Your thoughts about original LoZ

[weirdinin]

There are threads about LoZ but very old so better make a new one. I feel it would be fun to hear what active members of this forum think about the game. I just completed it and clearly it had some kind of impact on me as I’m using time to make a thread for the game. And thanks to nintendo online we have an easy access to old nes games. Surely old Zeldas are now played more by the fans.

After completing LoZ I have controversial feelings about the game. I truly enjoyed the hardness of some rooms in certain dungeons. I didn’t complete them in right order therefore some of them were insanely hard. 6th was hardest for I went there quite early. I loved it how fast you need to be not to die. Finally hard zelda game that I have been looking for. But sadly I did not like exploration of the overworld almost at all. It was fun at start as game really is open world game and considering the realease date that’s quite amazing. But I struggled to find dungeon 7. Almost gave up. Aimless exploration is fun in BotW as graphics per se are worth it. But in LoZ searching of secrets is not fun. I was surprised I found dungeons 8 and 9 fast but man it was frustrating to find 7th. I refuse to play second quest (at least without a playthrough) as I read after first dungeon the rest are hidden in random places and you just need to find them by testing every possible items and tricks in every possible places. And there are no tips about locations in the game... Sounds repelling.

Overall all I’m glad that I completed the game because now I have a feeling that I understand better the roots of the zelda games. And I understand what zelda developers meant when they said that in BotW they wanted to bring back the true open world game setting from the original game.

What are your opinions about the game? Used guides? Did you complete or even try the second quest? My favourite enemies were blue darknuts and wizzrobes, how about yours?

 

[Spirit]

I like it but it is pretty difficult and that difficulty does impact my enjoyment.

Searching for secrets is hell on earth and you wont find them unless youre lucky or know exactly where things are.

It's probably the only Zelda to get the core values of the series down but the lack of story for me makes the game largely uninteresting.

I have a high amount of respect for the original LoZ and it hasnt aged as badly as Zelda 2 has but I'd still rather playbthe majority of the series over the original LoZ itself.

 

[weirdinin]

I recall you have mentioned you dont enjoy difficult games. Not surprised you find other zelda games are better.

One time I found a secret room accidentally when I was trying to kill an enemy with a bomb. The room was in a flat surface on a wall without any hint that there might be something. Then I spent hours and hours just for bombing the walls. Then I realized that some bushes can be set on fire and rocks moved. I was overwhelmed as first I thought that most dungeons are hidden that way as well. Luckily there were hints about their locations in the game.

It’s strange that I too respect the game despite I did not enjoy the exploration which is the thing in the game. I guess respect comes from the fact that my favourite game serie managed to change game industry so much. And has done it again later.

 

[Platinum Princess]

I was very frustrated by it when I was younger. I could barely make any progress. Same for the 2nd one. Back then games were so much more challenging than today. A Link to the Past is probably the only one I truly mastered, except for some reason I can't find the final heart piece and I have looked everywhere. It's as if it was erased from my cartridge.

 

[weirdinin]

True that in general games were harder. Game mechanics were so simple that they needed to make games difficult to be interesting at all. Now other things (story, characters, visuals etc) do the trick. I hope switch Zelda will be a lot harder than all previous 3d zeldas. Puzzles and secrets have been ok but bosses and enemies could be more challenging. LoZ enemies were hard enough.

 

[Platinum Princess]

True that in general games were harder. Game mechanics were so simple that they needed to make games difficult to be interesting at all. Now other things (story, characters, visuals etc) do the trick. I hope switch Zelda will be a lot harder than all previous 3d zeldas. Puzzles and secrets have been ok but bosses and enemies could be more challenging. LoZ enemies were hard enough.

Indeed. Games were very hard due to lack of memory back then. It makes me wonder what would happen if they remade I and II on the Switch, but kept the difficultly the same way.

 

[weirdinin]

LoZ remake with same level of visuals and physics as BotW... take my money now. Would be fun to see LoZ when upgraded to modern standards.

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

its a good game to play but the cryptic parts of the game can be a big downside, if they wanna be cryptic on finding secret hearts and rupees then that's whatever, but hiding the entrances to freaking dungeons is just crossing the line

 

[Dio]

I don't like it. It looks awful and there is no real story to it. Having played OOT, MM, WW and TP first it was so obvious how far games have come from the primitive original Zelda. I could find no enjoyment from it so I didn't finish.

 

[Moblinking5000]

LoZ was great back in 1986, but BotW does what it did, only far better.

 

[Platinum Princess]

I don't like it. It looks awful and there is no real story to it. Having played OOT, MM, WW and TP first it was so obvious how far games have come from the primitive original Zelda. I could find no enjoyment from it so I didn't finish.

I think I and II are the only Zelda games I never finished. Ever. I have no plans on returning to them either (I forgot I hadn't beat TP, but I rectified that recently).

 

[weirdinin]

I’ve been thinking why on earth I value LoZ despite playing it was at some point more pain than fun. I realised that it felt more Zelda game than the other zeldas before BotW. Formula of LoZ and BotW is what zelda games should be in future. I’m glad that BotW brought back traditional Zelda and nintendo is going stay on that track. I know Deus disagrees

 

[el :BeoWolf:]

The original zelda is pretty fun, but a lot of zeldas did it better. What it tried to do I feel it did well. Exploring the world and temples was always exciting. Same with fighting some of the bosses. Though some things do leave me wanting more. most enemies are a simple stab and dead, secrets require tons of trial and error, and it can get boring a bit quicker than other games.
Considering the time it came out and the technology they had, this is a fine game. Even today it's still a pretty decent one that I would recommend.

 

[A Link In Time]

Never beat the game. One of the few Zelda games I still need to beat alongside Zelda II and Four Swords Adventures.

I don't find searching every nook and cranny for the next dungeon to be fun or rewarding. It's an outdated formula to artificially lengthen a short game. NES games were very guilty of that. The dungeons all look pretty much the same aesthetically and the bosses are so simple in comparison to any of its successors.

 

[DarkestLink]

Having replayed it recently, I have to say...it's really misunderstood. It was a lot different than how many people described it and how I remembered it. Much more linearly structured and much less random OCD exploration--or at least, very little of it needed to get through the game and the more important caves are in obvious locations.