Played it for the first time few years ago, this was the first NES title I've ever beaten. Since back then I wasn't familiar with retro stuff older than Half-Life, I was expecting something way more primitive and arcadey from such an old game, but this one pleasantly surprised me.
Seeing how many people don't like this all that much, decided to replay it now, after experiencing some of the later Zeldas and other retro games, just to see if it's as good as I remember. Yes it is. Naturally more rough around the edges than the following titles, but still pretty damn exciting. And this music - one of the most iconic and my favourite soundtracks ever, Koji Kondo nailed it first try. It sounds amazing as an 8-bit chiptune and I love when different renditions of it are reused in the following games.
First of all, you just need to read the f-ing manual, it's really important for this game and you can easily google it, Link in the intro is holding a sign for a reason. It contains brief info about all the dungeons and an incomplete map with locations of the first 4, as well as the other points of interest marked as "?". With this, and also hints from the wise men you meet on your way you can figure out the entire First Quest on your own, unless you absolutely can't play whatever doesn't handhold you step by step. Explore dungeons entirely, make sure to not miss the key item in each, try pushing blocks to reveal hidden staircases, bomb walls only right in the center and you'll be fine. Secret caves in the overworld with no clues to them are likely optional or interchangable with some other caves.
Second Quest is a whole another story tho. It has a lot of random bullshit that you can't logically figure out, only bruteforce. This one was probably meant to be explored collectively and sharing info with your friends, or designed as a topic for magazine articles, but not for a reasonable solo playthrough. This time you might want to use an actual guide when needed, but I still wouldn't recommend always following it step by step, only when you stuck.
Seeing how many people don't like this all that much, decided to replay it now, after experiencing some of the later Zeldas and other retro games, just to see if it's as good as I remember. Yes it is. Naturally more rough around the edges than the following titles, but still pretty damn exciting. And this music - one of the most iconic and my favourite soundtracks ever, Koji Kondo nailed it first try. It sounds amazing as an 8-bit chiptune and I love when different renditions of it are reused in the following games.
First of all, you just need to read the f-ing manual, it's really important for this game and you can easily google it, Link in the intro is holding a sign for a reason. It contains brief info about all the dungeons and an incomplete map with locations of the first 4, as well as the other points of interest marked as "?". With this, and also hints from the wise men you meet on your way you can figure out the entire First Quest on your own, unless you absolutely can't play whatever doesn't handhold you step by step. Explore dungeons entirely, make sure to not miss the key item in each, try pushing blocks to reveal hidden staircases, bomb walls only right in the center and you'll be fine. Secret caves in the overworld with no clues to them are likely optional or interchangable with some other caves.
Second Quest is a whole another story tho. It has a lot of random bullshit that you can't logically figure out, only bruteforce. This one was probably meant to be explored collectively and sharing info with your friends, or designed as a topic for magazine articles, but not for a reasonable solo playthrough. This time you might want to use an actual guide when needed, but I still wouldn't recommend always following it step by step, only when you stuck.