The first Zelda game I’ve played and a classic 2D adventure that holds up startlingly well for its age. A lot of older games fall into two basic categories. The ones that need a guide to enjoy it or even complete it, or ones that are too straightforward and plain to even have a guide. I would argue A Link to the Past falls somewhere within the middle.

In actually completing the game it’s perfectly feasible without a guide. You’ll be at a great disadvantage without certain sword or bow upgrades, but it’s definitely possible. Personally, I don’t mind looking up a guide to make sure I get all the upgrades for a game like this. Not only does it give me an edge in the fight, it lets me see all there is to the game. Some items and extra heart pieces could be discovered by tinkering around with the magic mirror at hinted points, though other puzzles were definitely a touch too esoteric. Truthfully, compared to its peers A Link to the Past is perhaps superior for its time when it comes to hints. I know that compared to the first game this one improved their in-game clues when something special was nearby, such as with discolored walls hinting at secrets beyond.

Needless to say the game can get pretty demanding, so I’d strongly recommend getting every secret you can, guide or not. Even at full health and armor enemies can take a quarter of your health in one hit. And for some reason they also added bottomless pits PLUS knockback, the bane of my existence and super out of place here. Some enemies can be more annoying than others but my real frustration was with the hit detection. It was very inconsistent and made hitting certain enemies at an angle a chore. There’s a spin attack but that hardly helps hitting further than 2 inches away from you. More often than not it’s better to keep a distance or position yourself so enemies walk into your slashes. Fortunately you do get more acclimated to it. As you conquer more dungeons you get used to the idiosyncrasies of the combat and it even approaches charming, knockback notwithstanding.

Much like Mario, the story here is recycled and barebones. Save the girl, kill the baddie. Okie doke. I refused to pay attention further than that except when it made me. I’ll wait for future installments to get invested in the story of Hyrule and its kingdom. What I will say is this: the ‘do you understand?’ prompts the game gave me after childishly explaining basic fantasy concepts over and over again started to get pretty damn funny. It was probably the most joy I got out of anything related to the story.

One important point is the inclusion of the dark world. Using a magic mirror you can traverse to a dark, desolate version of the overworld. To return you have to go back to a shimmer at the place you last traversed from. Some set points like the castle gates act as a guaranteed way back for when your shimmer gets stuck or inaccessible, a necessary addition I can confirm.The dark world itself makes for some extra puzzles and is required to get to certain sections blocked off in the main world. While not perfectly intuitive It’s a neat gimmick that works because the quick back-and-forth between worlds gives you a reference point for where you’ll end up. Some side puzzles are obtuse, but by and large the main objectives are clear.

Overall, A Link to the Past is a solid retro title that not only marks when the franchise first finds its footings, but also serves as a terrific starting point for inquisitive gamers who wish to start the long journey that is the Zelda franchise.