It wasn’t long after its debut that the original Legend of Zelda game became one of Nintendo’s most popular releases. The follow up unfortunately hit a few speed bumps. The developers decided to try something new that was very unlike the original, and it was released to mixed reception. To this day Zelda II is still considered to be the black sheep of the series, but personally I liked it. Still, fans clamored for a return to form; something more similar to the original release. That’s where the Super Nintendo comes into play. The early 90s were an exciting time as the 16-bit generation was moving forward in full swing. It was incredible to see franchises once limited by the Nintendo Entertainment System with much better graphics and more memory which allowed for enhanced mechanics. Zelda 3 was eagerly anticipated, and had significant fanfare at release. It is often, to this day, considered to be the greatest game in the entire franchise. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is definitely my favorite, and is definitely one of the SNES’ best.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is best considered an alternate take on the original story. You once again play as Link; a youth who lives in the magical medieval world of Hyrule. One dark and stormy night he is awakened by a series of telepathic messages playing in his head. These are from the Princess Zelda as she begs for help after being locked in the basement of the castle by an evil wizard named Agahnim. His uncle with whom he lives sets out armed with a sword and shield, but fails to return. Link goes after him in the rain and finds a hidden entrance to the castle from just outside of the courtyard. In this underground passage he runs into his wounded uncle who hands over his armaments and asks Link to venture deep into the castle to rescue the princess. Link is successful in this mission, and after leading Zelda to safety he is informed that this wizard is capturing maidens in order to break a seal on a dark world that is now ruled by a powerful warrior named Ganon who was sealed away after obtaining the powerful Triforce. Link must gather three pendants in order to unlock and wield the only weapon strong enough to defeat Agahnim (and Ganon for that matter); the master sword. Eventually the story takes Link beyond Hyrule to the dark world that, while very similar in structure, is incredibly different and must too be traversed. The scenario and writing both represent huge steps forward in the franchise, but it’s not as in depth as many of the critically acclaimed RPGs of this era.
Abandoning the side scrolling elements from part 2 A Link to the Past plays in a more similar fashion to the original. This means that all gameplay takes place from an overhead perspective. Link cannot jump nor can he duck. You can however move him in all eight different directions. The overworld is composed of a series of different screens containing a variety of separate types of terrain. The screen now scrolls as you walk, but this is limited. When you reach the edge of an area the screen whisks the camera away to the next. It’s a pretty nice set up, and it’s a rather large improvement from the original release. Combat benefits quite a lot from this because enemies are now more of a threat. Because the screen scrolls you can’t simply walk to the edge of it in order to avoid enemies. There’s even a village for you explore this time around. Here you can buy items, interact with NPCs, and more. It represents a very nice change of pace, but thankfully Kariko Village isn’t the only place you will find houses, shops and characters. Nintendo has implemented a few clever incentives for exploring the world. On top of a few hidden tools, and rooms filled with rupees (the monetary units in Hyrule) you’ll also find pieces of heart in some very well hidden places. When you gather four of these your life bar (heart meter) is expanded by one. This is a wonderful addition to the formula.
Where this installment really steps ups its game is in the dungeon design. No longer are we restricted to single screen rooms with the move to more powerful hardware, and some areas are downright huge and can be quite daunting. The puzzles are extremely clever, and while they can be solved with little thought and finesse most of the time I really liked their implementation. With a brand new game comes a new set of tools, and this installment has some of my favorite ones. A few make their return such as the sword, shield, bombs, boomerang, and bow but the rest are all new. You begin with a simple lamp that can be used to light torches and burn bushes but this is only the start. Next up we have the pegasus boots that allow Link to run for long distances, the fire/ice rod which sends firey/freezing blasts at foes, magic hammer that knocks turtles on their back as well as flattening pegs, the cane of somaria can create blocks out of thin air which can be used to activate switches, and more. I have several favorites from the arsenal. The first of these is the flippers. While they can’t actively be used they allow Link to swim for the first time in the franchise which allows for new dynamics in exploration. The next one is the bug catching net which allows you to capture insects/fairies and store them in empty bottles. You can unleash them for a variety of cool effects. There’s even a shovel that can be used to dig up buried rupees and even a piece of heart. The best of them all however is the hookshot. This is a grappling hook of sorts that allows Link to cross some chasms. It can only latch to specific terrain and is incorporated into some of the most interesting puzzles.
On top of the regular map of Hyrule at a specific point of the game Link is tasked with traveling to the dark world. This is a mirrored version of the regular game world, but with some obvious changes. No people live here as the world is instead inhabited by monsters. Normal humans are morphed into monstrous beings in this realm, and some of their sub-stories are surprisingly dark for a Nintendo developed title. There are some puzzles in place here which take advantage of the duality of the worlds. For example, you can only travel to the dark realm by stepping into a portal. These are often hidden underneath blocks and can be revealed by lifting them out of the way. You transport to the exact location in the mirrored world which can be used strategically to reach new places that are otherwise inaccessible in the dark realm. From this other world you use a special magic mirror to return to Hyrule, and you appear in same mirrored location from which you transported. Because the terrain isn’t completely identical should you transport to an area that cannot be traversed you’re automatically warped back to the dark world. I like this feature a lot and really appreciate some of the ways in which it was implemented. This is my favorite addition to the formula that the Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past brings with it.
The graphics have been significantly upgraded from the NES iterations. The color palette is highly expanded, the backgrounds feature now detailed textures, and much better looking characters. This is obviously an early Super Nintendo release, but it’s one of the better looking ones. Fortunately slowdown is not a big issue like it was in the original game, and it’s all the more impressive considering the fact that there can be several enemies on screen at once with projectile attacks moving in every which direction. The most impressive part of this game though is the boss characters. These are generally huge and take advantage of a significant number of system effects; rotations and scaling in particular. It’s all very impressive even despite the fact that Link has what appears to be pink hair. The soundtrack is also very well done. Despite the change in system hardware the composer was still able to make every track fit with the established Zelda motif in a wonderfully charming manner. The Lost Woods theme in particular is extremely memorable, and transcends the system’s built in sound chip. It sounds incredible. The Hyrule overworld theme is also very well done with simulated trumpets that add to the feeling of adventure.
Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is easily the best game in the entire franchise. Few times has a video game been designed with a world that’s even half as fun to explore as this one. Pair that with the clever puzzles and daunting dungeon designs, and you have a true blue classic. This is one of those titles that I can lose myself in for hours even when I’m not making any direct progress. Even just searching the environments for secrets is a ton of fun. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is one of the very best games Nintendo has ever created.
