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The Legend of Zelda
Nintendo Entertainment System
Since the moment I started this blog 11 years ago, the original Legend of Zelda is a game I've been looking forward to playing and reviewing. Growing up in the 80s, this game was a part of my childhood gaming experience... but not a big part of it. I never actually owned the game. I first became aware of it when I was at my grandparents' house. The gold cartridge immediately caught my eye. It set the game apart from every other NES game out there, and gave it a certain magical feeling that is hard to explain.
My uncle John liked to play this game, and I would watch with wide eyes. I picked the game up a few times myself, but I could never really figure out what I was supposed to be doing. This game was released when I was five years old. I don't know what age I was when I first played it. But I was young, like really young. So it makes sense that it didn't quite click with me.
Later on in life, when I was 7 or 8, I ended up borrowing this game from a friend. I did better this time around. I think I made it through three dungeons. But then I would get hopelessly lost. I'd wander the game map for hours, hoping to stumble into something through blind luck. I was too dumb to figure out the secret forest thing. I am pretty sure I didn't know which way was north and which was south. I ended up returning the game to my friend a few days later. My initial reaction was: meh. In retrospect, that's a wild reaction considering how monumental and groundbreaking this game was to the video game industry.
I guess it didn't help that I did not have a map or an instruction booklet on either occasion I had played it. These were included with this game, but for some reason (likely because I didn't own the game) they never made their way to me. So I really was fumbling around blindly. It's no wonder I kept getting lost. It's a shame, because I really wanted to like Zelda. I liked the cereal. I liked the cartoon. I liked the gold cartridge. I could tell that this game was a big deal. But I just didn't think it was that fun.
Let's fast forward a great many years. I would never touch another Zelda game until Ocarina of Time came out in 1996. This is one of the few games I waited in line for at the store when it first came out. I had missed out on Zelda II and A Link to the Past, but as an avid video game magazine reader, I was super hyped for Ocarina of Time. All the previews of the game made it out to be an absolute game changer. I was already a fan of Mario 64, and I had some somewhat fond memories of the original Zelda game. Even though I wasn't a huge fan of it, I was stoked to see how it would translate to a fully 3D environment. This was an exciting time for gamers back then.
Ocarina of Time made me fall in love with the Zelda series. Over time, I've become a massive fan of all the 3D titles. Yet, for some reason, I've never enjoyed anything before Ocarina. I was "meh" on the original NES game. I never played Zelda II or the Game Boy title. I've come back and played A Link to the Past as an adult - but that game never really resonated with me either. In fact, I gave it a C+ when I reviewed it, which is probably the lowest that this game has ever been rated with anyone. Thank god people don't read this blog, or they'd be lining up with torches and pitchforks.
Despite all this, I was genuinely excited to be returning to the OG Legend of Zelda for my blog. Like I said, I've been wanting to use this blog as an excuse to play through this game again for a long time now. Let's slay some childhood demons and finish this game off once and for all.
Story:
It was probably a big deal to have a video game with such an "advanced" story back when this came out, but by modern standards, the story is not much to get excited about. Again, I played this without the manual. Maybe more is explained within its pages. But basically, the game drops you off in the middle of nowhere with nothing more than a title screen that says Ganon has captured Princess Zelda, and she has broken apart her piece of the Triforce into 8 shards that you must collect.
Once these are all gathered, you head to Ganon's hideout. You defeat him. You save the Princess. The end. Again, nothing too exciting. But I'm sure back in the day this was probably super cool. I can imagine if I'd only been just a little older when this came out, and if I had gotten my own copy of the game (manual, map, and all) I would have fallen completely under its spell.
Gameplay:
Action takes place from an isometric perspective. You start with no weapons, but never fear - all you have to do is walk into the nearby cave and you're immediately given a sword. When your health is full, the sword fires a magical projectile attack across the screen. As a kid, I always thought this was just the coolest thing ever. Every time I incurred damage, I would take it personally. I'd end up battling the same respawning enemies in the same area in an attempt to fill my life bar back up again instead of just moving on. This was probably a bad idea, because it always led me down a rabbit hole of taking more damage than I would have taken otherwise, and then being forced to battle nonstop hordes of enemies to get back to where I was to begin with. Sometimes it even resulted in death, just because I got hit once.
The main goal of the game is to find the 8 missing Triforce pieces. Each piece is hidden in a dungeon. These dungeons become increasingly hard to find the deeper you make it into the game. Like I said before - as a kid, I could only beat three dungeons before getting completely stuck. Somehow, on my most recent attempt, I managed to do even worse. I found the third dungeon first. It took me forever to find the first one for some reason, even though it is probably the easiest one in the game to find. I never found the second one, and had to turn to an online guide for help. I was hoping to put that off for as long as humanly possible, but yeah. Didn't work out too well for me.
I forgot how difficult this game is. Not only is it difficult navigating the map and trying to find the dungeons, but the enemies themselves are tough. Your sword has a very short swing, and you don't have full 360 degree movement of your character. You can only go up, down, left, and right. So you can only attack in these directions. That means you have to line up your attacks perfectly, or you'll miss. Or even worse, take damage. Enemies move very quickly in the game, and their movements are often extremely sporadic, jerky, and hard to predict. When you need precision aim to hit them, this can cause major trouble. And I mean major trouble. I lost track of how many times I'd be progressing through a dungeon flawlessly, only to lose everything I had in one seemingly simple room of enemies. The knights are just the absolute worst. You can only hit them on their sides, not head on, or they will block your attack. So you have to get next to them, RIGHT up close to them, and swing. But their sporadic movements often have them turning away at the last moment, or even worse - turning right into you and hurting your character. Lining these attacks up is a freaking nightmare. Not fun at all.
That's how I felt the majority of the time playing this game when I was a kid. I knew this was a big game with a lot of big ideas. It looked good, sounded good. I wanted to like it so bad. But I just didn't think it was any fun. Luckily, I felt a little better about things this time around. Probably because I had the internet to help, plus the use of save states. I may be singing a different tune if I'd played this on original hardware.
Speaking of big ideas, there is no denying the impact Zelda had on the video game industry. When I first played this, I only really knew of a few different kinds of games: 2D platformers, racing games, arcade shooters, etc. I never knew that games could be a full experience like this. You can buy things with money, upgrade your weapons, increase your health bar, use items from an inventory when in battle, etc. And then you could save your progress and come back later to pick up where you left off. These things all seem commonplace nowadays, and a big reason for that is this game.
I'm still a little torn on how I feel about this game. I like it much, much more than I did as a kid. I loved exploring, battling, and that feeling of satisfaction when I'd uncover something new. On the flip side, I didn't love constantly getting lost, or the obscure puzzle solutions you can only really figure out if you have a strategy guide. I wasn't a fan of the trial and error aspect, also. Going through each screen trying to burn every bush, or blow up every wall. No fucking thanks. It got old quick. Thankfully, they do a much better job in later Zelda games indicating what areas can be destroyed. The wall would have a crack in it, or the bush would be off color. Not that it helps this particular game.
I can sum it up as being a good, but frustrating experience. I like the game. I appreciate what it did for gaming. I can see why some people still view this as the best or most influential game ever made. But I can't lie and say I was crazy about it.
Graphics:
I think this game looks fine. Some people just can't stand old games or NES graphics, but I am not one of those people. I grew up in this era of gaming, so graphics don't really mean much to me. This game could be photo realistic, but have the same gameplay, and I'd still feel the same way about it.
What's impressive about the game is its scope. Even today, 40 years after this game first came out, you can still feel a sense of exploration and wonder as you walk around the game map. It's a very well-designed and fluid game environment. Very immersive, also. It's a little empty at times, but I think they really nailed the magical fantasy look and feel of this game. You can almost feel the wind blowing as you come out of the woods and start walking along the waterfront.
I can imagine if I'd been older than 5 or 6 when I first played this, I would have been absolutely blown away by it. Imagine a 15-year-old D and D freak discovering this game back in the late 80s. It would have been mind blowing.
Sound:
There's one thing most people, even the haters, can agree on when it comes to this game: the music is great. This game birthed the iconic Legend of Zelda theme song that is still being used in games today. The dungeon music is wonderful. The sound effects are all spot on. There's very little to complain about in this department.
Except for the constant beeping sound when you're getting low on life. Screw that noise.
Overall:
My plan coming into this review was to give the game a B+. But now that I've had time to write the review and go back and re-read what I've written, I don't think a B+ is warranted. I liked the game, but it was more of a "yeah, it's all right" kind of like than a "wow, that was great!" like.
It's a good game. It's extremely influential. It broke a lot of ground when it came to the video game industry. I'm not going to deny that it is a very, very important game. Maybe the single most important video game ever made. But that doesn't mean I have to love it.
I'd advise playing this game, if only to see where it all started. And if you play it long enough, you might learn to like it, also. There's still a lot to offer here, even to newer gamers who didn't grow up with this. It may sound like I'm being harsh on the game, but I'm trying to be realistic and logical and not be color blinded by nostalgia or brand loyalty to the Zelda franchise. Yes, it's a good game, but it's never been one of my favorites. And it probably never will be. But it's someone's favorite (heck, probably a LOT of people's favorite), and I completely get it.
THE GRADE:
B
For a complete index of all my past posts and game reviews, click
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