The best Zelda game yet!




Finished the game at Max Level and with Best Equipment (not a particularly challenging feat in this game)

What I enjoyed
- i actually do enjoy it more than the first two Zelda games
- adding RPG elements to Zelda's field and dungeon gameplay is a fun innovation that blends the two genres in both good and bad ways
- A pretty good world and story for an early Game Boy game
- The leveling happens at a perfect rate where you'll never be too long between level ups, I never felt underleveled in my playthrough and was pretty much maxed by the time I was finishing the last dungeon
- Early example of a flexible leveling system in a JRPG
-Chocoboat

What I didn't like
- I know it's an old JRPG but oh my god the menuing is bad here. You have to open a menu whenever you want to switch weapons, choose a different spell or item (you can only have one of either equipped on the B-button), or ask your companion to use their ability and it just takes a lot out of the action combat.
- Map is kinda useless in most cases unfortunately
- Dungeons are pretty dull both in gameplay and theme, much like The Legend of Zelda
- I have a personal vendetta against breakable walls in games where the only way to find them is to attack every single wall in a dungeon with your weapon

Despite my complaints, it's still mostly what you'd expect of a very early action-RPG on the Game Boy and is worth playing if you want to see that type of game at its most simplistic

100% - Max Special Bonus - All Special Stages, Collectible 1 Ups, Chaos Emeralds

The simplicity of the game works both in its favor and against it. I found myself getting annoyed with this version far less than the 16-Bit one, though there was also less spectacle in the gameplay, graphics, and music.

Finding the Chaos Emeralds in the stages is a neat change, not sure if it's better than Special Stages but it does promote exploring the levels (even if this version has less potential exploration). Additionally, this change makes Special Stages way less frustrating as the only thing you miss out on by missing or doing poorly in them are extra lives and continues (and points if you care about those)

I really enjoyed the sense of setting that this game uses, the zones tell a story in a way that the 16-Bit version fails to do, and the map helps a tremendous amount in this regard.

It's not the best handheld platformer, but it does seem more complete and enjoyable than the majority of its contemporaries