When I say Legend of Zelda I am, of course, referring to the original on the NES. Now, unlike most people, this is not the first Zelda game I've sat down and played all the way through - that honor belongs to Link to the Past.
Therefore Legend of Zelda is going to be a tricky game to assess: First, as Link to the Past was the first Zelda I've played, it will ultimately influence my opinion through providing a benchmark. Second, Legend of Zelda is up against twenty six years of technological advancement and Third, Legend of Zelda is essentially a wellspring where many it's ideas have since been replicated by other games many times over.
So what do I think of the original Legend of Zelda? Well the first thought is that I have played other Legend of Zelda games and this strikes me as perhaps the most difficult. I say that because I do remember there were numerous moments when the enemies gave me headaches, namely the DarkNuts, Wizzrobes and the LikeLikes – the latter in particular was of particular annoyance: Believe you me, the annoyance of having your shield eaten only to go back, raise enough rupees to buy another one and having THAT one eaten as well can only be speculated upon. Granted I have had trouble with the other Legend of Zelda games but none on a level comparable to my troubles with the original – at least Link to the Past had fairies that could resurrect you when you died! In fact at one point, I felt like it was battle of wits to see who would break first: me or the game itself. But then again, this game is a product from an earlier era where difficulty was a gaming mainstay.
But what I found interesting with the Legend of Zelda difficulty is that it presents the same problem I had with the Super Mario games in that the lead-up to the end of game big-bad proved more challenging and more difficult than the final showdown itself. Indeed, after get lost, beaten and frustrated with the last dungeon, I ended up confronting Ganon and….whupped him on my first go.
And then there’s the legacy behind Legend of Zelda: This was, more or less, the first sandbox game where the player had the freedom to go anywhere and could accomplish any of the tasks necessary for ultimate victory in any order. Even more significant, the idea of extensive exploration and getting the necessary gear gave way to an eventual leveling of the playing field – but as in my defeat of Ganon showed, an eventual pushover.
Now I’m not the biggest fan of the sandbox genre (save one or two exceptions) so coming across the progenitor is interesting to say the least. Sure there isn’t a variety of things to do beyond go here/kill this guy/get this item, but it seems that a lot of the sandbox stems from the player finding clues and working things out for themselves. But to me, that creates conflict in that the Hyrule presented in NES graphics is kinda…well…… dull. The place looks barren and minimal in colour – as well as being populated by lot’s of monsters and few in actual human residents. Granted there is only so much the NES could do with its limited technology, but I still maintain the setting of Legend of Zelda would’ve made a great setting for a post-apocalypse setup with a ruined landscape, a host of monsters and only three characters (but I suppose Shadow of the Colossus as already been made).
But I digress. It is interesting to see the origins of Legend of Zelda and see how some the ideas in it were strong enough that they were reiterated in the subsequent sequels. Yes Link to the Past took those ideas and improved on them in every single way but you have to start somewhere.
So in the end, despite the gripes I had with the difficulty, I did enjoy playing Legend of Zelda. It was good fun and it’s good to finally put that game to rest.
Now about Ocarina of Time….
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