A Link to The Past – (3 of 16)

Game Title – The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Game Release date – 1991

Start Time – February 13, 2012

End Time – TBD

System Played on – Nintendo Wii Virtual Console

Walkthrough Used - Zelda Dungeon

I got some free time last night and decided to start A Link to the Past. I remember beating the game when I was younger, but for some reason nothing looked familiar. The music, the graphics and even the menus are very foreign looking to me.  It has been a long time. The game is, however, much much easier in the first two hours than Zelda II.  I’m actually glad I don’t remember playing the game the first time as it now feels like a brand new game.

There are many aspects to A Link to the Past that make it very different than the first two games. The first is that there are many clues all over the place. People will tell you exactly where you need to go and how to get there. This allowed me to find a whole ton of stuff early on (Ice Rod etc.) and complete the first palace within an hour. I died once during the boss battle, but I wouldn’t say it was hard at all. Overall, the game is quite enjoyable. I just love putting fairies in bottles. I also noticed that the music is a step up over previous games. I really love the warping effects in the songs. They add a ton of mystery to the game.  I’m looking forward to playing more of this game when I get some time. I have a feeling I can warp this up by the end of February.

Housekeeping:  I also started playing Link’s Awakening last night before bed. I will post about that tomorrow in a separate article. My goal is to have two games going on at the same time. One portable, and one on the TV. I think I may be able to wrap up this adventure in less than a year.

You Have an Amazing Wisdom and Power

Game Title – The Legend of Zelda

Start Time – Early January

End Time – February 4, 2012

System Played on – Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console (Ambassador Program)

Total Play Time – 22:20

Well, that’s a wrap on the first Legend of Zelda. I finished both quests and it only took me twenty-two hours and seventy deaths. Despite its age and lack of hints, The Legend of Zelda I is still an amazing game and I would recommend it as a must play to any gamer. I really don’t think gamers can understand where today’s games come from if they can’t understand the history of the genre. In this case action RPG gaming. Zelda was a pioneer of this type.

I’d say the hardest part of the entire game was the last dungeon on the second quest. Not necessarily the monsters in it, but rather the shear size. I spent three hours in there and had to come back twice. Not only that, I had to resort to using  a gamefaqs map to figure out where the heck I was. I ended up going in circles. The red bubbles were the most frustrating part of the second quest. They take away the ability to use your sword and  you are boned until you find a blue bubble. I used my wand as a backup and it seemed to work out ok.

I’m just glad I can now move on to the next challenge. The last dungeon really made me want to get on with the one year adventure.  And that is The Legend of Zelda II: Link’s Adventure.

The Legend of Zelda – The First Adventure (1 of 16)

Game Title – The Legend of Zelda

Game Release date – 1986

Start Time – Early January

End Time - February 4, 2012

System Played on – Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console (Ambassador Program)

Walkthrough Used - Zelda Dungeon 

I started the original Legend of Zelda in early January. My goal was to make it through  the game while I was still on vacation in the US, but life had other plans, and I am still playing this title back in Japan. I was able to blow through the first quest with limited use of a guide to help me. There were somethings I could not have found without the guide. I found the blue ring and some of the rupee areas with a walkthrough. Most of the dungeons were easy enough to get to, and I even stumbled upon dungeon number eight while clearing a shrub to try to get to the other side. It took me a while to work my way thought Ganon’s dungeon, but I still remember the trick for killing him from when I played the game twenty-four some years ago (You can look that up in any guide if you need to know.)

Impressions (Spoilers await thee)

One of the things that struck me the most while playing this game was the level of difficulty. Even the first quest could leave you dead pretty quickly if you weren’t careful. I liked the gradual ramp up in difficulty over the course of the game, but I thought many of the boss characters were rather easy. I assume they were not designed as the main challenge, but rather as a roadblock on your way to each triforce piece.

I really enjoyed making my way through each dungeon. That sense of discovery and challenge was present right from the start. I read an article on the mastery of Design in this game after I had played it, and I would have to agree that each level feels very non-linear even through there is a clear linear way to each boss. For a twenty-five year old game, it still felt very fresh.  I found a great place to rupee farm as well. I never used this my first time through, but it really helped. Especially with getting red potions and shields (I went through three. I had no idea there was a monster that ate them until I realized I was taking major damage in the last dungeon.)

The biggest roadblock for  me in this game was the ending. I actually found that I had no idea how to get to Zelda once I finished the game. I didn’t see any way to get though the flames, and didn’t know you just need to slash them to make them go out. In the end, I ran right through them and burned myself. It didn’t kill me, and I imagine that must have made an impression on her. If she had anyway to sense my chivalry, that is.

Overall I would say it took my around 3-4 hours to stumble through the game. I am now working my way thought the second quest and the next post will be an update on that. Overall I would recommend any serious gamer play this game. It is the foundation of solid action RPG gaming and a history lesson for anyone wanting to learn.

The Beginning…

Hi everyone!

First, a little introduction. My name is Jason and I live in northern Japan. I teach English here and I take photos of the beautiful places you can find here. I also like video games, which brings me to why I made this blog. It’s simple really:

Last year was the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Legend of Zelda. When I was younger I played through these games with religious zeal. I can remember spending hours and hours trying to crack thought the last dungeon. The game opened up a sense of wonder in me that no other game had before or since.

So, to celebrate this amazing franchise and to reawaken that sense of discovery,  I have decided to play through every Zelda game from the first (The Legend of Zelda) to the most recent (Skyward Sword.) I made this blog to track my progress and to help me keep this promise to my self. I started the adventure in early January. I will use to the next post to begin the adventure. If you happen to have come across this blog by accident and you don’t know what the Legend of Zelda is, I would emplore you to look it up. The adventure begins now.