You\u2019d think that the first game in a series would provide a good reason for its name (c.f. Mass Effect<\/i>, Baldur\u2019s Gate<\/i>, even Final Fantasy<\/i>), even if later games have a more tenuous link to it. Not so with the original Legend of Zelda<\/em>: the princess only appears at the very end. And since it’s Not that the in-game backstory is all that informative, especially if you’re playing the original NES<\/abbr> version of the game, in which case, you’ll be treated to a painfully garbled Engrish text which explains that the Prince of Darkness, Ozz-err…Ganon, wielder of the Triforce of Power, invaded Hyrule to steal the Triforce of Wisdom from Princess Zelda. She split it into eight fragments and hid them in eight dungeons, all the while instructing her handmaiden, Impa to find someone brave enough to fight against Ganon.<\/p>\n The game then asks you what you want to name your character (this is where you can name Link ‘Bob’ if you haven’t watched the intro and have never played a Zelda game before), and he Nowadays, games often receive criticism for excessive hand-holding. Here, you\u2019ve got entirely the reverse problem: the game omits to give you any sort of pointers as to where to go. I guess the idea was to let the player adventure at will and figure things out on their own. Which, admittedly, is a laudable goal: after all, exploration and discovery This is compounded by the fact that combat is pretty damn brutal, so aimlessly wandering around while looking for the entrance to a dungeon or a cave\u2013which may or At this point, Zelda fans would probably say \u201ccome on, this is an old game, cut it some slack and look at its legacy!\u201d Yes, this is an old game. And yes, oldschool games did have this tendency to be finger-numbingly difficult. But that didn\u2019t prevent me from enjoying the first Super Mario Bros. <\/i>That aside: it\u2019s not because the game is par for the course with its contemporaries that it\u2019s necessarily still enjoyable nowadays, even accounting for the innovations it helped introduce. The ability to save comes to mind: this was one of the first games to have this kind of feature. That\u2019s great and all, but you Objectively, this game does contain all the basics of a Zelda game. There\u2019s a lad named Link, who must rescue Princess Zelda from the evil Ganondorf while collecting pieces of the Triforce. The gameplay and combat involve a variety of collectable objects, many of which have since become staples, One person\u2019s legend is another person\u2019s nightmare. And this certainly isn\u2019t my legend. Nor is it really Zelda\u2019s, for that matter.<\/p>\n\n\n![\"Forgotten](\"https:\/\/grafskaya.club\/mysst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/forgotten-hero.jpg\" "\\"Forgotten")
<\/a>Have you ever wondered why The Legend of Zelda series was named after Zelda? It\u2019s not that I mind a female character getting recognition, but let\u2019s face it: Zelda\u2019s role in the series is secondary at best, and there are some games where she doesn’t appear at all. In fact, all things considered, it should really be The Legend of Link.<\/p>\n<\/a>very easy to miss the in-game backstory, which only appears if you wait instead of pressing “start” on the introductory screen, you may very well get through 99% of the game not knowing who she is or even that she exists. And you won\u2019t know that Link is called Link either. This has actually created some confusion among players (myself included), who used to think that Link\u2019s name was Zelda for a while.<\/p>\n<\/a>is then plonked down in the middle of a rocky clearing in overhead view (a trademark of early Zelda games). The only noteworthy landmark in the vicinity is a cave. Inside this cave, Link finds an old guy, who tells him that it\u2019s dangerous to go alone and hands him a sword. Either the sword is a cousin of Lilarcor from Baldur\u2019s Gate II<\/i>, or the old guy needs to get out of his cave more.<\/p>\n<\/a>are what adventure is all about. Except that the desire to keep on exploring is based on finding clues and rewards, and if that is lacking, you run the risk of people simply losing interest. There are<\/i> clues in this game, provided by a squad of identical old men. However, these clues are a) usually hidden in out-of-the-way rooms inside dungeons, and b) a tad on the cryptic side.<\/p>\n<\/a>may not contain treasure or a shop\u2013can quickly become an exercise in frustration, especially since enemies respawn whenever you leave a screen. In other words, you could randomly wander into one of the harder dungeons from the get-go, or spend five agonising, finger-nibbling minutes clearing a screen of tektites (those annoying bouncing insects) while trying not to get hit, then go to another screen, realize you\u2019re going the wrong way, retrace your steps <\/a>and have to face the same tektites again. Although you\u2019d probably have the good sense to dash for the nearest exit this time around. That being said, slaughtering enemies is also a good source of money (or rupees, as they are called in this game), and considering just how stupidly expensive store-bought items are, this may be something you\u2019ll find yourself forced to do sooner or later. And trust me, it\u2019s not fun.<\/p>\n<\/a>What\u2019s more, not all stores have the same prices. So if you don\u2019t know that beforehand, chances are you\u2019ll find yourself cashing out for a bottle of potion\u2026only to find the same potion being sold for much cheaper at another store a few screens away. And yet the game never tells you these things! It\u2019s as if it were intentionally designed to penalize newcomers, which is completely mind-boggling to me. To add insult to injury, there are the archery mechanics. At one point in the game, Link acquires a bow. But the game apparently decided that arrows were too much of a hassle to implement. So, in exchange, each shot automatically subtracts the cost of an arrow from Link’s wallet. There\u2019s no clearer metaphor for throwing your money away.<\/p>\n<\/a>Combat difficulty is further increased by the fact that Link doesn\u2019t handle very well, only being able to attack facing the four cardinal directions. What\u2019s more, while he has a shield, he can only block projectiles (not melee hits) and only if they so happen to align with said shield. In other words, avoiding damage is a losing battle. The problem here is that, when Link\u2019s life-meter\u2013represented by a line of hearts at the top of the screen\u2013is full, his sword gains the ability to shoot lasers<\/del> energy out of its blade, thus allowing him to attack enemies from a distance. This is extremely handy, but it also makes avoiding damage that much more crucial. And that much more frustrating when you can\u2019t.<\/p>\n<\/a>have to get Link killed<\/i> to be able to do this. <\/i>You\u2019ll excuse me if I don\u2019t jump for joy. What\u2019s more, whenever Link gets killed, he loses all the consumables he acquired prior to that point. So, say you made the effort to collect rupees to buy some bombs and potions prior to entering a dungeon, but then Link got killed by the boss. When he respawns, he\u2019ll lose all the items he bought…but won’t get his money back. And if only for this reason, I never even tried finishing this game on console. Back when I first got it on NES, it was too difficult, and when I purchased it as part of the Gamecube Zelda collection, I didn\u2019t even try playing (especially after seeing what Zelda II<\/i> was like\u2026), but went straight for an emulator instead. I\u2019d rather conserve<\/i> my progress when I save, thank you very much.<\/p>\n<\/a>like the boomerang. Many iconic enemies and creatures\u2013such as tektites, keese or fairies\u2013pop up. Even the music will be reused in later titles. But that\u2019s just it: everything is basic. And if you\u2019ve played the later games in the series, chances are you\u2019ll feel like something\u2019s missing. If you haven\u2019t played them…don’t bother with this, unless you like gaming archaeology or have a massive bout of nostalgia. The game hasn’t aged well.<\/p>\n