Started on Super Nintendo Entertainment System - Nintendo Switch Online, but stopped before reaching the Eastern Palace. Later, after my subscription had expired, I started over using SNES9x on my modded Wii, and achieved full completion (collected all Heart Pieces, usable items, upgrades, and maxed out my bomb and arrow capacities) before slaying Ganon. The only save state I used was right before the final battle, as reloading it was quicker than the alternative (quitting without saving and opening my save file back up again).

Released four years after the divisive follow-up, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, A Link to the Past is a triumphant return to form, and a major improvement over the original in many ways. Combining the first game's top-down action with a revised form of the sequel's magic system, and introducing a plethora of series staples, this entry truly has it all, and is surprisingly approachable for a 1991 release. I enjoyed it very much, and it made me realize I've been missing out on a fantastic franchise for most of my life.

There are several offenses from the first Zelda game that have been ironed out for this one; firstly, its approach to hiding secrets. In the original, players had little to no way of knowing where to look for hidden entrances, and it didn't matter if these led to handy items or were required for progression. This time around, walls that can be blasted open with bombs display visible cracks, and puzzles are easy enough to understand, while also being satisfying to solve. The game is also markedly less cryptic, offering hints along the way through dialogue that is clear without being long-winded. And finally, the game actually guides you where to go next by tying each destination into the story, and marking destinations on a full-screen map that can be displayed at any time by pressing X. With these problems no longer being a factor, it's far easier to enjoy the new additions this game has to offer, from its creative boss battles, to its spiffy tools and weapons, to its many memorable locations. It's truly remarkable to see how much of a step up from its predecessors A Link to the Past is.

So if this game's so great, what keeps it from earning a perfect score? Well, despite the developers' best efforts in making progression easier, I had to resort to using a guide, because I was not interested in aimlessly wandering the overworld for hours on end between dungeons. Sure, areas on the map are more distinguishable than in the first Zelda outing, but locating items necessary for reaching certain places was not entirely fun, no thanks to the constant onslaught of soldiers I faced at every turn. Traveling between the Light and Dark World isn't very intuitive, either, because only from the Dark World can you use the Magic Mirror to swap over, not vice versa; it made me suspect that the mechanic was implemented late in development and there wasn't time to refine it. And I don't know if it was just me, but button responsiveness was a bit suspect at times, especially when I had to react quickly with a quick change of equipment (side note, why weren't the L and R buttons used for this? They could've been useful...) Take my advice and use a guide at least in-between dungeons—there's no shame in it, IMO.

TL;DR - The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is an instant classic, and largely responsible for shaping what many fans came to know as Zelda. I wasn't patient enough to play it without a walkthrough and some YouTube tutorials, but I had a blast nonetheless and would happily recommend the game to Zelda fans that haven't given it a try yet.

I am coming from the very modern day, nostalgia lacking perspective on ALTTP as someone who's first 2D Zelda was the Link's awakening remake that I still regard as one of my favourite games of all time.

That being said, ALTTP clearly introduced much of what I love about both 2D and 3D Zelda. While I definitely agree with critiques on the lack of freedom given in the "classic Zelda formula," but I still find a great amount of enjoyment in its feeling of adventure and tight, exciting dungeon design.

This is however where ALTTP begins to show its age. That feeling of adventure is not there in this game. The character, worldbuilding and immersion of the 3D games is missing and so is the heart-breaking, emotionally engaging story of Link's awakening. What's left is hollow NPC interactions and a revolutionary but ultimately uninteresting world that at its worst is frustrating and boring to explore. The joy in this game is solely in its dungeons and progression, and while these dungeons aren't my favourite in the series, they are solid enough to be a great time.

The other huge issue that I'm glad is missing in the ALTTP's successors is the retro difficulty of overwhelming the player. Instead of thought provoking and engaging challenges, ALTTP presents its players with overwhelming amounts of enemies that are frustrating to deal with and tedious to repeat and prepare for.

Because of these core issues, ALTTP is left in a similar position to twilight princess; the blandest Zelda in its format that lacks the character and tight design as other entries like OOT or Link's awakening. The barebones experience is much more justified in this instance rather than TP's however because this is the first, and as the first its a pretty great fucking first, even if its successors will always mean more to me as more enjoyable and accessible entries.