past previous entries. Enemies that require specific strategies to defeat, requiring specific items, and having certain immunities and strengths that individualize them. It becomes much better when a variety of enemies are placed into the same room, it creates extremely dynamic gameplay of swapping out your items to deal with each one methodically like a dance. Yet the game never expects you to switch items constantly per room, and there’s plenty of enemies you can dispose of with just a simple swing of your sword, such as the Gibdo’s again, but it’s never annoying. In Zelda 1, they often bombarded you with too many enemies, and Zelda 2’s enemies were too difficult to dispose of and their placements were often unfair and frustrating. LTTP has neither flaw, at least, not to the same severity. Many of the enemy placements and combinations felt thoughtful, balanced, and most importantly, it feels fair. That’s the most important part to me, LTTP always felt fair even in the most harrowing of rooms, enemy placement never felt too overwhelming, there was never a moment where I said “wow, that’s some terrible enemy placement!” Things that I thought and said many times in the previous entries of Zelda. The game always gives you the tools to win, you just have to utilize them, and that’s one reason I love LTTP!
Let’s talk about something that’s not so great about LTTP, the minigames. Now, let me just preface that I don't find these games mechanically bad, rather their reliance on RNG is what kills me. I think the most infamous of these is the digging minigame. In the digging minigame, you pay 80 rupees to start digging around, but you only have 30 seconds. Now, to be as fair as possible here, the digging minigame usually pays out enough rupees to try again, so it’s just a matter of repetition to get the piece of heart. However, the issue is how long it can take, for this playthrough it took me about 10 attempts, which isn’t bad. I understand the idea, and it’s not even a bad minigame, but the reliance on luck rather than skill when the rest of this game is the exact opposite of that is a bit jarring for me. Same could be said for the Chest minigame in Thieves' Town which I’d argue is worse had the town itself not have 600 rupees you can grab with relative ease. You also have the racing minigame in Kakariko town which actually isn’t that bad at all and is kind of fun! The rest of the minigames don’t provide a substantial reward, but are fun enough on their own to kill time or make some extra money.
In the previous entries of Zelda, I found it rather odd that most of the items you receive don’t necessarily help with traversal. Zelda 1 had the stepladder which was useful, but didn’t really provide much help, Zelda 2 was especially bad considering a lot of those items could’ve actually been great, but instead were relegated to very specific paths that mostly just led to the next dungeon. LTTP once again just kills it with both explorative progression, but ease of travel. The Pegasus Boots being one of the most substantial, allowing Link to run super fast in one direction without being able to turn. On the plus side, he keeps his sword out in front, shoving enemies out of your way to keep the sprint going. This alone makes LTTP far less intrusive to play, especially when in the Overworld and backtracking. Not only does it serve its own purposes as an item, but it doubles as improved transportation which was really smart. The Zora Flippers allow you to swim, a first for Zelda. They once again, not only allow you to swim, but unlock so many new avenues to explore via the whirlpools which will warp you throughout the map, which is very convenient. Zora flippers also serve as a paramount item later in the game for dungeons like Swamp Palace, which gives it immense value. My absolute favorite has to be the flute though. The flute allows you to warp to 8 different points on the map, and usually puts you in a spot of interest, such as Link’s House, the Old Man’s cave house, the Witch’s hut etc. All of these areas serve a purpose, or are a significant landmark to help distinguish where you are and what you can do. And yet again, even something like the flute allows you to gain access to a new area you couldn’t otherwise, which as I’ll say again, is so smart. Not only does it make it easier for the player to explore the World and find things easier and faster, but the progression feels strong, it’s quantifiable how much more capable Link is as the game progresses, not just in strength, but in utility. I wanted to stress this point, because Zelda 2 drove me wild with having to start from the very beginning every time you died because Link doesn’t feel anymore capable or faster to get somewhere even by the end of the game. Compared to LTTP, I can save my game, warp to Link’s House, use the flute to get to death mountain and reach the final dungeon in a manner of 5 minutes. This comparison alone, along with my horrible experience with Zelda 2, made this one simple feature hold far more value for me, and I am very grateful to have it, it’s a luxury Zelda didn’t always have, but very glad it exists in LTTP!
Now, for the most important question, how cryptic is this game? Zelda 1 and Zelda 2 I dubbed as “guide games” in my reviews because I legitimately couldn’t fathom how someone could’ve realistically figured out what to do in those games due to the lack of visual tells, or the game not relaying the information you could even do certain things that it asks of you later on. So, what about LTTP? Well, I can happily say it’s a lot better! LTTP was smart with the Castle Escape sequence exposing players to very important concepts early on. Opening chests, defeating enemies to open doors, enemies dropping keys, being able to push things/interacting with the environment, the map, and the big key. All of these things plus dark rooms, torches, and levers are introduced and exposed to the player so they can understand them in a controlled, but not hand-holding environment. Interactable environments such as bombable walls now have a visual tell with cracks to represent a weak wall. The map and compass aren’t incredibly reliable, but a step-up from Zelda 1. The overworld is far less cryptic, items now give descriptions on what they do in-game so the player doesn’t need to guess their functionality anymore. Dungeons such as Eastern Palace introduce more complex dark rooms and simple block puzzles. Desert Palace forces the player to find the second part of the dungeon by leaving the dungeon, which later dungeons like Skull Woods do a lot more of. Desert palace also teaches you about torch puzzles in a manner that’s easy to understand as well. Tower of Hera introduces the idea of descending floors through holes to reach normally inaccessible areas which becomes incredibly common in later dungeons and the Overworld. Tower of Hera also introduces the red and blue blocks that rise and drop depending on the color of the switch you use. LTTP is very considerate about introducing and having the player practice new mechanics slowly while not fully spelling it out for them. It allows the player to keep their agency and sense of discovery, but also doesn’t allow them to get frustrated because the solutions themselves aren’t too difficult, and some good perception will lead them to the answer. Now granted, there are a few moments in this game that are still cryptic, I won’t deny that. However, the fortune teller pretty much removes any possibility of being stuck in this game. Essentially an in-game guide, you can pay the fortune teller to give you a hint about what to do next, or specific points of interest you might want to look into doing. You do have to pay 10 to 30 rupees for this info, but considering just how generous LTTP is with money, you won’t need to worry about spending them to progress in the game. It’s this sort of resource that allows the player to steadily progress without getting stuck for too long outside of dungeons. Considering the time this game came out, strategy guides and hotlines you could call for help with games would’ve been an easy solution that would’ve provided more revenue for Nintendo. Yet they decided to add the Fortune Teller into LTTP so players could always know what to do, where to go, and other tidbits of helpful info and insight to make the playing experience as smooth as possible. I deeply respect the decision, and I am glad they did this, it probably allowed many players over the years to enjoy the game that much more. With that said, any issue of the game being too cryptic to figure out is pretty much eliminated, a flaw the previous two games had that LTTP doesn’t, a gigantic plus for LTTP.
Dungeons this time around feel a lot more familiar to the rest of the Zelda series. Zelda 1 and Zelda 2 certainly had maze-like dungeons, though they relied a lot more on overpopulated enemy placements and cheap tricks to create difficulty. LTTP on the other hand is much more focused on puzzles and figuring out where to go by using your resources carefully. Unlike the previous entries as well, LTTP designs its dungeons in a way that prevents you from having to leave or reset the dungeon if you do something incorrectly, they’re incredibly interconnected and have a plethora of keys for the player to use so they can eventually find the right path. As I mentioned before though, LTTP is much more focused on puzzle-solving within the dungeons than combat. One example is the Ice Palace, while it’s undeniable this dungeon has a rather annoying gimmick and plenty of enemy encounters, the puzzle revolving around finding buttons to open doors, navigating the slick terrain, and the last puzzle involving you pushing a block down to the bottom floor and then going around the dungeon to get to the other side to push the correct block down when the conditions are right feel very tightly designed and clean cut. LTTP is also incredibly open-ended, allowing you to do dungeons out of order to get a specific item before tackling another dungeon which could make it much easier. Let’s use the Ice Palace again as an example, the only item you need to complete this dungeon is the fire rod. So you’ll have to go to Skull Woods before going to the Ice Palace of course. However, if you decide to do Swamp Palace to get the Hookshot, and then do the Thieves hideout, you can go to Misery Mire before Skull Woods. Doing so gets you the cane of Somaria, which allows you to use magic to create a block you can use freely, and has the same properties as a block with a few fun additional capabilities such as throwing it, or discharging it to create four projectiles to hit switches and enemies. If you go to the Ice Palace after receiving the Cane of Somaria, you can skip the last puzzle entirely by just placing a block on the button. The design of these dungeons allows for more than one solution to solve them, and LTTP allows players to mostly go about the dungeons in many different sequences which can lead to an entirely different experience each time. While it’s true the dungeons are numbered like Zelda 1 and have a recommended order of doing them, you don’t have to. I’m glad LTTP took the freedom that Zelda 1 allowed but made it much more valuable to the player by making earlier dungeons much easier. While the dungeons do get progressively harder and more complex in layout and enemies as well, it’s not too difficult that it would be inconceivable for even a newer player to accomplish this, which I appreciate and gives the game a lot of replayability in this aspect.
Last thing I have yet to go over are the Heart Pieces. Heart Pieces were introduced in LTTP as well, and I think they were a smart decision mostly. In the prior two games, you would get Heart Containers, increasing your maximum life as soon as you found one. Zelda 1 also gave you Heart Containers when you defeated a boss, which LTTP also does. The difference is that Heart Containers outside bosses were basically broken up into four pieces, finding four gives you a Heart Container. The reason I think ultimately this was a good idea is it simply makes the game more justifiable to play. In the originals, there’s certain areas and screens you can ignore entirely because there’s nothing of interest there, so it’s just a waste of time. In LTTP, due to the higher abundance of worthwhile items to find, specifically Heart Pieces, it not only makes exploring a lot more valuable, but it also allows for a lot less waste. Even the minigames in LTTP are worth doing because you can get a Heart Piece. Health is valuable in Zelda games, and for completionists it’s even better because the game is diversifying how you obtain your upgrades. Zelda 1? Find a cave, get a Heart Container every single time. Zelda 2? Find a random tile on the map and get a Heart Container. LTTP? Do this puzzle, play this minigame, find a way to this area to get the Heart Piece, use your items to get it etc. LTTP allows for itself to essentially take more risks in design because the game will always be able to grant the player a reason to do it in the first place with Heart Pieces. But also, since Heart Pieces are in this in-between of important and not so important, and are also very high in quantity, it allows players to choose what they want and don’t want to do much easier. If there’s a Heart Piece that’s frustrating to grab, the player can skip it and have solace in the fact there’s plenty more to get to increase your health. It’s not a full-encompassing positive though since the creation of Heart Pieces could feel like padding, bloated, and annoying compared to the previous 2 games that feel much more generous in hindsight because you get an instant health upgrade, even if they're optional. The issue is, Zelda 1 and 2 did nothing unique with these Heart Containers, you just find them and move on. LTTP always creates value with an item that arguably has less value than the Heart Containers. They always allow for a small puzzle to be made, a minigame to play, or an obstacle to overcome. It's engaging, it’s diverse, and it’s fun. I’m glad later Zelda games continued to keep the Heart Pieces, because from here-on, how they’re rewarded and obtained simply become better and better since their inception. Even in the first game introduced in, they’re executed very well and feel like a worthwhile addition!
Now for some smaller points I couldn’t really dedicate an entire paragraph to. I love the sprite work in this game, it’s not exactly the most expressive besides Link, but it’s top-notch. A lot of these monster designs really came to life with this game, and I think a lot of how these enemies were designed moving forward oftentimes use LTTP as a reference point. The map in this game is fantastic It's incredibly detailed and showcases points of interests and dungeons remarkably well so the player won’t get lost. It’s a far cry from Zelda 1’s terrible map, and much better than Zelda 2’s map because it has detail, it has personality, and it’s a very accurate depiction of Hyrule! I enjoy the antagonist not being Ganon for the first time in a Zelda game, well at least initially. Agahnim feels very intimidating and powerful, even though his boss fight is relatively easy, he’s certainly an imposing antagonist that was a nice change of pace in a while. I also love Ganon in this game when he’s revealed, probably my favorite design of classic Ganon, he’s also just charming because he calls Link “lad”. It’s such a tiny detail, but Ganon calling Link lad doesn’t feel like it’s from a place of disrespect, honestly it feels to me like Ganon is somewhat impressed by this young man being able to overpower him. I might be reaching a bit here, but this Ganon feels a lot more respectable despite destroying two entire worlds practically, yet he doesn’t underestimate or talk down to Link, he absolutely views him as a worthy adversary. I like the idea of the seven maidens, though I think games like Ocarina of Time do it way better, but not a bad start. I also enjoyed how Zelda appears at the start and asks Link for help through telekinesis. It’s a small detail again, but hints at Zelda’s affinity for magic that later Zelda games, like Ocarina of Time once again, delve into deeper, and especially a game like Breath Of The Wild. Unfortunately, Zelda just like Zelda 1 and 2 has barely any presence here, but I think it’s also a step in the right direction for her. Really most NPC’s in this game are charming, not exactly well-written, but definitely makes the world feel more alive. I enjoy all the treasures in this game, especially when there’s bundles of 4 or 5 chests in one given room and you get to open them one-by-one. It’s something that’s incredibly satisfying and fun that later Zelda games would also do, for LTTP it’s especially gratifying, especially with that little jingle it always plays. Sound design is superb here, it’s very unique, but there’s nothing here that feels out of place or annoying like Zelda 2, everything is balanced well and doesn’t grate on the ears. The entire OST is fantastic! I really love Kakariko Village a song that every future Kakariko in Zelda would use, I love the Hyrule field in this game as well, the SNES really made this song feel more heroic and hopeful. My favorite song in the entire game though is Majestic Castle, this song is only played in two areas in the whole game, the tutorial, and the Castle Tower after obtaining the Master Sword. This song has an air of seriousness and danger to it, it really encapsulates the tone and situation of LTTP. It’s incredibly apt especially after seeing your uncle die in the castle sewers, this game isn’t necessarily light-hearted, but not so serious that it can’t also be fun or whimsical. Majestic Castle is definitely my favorite, it also just has this great atmosphere to it with the rain you can hear in the background, it’s magical really, especially if it’s the first time you’re hearing it. Last thing I’ll mention is the magic meter which I really liked. Powerful magical items and spells now have a resource you need to manage in order to use, but the game does a great job at supplying it when you need it, and is rather generous with the drops in the first place. It’s a substantial improvement from Zelda 2 because the Magic Meter isn’t used to heal yourself, it doesn’t cost nearly as much to use most magical items. Rather it’s more for puzzle-solving and convenience like using the powerful medallions to clear an annoying room of enemies, it helps the game makes sure you’ll always have magic when you need it too, or else it’d be as bad as Zelda 2, but LTTP is just always making sure the player has what they need to do things, kind of similar to how Zelda 1 did it, but is much more attentive.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to The Past is a masterpiece. It’s one of my favorite games ever made, and the quality still holds up to this day. I’ve played this game hundreds of times through the randomizer and vanilla playthroughs, and the charm still persists for me even now. I’ll end up playing this game for the remainder of my life solely due to all the memories attached to it, and it helped me establish a lot of important relationships in my life to get a bit personal for a second, Disregarding that though, the game is just polished extensively, it’s got a very open-ended design, tons of improvements from the last two games, implementing tons of ideas that are executed the best here even now. It corrects all the wrongs, it pushes Zelda to what it is today with the formula, the lore, the heart pieces, the magic meter, and the master sword. Introduced so many iconic songs as well like Kakariko and the Fairy Fountain theme. Without Link to The Past, Zelda would not be what it is now, and I’m forever thankful for this game for that, and will always love it. Thank you all for reading my longer LTTP review, the Zelda Marathon has a new king for now, but next up is Link’s Awakening! I played the Switch remake on release, but it didn’t grab me. I'm gonna be playing Link’s Awakening DX and hopefully it’ll pull me in this time! After Link’s Awakening DX, I’m going to take a break from the Zelda marathon for a bit to finish up some reviews, and finish playing Banjo Kazooie. As soon as I hit the 3D entries for Zelda, I’ll also be slowing down, but we’ll get there when we get there. Thank you all for reading, and I’ll see you all in the next one!
Reyn’s review - Steinco’s review - Dunebot's review
The next game in this Zelda marathon, A Link to the Past, is a breath of fresh air. While I didn't particularly like Zelda 1, and I definitely didn't like Zelda II, this game was different. This was one of the first Zelda games I played I believe, yet this was only my 2nd time fully beating it. I had seen plenty of randomizers before, but I haven't fully beaten this game in like 10 years. As I stated, this game was a breath of fresh air because, as opposed to the first two games, A Link to the Past is really great.
This game ditches the side-scrolling platformer adventure RPG Zelda II went for and is more in line with how Zelda 1 does things. It's top down again, there are no more RPG mechanics like Zelda II and the game isn't absolutely brutal like Zelda II. In fact, it's easier than the first game, tho I still died weirdly often funnily enough. Anyways this is all for the better as the direction Zelda II was going in, just did not do it for me at all.
The story this time around, and it focuses more on its story than the first two games, actually takes place before Zelda I and II. Before the events of the game happen, Ganondorf manages to open the gateway to the Sacred Realm where the Triforce is hidden away and he obtains the Triforce for himself. Knowing he was evil and this would lead to catastrophe, the king of Hyrule ordered seven sages to seal the gateway up along with Ganondorf inside. A long battle ensues but, in the end, the gateway was sealed. Many years later, horrible events start occurring and so the king of Hyrule believes it to be related to the sages seal. Finding out it was not that, he puts out a reward for anyone that can help him with these troubles. A wizard named Agahnim comes alone, seemingly fixing these troubles with his magic. He becomes close to the king and all is well for a while. However shortly after, people start to suspect something is wrong with Agahnim. He starts abusing his power. He eventually casts spells on all the soldiers to turn them evil, and kidnaps maidens that were descended from the sages, using their powers to try to open the seal himself. The game then officially starts, with Link having to save Zelda from the dungeon of Hyrule castle. Once Link saves her, she and him meet up with the priest of a nearby sanctuary and he tells you some of the details I just told you. It's now Link's job to get 3 pendants to obtain the Master Sword, eventually having to rescue the maidens (and Zelda she gets kidnapped too) from each of the dungeons that reside in the Dark World and in the end defeating Ganon. That was a lot but yeah this game is more story-focused than the other two and I like that. The story isn't mind-blowing, and I think Ocarina of Time honestly did the story way better since it's pretty similar to this game's but it's still a solid first attempt at this type of Zelda story.
Actually, getting into the gameplay tho, it's basically Zelda 1 but more polished. It's more linear than that game and holds your hand more but is also more engaging. You actually have a map for the overworld and there are always markers showing you where you need to go next. Some might see this as maybe too hand-holdy, but compared to Zelda 1's cryptic and more directionless nature, I'll take this any day over that. Another thing this game does better with its overworld is the secrets. Gone is every secret being a completely random bush to burn or wall to blow up. If there are bombable walls, they have a crack in them to indicate they can be blown up. Outside of that, the secrets are way more different. Sometimes you'll have to fall in a hole or well to end up in a cave and to get rupees or pieces of heart. (That's another change too, pieces of heart are now a thing, and you have to get 4 to make a full heart container). Sometimes you have to use the dark and light world to your advantage and switch between both to get secrets. Sometimes there are little minigames you can play to get items like pieces of heart. The secrets and ways you get items in the overworld are just so much more interesting here compared to the randomness in Zelda 1. There's a reason future Zelda's stuck with this format.
Dungeons this time around are more fleshed out and are more puzzle-like. Instead of having to push a block, find keys and maybe bomb some walls, A Link to the Past introduces many new concepts in its dungeons. One dungeon you're going in and out constantly through entrances in the overworld. Another is full of ice and thus the palace has ice physics. Another involves you having to use an item to create a platform on some tracks, letting you ride them to your destination. These never feel too gimmicky either and always come naturally. The dungeons are great in this game, far better than Zelda 1 and 2's, but I can't say I absolutely love them. Some are better than others (Skull Woods gave me big issues for some reason) and I generally prefer 3D Zelda dungeons more just because they usually have much more distinct aesthetic to them compared to these. Still tho, these dungeons are very enjoyable..especially the endgame ones. Tho Ganon's tower is brutal I gotta say lol.
The items you get from the dungeons, and I guess outside of them too, are pretty solid tho some are situational. The hookshot became very iconic from this game onwards and is used a lot in the 2nd half of the game. The bow and arrow, while not used a ton in this game, is fun and also became iconic. The hammer has its uses throughout the game but is pretty situational. The medallions damage enemies, tho I never really used them for that purpose much, and otherwise are only required very rarely. This game introduced bottles which are a nice addition as you can store faries in them to revive Link. This game does have several kind of forgettable items and also situational ones you won't use outside of battle or even often at all, but it also introduces some series staples as well, so I'd say it was a good selection of items overall.
The bosses at the end of dungeons are generally really good. They're all distinct visually, and some are even iconic enough to appear in future Zelda titles. Arrghus for example, basically reappears in Majora's Mask under the name Wart. Moldorm appears as a boss in Link's Awakening and A Link Between Worlds. The bosses are generally good, tho sometimes they can be a bit annoying. Mothula for example is incredibly hard without magic and the fire rod. Even with that, it's still difficult because of all the spike blocks in its room. Trinexx you basically NEED to have magic, the fire and ice rod, to even attack it or else you're shit out of luck. The game tells you a couple times throughout the game, when you'll basically need a green potion for a dungeon. They aren't kidding either. Cuz, I had a red or green potion almost every time before I started a dungeon. Luckily rupees are incredibly easy to get in this game, maybe the easiest game to rack up rupees, and a shop that sells green and red potions has a warp next to it which is handy (oh yeah, I forgot to mention you can warp with the ocarina once you get the song to summon the bird which is extremely helpful to warp throughout the Light World). Either way, besides some frustrating ones, the bosses are overall a big improvement from the first two games.
I mentioned the Dark World before and yeah, that's this games big thing. A ways into the game, you obtain the mirror. When you're in the Dark World, Link will turn into a bunny. When he uses the mirror tho, he can go back to the light world and leaves a little warp on the floor that he can use to go back to the Dark World. There are also several warps naturally strewn across the world that Link can use to warp to the Dark World if need be. Anyways, the reason Link is a bunny in the Dark World is because anything that's there morphs into a monster or an animal or whatever. Link cannot attack as a Bunny, but as soon as he first goes go to the Dark World, the dungeon that appears not even a minute after that happens holds the Moon Pearl. This let's Link go to the Dark World without turning into a bunny. Personally, since there's almost nothing in between you first going to the Dark World and getting the Moon Pearl, I would've liked if you got the moon pearl a bit later since it kind of felt pointless that you turn into a bunny only to not have to worry about that pretty much ever soon after. That's a minor nitpick tho, just something I thought about with this replay. Anyways, the whole Light World Dark World gimmick is very well done here, and it leads to some really cool secrets throughout the game.
The OST is great this time around. Zelda 1 already had a very solid soundtrack, and not only does this game have a new an improved version of the overworld theme, it also has some awesome new tracks along with some that become series staples. Zelda's theme makes its first appearance here and its a fantastic version of the song. Both the Dark World theme and the Dark World dungeon theme are also fantastic and fit the darker atmosphere the Dark World provides. This is even the first appearance of the Kakariko Village theme and as someone that played OOT before this game, I always thought that was very fascinating lol. Anyways this game's ost is iconic for a reason and has some of the best songs in the series.
While I did list a couple minor issues I had with this game, this truly is a massive step-up from the prior games. There's a big reason this is a classic and is still played today (whether it's the vanilla version or with randomizers). Now I do prefer Ocarina of Time personally, tho I guess I won't truly know until I replay that next, but if I'll give anything to this game over Ocarina, it's the fact the pacing is way faster and its a lot easier to just dive in and replay. That and visually it does look a lot cleaner. Anyways, I was going to play the CDI games, but I realized the hassle to get an emulator working for them wouldn't have been worth it for how supposedly bad they are. So, Link's Awakening DX is next in this marathon, look forward to that review coming soon!!
This game ditches the side-scrolling platformer adventure RPG Zelda II went for and is more in line with how Zelda 1 does things. It's top down again, there are no more RPG mechanics like Zelda II and the game isn't absolutely brutal like Zelda II. In fact, it's easier than the first game, tho I still died weirdly often funnily enough. Anyways this is all for the better as the direction Zelda II was going in, just did not do it for me at all.
The story this time around, and it focuses more on its story than the first two games, actually takes place before Zelda I and II. Before the events of the game happen, Ganondorf manages to open the gateway to the Sacred Realm where the Triforce is hidden away and he obtains the Triforce for himself. Knowing he was evil and this would lead to catastrophe, the king of Hyrule ordered seven sages to seal the gateway up along with Ganondorf inside. A long battle ensues but, in the end, the gateway was sealed. Many years later, horrible events start occurring and so the king of Hyrule believes it to be related to the sages seal. Finding out it was not that, he puts out a reward for anyone that can help him with these troubles. A wizard named Agahnim comes alone, seemingly fixing these troubles with his magic. He becomes close to the king and all is well for a while. However shortly after, people start to suspect something is wrong with Agahnim. He starts abusing his power. He eventually casts spells on all the soldiers to turn them evil, and kidnaps maidens that were descended from the sages, using their powers to try to open the seal himself. The game then officially starts, with Link having to save Zelda from the dungeon of Hyrule castle. Once Link saves her, she and him meet up with the priest of a nearby sanctuary and he tells you some of the details I just told you. It's now Link's job to get 3 pendants to obtain the Master Sword, eventually having to rescue the maidens (and Zelda she gets kidnapped too) from each of the dungeons that reside in the Dark World and in the end defeating Ganon. That was a lot but yeah this game is more story-focused than the other two and I like that. The story isn't mind-blowing, and I think Ocarina of Time honestly did the story way better since it's pretty similar to this game's but it's still a solid first attempt at this type of Zelda story.
Actually, getting into the gameplay tho, it's basically Zelda 1 but more polished. It's more linear than that game and holds your hand more but is also more engaging. You actually have a map for the overworld and there are always markers showing you where you need to go next. Some might see this as maybe too hand-holdy, but compared to Zelda 1's cryptic and more directionless nature, I'll take this any day over that. Another thing this game does better with its overworld is the secrets. Gone is every secret being a completely random bush to burn or wall to blow up. If there are bombable walls, they have a crack in them to indicate they can be blown up. Outside of that, the secrets are way more different. Sometimes you'll have to fall in a hole or well to end up in a cave and to get rupees or pieces of heart. (That's another change too, pieces of heart are now a thing, and you have to get 4 to make a full heart container). Sometimes you have to use the dark and light world to your advantage and switch between both to get secrets. Sometimes there are little minigames you can play to get items like pieces of heart. The secrets and ways you get items in the overworld are just so much more interesting here compared to the randomness in Zelda 1. There's a reason future Zelda's stuck with this format.
Dungeons this time around are more fleshed out and are more puzzle-like. Instead of having to push a block, find keys and maybe bomb some walls, A Link to the Past introduces many new concepts in its dungeons. One dungeon you're going in and out constantly through entrances in the overworld. Another is full of ice and thus the palace has ice physics. Another involves you having to use an item to create a platform on some tracks, letting you ride them to your destination. These never feel too gimmicky either and always come naturally. The dungeons are great in this game, far better than Zelda 1 and 2's, but I can't say I absolutely love them. Some are better than others (Skull Woods gave me big issues for some reason) and I generally prefer 3D Zelda dungeons more just because they usually have much more distinct aesthetic to them compared to these. Still tho, these dungeons are very enjoyable..especially the endgame ones. Tho Ganon's tower is brutal I gotta say lol.
The items you get from the dungeons, and I guess outside of them too, are pretty solid tho some are situational. The hookshot became very iconic from this game onwards and is used a lot in the 2nd half of the game. The bow and arrow, while not used a ton in this game, is fun and also became iconic. The hammer has its uses throughout the game but is pretty situational. The medallions damage enemies, tho I never really used them for that purpose much, and otherwise are only required very rarely. This game introduced bottles which are a nice addition as you can store faries in them to revive Link. This game does have several kind of forgettable items and also situational ones you won't use outside of battle or even often at all, but it also introduces some series staples as well, so I'd say it was a good selection of items overall.
The bosses at the end of dungeons are generally really good. They're all distinct visually, and some are even iconic enough to appear in future Zelda titles. Arrghus for example, basically reappears in Majora's Mask under the name Wart. Moldorm appears as a boss in Link's Awakening and A Link Between Worlds. The bosses are generally good, tho sometimes they can be a bit annoying. Mothula for example is incredibly hard without magic and the fire rod. Even with that, it's still difficult because of all the spike blocks in its room. Trinexx you basically NEED to have magic, the fire and ice rod, to even attack it or else you're shit out of luck. The game tells you a couple times throughout the game, when you'll basically need a green potion for a dungeon. They aren't kidding either. Cuz, I had a red or green potion almost every time before I started a dungeon. Luckily rupees are incredibly easy to get in this game, maybe the easiest game to rack up rupees, and a shop that sells green and red potions has a warp next to it which is handy (oh yeah, I forgot to mention you can warp with the ocarina once you get the song to summon the bird which is extremely helpful to warp throughout the Light World). Either way, besides some frustrating ones, the bosses are overall a big improvement from the first two games.
I mentioned the Dark World before and yeah, that's this games big thing. A ways into the game, you obtain the mirror. When you're in the Dark World, Link will turn into a bunny. When he uses the mirror tho, he can go back to the light world and leaves a little warp on the floor that he can use to go back to the Dark World. There are also several warps naturally strewn across the world that Link can use to warp to the Dark World if need be. Anyways, the reason Link is a bunny in the Dark World is because anything that's there morphs into a monster or an animal or whatever. Link cannot attack as a Bunny, but as soon as he first goes go to the Dark World, the dungeon that appears not even a minute after that happens holds the Moon Pearl. This let's Link go to the Dark World without turning into a bunny. Personally, since there's almost nothing in between you first going to the Dark World and getting the Moon Pearl, I would've liked if you got the moon pearl a bit later since it kind of felt pointless that you turn into a bunny only to not have to worry about that pretty much ever soon after. That's a minor nitpick tho, just something I thought about with this replay. Anyways, the whole Light World Dark World gimmick is very well done here, and it leads to some really cool secrets throughout the game.
The OST is great this time around. Zelda 1 already had a very solid soundtrack, and not only does this game have a new an improved version of the overworld theme, it also has some awesome new tracks along with some that become series staples. Zelda's theme makes its first appearance here and its a fantastic version of the song. Both the Dark World theme and the Dark World dungeon theme are also fantastic and fit the darker atmosphere the Dark World provides. This is even the first appearance of the Kakariko Village theme and as someone that played OOT before this game, I always thought that was very fascinating lol. Anyways this game's ost is iconic for a reason and has some of the best songs in the series.
While I did list a couple minor issues I had with this game, this truly is a massive step-up from the prior games. There's a big reason this is a classic and is still played today (whether it's the vanilla version or with randomizers). Now I do prefer Ocarina of Time personally, tho I guess I won't truly know until I replay that next, but if I'll give anything to this game over Ocarina, it's the fact the pacing is way faster and its a lot easier to just dive in and replay. That and visually it does look a lot cleaner. Anyways, I was going to play the CDI games, but I realized the hassle to get an emulator working for them wouldn't have been worth it for how supposedly bad they are. So, Link's Awakening DX is next in this marathon, look forward to that review coming soon!!
The ultimate randomizer. No game comes close. Not Pokemon, not any other Zelda. A Link to the Past is the perfect Randomizer game.
Played for RetroAchievements. I used to say when I was a kid that I liked this game better than Ocarina of Time which was a controversial opinion among my friends. 20 something years later I still think this is the best Zelda. A lot of the magic and wonder has gone now that I've done hundreds of randomizer seeds but that itself is a testament to just how fun it is. Enjoyed getting to play through it for RA and a couple of the achievements taught me something new about the game. Still the goat!
A Link to the Past is a great Zelda game filled with great layouts and dungeon challenges. Looks amazing on SNES
I'm such a dumbass honestly I never would have beat this game without looking up what to do next on the internet.
I played A Link to the Past for like the fifth (sixth?) time for a Zelda marathon (alongside @NOWITSREYNTIME17, @Steinco, @NovaNiles, @QuentTheSlayer, @Ptcremisi, @zeusdeegoose, and a bunch of others). If you want a more detailed log, I highly recommend this one I did back in October, because my thoughts haven’t really changed (and I’m pretty proud of that review). It’s still an awesome game that improves upon everything its predecessors did well and it still holds up over 30 years later. I don’t have anything to add, it’s just a great game.
Reyn’s review: here
Steinco’s review: here
Quent’s review: here
Reyn’s review: here
Steinco’s review: here
Quent’s review: here
You cannot imagine how happy I was when Zelda II was finally over. An abysmal game with marginal ties to its predecessor. Luckily, Nintendo went with what worked in the first Legend of Zelda and understood what made that game enjoyable in the first place.
A Link to the Past was one of the first games I truly fell in love with. It is my happy place. We had plenty of videogames in our household, mostly 2D-platformers like Mario or home ports of arcade titles like Space Invaders or Pac-Man. But A Link to the Past was very different. No longer was I tasked with running from point A to point B, mostly from left to right. Getting the highest score was not the primary goal anymore. The goal was to save the princess, beat the game, by any means necessary. It truly felt like I was in control of the hero’s destiny. I must have completed this game more than twenty times since I first played it in 1996. And how happy I was that Nintendo released a port on the GameBoy Advance. Now I could play my favorite game anywhere and any time I wanted.
The game’s story is actually surprisingly fleshed out. Seven Wise Men magically sealed Ganon away in the Golden Land during the Imprisoning War. Hyrule was safe for many centuries until the coming of the wizard, Agahnim. He eliminated the king of Hyrule and sought to break the seal that kept Ganon imprisoned. One by one, the descendants of the Wise Men vanished, weakening the seal until one descendant remained: Princess Zelda. The princess contacts you telepathically, pleading with the nascent hero to rescue her from her perils. And an epic quest ensues.
As mentioned before, the game took what was good about the first Legend of Zelda and pushed everything up a notch. The jump from the NES to the SNES is staggering, everything looks a lot more colorful and detailed and all that extra horsepower comes in handy to truly differentiate each and every environment. We have the Desert of Mystery, the small and quaint village of Kakariko, The Lost Woods enveloped in fog and mystery for an incredible atmosphere. After a while you will venture into The Dark World, a parallel world to Hyrule. Almost everything is the same but darker, more somber, foreboding. From Dark World you can travel to the Light World but not vice-versa, creating some interesting puzzles and exploration opportunities. It is amazing how Nintendo basically doubled the size of the world with this technique.
The game entices you to explore constantly, the overworld is packed with collectables and secrets that often lead to other secrets. There is a certain indescribable flow to the entire structure of this game. This is also thanks to the numerous items you can collect that allow you to open up more parts of the map, kind of like modern-day Metroidvania’s. This is by far Zelda’s most diverse and eclectic collection of items. While Zelda 2 used a lot more ‘’passive items’’, things you cannot actually tangentially use but their use is triggered via certain actions on the overworld, Link to the Past has far more items to equip, for use against enemies or on the environment. For example, the boomerang returns which you can use to stun enemies momentarily but can also be used to activate switches. The Hookshot functions similarly but it has an extra use, grappling yourself to chests or wooden poles to yoink yourself to another part of the screen. You can acquire magic rods for ice and fire magic with predictable results once they get used on enemies. Some items are required to be used only once or not all. Some are entirely optional but it is cool that they’re there. You can acquire a cape that is invisible or a cane that makes you impervious to attacks. They are not required to beat the game but hell, they’re cool collectables and fantastic rewards for those who want to eagerly explore Hyrule.
Sure, compared to the first Zelda, Link to the Past is far more linear. For me, that is not a bad thing. This game still has some cryptic nonsense that require you to either talk to every NPC you can find or just look up a guide but for the most part, you know where you need to go and you know what you’re doing. There are some instances where the game stops you dead in your tracks because you need some random item, usually found while exploring the overworld. Did not get the book from the library? Too bad, you cannot access the 2nd dungeon. Don’t have the Flute? Cannot access the sixth dungeon in the Dark World. Most egregious is the last dungeon in the Dark World. In the beginning of the dungeon, Zelda tells you that you’re better off taking a Medicine of Magic with you because the dungeon requires a lot of items to progress that use magic. What she should have told you is that you’re required to have the Ice Rod in order to beat the boss in this dungeon. The Ice Rod can be obtained very early on in the Light World is some godforsaken cave.
The music is, again, incredibly memorable and iconic. The old Legend of Zelda theme got a massive glow-up through the new SNES soundchip. A lot of songs return in later Zelda-entries and even got glorious remixes in games like Super Smash Bros. Brawl and onwards.
That’s some of the cryptic bullshit that A Link to the Past has to offer, these are a few examples where I can relate that this game isn’t always welcoming to newcomers who want to play this game blind and without a guide. However, I do think that one of the core tenets of a Link to the Past is to explore the world to it’s fullest extent. But not everyone has the patience to scavenge the entire map after that one MacGuffin required to progress the game.
All in all, I love this game. It shaped my sense of imagination, wondering if there are any secrets and magical artefacts hidden in caves or woods. My friends and I used to write fanfiction on Zelda in elementary school. The game showed me what the medium of video games was all about. That you could instantly go for the goal or just fart around a bunch, that the journey was far more important than the destination. I love the game’s aura of mysticism, that things were set unto motion far before you were there. That you’re the Hero of old. That you can get a cool weapon the Master Sword to smite evil. To me as a kid this really spoke to me, kindled my imagination. The world was at my feet.
I’ve completed this game more than twenty times. I will probably complete it a hundred times before my life is over.
This is all part of the Zelda marathon that the Backloggd Fellas and I are partaking in. Please check out their reviews at your convenience!
Reyn's review
Dunebot's review
A Link to the Past was one of the first games I truly fell in love with. It is my happy place. We had plenty of videogames in our household, mostly 2D-platformers like Mario or home ports of arcade titles like Space Invaders or Pac-Man. But A Link to the Past was very different. No longer was I tasked with running from point A to point B, mostly from left to right. Getting the highest score was not the primary goal anymore. The goal was to save the princess, beat the game, by any means necessary. It truly felt like I was in control of the hero’s destiny. I must have completed this game more than twenty times since I first played it in 1996. And how happy I was that Nintendo released a port on the GameBoy Advance. Now I could play my favorite game anywhere and any time I wanted.
The game’s story is actually surprisingly fleshed out. Seven Wise Men magically sealed Ganon away in the Golden Land during the Imprisoning War. Hyrule was safe for many centuries until the coming of the wizard, Agahnim. He eliminated the king of Hyrule and sought to break the seal that kept Ganon imprisoned. One by one, the descendants of the Wise Men vanished, weakening the seal until one descendant remained: Princess Zelda. The princess contacts you telepathically, pleading with the nascent hero to rescue her from her perils. And an epic quest ensues.
As mentioned before, the game took what was good about the first Legend of Zelda and pushed everything up a notch. The jump from the NES to the SNES is staggering, everything looks a lot more colorful and detailed and all that extra horsepower comes in handy to truly differentiate each and every environment. We have the Desert of Mystery, the small and quaint village of Kakariko, The Lost Woods enveloped in fog and mystery for an incredible atmosphere. After a while you will venture into The Dark World, a parallel world to Hyrule. Almost everything is the same but darker, more somber, foreboding. From Dark World you can travel to the Light World but not vice-versa, creating some interesting puzzles and exploration opportunities. It is amazing how Nintendo basically doubled the size of the world with this technique.
The game entices you to explore constantly, the overworld is packed with collectables and secrets that often lead to other secrets. There is a certain indescribable flow to the entire structure of this game. This is also thanks to the numerous items you can collect that allow you to open up more parts of the map, kind of like modern-day Metroidvania’s. This is by far Zelda’s most diverse and eclectic collection of items. While Zelda 2 used a lot more ‘’passive items’’, things you cannot actually tangentially use but their use is triggered via certain actions on the overworld, Link to the Past has far more items to equip, for use against enemies or on the environment. For example, the boomerang returns which you can use to stun enemies momentarily but can also be used to activate switches. The Hookshot functions similarly but it has an extra use, grappling yourself to chests or wooden poles to yoink yourself to another part of the screen. You can acquire magic rods for ice and fire magic with predictable results once they get used on enemies. Some items are required to be used only once or not all. Some are entirely optional but it is cool that they’re there. You can acquire a cape that is invisible or a cane that makes you impervious to attacks. They are not required to beat the game but hell, they’re cool collectables and fantastic rewards for those who want to eagerly explore Hyrule.
Sure, compared to the first Zelda, Link to the Past is far more linear. For me, that is not a bad thing. This game still has some cryptic nonsense that require you to either talk to every NPC you can find or just look up a guide but for the most part, you know where you need to go and you know what you’re doing. There are some instances where the game stops you dead in your tracks because you need some random item, usually found while exploring the overworld. Did not get the book from the library? Too bad, you cannot access the 2nd dungeon. Don’t have the Flute? Cannot access the sixth dungeon in the Dark World. Most egregious is the last dungeon in the Dark World. In the beginning of the dungeon, Zelda tells you that you’re better off taking a Medicine of Magic with you because the dungeon requires a lot of items to progress that use magic. What she should have told you is that you’re required to have the Ice Rod in order to beat the boss in this dungeon. The Ice Rod can be obtained very early on in the Light World is some godforsaken cave.
The music is, again, incredibly memorable and iconic. The old Legend of Zelda theme got a massive glow-up through the new SNES soundchip. A lot of songs return in later Zelda-entries and even got glorious remixes in games like Super Smash Bros. Brawl and onwards.
That’s some of the cryptic bullshit that A Link to the Past has to offer, these are a few examples where I can relate that this game isn’t always welcoming to newcomers who want to play this game blind and without a guide. However, I do think that one of the core tenets of a Link to the Past is to explore the world to it’s fullest extent. But not everyone has the patience to scavenge the entire map after that one MacGuffin required to progress the game.
All in all, I love this game. It shaped my sense of imagination, wondering if there are any secrets and magical artefacts hidden in caves or woods. My friends and I used to write fanfiction on Zelda in elementary school. The game showed me what the medium of video games was all about. That you could instantly go for the goal or just fart around a bunch, that the journey was far more important than the destination. I love the game’s aura of mysticism, that things were set unto motion far before you were there. That you’re the Hero of old. That you can get a cool weapon the Master Sword to smite evil. To me as a kid this really spoke to me, kindled my imagination. The world was at my feet.
I’ve completed this game more than twenty times. I will probably complete it a hundred times before my life is over.
This is all part of the Zelda marathon that the Backloggd Fellas and I are partaking in. Please check out their reviews at your convenience!
Reyn's review
Dunebot's review