12th February 2003, 10:50 AM
The Legend of Zelda Review
By Derek Miller
Incredible game after incredible game, created by Shigeru Miyamoto and other brilliant game designers,was released for the NES in the early days. The market was still in itsinfancy and there was a lot of room to innovate. The Legend of Zeldawas one of those innovative games. Not only was it the first game to featurescreen scrolling in four different directions, but it was also the firstNES game to feature a save system. While the save system wasn't perfectthere is no way you could complete Zelda without the ability to save unless you had a lot of time on your hands or you used the trick I used sometimes and left the NES on while you were away. The Legendof Zelda didn't only bring about technical innovations, it also provided us with a seemingly never-ending quest that would keep us playing until our eyes were bleary. Then what happens? We are given a second quest, asomewhat new quest with brand new dungeons in new locations that was much harder than the original quest. The Legend of Zelda marked the birth of a series that is highly regarded in the gaming community as one of, if not the best series of games in existence. No review can really do the game justice but I'll give it a try.
Graphics
For it's time, Zelda had decent graphics. While it wasn't anything mind blowing like Donkey Kong Country was for the SNES, it looked up-to-par with the other early NES games. A limited number of colors were used to provide the mood of the different areas of the game. The early parts that Link could explore were bright and the green really made the place seem nice. Whereas the dungeons were dark and gloomy, and did a good job setting the tone along with the music. There were only a few occurrence of slowdown in the game, mainly in the dungeons, when there were a lot of enemies on screen but it didn't take much away from this great game.
7.5
Sound
Who doesn't remember the Zelda over world theme? Many gamers were shocked when the theme didn't reappear in Ocarina of Time. The sound, along with the graphics, provided the mood for this epic quest and the tunes, while some people may be annoyed by them, were good for the limited resources that the NES had to devote to sound. Not much you can do in the way of sound with an the 8-bit NES.
8.5
Gameplay
This is where the Legend of Zelda really shines. You start out as Link and you have nothing but your wits about you. When an old man gives you a sword, the fun really begins. You have to fight your way through a never-ending onslaught of monsters as you attempt to locate all the dungeons. Finding the dungeons was fun, but it didn't match the appeal of fighting your way through the dungeons themselves. Every dungeon contained at least one weapon or item for you to find, each essential to completing your quest. Not only did you have the main quest to keep you occupied, but the Zelda overworld contained many hidden secrets that you wouldn't find if you didn©ˆt explore. Hidden heart containers would boost your maximum heart containers and there were also secret places where you could buy these heart containers. There were also secret areas where people would give you money to help you along or sell you items at a discount. There were also two locations to upgrade your sword, but only if you were strong enough. While none of this was integral to the main quest it provided a sense of satisfaction when you finally found the most powerful sword or another heart container. Zelda was a game that was unmatched in it's time.
10.0
Modern Appeal
Zelda is the type of game that you yearn to play every once in a while. While it isn't the same type of epic quest as Ocarina of Time or Final Fantasy, it does provide hours of pure 8-bit entertainment. It's not the type of game you will pick up and put down in a hour. When you are bored and don't have any new games to play, pick up the Legend of Zelda and go on a quest to save Princess Zelda and the Land of Hyrule from the evil clutches of the monster Ganon.
8.5
Purchase Price
Even the gold cartridge of Zelda, which isn't as rare as some might like you to think, won't cost you too much. You shouldn't pay more than $10 for this game.
Total (not an average) : 9.5
By Derek Miller
Incredible game after incredible game, created by Shigeru Miyamoto and other brilliant game designers,was released for the NES in the early days. The market was still in itsinfancy and there was a lot of room to innovate. The Legend of Zeldawas one of those innovative games. Not only was it the first game to featurescreen scrolling in four different directions, but it was also the firstNES game to feature a save system. While the save system wasn't perfectthere is no way you could complete Zelda without the ability to save unless you had a lot of time on your hands or you used the trick I used sometimes and left the NES on while you were away. The Legendof Zelda didn't only bring about technical innovations, it also provided us with a seemingly never-ending quest that would keep us playing until our eyes were bleary. Then what happens? We are given a second quest, asomewhat new quest with brand new dungeons in new locations that was much harder than the original quest. The Legend of Zelda marked the birth of a series that is highly regarded in the gaming community as one of, if not the best series of games in existence. No review can really do the game justice but I'll give it a try.
Graphics
For it's time, Zelda had decent graphics. While it wasn't anything mind blowing like Donkey Kong Country was for the SNES, it looked up-to-par with the other early NES games. A limited number of colors were used to provide the mood of the different areas of the game. The early parts that Link could explore were bright and the green really made the place seem nice. Whereas the dungeons were dark and gloomy, and did a good job setting the tone along with the music. There were only a few occurrence of slowdown in the game, mainly in the dungeons, when there were a lot of enemies on screen but it didn't take much away from this great game.
7.5
Sound
Who doesn't remember the Zelda over world theme? Many gamers were shocked when the theme didn't reappear in Ocarina of Time. The sound, along with the graphics, provided the mood for this epic quest and the tunes, while some people may be annoyed by them, were good for the limited resources that the NES had to devote to sound. Not much you can do in the way of sound with an the 8-bit NES.
8.5
Gameplay
This is where the Legend of Zelda really shines. You start out as Link and you have nothing but your wits about you. When an old man gives you a sword, the fun really begins. You have to fight your way through a never-ending onslaught of monsters as you attempt to locate all the dungeons. Finding the dungeons was fun, but it didn't match the appeal of fighting your way through the dungeons themselves. Every dungeon contained at least one weapon or item for you to find, each essential to completing your quest. Not only did you have the main quest to keep you occupied, but the Zelda overworld contained many hidden secrets that you wouldn't find if you didn©ˆt explore. Hidden heart containers would boost your maximum heart containers and there were also secret places where you could buy these heart containers. There were also secret areas where people would give you money to help you along or sell you items at a discount. There were also two locations to upgrade your sword, but only if you were strong enough. While none of this was integral to the main quest it provided a sense of satisfaction when you finally found the most powerful sword or another heart container. Zelda was a game that was unmatched in it's time.
10.0
Modern Appeal
Zelda is the type of game that you yearn to play every once in a while. While it isn't the same type of epic quest as Ocarina of Time or Final Fantasy, it does provide hours of pure 8-bit entertainment. It's not the type of game you will pick up and put down in a hour. When you are bored and don't have any new games to play, pick up the Legend of Zelda and go on a quest to save Princess Zelda and the Land of Hyrule from the evil clutches of the monster Ganon.
8.5
Purchase Price
Even the gold cartridge of Zelda, which isn't as rare as some might like you to think, won't cost you too much. You shouldn't pay more than $10 for this game.
Total (not an average) : 9.5