The Legend of Zelda

The evil Ganon invades the land of Hyrule and steals the Triforce of Power. Princess Zelda, sensing danger, splits the Triforce of Wisdom into eight pieces and hides the pieces from Ganon and his minions in eight separate dungeons. Enraged, Ganon imprisons the princess, but not before Zelda dispatches Impa to find a savior. Impa finds the young Link and gives him his task: Reassemble the Triforce, defeat Ganon, and rescue the princess Zelda.

The Legend of Zelda's underworld was a tangled mess of deadly traps - a maze of twisty passages, none alike. Rooms were connected to the north, south, east, and west by open doors, locked doors, switch doors, one-way doors, and even bombed-out passageways. Old men (and hungry Goriyas) lived in these dungeons and dispensed poorly translated advice to would-be adventurers.

Link could wield a wooden, white, or magical sword and wear a blue or red ring to increase his defensive strength. A regular shield repelled most projectiles, but a magical shield defended against fireballs and magic. Heart containers (either found or won) increased Link's life force. The boomerang retrieved items from afar, while bombs damaged foes and opened blocked passageways. Candles burned bushes and lit up darkened rooms. Wooden and silver arrows could be shot for the cost of a rupee apiece. You could cross rivers with a ladder; cross lakes with a raft. The power bracelet let you push heavy things. A magic wand and book let Link send Wizzrobes packing with a taste of their own medicine.

Just thought I'd put in a few cents on this video game masterpiece, as I rarely pipe in about video games (I rarely play them anymore). Somehow, likely as much for nostalgia as for pure enjoyment, The Legend of Zelda for the original Nintendo Entertainment System (and now available on the Game Boy Advance XP in the 'classics' edition un-changed), is one of the all-time great RPG's ever. It's relatively simple, and for some it's probably winnable and over-and-done with in a night's playing. But there's something addictive too about playing such with such simplicity and (by today's standards) primitive kind of software. The whole task of the game is to get more coins, get more hearts, defeat dragons and dancing fires and ghosts and red/blue knights and so on, in order for Link to save the title character. Whether or not this is the very first Zelda game I'd leave to research, but it is the first that really broke through and has a lasting impact as also being the very first that one could save their game on NES. In other words, if you get tired, save and come back to it, and keep on playing to get all the triangles and top level 9. As someone who has a definite bias from having played the game for nearly my entire life (ever since Nintendo first came into my life and now on Game Boy), it goes without saying that I recommend it to those who may have forgotten it in the smoke of the several new Nintendo systems and even the new (possibly better) Zelda games. But even to the younger ones who already have Playstation 3.14, it's worth a try to get a glimpse of the really nifty days when all you had was a sword, 2-D, and some very typical- in a good way- music for the show. It's a treasure of its time.

When I first played this video game, I thought, 'Boy, what a dog of a video game! The graphics are terrible, the animation is slow (Compare to Mike Tyson's Punch Out and Metroid), and I have no idea what I'm supposed to do.' Not only that, but the combat is pretty trivial - all you have to do is dodge everything, and you'll pretty much escape all the rooms without a scratch. But I kept on playing, and after getting the first triforce piece (which took many days, since I didn't understand the point of the game), I started getting into it. The challenge was't in the battle; the whole point of the game was to find secrets and items(like the Digdogger, the Pols Voice, Ghoma, Dodongo, etc.). Once I finally understood the point of the game, I began to enjoy it, though it was more engrossing than it was exciting. I still don't think it was the best game made for the NES (I think Metroid, Punch-Out, and Castlevania were superior title), it was certainly one of the most original, and for that reason alone deserves to be rated as the classic that it is.

One of the larger landmarks in the history of gaming, Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda broke away from the mold of nearly every other game out at the time, adopting an unprecedented, overhead action/RPG interface which shocked and amazed on its early NES debut. To say it was one of those innovations that ''worked'' and was passable would be an understatement. It was really and truly an amazing first effort by Shigeru Miyamoto, head of Nintendo, which along with Super Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong, helped propel rapidly not only Miyamoto's own career but the direction and pace gaming was moving at.

Two of the features which set this esteemed Zelda precursor apart from other games out at the time, interestingly, appear even before the game has begun! What's this -- a detailed story in the same vein as the questionable follow up to Super Mario Bros., before the title screen even comes up?? A map, abundant with hints and tips, just vague enough not to rain on the parade of exploration and discovery??? And a Save Battery???? You don't see this kind of stuff every day, folks!

And who could forget the main theme of Legend of Zelda? Quite possibly the most enjoyed and remembered tune in all of video-gaming, the fittingly titled ''main theme'', plays throughout the whole game except in dungeons(where an equally enjoyable tune plays). I don't know of anyone who has heard Zelda's main theme and not gotten in stuck in their head; it's just that enchanting.

If the name of the game and the series which it is in didn't recommend this game to you already, then let me do so now! Legend of Zelda is a fabulous action/RPG that does wonderfully what no other game could at the time and that is create a challenging, exciting hybrid-RPG with enough thought and work put into it to keep its legendary status and appeal afloat for years and years in the ever-developing sea of electronic gaming. Relatively few people still play older games in this day and age, but let me tell you that Legend of Zelda is one of the first choices for anyone who does. Every gamer worth his salt in that era had played and beaten this game -- most of them doing so multiple times. What's not to like?

Having the regular NES and being able to go back and play this masterpiece feels amazing. After almost all the other games from that era which could be tossed in the dumpster, this and Dragon Warrior were cornerstones of two golden empire series. Well worth having- this is the first of a great series.