The Legend of Zelda
Nintendo, 1986
[Image][Image][Image][Image][Image]

    ROM       Manual


                                                At the time of its release, The Legend of Zelda
                                                certainly had a lot to live up to.  This game was
                                                one of the few that had its own television
                                                commercial, not to mention that the cartridge was
                                                painted gold.  Surprisingly, Zelda actually
                     [Image]                    surpassed those expectations and is one of my
                                                all-time favorite NES games.  It is original,
                                                intriguing, and, most of all, it is a lot of
                                                fun.  In the years to follow, many Zelda clones
                                                emerged on the NES, yet none of them, not even
                                                Zelda's own sequel, we able to capture the charm
                                                of the original.

You play the role of young Link, whose mission
is to rescue Princess Zelda and defeat the evil
Gannon.  In order to do so, Link must collect
the 8 pieces of the triforce of wisdom, which
are scattered about the land of Hyrule.  At
first, Link will be able to explore only a
section of Hyrule.  With the discovery of
certain special items like the raft and the                          [Image]
ladder, new routes will be opened all over the
map.  This is one of Zelda's greatest
strengths.  Some games use certain items just to
partition a map into levels that must be
explored in order.  In Zelda, one item can open
up many new areas, leading to treasure or even a
palace.

                                                Items also allow Link to interact with his
                                                environment.  With the candle, he can burn down
                                                bushes, possibly revealing stairways that lead to
                                                shops, treasure, or information.  Rocks can be
                                                moved, mountains can be blown up, and sometimes
                                                blowing on the magic whistle will reveal a
                                                secret.  In fact, the more difficult palaces can
                     [Image]                    only be revealed by using the proper item in the
                                                proper place.  The palaces themselves are as
                                                abundant in secrets as is Hyrule, and contain
                                                many puzzles to solve.  Luckily, Link can find
                                                maps for each of the palaces, as well as
                                                compasses which point in the direction of the
                                                triforce fragment.  Zelda even includes an
                                                automap feature that keeps track of all the rooms
                                                Link has visited in the palace.
The music and sound effects in Zelda are
excellent and really add an atmosphere of
adventure, whether Link is roaming around in
Hyrule or exploring a dark underground
labyrinth.  The visuals are not as impressive,
but function well with the mechanics of the
game.  And when you finally defeat Gannon and                        [Image]
rescue Zelda, the game is not over yet.  The
designers decided to add a 2nd quest, doubling
the size of the game.  In this quest, there are
new secrets, and each palace has a new layout.
It's features like this that make Zelda a
masterpiece.




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