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.

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?

Yes, this game was a bit ground breaking in its day. An action game like no other I had played at the time as it was the first game I could save in and stop playing and pick up the game at another time where I had left off. It was also the first game I had personally played that had ending credits. It was also relatively simple to pick up on as I was rather young when I first played it. The story is rather simple, a boy named Link goes on a quest to save the princess Zelda from the evil Ganon by collecting pieces of an object known as the triforce. He goes through numerous dungeons to find the pieces and also must traverse a very large over world filled with many monsters and locales such as desert, sea, and cemeteries. He receives help from various people including an old man who provides him with a wooden sword to begin his quest. You also have grouches who proceed to take your money if you damage their door. You are also given life by faeries. The combat is simple for the most part, strike your enemies down with your sword. You usually collect objects in dungeons that help you continue further in your quest all the way to Death Mountain. The game could use a bit more depth and the enemies get rather annoying near the end, however this game was a game I could not put down when I first got it to the point I saw that screen shift when I would first go to bed after playing it so much.

Imagine what video games would be like without Zelda! Dragon Warrior, Final Fantasy, and many other great RPG and adventure series would probably never exist! Zelda is an excellent game that really shows how much more powerful the NES was over the Atari. There are no games on the Atari that can ever match the skills of searching and exploring needed in Zelda. Everyone should try this game at least once in their life!

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.