A Link to the Past is a very difficult game to judge because it is undeniably a landmark of gaming, a well-crafted adventure for its time and a truly ambitious experience for a Super Nintendo title. But as a kid, I found it incredibly frustrating, so much so that it put me off of the Zelda series for over a decade, and has been the biggest driving force for my apathy of 2D Zelda. It was a franchise that never clicked for me until it made the move to 3D, and despite several attempts to go back to ALTTP over the years, that feeling of apathy remained. Now, finally, having dedicated myself to seeing it all the way through to the end...yeah I still feel the same.
For as much as I did enjoy finally seeing everything this game has to offer, my biggest complaints still ring true: combat is more of a chore than anything else, quickly becoming something I did not feel like engaging with unless absolutely necessary, and as a result, hinders the game's biggest strength, its sense of exploration. I stuck largely to the path I needed to take because trying to get anywhere else was mostly an annoyance. The game can also be incredibly obtuse or downright cryptic with its puzzle solving and progression, easily the most dated aspect of the time period from which it originates, and all of this conspires to leave me in the same place I felt all those years ago, just with less patience for it now.
This review is much harsher than something like A Link to the Past deserves, and I am glad I was finally able to slay those childhood demons by beating it. But I've never had the love for 2D Zelda others do, and if playing through the most revered of them all didn't do it for me, I guess I can safely say they just aren't for me.
For as much as I did enjoy finally seeing everything this game has to offer, my biggest complaints still ring true: combat is more of a chore than anything else, quickly becoming something I did not feel like engaging with unless absolutely necessary, and as a result, hinders the game's biggest strength, its sense of exploration. I stuck largely to the path I needed to take because trying to get anywhere else was mostly an annoyance. The game can also be incredibly obtuse or downright cryptic with its puzzle solving and progression, easily the most dated aspect of the time period from which it originates, and all of this conspires to leave me in the same place I felt all those years ago, just with less patience for it now.
This review is much harsher than something like A Link to the Past deserves, and I am glad I was finally able to slay those childhood demons by beating it. But I've never had the love for 2D Zelda others do, and if playing through the most revered of them all didn't do it for me, I guess I can safely say they just aren't for me.