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xcalibur0645
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(If this kind of post is prohibited in this forum, then I'm sorry. This is my first try in this forum, so point out if I do something wrong.)
So, I decided to give out a Legend of Zelda game review. You know, the first game in the loved Zelda series? Yeah, the one that's 8-bit. The one on the Nintendo Entertainment System. If you haven't heard of it, then it's either you're living under a rock or you're born too young.
Legend of Zelda for the Nintendo Entertainment System was always considered a masterpiece that shaped future adventure games to what they are now today. It had fun puzzle elements, cryptic secrets, challenging enemies, et cetera. It had everything what kids in the 80's and 90's loved, and that's why it sold so much copies. Oh, and with its brother, Super Mario Bros., the Nintendo Entertainment System reigned supreme.
Nowadays, games are now very modern. Sadly, most “gamers” today (That's what they call themselves, by the way.) look more into the graphics of the game more than the gameplay. Just for you guys out there, graphics don't make a game. It's true. Graphics don't matter much if the gameplay is good.
Modern games like the new Call of Duty games and God of War sadly “spoonfeed” players throughout the game. Rather than making the player actually think on where to go and what to do, just like how they did during the NES and SNES times A.K.A the golden age of gaming, modern games today actually spill out and give out the instructions in front of the screen ASAP. You got some unique ability? Boom, there goes the instructions. I know, I know, it made gaming easier because you don't have to casually waste time figuring out what to do, but a little mind-storming wouldn't hurt you.
Now, let's get back to our main point here: A nice and neat personal review of Legend of Zelda for the NES. I'll divide this review into different sections summed up with an overall score at the end, so you guys can understand the review pretty quickly and easily.
SECTION ONE: Story (9/10)
Legend of Zelda is, of course, the very first game in the Zelda series. Like any other adventure plot, Legend of Zelda involved a princess called Princess Zelda, who rules a kingdom which will be introduced in later games as Hyrule, although I'm not sure whether the overworld here is Hyrule. So, according to the game's manual, a golden power was passed down on the kingdom throughout the ages, and that golden power is called the Triforce. In the game, there are two kinds of Triforce: the Triforce of Power and the Triforce of Wisdom.
So, then came Ganon, the evil prince of darkness. The evil beast attacked the kingdom and stole the Triforce of Power, gaining more strength. Upon the kingdom being destroyed, Zelda being captured as well. Before Zelda was completely taken by Ganon, she managed to split the last remaining Triforce, the Triforce of Wisdom, into eight different parts and spread it out the overworld (How she did that, I don't even know.). Zelda also sent out her most faithful servant, Impa, to seek out the triforce parts, stick them together, and defeat Ganon. But before she could do that, she got cornered by the forces of Ganon in a forest, where she was about to die.
But luckily, a young lad named Link appeared out from nowhere and slayed every single enemy that cornered Impa. Impa, upon realizing that Link had some capabilities that she didn't have, ordered Link to seek out the eight parts of the Wisdom Triforce and save Princess Zelda. Link, then, seeks out on an adventure, and that resulted into a very great storyline.
Basically, every adventure story would always feature a young kid or man with weapons to go on an adventure to save some princess. But instead of doing the same boring storyline, Nintendo decided to add a little bit of addition to it, the collection of the eight parts. That actually added depth to the storyline, and even though the storyline was quite simple, the game was still good and the storyline fitted, so I'll give nine points to that.
SECTION TWO: Gameplay (9/10)
For a Nintendo Entertainment System adventure game, the gameplay of Legend of Zelda was pretty innovative. Just for you guys to know, the very first adventure game that I know is Hydlide. It came before Legend of Zelda, and it had the same artstyle of Legend of—oh wait, no, no, no. Legend of Zelda had the same gameplay style of Hydlide but obviously multiplied a couple of times.
In Hydlide, to attack, you just touch an enemy and press the attack button. If you're lucky enough, the enemy would mysteriously disapp—I mean, get killed. If you're unlucky enough, though, your health bar would rapidly go down and it's the end of your game. Now how fair is that?
In Legend of Zelda, though, you can actually see your sword stabbing out the air. By doing so, you can know whether you are actually attacking and hitting an enemy. Also, enemies slide back once you slash them, so you can know that you're actually hurting them. Enemies also explode when they die, and even some times leave an item like a rupee or heart. Legend of Zelda prevailed over Hydlide, and that's the end of it.
But the most awesome addition in the game for me is that you get to explore the overworld to however you like. The game is not linear, unlike Super Mario Bros., so you can explore the overworld to your heart's content. You can even finish the dungeons to whatever order you want. The game gives you so much freedom, and that's an awesome factor in Legend of Zelda.
SECTION THREE: Weapons and Items (10/10)
Legend of Zelda brought an amazing easy-to-use and easy-to-read-and-understand inventory system. Oh, and take this: Legend of Zelda was released during the Nintendo Entertainment System's early years. The weapons are also amazing too, and I love the fact that you can constantly get an upgraded version of your sword and boomerang as you progress through the game. That was pretty amazing.
The addition of buying was amazing too. Legend of Zelda introduced a simple money system, and they involved Rupees instead of dollars or something. Occasionally, you can enter various caves and buy stuff from random people. I only have one specific complain about this: THE PRICES ARE TOO FREAKING HIGH. Unless you get the free rupees from the secret ogres or whatever they are in the secret caves, you will definitely have a bad time buying stuff. Also, the potions were good additions too.
The weapons introduced in the game were very efficient and fitting too. For example, the boomerang was pretty effective against the Kies and they can momentarily stun enemies. The bow can kill various enemies with just one hit and is long range, and the three kinds of swords were pretty cool too. Although, for me, the Flute wasn't so helpful at all. Unless you don't want to go back to random dungeons, then I wouldn't recommend it.
The laser beams from the swords are pretty cool too, by the way.
SECTION FOUR: Enemies and Bosses (9/10)
Legend of Zelda is a very good game, but an ultimately hard one. If you're just a beginner in this game, you'll find some enemies quite difficult and annoying.
Take the Tektites for example. Those pesky spider-like enemies occasionally jump around the place. Because your sword stab attack's range is very limited, you'll get hit more frequently by these enemies than you get to hit and kill them. Also, those occasionally-popping-out-from-the-water serpent-thingy enemies can be pretty annoying too, especially when there are other enemies around the place that you have to deal with first.
But for me, the most annoying enemies in the game are the freaking... wait for it... Darknuts. These pesky idiots don't mess around. The only way to hit them is to stab them at the back, but it's very hard to do that because their moving pattern is incredibly unpredictable. You'll never know when they're going to turn in your direction and start stabbing you. Also, they damage more hearts than the usual enemy, and that's a hard factor.
Now, time for the bosses.
The dragon and the Dodongo were incredibly easy, but then came the weird monster-thing with the four heads. Not only are the bombs the only way you can hurt them, they also move pretty fast when only fewer heads remain. They also hit very hard. To be the honest, my first death was on that boss battle. The final boss wasn't very hard for me—or maybe it's just because I searched the internet on how to beat Ganon.
Anyway, the bosses were pretty challenging, and the enemies were hard as well, but they're all great. Nine points.
SECTION FIVE: Dungeons (8/10)
Seriously, I hate exploring dungeons. I'm not saying that they're bad, I just hate them. Done. Nah just kidding, not yet done.
I love how they made the maps of the dungeons into different shapes and symbols—although the Swastika Dungeon (Dungeon #3) was pretty weird. The dungeons were pretty clever additions, especially because Legend of Zelda was an adventure game. At the end of every dungeon, you get the piece of the Triforce of Wisdom was mentioned before. Because there are eight Triforce parts, you have to go to eight different dungeons to get them, plus one last dungeon which is Ganon's lair.
On the later dungeons, dark rooms are introduced. You get a lantern or lamp on some part of another dungeon (Not sure if it really was in a dungeon.). The use of this lamp is to: 1) Light up dark rooms. 2) Send out a short flame that can hurt enemies and burn down secret passageways.
The lamp was pretty helpful, but the problem is that you can only use once per room.
Now, the reason why I only put eight points is because of the crappy cryptic secret walls that you have to blow up. I mean, there is NO absolute clue that you're suppose to blow up a wall to go to the other part of the dungeon. So if you're going through a dungeon and suddenly you find yourself in a dead end, then ready your bombs and bomb every wall. It was pretty cryptic, and I didn't like it.
Overall (9/10)
Overall, Legend of Zelda was a pretty great game for the Nintendo Entertainment System game library. By most players, it was considered as the best adventure game franchise ever made. The first game was amazing, and so did the latter games.
Legend of Zelda for the Nintendo Entertainment System was ahead of its time. It considered and contained some advanced game elements that all sorts of players would love. It had puzzles, combat, exploring, and most of all: adventure. There's no question why the Legend of Zelda franchise was loved by so many people.
Long live Legend of Zelda!
So, I decided to give out a Legend of Zelda game review. You know, the first game in the loved Zelda series? Yeah, the one that's 8-bit. The one on the Nintendo Entertainment System. If you haven't heard of it, then it's either you're living under a rock or you're born too young.
Legend of Zelda for the Nintendo Entertainment System was always considered a masterpiece that shaped future adventure games to what they are now today. It had fun puzzle elements, cryptic secrets, challenging enemies, et cetera. It had everything what kids in the 80's and 90's loved, and that's why it sold so much copies. Oh, and with its brother, Super Mario Bros., the Nintendo Entertainment System reigned supreme.
Nowadays, games are now very modern. Sadly, most “gamers” today (That's what they call themselves, by the way.) look more into the graphics of the game more than the gameplay. Just for you guys out there, graphics don't make a game. It's true. Graphics don't matter much if the gameplay is good.
Modern games like the new Call of Duty games and God of War sadly “spoonfeed” players throughout the game. Rather than making the player actually think on where to go and what to do, just like how they did during the NES and SNES times A.K.A the golden age of gaming, modern games today actually spill out and give out the instructions in front of the screen ASAP. You got some unique ability? Boom, there goes the instructions. I know, I know, it made gaming easier because you don't have to casually waste time figuring out what to do, but a little mind-storming wouldn't hurt you.
Now, let's get back to our main point here: A nice and neat personal review of Legend of Zelda for the NES. I'll divide this review into different sections summed up with an overall score at the end, so you guys can understand the review pretty quickly and easily.
SECTION ONE: Story (9/10)
Legend of Zelda is, of course, the very first game in the Zelda series. Like any other adventure plot, Legend of Zelda involved a princess called Princess Zelda, who rules a kingdom which will be introduced in later games as Hyrule, although I'm not sure whether the overworld here is Hyrule. So, according to the game's manual, a golden power was passed down on the kingdom throughout the ages, and that golden power is called the Triforce. In the game, there are two kinds of Triforce: the Triforce of Power and the Triforce of Wisdom.
So, then came Ganon, the evil prince of darkness. The evil beast attacked the kingdom and stole the Triforce of Power, gaining more strength. Upon the kingdom being destroyed, Zelda being captured as well. Before Zelda was completely taken by Ganon, she managed to split the last remaining Triforce, the Triforce of Wisdom, into eight different parts and spread it out the overworld (How she did that, I don't even know.). Zelda also sent out her most faithful servant, Impa, to seek out the triforce parts, stick them together, and defeat Ganon. But before she could do that, she got cornered by the forces of Ganon in a forest, where she was about to die.
But luckily, a young lad named Link appeared out from nowhere and slayed every single enemy that cornered Impa. Impa, upon realizing that Link had some capabilities that she didn't have, ordered Link to seek out the eight parts of the Wisdom Triforce and save Princess Zelda. Link, then, seeks out on an adventure, and that resulted into a very great storyline.
Basically, every adventure story would always feature a young kid or man with weapons to go on an adventure to save some princess. But instead of doing the same boring storyline, Nintendo decided to add a little bit of addition to it, the collection of the eight parts. That actually added depth to the storyline, and even though the storyline was quite simple, the game was still good and the storyline fitted, so I'll give nine points to that.
SECTION TWO: Gameplay (9/10)
For a Nintendo Entertainment System adventure game, the gameplay of Legend of Zelda was pretty innovative. Just for you guys to know, the very first adventure game that I know is Hydlide. It came before Legend of Zelda, and it had the same artstyle of Legend of—oh wait, no, no, no. Legend of Zelda had the same gameplay style of Hydlide but obviously multiplied a couple of times.
In Hydlide, to attack, you just touch an enemy and press the attack button. If you're lucky enough, the enemy would mysteriously disapp—I mean, get killed. If you're unlucky enough, though, your health bar would rapidly go down and it's the end of your game. Now how fair is that?
In Legend of Zelda, though, you can actually see your sword stabbing out the air. By doing so, you can know whether you are actually attacking and hitting an enemy. Also, enemies slide back once you slash them, so you can know that you're actually hurting them. Enemies also explode when they die, and even some times leave an item like a rupee or heart. Legend of Zelda prevailed over Hydlide, and that's the end of it.
But the most awesome addition in the game for me is that you get to explore the overworld to however you like. The game is not linear, unlike Super Mario Bros., so you can explore the overworld to your heart's content. You can even finish the dungeons to whatever order you want. The game gives you so much freedom, and that's an awesome factor in Legend of Zelda.
SECTION THREE: Weapons and Items (10/10)
Legend of Zelda brought an amazing easy-to-use and easy-to-read-and-understand inventory system. Oh, and take this: Legend of Zelda was released during the Nintendo Entertainment System's early years. The weapons are also amazing too, and I love the fact that you can constantly get an upgraded version of your sword and boomerang as you progress through the game. That was pretty amazing.
The addition of buying was amazing too. Legend of Zelda introduced a simple money system, and they involved Rupees instead of dollars or something. Occasionally, you can enter various caves and buy stuff from random people. I only have one specific complain about this: THE PRICES ARE TOO FREAKING HIGH. Unless you get the free rupees from the secret ogres or whatever they are in the secret caves, you will definitely have a bad time buying stuff. Also, the potions were good additions too.
The weapons introduced in the game were very efficient and fitting too. For example, the boomerang was pretty effective against the Kies and they can momentarily stun enemies. The bow can kill various enemies with just one hit and is long range, and the three kinds of swords were pretty cool too. Although, for me, the Flute wasn't so helpful at all. Unless you don't want to go back to random dungeons, then I wouldn't recommend it.
The laser beams from the swords are pretty cool too, by the way.
SECTION FOUR: Enemies and Bosses (9/10)
Legend of Zelda is a very good game, but an ultimately hard one. If you're just a beginner in this game, you'll find some enemies quite difficult and annoying.
Take the Tektites for example. Those pesky spider-like enemies occasionally jump around the place. Because your sword stab attack's range is very limited, you'll get hit more frequently by these enemies than you get to hit and kill them. Also, those occasionally-popping-out-from-the-water serpent-thingy enemies can be pretty annoying too, especially when there are other enemies around the place that you have to deal with first.
But for me, the most annoying enemies in the game are the freaking... wait for it... Darknuts. These pesky idiots don't mess around. The only way to hit them is to stab them at the back, but it's very hard to do that because their moving pattern is incredibly unpredictable. You'll never know when they're going to turn in your direction and start stabbing you. Also, they damage more hearts than the usual enemy, and that's a hard factor.
Now, time for the bosses.
The dragon and the Dodongo were incredibly easy, but then came the weird monster-thing with the four heads. Not only are the bombs the only way you can hurt them, they also move pretty fast when only fewer heads remain. They also hit very hard. To be the honest, my first death was on that boss battle. The final boss wasn't very hard for me—or maybe it's just because I searched the internet on how to beat Ganon.
Anyway, the bosses were pretty challenging, and the enemies were hard as well, but they're all great. Nine points.
SECTION FIVE: Dungeons (8/10)
Seriously, I hate exploring dungeons. I'm not saying that they're bad, I just hate them. Done. Nah just kidding, not yet done.
I love how they made the maps of the dungeons into different shapes and symbols—although the Swastika Dungeon (Dungeon #3) was pretty weird. The dungeons were pretty clever additions, especially because Legend of Zelda was an adventure game. At the end of every dungeon, you get the piece of the Triforce of Wisdom was mentioned before. Because there are eight Triforce parts, you have to go to eight different dungeons to get them, plus one last dungeon which is Ganon's lair.
On the later dungeons, dark rooms are introduced. You get a lantern or lamp on some part of another dungeon (Not sure if it really was in a dungeon.). The use of this lamp is to: 1) Light up dark rooms. 2) Send out a short flame that can hurt enemies and burn down secret passageways.
The lamp was pretty helpful, but the problem is that you can only use once per room.
Now, the reason why I only put eight points is because of the crappy cryptic secret walls that you have to blow up. I mean, there is NO absolute clue that you're suppose to blow up a wall to go to the other part of the dungeon. So if you're going through a dungeon and suddenly you find yourself in a dead end, then ready your bombs and bomb every wall. It was pretty cryptic, and I didn't like it.
Overall (9/10)
Overall, Legend of Zelda was a pretty great game for the Nintendo Entertainment System game library. By most players, it was considered as the best adventure game franchise ever made. The first game was amazing, and so did the latter games.
Legend of Zelda for the Nintendo Entertainment System was ahead of its time. It considered and contained some advanced game elements that all sorts of players would love. It had puzzles, combat, exploring, and most of all: adventure. There's no question why the Legend of Zelda franchise was loved by so many people.
Long live Legend of Zelda!