The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past was a major turning point for the Zelda series. While everyone basically had a mini-orgasm about the first Zelda, the second... didnt do so well. Nintendo went outside the box and made the sequel to the original Zelda a complex, difficult platformer, but still didnt manage to catch the fun of the original game: Exploration. So when this game came out, it was do-or-die for many people who bought the SNES for this very reason, and it had a lot riding on it, namely the whole freaking franchise.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is a masterpiece. There is no doubt in my mind that this game took the series for one hell of a ride to make it what it is today. The game took the original Legend of Zelda game and basically put it on steroids with new graphics, better sound, a much bigger and more articulated story, and generally a better game. Everything is smooth, crisp, and reeks of Nintendo perfection.



The game starts you out getting three pendants in the Light World. Then, the game throws you a curve- you have to turn around and get 7 crystals in the Light/Dark worlds. Much unlike any other Adventure game of its time, the game gives you so much to upgrade, find, collect, and do that most gamers, even the ones like me who have memorized this game, will spend hours playing it. To name, you upgrade your Sword four times, Shield 3, Clothing 3, and THEN you deal with such fun jobs as collecting items like the Magic Mirror and the Cane of Somaria.

The more you play this game, the more you realize this is what Zelda should be. Collecting, adventuring, dungeons, puzzles, and general complexity to this game make it one of the best, if not THE best, Zelda game out there. The game doesnt use any cheap tricks such as forced humor, needless minigames, or endlessly long cutscenes to play out the game- you are genuinely exploring and experiencing the whole time you play this game.



The only gripe I have about this game is that it really sometimes gets rather old and tired. This might be from me who plays it semi-religously, but some people will be disturbed and annoyed at the long dungons with seemingly endless puzzles.

Another tiny gripe about this game I have, which really isnt the game, is that Nintendo just doesnt stick with this simple formula for Zelda games. This game works fine for me, and its the most acclaimed Zelda game out there, excepting Ocarina of Time. Why Nintendo just doesnt look back and go "Oh, thats how it should be done" instad of "LOL CELLSHADING" is beyond me.



Overall, I give this game a perfect rating. It deserves it. I'm always hesitant about giving Perfect ratings on the basis that they may bring down the general trustworthiness of our site, but this deserves it. This game is now available on the Game Boy Advance with the (Interesting) game "Four Swords Adventure". Only a heathen wouldn't pick it up if they had a GBA.

5 star(s) out of 5

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