RPGamers Network > Reviews > Game Reviews > Legend Of Zelda - A Link To The Past
Legend Of Zelda - A Link To The Past was one of the first RPG's to appear on the SNES/Super Famicom, and unlike it's predecessor; The Adventures Of Link on the NES/Famicom (which was part side scrolling/part top down view), Nintendo's third installment adds a deeper more involving quest but retaining the feel of the Zelda original.
The story opens with Link sleeping in his bed, and is telepathically called by Princess Zelda to save her, who is being held captive inside Hyrule Castle.
Link's Uncle decides to go and investigate and orders Link to stay inside the house. But Link doesn't listen and quickly follows his Uncle toward the direction of the castle. And from here on you start your long journey to find Zelda, discover why she was captured, who captured her and eventually face your long time rival Ganondorf, Prince Of Thieves.
From the outset the game presents itself well - inside the house you can hear the rain hitting the roof in a muffled way - as soon as you step outside you can almost feel the rain as it pours down. The odd flash of lightning neatly rounds off a nice atmospheric feel.
Link starts the game with nothing, but soon comes in possession of a sword and shield - which by pressing and holding the attack button then letting go of it, he can perform a spin attack.
As with all Zelda games the enemies appear on screen and a few hits is enough to kill them - but later in the game a sword might not be enough to kill certain enemies.
For example: When you find the Hammer you will have to use that in conjunction with the sword to do away with the shell variety of enemy. That's where the battles shine, it's not just hacking and slashing at the enemy, but it's figuring out which items will work the best on which enemy.
After the initial stage of Hyrule Castle is complete, Link must traverse through forests, climb mountains, swim through rivers to get to the different locations of the games many dungeons.
Each dungeon is cunningly laid out with rooms that are either accessible with a key, blowing up a segment of a wall using a bomb or other ways. Everything is viewed from the top as is the whole game, and it's attention to detail is astonishing. Once found, the map will display all floors in that dungeon, and the area's you have been to will be marked by a different color. Also each dungeon contains a compass, a big treasure chest that you can only open with the big key - Getting that can be pretty tricky as each dungeon has it's own puzzles/traps that you must get through. Some are straight forward and some require thought, but never impossible.
Those who played previous Zelda Games will recognize many things from them that made their way into this game, such as the Legendary Master Sword that Link must obtain to defeat the Evil terrorizing Hyrule. But amongst his array of Items he finds, there are an abundance of new things such as the Pegasus Boots, Grappling Hook and the Magic Mirror. The latter being vital to completing the quest, as Zelda - A Link To the Past is divided into two worlds; The Light World and The Dark World. Using the Magic Mirror, Link can teleport himself between the two worlds to complete his quest.
The music courtesy of longtime Nintendo composer Koji Kondo is top notch, suiting the nature of the many game environments - with some familiar themes popping up from time to time.
Nintendo is renowned for ensuring maximum enjoyment and with the tons of little tidbits added in for good measure, this game will still surprise you long after you completed it, by suddenly discovering something you didn't even know was in the game.
I enjoyed playing this game - took me about two weeks too complete and too this day i still regard Zelda - A Link To the Past as one of my favorite games on the Super Nintendo.
Those who think 'Aghh, why go on about a silly 16 bit title when there are better games out there' perhaps don't realize that Zelda will always be the "Mother of RPG's" and set a precedent for all those that followed.
If you can look beyond the graphical side of it - then give it a whirl, you won't be disappointed.
| Game Stats | |
|---|---|
| Genre | RPG |
| Platform | Super Nintendo |
| Format | Cartridge |
| # of Players | 1 |
| Released Jap | 11.21.1991 |
| Released US | 04.13.1992 |
| Released EU | 09.24.1992 |
| Aprox. Length | 20-25 hrs. |
| Reviewer Rankings | |
| Battle System | 9.0 |
| Gameplay | 9.0 |
| Music | 8.0 |
| Originality | 8.0 |
| Plot | 8.0 |
| Replay Value | 9.0 |
| Sound | 8.0 |
| Visuals | 9.0 |
| Difficulty | Medium |
| Overall | |
| 8.5 | |
Legend Of Zelda - A Link To The Past
By: NintendoReviewed By: Saria
Every once in a while a game gets released that breaks all boundaries of what has gone before.Legend Of Zelda - A Link To The Past was one of the first RPG's to appear on the SNES/Super Famicom, and unlike it's predecessor; The Adventures Of Link on the NES/Famicom (which was part side scrolling/part top down view), Nintendo's third installment adds a deeper more involving quest but retaining the feel of the Zelda original.
The story opens with Link sleeping in his bed, and is telepathically called by Princess Zelda to save her, who is being held captive inside Hyrule Castle.
Link's Uncle decides to go and investigate and orders Link to stay inside the house. But Link doesn't listen and quickly follows his Uncle toward the direction of the castle. And from here on you start your long journey to find Zelda, discover why she was captured, who captured her and eventually face your long time rival Ganondorf, Prince Of Thieves.
From the outset the game presents itself well - inside the house you can hear the rain hitting the roof in a muffled way - as soon as you step outside you can almost feel the rain as it pours down. The odd flash of lightning neatly rounds off a nice atmospheric feel.
Link starts the game with nothing, but soon comes in possession of a sword and shield - which by pressing and holding the attack button then letting go of it, he can perform a spin attack.
As with all Zelda games the enemies appear on screen and a few hits is enough to kill them - but later in the game a sword might not be enough to kill certain enemies.
For example: When you find the Hammer you will have to use that in conjunction with the sword to do away with the shell variety of enemy. That's where the battles shine, it's not just hacking and slashing at the enemy, but it's figuring out which items will work the best on which enemy.
After the initial stage of Hyrule Castle is complete, Link must traverse through forests, climb mountains, swim through rivers to get to the different locations of the games many dungeons.
Each dungeon is cunningly laid out with rooms that are either accessible with a key, blowing up a segment of a wall using a bomb or other ways. Everything is viewed from the top as is the whole game, and it's attention to detail is astonishing. Once found, the map will display all floors in that dungeon, and the area's you have been to will be marked by a different color. Also each dungeon contains a compass, a big treasure chest that you can only open with the big key - Getting that can be pretty tricky as each dungeon has it's own puzzles/traps that you must get through. Some are straight forward and some require thought, but never impossible.
Those who played previous Zelda Games will recognize many things from them that made their way into this game, such as the Legendary Master Sword that Link must obtain to defeat the Evil terrorizing Hyrule. But amongst his array of Items he finds, there are an abundance of new things such as the Pegasus Boots, Grappling Hook and the Magic Mirror. The latter being vital to completing the quest, as Zelda - A Link To the Past is divided into two worlds; The Light World and The Dark World. Using the Magic Mirror, Link can teleport himself between the two worlds to complete his quest.
The music courtesy of longtime Nintendo composer Koji Kondo is top notch, suiting the nature of the many game environments - with some familiar themes popping up from time to time.
Nintendo is renowned for ensuring maximum enjoyment and with the tons of little tidbits added in for good measure, this game will still surprise you long after you completed it, by suddenly discovering something you didn't even know was in the game.
I enjoyed playing this game - took me about two weeks too complete and too this day i still regard Zelda - A Link To the Past as one of my favorite games on the Super Nintendo.
Those who think 'Aghh, why go on about a silly 16 bit title when there are better games out there' perhaps don't realize that Zelda will always be the "Mother of RPG's" and set a precedent for all those that followed.
If you can look beyond the graphical side of it - then give it a whirl, you won't be disappointed.
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