By King Nintendoid
There was a time when there was no The Legend of Zelda. I do not remember much of this time, as these games have been so absorbing, so time-consuming, that life without them is now seemingly impossible. When I first got The Legend of Zelda for the NES, the gameplay blew me right off my seat. I started as this little boy in the middle of the screen, with nothing to defend himself with. I walked around a bit, and stumbled across a huge spider. I fled in terror and found myself thinking "how do I beat this thing?". I saw a cave. I went inside, and was presented with a sword. Now we're talking! I went back and chopped the spider into tiny bits. A victory! From that moment, not even a hydrogen bomb could make me stop playing Zelda games.
I saw what Miyamoto had in mind when he created this game. He saw how bored the youth was, and saw they took refuge in games. Shigeru had an entirely different childhood. Growing up in the rural town of Sonebe, Japan, he had no TV, let alone something like the entertainment systems of today. So instead he set out to explore the vast forests and plains surrounding his town. One day, Shigeru found a hole in the ground. Upon closer inspection it became clear this was no ordinary hole, but a LARGE hole. This can also be defined as the entrance to a cave. Shigeru had discovered something, but was afraid to go inside. Who knows what horrors lurk inside? Hours later, he came back armed with a stick and a torch. He entered the hole, and found the best thing an adventurer could ever find: another entrance! Greater a gift there was not! I felt the same when I found that sword for the first time and slashed up that spider. I ventured further into Hyrule, meeting and slaying bizarre beasts. Looking at the game from the point of view of a young gamer, one might think "How can something that looks so ugly be cool". Thy fool: good games are not cool, but masterpieces!
Enough blabber, because you know what it's about. Now, let's go back to the 90's. What did YOU think when you heard they were making a 3D Zelda? Yes, you thought it was impossible. Because so it seemed... Yeah right, a 3D Zelda Next thing you know they're gonna announce a 3D Metroid! It was unheard of! How could someone translate Zelda into three dimensions? But then the release of the N64 came, and with Super Mario 64, we were shown that it just MIGHT be possible... And then they actually released it: The Legend of Zelda; Ocarina of Time.
I carefully placed the cartridge into my N64, and flicked the magic button labeled 'on'. As I saw the moon rise upon what could only be Hyrule Field, and hearing the sound that could only be the galloping of a horse, I was struck with awe. Then, a lone rider appeared... It was true... They had done it. They had made a 3D Zelda. It was Link... So, I started the game. I saw with amazement that Link was not the rider I saw in the intro. He was a small boy, living in a forest amongst other children. I ventured into Koriri Forest and felt like I did all those years ago, when I made those first few steps into the world that is Hyrule. I still couldn't believe it, until I got a sword. I visited the Great Deku Tree, as I was supposed to do. Staring at that great tree, I remembered the power of the Zelda games: they make you feel small yet again...
Story wise, they sticked with giving the general 'quest for the Triforce' theme a twist, like what was done in ALttP. Yet again we start as a little boy instead of a fierce warrior. This time, Link lives in the mystical Kokiri Forest, where (as it seems) perpetual children live, each with their own fairy. Link happens to be the one without a fairy, thus making him the target for insults, stones and the occasional slingshot barrage. This changes when one day, a fairy visits Link, insisting that he comes to see the Great Deku Tree at once. The Tree, as it seems, has a problem. He has been cursed by an evil man from the desert, known as Ganondorf. He had asked to Tree to give up his Forest Emerald. The old and wise Tree refused. And Ganondorf put a curse on him. Link was to venture inside the tree and eradicate Gohma. Sadly, this was all for nothing, as the tree died, after giving Link his Forest Emerald and telling him to venture out of the forest, to Hyrule Castle. From there... you just want as little as much spoiled for you as possible, so I stop here.
Moving around in this 3D Zelda world was easier then expected. The A button was now context-sensitive (that's just a fancy word for 'pressing it will do whatever is sensible at that moment', so if Link is in front of a rock, he will pick it up, and if he's swimming, it will make him dive. Yes, you can dive now) and items are are assigned to the three C buttons. Finally, the frustrations of wasting magic when you wanted to use one item but used another are gone. Another new thing is Z-targeting. Because it isn't very handy to have to stop in front of a big hulking enemy when you want to accurately aim your crossbow at him, you can now lock on to enemies with the Z button. You can strafe around your opponent and attack his weak spot when given the chance. This is FAR more like actual sword fight then the 'bashing the buttons like a monkey in heat' strategy that was often enough in earlier games.
The game is big, even when compared to A Link to the Past. You'll spend months and months trying to get through it, and sometimes you'll get stuck just because you're not thinking clear. The temples are devious, bosses give you nightmares, and finding all those heart pieces and golden skulltulla's will take a considerable chunk out of your life. And you won't want that chunk back. The story line is rich and deep, and will present you with typical 'Zelda moments'. Little funny things like finding Talon asleep or blasting Gossip stones with bombs to make them blast into the air, or nice drama scenes like leaving Kokiri Forest or your first encounter with Ganondorf. The game will make you cry. The music will make you cry as well. Buy the soundtrack if you have money, spare time and a need for a soundtrack for your daily life.
This was once regarded as the best game ever. Now it has such a status that it is practically illegal to rate the game. It hasn't aged, it has matured. It may seem blocky and clumsy to today's standards, but imagine that for Zelda fans this was a leap as big as the one between Doom 2 and 3. Gameplay-wise, the leap feels like the distance between Pong and the first LoZ game. This is a classic in every known definition of the word. IF you don't have it, chances are you can find it for less then 2 bucks. You MUST play this game.
There was a time when there was no The Legend of Zelda. I do not remember much of this time, as these games have been so absorbing, so time-consuming, that life without them is now seemingly impossible. When I first got The Legend of Zelda for the NES, the gameplay blew me right off my seat. I started as this little boy in the middle of the screen, with nothing to defend himself with. I walked around a bit, and stumbled across a huge spider. I fled in terror and found myself thinking "how do I beat this thing?". I saw a cave. I went inside, and was presented with a sword. Now we're talking! I went back and chopped the spider into tiny bits. A victory! From that moment, not even a hydrogen bomb could make me stop playing Zelda games.
I saw what Miyamoto had in mind when he created this game. He saw how bored the youth was, and saw they took refuge in games. Shigeru had an entirely different childhood. Growing up in the rural town of Sonebe, Japan, he had no TV, let alone something like the entertainment systems of today. So instead he set out to explore the vast forests and plains surrounding his town. One day, Shigeru found a hole in the ground. Upon closer inspection it became clear this was no ordinary hole, but a LARGE hole. This can also be defined as the entrance to a cave. Shigeru had discovered something, but was afraid to go inside. Who knows what horrors lurk inside? Hours later, he came back armed with a stick and a torch. He entered the hole, and found the best thing an adventurer could ever find: another entrance! Greater a gift there was not! I felt the same when I found that sword for the first time and slashed up that spider. I ventured further into Hyrule, meeting and slaying bizarre beasts. Looking at the game from the point of view of a young gamer, one might think "How can something that looks so ugly be cool". Thy fool: good games are not cool, but masterpieces!
Enough blabber, because you know what it's about. Now, let's go back to the 90's. What did YOU think when you heard they were making a 3D Zelda? Yes, you thought it was impossible. Because so it seemed... Yeah right, a 3D Zelda Next thing you know they're gonna announce a 3D Metroid! It was unheard of! How could someone translate Zelda into three dimensions? But then the release of the N64 came, and with Super Mario 64, we were shown that it just MIGHT be possible... And then they actually released it: The Legend of Zelda; Ocarina of Time.
I carefully placed the cartridge into my N64, and flicked the magic button labeled 'on'. As I saw the moon rise upon what could only be Hyrule Field, and hearing the sound that could only be the galloping of a horse, I was struck with awe. Then, a lone rider appeared... It was true... They had done it. They had made a 3D Zelda. It was Link... So, I started the game. I saw with amazement that Link was not the rider I saw in the intro. He was a small boy, living in a forest amongst other children. I ventured into Koriri Forest and felt like I did all those years ago, when I made those first few steps into the world that is Hyrule. I still couldn't believe it, until I got a sword. I visited the Great Deku Tree, as I was supposed to do. Staring at that great tree, I remembered the power of the Zelda games: they make you feel small yet again...
Story wise, they sticked with giving the general 'quest for the Triforce' theme a twist, like what was done in ALttP. Yet again we start as a little boy instead of a fierce warrior. This time, Link lives in the mystical Kokiri Forest, where (as it seems) perpetual children live, each with their own fairy. Link happens to be the one without a fairy, thus making him the target for insults, stones and the occasional slingshot barrage. This changes when one day, a fairy visits Link, insisting that he comes to see the Great Deku Tree at once. The Tree, as it seems, has a problem. He has been cursed by an evil man from the desert, known as Ganondorf. He had asked to Tree to give up his Forest Emerald. The old and wise Tree refused. And Ganondorf put a curse on him. Link was to venture inside the tree and eradicate Gohma. Sadly, this was all for nothing, as the tree died, after giving Link his Forest Emerald and telling him to venture out of the forest, to Hyrule Castle. From there... you just want as little as much spoiled for you as possible, so I stop here.
Moving around in this 3D Zelda world was easier then expected. The A button was now context-sensitive (that's just a fancy word for 'pressing it will do whatever is sensible at that moment', so if Link is in front of a rock, he will pick it up, and if he's swimming, it will make him dive. Yes, you can dive now) and items are are assigned to the three C buttons. Finally, the frustrations of wasting magic when you wanted to use one item but used another are gone. Another new thing is Z-targeting. Because it isn't very handy to have to stop in front of a big hulking enemy when you want to accurately aim your crossbow at him, you can now lock on to enemies with the Z button. You can strafe around your opponent and attack his weak spot when given the chance. This is FAR more like actual sword fight then the 'bashing the buttons like a monkey in heat' strategy that was often enough in earlier games.
The game is big, even when compared to A Link to the Past. You'll spend months and months trying to get through it, and sometimes you'll get stuck just because you're not thinking clear. The temples are devious, bosses give you nightmares, and finding all those heart pieces and golden skulltulla's will take a considerable chunk out of your life. And you won't want that chunk back. The story line is rich and deep, and will present you with typical 'Zelda moments'. Little funny things like finding Talon asleep or blasting Gossip stones with bombs to make them blast into the air, or nice drama scenes like leaving Kokiri Forest or your first encounter with Ganondorf. The game will make you cry. The music will make you cry as well. Buy the soundtrack if you have money, spare time and a need for a soundtrack for your daily life.
This was once regarded as the best game ever. Now it has such a status that it is practically illegal to rate the game. It hasn't aged, it has matured. It may seem blocky and clumsy to today's standards, but imagine that for Zelda fans this was a leap as big as the one between Doom 2 and 3. Gameplay-wise, the leap feels like the distance between Pong and the first LoZ game. This is a classic in every known definition of the word. IF you don't have it, chances are you can find it for less then 2 bucks. You MUST play this game.
