Now, this is gonna be strange to write, because despite playing games and having opinions of them, I've not really looked into something in a reviewers standpoint. So, I'm going to do my best to step into that role and find actual criticism of the games.
Anyway, ahem... The Legend of Zelda! The granddaddy of all fantasy adventure games, and let me tell you: it's earned it's reputation. The original Legend of Zelda, released in 1986, has one of the grandest scales of any game in it's generation. You have to think back to what else was around at the time. You had Super Mario, Mega Man, Castlevania, and other games of that nature. All of those games are, for the most part, linear experiences. Zelda, on the other hand, gave you the option to go wherever, whenever. The map was MASSIVE at the time and even today, if you don't pay enough attention, you can lose yourself in it.
The game starts out with a small description screen telling you the story. You are "______" (AKA Link), a green clad avatar looking to save Princess Zelda from the clutches of the dark lord Ganon. You must fight, explore, and survive long enough to collect the 9 scattered pieces of the Tri-Force, a totem that will grant the holder a wish.
This is a DEEP story for a game like this. And this is before a game like Ninja Gaiden came out that had those simple cutscenes to show you these story bits. You see kids, back before there where 10 minute long mini-movies in your games to dump a bunch of world-building imagery on you, you had these things called Manuals that came with your game. In it, it would give you a bunch of information on the characters, the lore of the world, how to do things, the items you can use. It's also where credits for the games were. Now days, a game skips all of this and just shoves it into the game. But, Zelda hits a happy medium. If you stay on the title screen long enough, the game gives you the synopsis and some of the items you'll be using in the game.
Then you start it up, and you're just in the game. You find your sword in the cave, on one of the most famous screens in gaming history and then you are on your adventure.
Anyway, ahem... The Legend of Zelda! The granddaddy of all fantasy adventure games, and let me tell you: it's earned it's reputation. The original Legend of Zelda, released in 1986, has one of the grandest scales of any game in it's generation. You have to think back to what else was around at the time. You had Super Mario, Mega Man, Castlevania, and other games of that nature. All of those games are, for the most part, linear experiences. Zelda, on the other hand, gave you the option to go wherever, whenever. The map was MASSIVE at the time and even today, if you don't pay enough attention, you can lose yourself in it.
The game starts out with a small description screen telling you the story. You are "______" (AKA Link), a green clad avatar looking to save Princess Zelda from the clutches of the dark lord Ganon. You must fight, explore, and survive long enough to collect the 9 scattered pieces of the Tri-Force, a totem that will grant the holder a wish.
This is a DEEP story for a game like this. And this is before a game like Ninja Gaiden came out that had those simple cutscenes to show you these story bits. You see kids, back before there where 10 minute long mini-movies in your games to dump a bunch of world-building imagery on you, you had these things called Manuals that came with your game. In it, it would give you a bunch of information on the characters, the lore of the world, how to do things, the items you can use. It's also where credits for the games were. Now days, a game skips all of this and just shoves it into the game. But, Zelda hits a happy medium. If you stay on the title screen long enough, the game gives you the synopsis and some of the items you'll be using in the game.
Then you start it up, and you're just in the game. You find your sword in the cave, on one of the most famous screens in gaming history and then you are on your adventure.
Yeah, just give a kid a sword. What could go wrong?
This is where some people either love or hate the game. You see, there is a small mini map on the overworld. But, unlike in games that would come later like in Super Metroid or even Link to the Past, it has no detail. It's just a block. And not even like in the dungeons where it at least shows where you've gone. This makes navigation a chore, but thinking about it, there isn't much the developers would have been able to do. People argue that this makes the game cryptic, what with the overworld relying on you memorizing your routes or making your own map. But honestly, that kind of makes the adventure for me. And it's not like the main screen map is useless, it at least gives you and idea of where you are. And it works like a grid, so you can tell how far you've moved from the starting area if you pay attention.
Another thing people have commented on is that the game doesn't do a good job of explaing things. This is, again, a criticism that the game is really cryptic. There's a lot of "well, how was I supposed to figure that out?" moments in the game. And, to be honest, I can understand that to an extent. There are moments that rely heavily on your attention to detail and your determination with bombing every spot on the map that could even slightly have a potential doorway behind it.
This game, being the first of course, introduces what are known widely known tropes of the Zelda franchise. As mentioned above, bombing stuff can open pathways. The game shows you this by having you fight enemies that take bombs to kill and stick close to the walls, eventually blowing a hole in it you can move though. In dungeons, these are indicated with cracks on the wall. In the overworld, that shit could be anywhere. In addition to that, in dungeons, you get items. Bombs, arrows, boomerangs, a...raft. This seems like a "duh" kind of thing, but in the dungeons, when you get these items, most of them defeat the boss of that area. It's clever even today, and most of the world builds around these items. You need them to beat certain enemies and to get to secret areas. Like in Mega Man, some enemies in the game are weaker to attacks besides the sword, and you have to experiment with different things to figure out what works where.
Adventure is, of course, the biggest part of this game. You NEED to venture off the beaten path to find certain items. Fairy Fountains, the sword upgrades, pieces of hearts, and even a few key items are scattered throughout the overworld. Exploration is key, and even lost exploration can help you find your way. Going into certain rooms gives you hints as to where to go next or where to go later.
One of my favorite things about the game is that, if you are good enough, you can tackled the dungeons in any order you want. You can accidentally stumble into the level-6 dungeon looking for the level-2 dungeon. I wouldn't recommend it, but it is an option. In addition, after the first quest, there is a second quest option. Personally, I haven't tried this one because i've had bad expereinces with the 2nd quest in games like Castlevania that makes me avoid the new game plus experience in most games.
So, the final fight requires you to find items that are off the beaten path, and is a really, REALLY difficult area in the game. It's hard to get to the dungeon, it's hard to get through the dungeon, and when you get to the boss fight itself, everything is super tense. The fight itself if blase, but it's a pretty good capstone of the game mostly because the dungeon is a gauntlet of torturous trials. And finally defeating Ganon and saving Zelda is super triumphant.
On my first playthough, I was able to beat it on my own with no help from a guide. Through sheer determination, I was able to collect nearly everything, find my way to the end, and beat the bosses no problem. Replaying it for this project, I used a guide a couple of times when I got stuck, mostly to find items like the Red Ring and the Magic Sword that were more challenging to find and to make sure I hadn't passed over them. It is a really, REALLY challenging game, though not impossible if you are good at picking up patterns and are willing to be patient.
Overall I give the original Legend of Zelda a 8 out of 10. It's a classic that still holds up today and is a must play for lovers of the series. And, it's a great starting point for those trying to get into the series.
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