alttp is always constantly being talked about in reference to super metroid, both being action adventure games in which you explore an open world, slowly unlocking items and keys to open up more and more of the map unlocking more and more dangerous areas, in a way that's very fun and interesting. i love super metroid to death, but alttp doesn't scratch the same itch.

obviously, super metroid had an extra 3 years of polish, learning lessons taught not just by alttp, but by itself from metroid II, released the same year as alttp.

i won't lie, the light world dungeons and exploring the light world exclusively was very fun, everything was fresh, the world was fresh, that fun dwindled over time in the dark world, where all there was to do was dungeon after dungeon after dungeon... super metroid lets you off in a similar way, but i think the fact that super metroid blocks off a lot more of the map via item restriction then alttp makes exploring more fun, since you don't have to tread through the entire game to find an object of interest, just a small portion. and i'd argue it makes it more rewarding.

some of the design later on was pretty frustrating and tedious, the game doesn't do difficulty too well? like, the fucking boss 1 rematch in ganon's tower is harder than ganon, save for the random ass required item for the ganon fight that's not needed anywhere else in the game.

i still enjoyed my time with it, it's incredibly interesting how much of this game's dna seeps into the general zeitgeist of game design, but a lot more was learned post alttp. it's just not my cuppa joe.

After playing Zelda 1 I can appreciate this game since it builds on the concept of its open world and weapon collectible with such massive upgrades in terms of the visuals. The art style looks incredible with very cute sprites along with its iconic soundtrack. Something like The Dark World theme, Fairy Fountain, and Dark Mist are truly timeless. The game is filled with many more items and unique secrets but, they are still very convoluted and would require lots of backtracking so a guide would be suggested to get through. I like how this time around there are more healing items like the fairies in a bottle are super nice. I think this one is worth playing since it's what lays the foundation of future 2D Zelda titles.

The SNES era produced so many games that still hold up and continue to be genre defining to this day. This game took the basic design concepts explored in Zelda 1 and fleshed them out to create the template for what a great 2D adventure game should look like. Strong dungeon theming really helps to bring the world of A Link to the Past to life compared to its predecessor, and an expanded inventory of items gives a huge variety of options for both combat and exploration. Thriving speedrun and randomizer scenes mean that I will probably keep replaying this game for many years to come.