By: The Apocalypse
Game info:
Genre: Adventure
Designed by: Nintendo
Year Released: 1987
Players: 1
Save Capable
In the midst of this chaos, in a little kingdom in the land of Hyrule, a legend was being handed down from generation to generation, the legend of the "Triforce"; golden triangles possessing mystical powers. One day, an evil army attacked this peaceful little kingdom and stole the Triforce of Power. This army was led by Ganon, the powerful Prince of Darkness who sought to plunge the World into fear and darkness under his rule. Fearing his wicked rule, Zelda, the princess of this kingdom, split up the Triforce of Wisdom into eight fragments and hid them throughout the realm to save the last remaining Triforce from the clutches of the evil Ganon. At the same time, she commanded her most trustworthy nursemaid, Impa, to secretly escape into the land and go find a man with enough courage to destroy the evil Ganon. Upon hearing this, Ganon grew angry, imprisoned the princess, and sent out a party in search of Impa.
Braving forests and mountains, Impa fled for her life from her pursuers. As she reached the very limit of her energy she found herself surrounded by Ganon's evil henchmen. Cornered! What could she do? ... But wait! All was not lost. A young lad appeared. He skillfully drove off Ganon's henchmen, and saved Impa from a fate worse than death. His name was Link. During his travels he had come across Impa and Ganon's henchmen. Impa told Link the whole story of the princess Zelda and the evil Ganon. Burning with a sense of justice, Link resolved to save Zelda, but Ganon was a powerful opponent. He held the Triforce of Power. And so, in order to fight off Ganon, Link had to bring the scattered eight fragments of the Triforce of Wisdom together to rebuild the mystical triangle. If he couldn't do this, there would be no chance Link could fight his way into Death Mountain where Ganon lived.
-Taken from the manual
Gameplay:
(8/10)
Revered a classic by many, Zelda's simple gameplay is fun and inspired, but gets boring at times. The A button swings your sword, and the B button uses an item, from bombs to magic wands to meat. Mmm...meat... Most items must be bought, and collecting rupees can become a chore. Rupees are obtained by either killing monsters or finding them secretly. The bosses provide a good challenge, but tend to be reused later on.
Life is gained in an interesting way. You start out with 3 heart "containers" which can be filled by finding more hearts. Additional heart containers can also be obtained by defeating bosses or finding them in a secret. Kinda neat. Sure beats leveling up.
Replay value is great, by way of a second quest, which is twice as hard.
Sound: (8/10)
All the songs are absolutely perfect, setting the mood flawlessly. You'll be humming them till you realize how lame it is to sing a song from a Nintendo game. Too bad there's only 4...
The sounds are dull, but sufficient.
Graphics: (5/10)
Boring. No neat effects, nothing. Even occasional slowdown with numerous enemies on screen. Slowdown in a Nintendo game? Bah. The monsters look ok, nothing terrific.
Control: (5/10)
Stiff, with only 4 directions available. Nothing much else...uh...you're bumped back when your hit, uh...item placement is ok...umm....yah thats about it.
Overall: (7/10)
You don't have this game? Here...hold up your hand beside your face with the palm facing inward. Good. Now, move your hand directly outwards from your face. Excellent. Finally, smack yourself real hard. There ya go!
With its few flaws and occasional dullness, Zelda still is fun and provides an excellent challenge.
-Merchant