Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - Review

If only all the Zeldas were like this...

By: Jade Falcon

Review Breakdown
Battle System	9
Interface	10
Music/Sound	8
Originality	5
Plot	5
Localization	10
Replay Value	10/b>
Visuals	10
Difficulty	Easy
Time to Complete	15-20 hrs.
Overall
Criteria

   The two Legend of Zelda games were initially successful. Nintendo then tried their luck on the SNES with LTTP. This game belongs in every SNES owner's library, no matter how old it is. This game is the classic Legend of Zelda game.

   You have your normal hack-and-slash sword and one item assigned to the Y button. Hit it with a fire rod shot, hack at it some with the sword, fire it again, etc. You'll run across alot of that in LTTP. LTTP combines exploring and battling well with puzzles which you have to kill an enemy blocking it, or keep some type of switch pressed, to open it. There were many items for a game of its size, but some were useless, like the powder and the net. The introdution of faeries in bottles was ingenious, allowing people to carry life insurance with them. (When you died, the faerie would revive you with seven hearts full.) Controls were responsive and were made for the game.

   The menu and main display screen were the usual Zelda screens. You can easily bring up the menu, switch weapons, and continue very quickly and easily with minimum fuss. The map is on its own seperate screen. The main screen displays all the useful info needed for your quest, like your magic power and life left.

The Bombos Medallion

   As with all over SNES games, the music is MIDI, but even against the newer games, the few pieces in LTTP are memorable. There is only one piece which gets on my nerves, and that is the Dark World dungeon music. It's just way too annoying by the time you get to Ganon's Tower. Sound effects are about as good as you can get out of a 16-bit system. There's not much to say there either.

   LTTP added a feature that I would have loved to have in the previous Zeldas, and that's running. By pressing the A button, you can run short distances. You can use it as many times as you want. Also, you could swim in water after acquiring Flippers, and what you did in the Dark World affected the Light and vice versa. LTTP is quite innovative, at least in 1992.

   Like the rest of the series, LTTP's plot is no different. Link saves the princess. Of course, he has to fight Ganon, and a new enemy, Agahnim. This is the only imaginative one though, since you have two different worlds, yet similar, yet different, which have much different properties. The plot flows smoothly through the whole game.

   Translation is excellent. Of course, there really isn't enough to make many errors on, but what text there is was translated well.

Misery Maze in Misery Mire. Yes, it's bad.

   LTTP is one of the only three games (besides SMRPG and CT) which I still play on the SNES. It is addictive and easy to play, you'll be wishing the game was a whole lot longer. Its simple and yet addictive gameplay is what keeps me coming back.

For the SNES, the graphics were the best for at least two years after its release. They were groundbreaking, and set the standard for overhead-set settings on the SNES. There were short animations for sword swinging, enemies dying, everything. The game has rich colors and sharp contrast. Excellent graphics.

Compared to today's standard, LTTP is a walk in the park. But in 1992, the game was hailed as quite difficult. It was the longest game of its time, and still is a moderately long game, but it is not very challenging.

If you don't have LTTP, BUY IT NOW! I don't care if you have to spend $20 for a SNES and $5 for the game. Just go out and buy it. This game set the standard for many console adventure games, and is worth everybody's 15-30 hours of game time.