The 1989 "Legend of Zelda" animated series lasted for 13 episodes, and aired as part of "The Super Mario Bros. Super Show". As a huge fan of the video-game series, I was aware of the infamy that this series holds, but I figured I'd give it a shot- I was able to get the entire DVD set online for about $10, it arrived a few days later, I gathered some friends who also knew about the show and how bad it apparently was... and we popped it in!
This was bad. Really bad. Uwe Boll-bad. "Super Mario Brox. The Movie" bad. Just really, truly bad.
You know your cartoon based on a reasonably serious and well-loved game is going to suck when the most compelling episode revolves around our hero Link having to save a water-park. Yup. Whereas the games had Link saving the world, and featured deep plot lines about loss, power and corruption... in this cartoon, Link protects a water-park. I must give credit where credit is due, unlike the Mario series, at least this cartoon didn't have a bad rap song to start out with.
This series follows Link and Zelda, as they struggle against the evil Wizard Ganon. Whereas Link was a noble, good person in the video games, here, he is turned into a snobby, perpetually-randy teen-aged jerk. (With one of the most aggravating, irritating catch-phrases since Scrappy Doo showed up... "Hey!!!! Exc-uuussseee me, PRINCESS!" Makes me want to punch myself in the head.) And Zelda, always the damsel in distress in the games, is actually a capable heroine who more often than not saves Link. The evil Ganon, whom at the point of this cartoons release was just a stock villain, well... he's still just a stock villain. He shows up, cackles and threatens our heroes, is defeated, and flees. Rinse, wash and repeat in the next episode.
I will say a few things to this shows credit. For one, the animation was actually halfway decent, and was much better than Nintendo's other cartoons. The music was also a step-up, and featured some good orchestral covers of the themes from the game. And despite my complaints, some of the gags in the series did work, and I could see a 6-year-old loving this show.
But the writing is just so bad. It really feels like a phoned-in cash grab. It reeks of Nintendo selling the rights just to make a quick buck. None of the writers really seem to be trying with this show. At least the Mario show had puns... This show has one lame catchphrase that it falls back on constantly.
This is a pretty pathetic show. I give it a 4 out of 10, just for the unintentional laughs it will give you if you watch it ironically. But it's not worth buying, even for fans.
