REVIEW | The Legend of Zelda
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ก.ย. 2024
- Don't ask me to ever play an 80's game again...at least...not until Zelda 2
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Really enjoyed this review. I'm forever fascinated by how youngsters interpret old games and I'm not surprised this one was a chore to get through. Kudos for persevering though sometimes you really had to be there first time around.
Thank you kindly. I think that is one of my channels charms... is playing old games for the first time in todays age. No nostalgia goggles here, just me. :)
I'm here from DidYouKnowGaming. Man you're awesome! Subbed!
Thank you so much!!
Same here
"I can't imagine anyone would play this just for fun"
..........🙋♂️
I knew your kind existed. LOL
Me
Same. I play bit for fun all the time. Still my favorite
Save states have saved retro gaming. Change my mind!
These games were great for back in the day, but that’s because most people only had a few games in their library. They had time to dedicate their life to exploring the world.
Something really refreshing about reminiscing on those days.
Fantastic video review as always, Ms. P!
Good job harkening back to how important instruction manuals used to be. I really miss these days. Not that they were better, per se, but different... for sure.
As someone who was born the same year as Zelda, there's no reason to play games the way they were "meant" to be played. I didn't play Final Fantasy back in the day because it took FOREVER to complete a battle (therefore grind).....then when emulators got big, I went back, cranked the game speed to 10x, and had an absolute blast. Just because something was innovative 30 years ago doesn't mean it wasn't jank. We knew it was jank back then....we just also knew there wasn't anything better.
What's this? Some folks with brains? Nice to meet you!
the games were also harder to make them longer since the carts could hold so much less content before filling up. You can make a 3 hour game 15 hours if you made it super hard
@@captawesome42 A lot goes into the "NES hard" discussion. The concept of lives - for example - is really integral to these early games. And it's not just about munching quarters, it's also a basic philosophy in the programming: The game self-terminates once the 0th life is lost - the GAME kicks the player.
The Legend of Zelda was a relatively early example of a new, home-gamer philosophy wherein the PLAYER decides when the game is over.
@@exquisitecorpse4917 There's actually a battle speed setting in Final Fantasy 1. It defaults to minimum speed and goes up to 8 times that speed.
I do remember seeing the Gold NES Cartridge back in the day. it was like a holy grail for a kid.
I still got mine!
The moment you find out the grey cartridge is rarer...
Yep. My siblings and I felt like we just uh unearthed a great treasure.
I played it last year at age 24 and honestly. I liked it waaaaay more than Ocarina of Time
Whoa...
I really miss manuals, I always enjoyed reading them and looking at the art.
We all do. :-(
I played this start to finish when it was brand new, and it was the first Action-Adventure I ever experienced. Back in the day, it was a mind-blowing game that singlehandedly began my obsession with swords and sorcery. It was such an incredible feeling just being dropped into a world and being expected to figure everything out on your own. I absolutely loved it! ...and it's aged like bread. You may be much younger, but I'd rate it just the same as you did. Playing it today, I think it's still good, though not having cracked walls to tell you where to bomb is still a pain that I'm really glad they fixed in future titles. Oh, and you did yourself a huge favor by skipping the Second Quest; it's torturous.
I play this game once every few months and I still really enjoy it. Gameplay's simple and fun and it feels satisfying landing those blows on tough enemies. I'll be the first to say that nostalgia paints a bit of my perception... But whatever. Still love it.
Fun review :) The one thing i miss about this era is going to school the next day and talking to your friends because there was no internet and getting together with your friends and spending hours trying to find secrets.
This is still probably my fave Zelda game, but I'm old enough that I played it when the NES was a current system. Took me until a lot later to beat it, but I just liked the open world and exploration and secrets. And there are a lot of skills you can work on to make it pretty easy to go through, not even talking about glitches that people do in the Zelda randomizer races and stuff that are on Twitch all the time.
Granted, I haven't played every Zelda, but starting out with the first one has made me get bored of most of the later ones pretty quickly. Why? Mostly because later ones are either too easy or too restrictive, and also too long. Like as much as people love Ocarina of Time, for me it's all three of those flaws put together. Wind Waker, too. At least A Link Between Worlds finally let you tackle stuff in almost any order with the item rental shop again, and Breath of the Wild is completely open.
I guess I'm saying for me, Legend of Zelda is great because of a lot of the reasons you didn't like it. You can feel directionless, but it's also pretty freeing to explore wherever you like on the overworld. And thank god there's no stupid owl or fairy popping up every 10 minutes to tell you how to do something you've already done before in countless other video games, then make you choose "no" when it asks if you'd like it to repeat what it just said.
The original Zelda without a Nintendo Power Magazine was like Dark Souls. Breath of the Wild really grasped the whole,”Good luck,PEACE” feel of the original.
This game required a notebook and pencil
This game required the internet. Haha
This was a GREAT review. It's nice to see an NES game reviewed by someone who didn't grow up with it. I legit laughed out loud when you were ranting about the dungeons not always giving you everything you needed. Honestly, it blew my mind when I played it the first time too and I actually had a NES growing up.
Anyways, great script and voiceover work. I'm really glad I found your channel. Keep up the awesome work!
Wow! Thank you so much for the praise! I was expecting people to get upser that I wasnt crazy about this game.
I'm glad I made ya chuckle and over joyed to know my channel is being discovered! ♡
"Call me a cheat, I don't care - I wasn't about to live your childhood frustrations" - I lol'd pretty hard at that gem!
I've been playing Zelda since it was first released back in '87 and absolutely love it! It was fun hearing your perspective of it, playing it for the first time. A history lesson, I'm sure. The Zelda franchise is my all-time favorite, and one thing I love is having experienced the series evolve with each new entry. I love how the Tektites are still around, the Goriyas, etc. It's Zelda. I return to this game often, as I pretty much have it memorized and can zip through it quickly. It's one of my go-to comfort games. But yes, by today's standards extremely archaic. Great video!
Playing the first Zelda is just a rite of passage. Once you beat it you'll never play it again unless you're just bored to tears...😋
Literally how I feel haha
I play through it once every few years. Knowing what you are doing, you can beat it fairly quickly. I never got good enough at the second quest to revisit it as frequently though. Although I loved that typing your name as Zelda unlocks the second quest to play it whenever you feel like it
Not the case for me. I go back for more. I love this game.
...or a speedrunner
It's called NES hard for a reason.
@Smash 456 You got it all wrong. I loved the video. It's nice to get the perspective of a younger gamer.
Back in the day it wasn't so bad to keep getting sent back to the title screen because it all looked and sounded so cool. You knew the game was designed that way so you wouldn't just blow through it in one sitting. That's just how it was.
the original loz was super easy
Your writing style is so good; everything flows together seamlessly and it's just honestly really engaging
Wow. Thank you so much. It's actually the most difficult part for me. So again thank you! The compliment really brightened up my day. :-)
Great review and it's fine to appreciate something foundational to a series or medium without finding it fun. Keep up the great work.
I couldn't agree more. Thank you!
Other games at the time did not have the ability to save your progress like this one did...this game felt like a true adventure, it was perilously hard (the order I found the dungeons in as a kid was 1 2 3 8, imagine trying to do 8 so early). Progress at this game felt like a real accomplishment and it felt genuine as a real world adventure would - real life adventures (whatever they may be) do not automatically progress uniformly in difficulty. If you're used to video games handing everything to you then you might not like it, plus you have thousands of other games you could play to get satisfaction from finishing. This was a truly remarkable game for it's time that didn't conform to the formula of other games, and while it may be hard for younger people to appreciate now, was an extraordinary experience back in its time.
Everyone who has played this game seriously has their own memories of this game because of how hard it was and how little it gave you. I personally did not beat this game as a child because I could never find level 7 XD only came back years later to beat it once I found out you had to whistle the lake... let me tell you when I finally beat this game it felt like a part of my life was finally made complete.
My favorite game of all time, but to be fair I was almost 12 when this came out. All the things you mentioned about community, taking with friends and sharing discoveries, drawing maps and taking notes, the trial and error aspects of the game... that was all a product of the time and (to me at least) a fun part of the immersion and experience back then.
Having played it so many times I'm pretty familiar with it so each subsequent play through isn't nearly as grindy for me as it would be for anyone playing for the first time. Yes, I'm one of those guys who plays this game for fun! :)
It's always neat to get the perspective of someone who is experiencing this in a very different way than I did and to then take a step back to see how the medium has evolved over the years. I totally get how people playing this for the first time wouldn't feel the same way as I do about it. How could they? Even though it's the same game the mindsets of players then compared to players now are vastly different!
Great review and thanks for taking the time to familiarize yourself with some classic gaming roots!
The cartridge was gold and I think that speaks volumes on what Nintendo thought of it. A huge part of gaming for me was discussing a game with friends. I mean, how else were we to survive those long Sunday sermons without going to sleep? Appreciate the review, thanks.
I’ve been playing NES games since I was born in 95 and I grew up with these simplistic looking games. So years later when I played Legend of Zelda it never felt like it was ever out of date to me. I played I learned I conquered. It’s really interesting hearing it from this perspective and I’m glad I got to hear you take on this game!
That's pretty dope for you though! My first loz game was oot. Polygons. I mean I LOVE pixel graphics but these were a but too simple for me. LTTP is where it's at! Even more so with Minish Cap!
Thanks for watching!
@@PelvicGaming 16-bit adventures and 2D 32-bit games (A Link To The Past, Suikoden II, etc) are the best!
Pelvic Gaming if you are interested you should look into the BS Zelda from the snes satellaview! You can find a translated rom online and it’s the first Zelda with SNES graphics. It might make your next play through (if there is one) more palatable!!
I love the original LOZ. I played it as a kid and still pull it out and play it from time to time. The game's design lends itself to challenge mode replays. Beat it as fast as possible. Beat it with just the white or wooden sword. Beat it with just 6 or even 3 hearts. Not to mention there is a whole second quest. With the new randomizers, there really is no end to what can be done with the game now. I bet the original is being played by more people than any of it's prodigy except Breath of the Wild, even now. Its a masterpiece, probably the best game ever made for the NES. I'm happy that Zelda is still getting new fans.
A lot of new Zelda fans feel that LOZ is obtuse and cryptic, and this is true when compared with the new Zelda games, but for its time it was as uncryptic as it could be under the circumstances. You just needed to have the map that came with the game. The map provided most of the over world and would clue you in to know where to check for secrets. None of the really cryptic secrets were actually necessary to beat the game anyway, except I guess, for bombing spectacle rock.
Old, NES era games are an art form by themselves. Not everything about them has aged gracefully, play them side by side with a good contemporary game and the oldies can be charring, but they were a product of their times, and it's often incredible what the "old masters" did with the limitations of the hardware.
It's not disrespectful for a young whippersnapper to not enjoy playing them IMO, a lot of people playing these old games have a lot of nostalgia going, something younger gamers obviously can't have. Just realize that for their time, these games were excellent - and modern games owe a lot to the old games. Standing on the shoulders of giants.
Just discovered your channel a week ago and have been watching your videos like crazy. Love the content; keep it up!
I beat this game when I was 5 and it's so much fun to replay every year or so, but the 1st quest only takes like 3 hours to complete when you know where everything is.
Hello and thank you!!!
Kudos! I don't think five year old me could have beaten this. Hell, me last year was struggling!
@@PelvicGaming Well, there weren't many games in my library back in 1990, so that definitely helped a bit! I also beat Super Mario Bros 2 around that time...The nostalgia hurts so good!
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Born in 82, played it my whole childhood, I still love it but A Link to the Past is where it's at.
Fair enough!
Love the natural! Great editing and writing. Subscribed.
I appreciate it! Thank you..:)
I remember walking hyrule and bombing every rock face and burning every bush looking for every secret.
I'm just here to say I like your style! Keep up the great work!
Thank you so much!! ^.^ ♡
I can say that I personally enjoy playing Zelda 1, but I can understand why someone wouldn't. I didn't really play it seriously until I was an adult, and I wasn't even born in time to play it when it was new, so I didn't get to have that experience with it.
Nowadays, I'd say Zelda 1 is definitely a game one should play with a guide, since even back when it it was new, it was designed with people receiving outside help in mind. I believe Miyamoto said that it was designed to both facilitate and require swapping tips and discoveries with friends, which, as has been said before, is pretty much admitting that the game requires outside help to complete within any reasonable allotment of time and sheer dumb luck.
I'm glad you found playing it to be a worthwhile experience, at least! It's always nice to get that extra context for a favorite longrunning series!
I remember saving my money from mowing lawns to get this game. And oh man...adventuring in Hyrule back then was akin to diving into Morrowind for the first time. So huge. And I had been used to Atari graphics. LoZ was like full on 4K hd back then.
I don’t even remember frustration at finding the dungeons because I was having too mich fun exploring. Great video too!
@Pelvic Gaming I respect your review even though I disagree with it a little bit.
I'm not faulting you for not getting into it.
You actually said it at the end of your review....retro games is something you kind of had to grow up with to truly appreciate them.
I was an 80's kid I was 8 when this game came out and it was hard as balls to say the least 😂😂
I kept pressing on though.
That's what you had to do with those games.
If you think OG legend of zelda is difficult I dare ya to play OG metroid 😂😂
All in all your review was fair and at least you got to experience the roots of the zelda series.
My favorite was always link to the past for the snes.
Keep up the great reviews 👍
5/10 the review was somewhat fair but after she gives the score she literally says doesn’t have all the modern day conveniences...? Like no shit lol I didn’t grow up with it but I think it’s a great game, I think it’s important with these old reviews to take the games as they are, you can’t compare them to modern day video games
God I’m old!
The original Zelda definitely isn’t a game I go back & play very often (the original Metroid, on the other hand...). It does get more fun on consecutive playthroughs once you have a general idea where everything is and what order to do things, but if you just play it cold, it’s beyond frustrating.
I got this game as a 3rd grader in 1987, and I actually met the guy who is still my best friend because of Zelda. He helped me get through the Lost Woods for the first time :)
Awww that's so wholesome! See friends who game together stay together!
Thanks for watching man!
I'm on my second attempt at playing this game (with a guide), I quit the first because I didn't find the trial and error exploration to be fun at all.
I think the people who like the game enjoy knowing where to find secrets like bushes to burn for rupees and plotting a course to finish the game in the most efficient way possible, it's the only possible explanation.
I play this for fun all the time. It was my first Zelda, so that's definitely part of it, but it just scratches an itch that no other Zelda games could scratch until Breath of the Wild came out. the only real problems with it are A) there's no indication where you can bomb/burn a bush, and B) Wizzrobes and Darknuts don't recoil when you stab them, which is straight up bullshit in the sixth dungeon. however, these basically become non-issues on later playthroughs where your reflexes are better and you remember where stuff is. It's one of those old-school experiences that over-prioritize replay-value. however, that means it gets better each time you play it.
As a kid in modern Zelda games I was always in fear that I had used a key on the wrong door and locked myself in a situation where I couldn't beat it because of the limited supplies of keys. Ironically I never had that fear with the original Zelda and Zelda II Adventure of Link because I always found my way through the dungeons with enough keys. Breath of the Wild borrows a lot from the original NES Zelda's with a more modern update. I play this game for fun but I can agree that it hasn't aged the best.
"I wasn't about to live your childhood frustrations." ...FINE, have a like lmao
Every dungeon gives the required amount of keys to beat that dungeon
yeah i fucked up. ):
I’ve beaten this game several times. I don’t ever remember buying a key once. I think maybe you were just not finding all the keys.
Also, there’s only 1 floor to all dungeons. There’s stairs etc, but they really only lead to other locations. For all practical purposes, according to the map, it’s all one floor
Agee about the Hearing the boss scream as you got close. It was cool at the time
Also, you gotta remember, this came out in 86. There was no adventure game that even came close to this prior to 86 in terms of scope and weapons and enemies. Playing this as a 10 year old, there was no equal back then.
I still love to play it. But that might be largely nostalgia. I’d like to hear what more younger people think of it. Most speedrunners of the game seem to be in their late 20s and early 30s
Without the internet, I spent 2 months stuck in the lost woods in oracle of seasons.
LMFAO bruh I feel this
The Legend of Zelda😢 classic. To put into context it was the Dark Souls of its day and to some degree still is. It was a game that threw the player into the over world and said figure ot out. A genesis if you will of how modern gaming began. Exploration, problem solving, epic battles, etc. were discussions to challenge the imagination of playground children. When released rumor and myths became legand and made you question what more is out there. The player literally became the Hero of Legend and it was glorious. Before this game there was nothing, the player was nothing. But after....you were a badass!!! Millennial gamers now have high-fidelity and soon photo realistic landscape to explore as well as thought-provoking storylines, '80 kids had an abundance of imagination. Video games are an immersive and escapism art form that is to be enjoyed by all ages no matter when you showed up, as long as you showed up to played.
Wow....well said.
Zelda is my favorite series and while I grew up with this game I felt the same frustration when it was released. I didn't get the love until ALTTP and Link's Awakening, then Ocarina blew my mind.
The OG Zelda surprisingly holds up really well compared to other NES games, which are almost always beyond shitty.
I'm honestly afraid to play other NES games LOL
Came from DYKG and I really like your style :) Subscribed, time to binge-watch!
Thank you so much! :-) hope you enjoy.
Here from didyouknowgaming as well I really appreciate your honesty with your review and I'm glad you appreciate the game for what it is even though it's not your Jam I grew up with this game and absolutely love it it's not my favorite but definitely up there great review you earned a subscriber
Thank you so much. I really appreciate the kind words. Thanks for the sub! ^.^
You're welcome I'm watching more of your content
You you whippersnappers should know that back in my day we made our own video games out of rocks, twigs and pine cones and we played them on treestumps. And we had to walk 50 miles to school through 10 feet of snow, and it was uphill both ways, all the way.
Seriously, though. I really love this game. I first played it when I was six, so in the spring of 1988(?), and still play it through (first quest anyway) at least once a year, and on the original NES of course. It's a shame though that a lot of effects that were accomplished through the clever use of the interlacing scanlines on CRT screens doesn't translate well if at all to modern screens. When Link got hit when playing on a CRT he flickered during a few seconds of invincibility, but on a modern screen he stays solid or becomes momentarily invisible.
English isn't my first language (I really learned that, and fast, playing a lot of adventure games when we got an Amiga500 a few years later), and the Engrish in this game is so bad they're useless most of the time. Now imagine two kids, age six and seven, sitting with a wordbook, trying to translate that mess. It really took me and my cousin nearly two years to find level 7 so we could complete the triforce and go on to beat level 9 in just a few tries. We found out how to find it from a throw-away comment in a Nintendo monthly subscription at a friends house. Because the flute does the same thing in every screen but one, so why bother trying that, right?
I played this game... well I wouldn't say I played it for *fun* but rather so I could get a sense of how the series has evolved over time. Thanks for a lovely review which takes a very old game and views it through an honest, modern lens.
Sure getting that golden cartridge from the rental shop for the weekend was one of the best picks for a game I've done.
I wish I had a golden cartridge...
r@@PelvicGaming They're not so rare, now what's not easy to get is a working NES D:
This was my very first videogame (yes, im old, kids), and the very first open world game ever created. For the early '90 was a blast (i mean, the game comes with a real map !! A map damn it !! Never seen before for the time ). And we never get the open world genre and many other genre/games withou this one. Play with this in mind and show some respect. Cheers.
I did play with an open mind and said I respect it.
I was born in 1984 and this was the very first game I ever played when I was 4. It got me into gaming, I loved it when I was a kid but I won't go back to it because of how much of a headache it is lol. With that being said my favorite Zelda games are A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time.....btw great video like always. I love how you go back to old games and review them. ❤ this channel and everything you do ❤
I can respect that. For it's time it was incredible...but going back now... I couldn't imagine. OoT was my first LoZ game so I have a huge soft spot for it! Thank you, I greatly appreciate that.
I grew up with it and I loved it. Now I cannot complete a full playthough of the the first two.
This game was the reason for me to start nag my mother to buy a nes for me. It was my first introduction to adventure games. And it was the first time i played a game that saved your progress. Very fond memories. I can totaly get why people from later generations don't feel that way about these old titles. You will feel the same nostalgia when you have kids or show games from your childhood to your nephews/nieces.
Back in the days before internet, a lot of kids couldn't afford to buy the guides to these games (and they might not have even had the instruction manual), so I remember playing these at friends' houses, and us having to pool our collective awareness of the game's secrets. Hahaha... Good times. Bittersweet, but ultimately gratifying.
Great job on the review. Def true that a lot of people tackle this just to speak on it, not always for pure fun. Feels like it’s mandatory to some who want to discuss the series. Kudos!
It really does feel like a rite of passage of sorts. xD Thanks for watching!
Found this video thanks to the Zelda mistake video you narrated on did you know gaming. This review was quite nice watch as well!
Thank you so much. ♡ I really appreciate it.
def grew up with it - my fav zelda.
It's nice to see a review without the retro goggles. When I played it on the NES back in the day (yeah I'm that old...) it was as you said, you discussed the game with your friends at school. The most fun was in sharing the secrets. But looking back, the puzzles are too abstract, it was a chore to find them. And chores aren't fun. That's why I really like Breath of the Wild. It reminds me of the original because of it's open nature, but gameplay wise it improved on everything.
I've found that people tend to either love "no handholding" games to a prodigious degree or can't stand them at all. I rarely see anyone on the middle ground. Me, I'm an '80s kid/old school D&D-er that relishes any opportunity to get myself lost and bust out the graph paper. I wanna figure it alllll out. Finding the right path after hours of thorough searching, that is the fun for me. I've never enjoyed any other Zelda game quite as much as this one for that reason.
Yeah, for me its not just nostalgia, the game to me is still fun. I challenge myself by beating dungeons in all sorts of different sequences. Also the second quest can still kick my ass to this day
@@hepwo91222 Have you tried the Zelda Outlands hack before? It's spectacular if you're looking for an even more tricky third and fourth quest with an all new overworld and set of dungeons.
I grew up on the gamecube zeldas and didn't play the NES ones until age 14, while some of the cryptic aspects drove me up the wall, I still have appreciation for it and wouldn't mind revisiting it
zelda 2 though is probably my favorite NES game
Wow you started at the GameCube Zelda's?! That's crazy to me. I started at the Nintendo 64. I wish I could stomach Zelda NES games but not for me. Thanks for watching. :-)
to make it even crazier, I didn't know what an n64 was until 2008 w/ brawl, it just comes down to whatever's out at time you're able to play games, hence wind waker being my first zelda w/ four swords adv and twilight princess following a bit after
no problem, keep up the great videos
Great Review. I was able to play this and Zelda 2 on the Wii. While they are historic titles...they do not hold a candle to the SNES, N64 games, and of course Breath of the Wild. Link was made for 3D exploration, and you can tell with this game. Great review!
Got here from a double shout out situation AVGN > Cannot be Tamed > here. I have watched several of your videos now and am hooked lol. Based on the reviews I have watched so far I would like to request/recommend a game. I think you would like and I would like to hear your thoughts on Lufia 2 Rise of The Sinistrals. Don't worry it is not from the 80s :). It is pretty much a one off SNES JRPG as each game in the series is different. You also don't have to worry about playing the first game as Lufia 2 is a prequel. I would recommend skipping the first game as it has several staples of old JRPGs, slow movement on the map and in dungeons, high encounter rate, bad menus, characters won't change target if the monster they were aiming at dies etc. I honestly think Lufia 2 was ahead of it's time and holds up well today, but that could be rose tinted glasses.
The fact that anyone can be young enough to have not played this as a kid my mind and makes me feel old.
;)
I remember having so much fun with the game as a kid. I tried relaying it as an adult, and I was like “what the fuck is this?”. Where do I go? I pulled up a guide and went like two screens, died, quit, never went back. LTTP and LA, now those are still great.
I wouldn't say you're spoiled by current Zelda games for not understanding anything about Zelda 1. Remember that this was close to the dawn of videogames as a whole. Game design was in it's infancy and technological limitations didn't help that
Good to see you didn't dismiss the game all together but actually got into it. Sadly a lot of people younger people don't want to experience these things anymore. So this is refreshing
Thank you. I do my best to keep an open mind even with older games. :-)
@@PelvicGaming yeah that's a good mindset.
I’m old enough to have played it on the NES. 🤪 Bought post college for the gameboy advance sp, and currently on my 3DS xl. Old school nostalgic goodness. ❤️🎮
Super Mario, Duck Hunt and Zelda were my first 3 games I ever played, and boy, I enjoyed the hell out of it at the time. The last time I tried to play it though, I couldn't sit through it and I don't have a desire to try again, but that opening theme admittedly still gives me nostalgia bumps.
My favorite game review channel. Great review.
I am an old geezer, so OG Zelda is basically an essential must play all time great to me, to this day. In the 80's, a game that INVENTED battery back up on a cartridge (no passwords!), it was a unique hybrid game mixing established genres of today beofre they really existed combining adventure, RPG, puzzle, open world all in ONE game! A second harder quest after you beat it, which at the time made it seem like two games in one. Secrets on many screens, tedious yes, but at the time no other game threw this much at you. An all time classic, still my favorite 2D overhead style Zelda since the only other one that was really open world was Link Between Worlds. Breath was the only modern 3D aspect Zelda to be open world. This game was open world before the term was coined.
I played a bit of Zelda 2 when I was a kid but I really consider OoT to be my first Zelda that I completed. I just played Zelda 1 a couple years ago and I hated it. Archaic is right. There are games from the 80s that are still enjoyable but it tends to be the simpler ones - getting lost in dungeons and not knowing where to go is not fun. At all.
Great review! Always like hearing your perspective.
OoT was my first too!!! But yeah I'm with you, Zelda 1 wasn't very enjoyable. Especially getting stuck in an already confusing dungeon with no keys not realizing you had to buy a spare...or five. Always appreciate you watching! Thank you!
I have a nostalgic connection with it and especially the music and sound effects but if I am in the mood to play an older Zelda, this one isn't among my top choices and not even sure the last time I've played it for more than an hour. I think A Link to the Past was the best of this style of Zelda game and recommend playing that one if you haven't (and anyone reading this). I do think those who were born after this one was released should at least play this one some as well as Zelda 2 and especially A Link to the Past. Some Zelda games can be skipped and you're not really missing anything important though.
31 yrs old here! I found your review awesome from your point of view. Needless to say to me Zelda started in full gear with ALTTP. I am never been able to beat the original. Now that i've see your video, I will try to get it done.
Ma'am you got a subscriber!
Thank you so much. :-) I played Link to the Past a few years ago and absolutely see why everyone loves it. A great game. :-)
Born in 1987, never got into the NES games despite Zelda being my fave franchise, usually got bored 3 dungeons in but finally beat it on Switch, doubt I’ll ever replay it.
I feel this
Pelvic Gaming I also decided not to fuck with the 2nd quest like yourself. Life is too fucking short 😹
I felt pretty much the same way when I tried to play it. On one hand, yeah it's a cool relic and it's awesome to see all of the foundations of the series being laid down in this first entry, but man is it rough to go back to after growing up with A Link to the Past.
For sure. If anything this game feels like a rite of passage of sorts. I appreciate it for what it did but never again will I play it.
there are always enough keys in the dungeons...I never bought one....got this game on my 8th birthday in October of 1986....changed my life
This was my second game on the NES after the SMB1/Duck Hunt combo cartridge. To this day I enjoy it more than I do modern, post-ALttP Zeldas, but that's probably impossible for anyone playing it for the first time today.
You're very much right about the whole community aspect; actually finishing the game was a collaborative effort where you pieced together what you found out with what your friends found out. That being said, the game was cryptic enough that I wasn't able to finish the final dungeon until many years later after the advent of internet walkthroughs.
All in all one of the best games on the NES and one of the most important titles ever made.
As someone who does randomizer and has been playing this game since I was 5 or 6, it’s really interesting to see someone who hasn’t played it before get introduced to the game. It was the closest to an open sandbox Zelda until Breath of the Wild came out, and that was one of the things I loved about it the most. It definitely does give you an appreciation for how the series has grown.
I don't know about that one. I think Link to the Past was quite open world. And did it better and obviously before breath of the Wild. Also mad props to you for playing this with a randomizer. I don't know how you do it. And thanks for watching.
Pelvic Gaming well once you got to the dark world it’s pretty open world, but the light world is super linear.
I’ve done Link to the Past randomizers as well but I’m not as familiar with it since it’s a much bigger game.
I've been seeing a ton of negative reviews for this game in the last few years particularly from people around my age and I don't get it. I was playing this game alongside Link to the Past and Ocarina when I was 5 and I kind of liked this one better because I was drawing my own maps, I was discovering secrets without the obvious hints, and it felt like I was actually exploring. I still go back to it time and time again whenever I have an excuse to. (like it being on the switch nes app and the nes classic edition and today I got the famicom version so I'll be playing it again tonight.) Maybe it's because I've always liked retro games? I just don't see the problems.
First time I played this was on my gba and to this day it's in my top 5 fav games of all time is a true masterpiece imo and so far ahead of it's time that it still holds up today easy9/10
It's all right you used a map for this game. Feel no shame for using a map for the original LoZ. That's not "Cheating". A lot of the dungeons are hard, and it's not easy to see what to do.
I crave that ragtime tune at the end of this game so, so much whenever I play through this game. So good!
I do really appreciate your perspective here. I grew up with Zelda and it quickly became one of my favourites. To be fair, I didn't have many games growing up so I spent a ton of time walking around Hyrule with the protections of the game genie back then. I'm sorry you didn't fall in love with it but at least you gave it a shot and saw it through! Great review. I agree with everything you said, except my love runs deep with this one.
You know what game I loved that was just like this but improved a lot on Zelda's first quest and has a few more RPG elements? Golden Axe Warrior on the Sega Master System. I'm not sure if you've heard of it before but it's worth checking out. It has a similar degree of difficulty but more gameplay elements and addresses some of the issues you mentioned you had with Zelda here.
This game was very good for early gaming. It gave you a sense of exploration and didn't hold your hand. Plus sharing hidden areas and secrets was part of the fun. I was 4 when this came out so I didn't play it till later.
The Legend of Zelda is my second favorite Zelda of all time. Makes me feel like a kid on a lazy Sunday morning. After all these years I still haven't finished the second quest. Working on it on the NES Classic.
lol @ a room full of Wizrobes, those guys are nuts, but at least they aren't DARKnuts! ;p
I always enjoy those experiences where you can go where the wind takes ya. Original Zelda and Final Fantasy V, in particular, really capture the essence of such experiences. Link to The Past sorta does too, the first time around anyway. Oh, and Snake Eater! Despite being sort of linear, it's got enough nuanced options to have some of that feel. ;D
I always thought it was interesting how the one dungeon in Zelda 1 is initially shaped like a magic lamp, then you discover the leftmost secret passages and it reveals the bird shape. It gives me the impression of being able to summon a Phoenix from a magic lamp or something, which is a great new twist on old mythologies. ;x
As a side note, one of my favorite nuances about old NES games is how the colors are presented. In Zelda 1 in particular, I really love how Link's skin can appear pale or ruddy according to the specific lighting conditions of the labyrinth he is in. ;0
I actually enjoyed this game despite it having a difficult game standard.
One of the dungeons in the second quest made look up a guide though cause there was a new secret I couldn't figure out lol.
At least you did the second quest. I quit right after the first.
As someone who's first video game ever was this game I just wanted to say that I loved your review. I love this game but I think it had a lot of growing pains for being one of the first to do what it did and I'm glad to see it getting properly anylized.
Wow! Thank you so much for the praise! I really appreciate this comment.
For me, it's a hard game to love. I started with Link to the Past. I was not prepared with how unforgiving Legend of Zelda(1) was... I even used save states already to lessen my frustrations! When I finished the game, I just called it done and never bothered with the 2nd quest.
Don’t worry - it’s not an exclusively young whippersnapper opinion. :) I’m 39 and I remember renting a Zelda game or two on my original NES back when I first got it. I don’t have clear memories of The Legend of Zelda from that time but renting Zelda II meant playing without the manual for me and it was so counter-intuitive that I returned it and swapped it for another game that same day. Contrast that with renting A Link to the Past, loving it and re-renting it until my dad could see a pattern and just bought the game from the video store so I could keep playing the same save file. It was really sweet of him. :)
Anyway, I have tried multiple times since then to play the original Zelda without a manual and just been unable to get into it. Next time I try, I will definitely use a PDF of the manual and hopefully make it all the way through. :)
one reason i like zelda 1 is because of how easy it is just to pick it up and replay it. no annoying rng based side quests or unnecessary grinding for resources outside of rupees. the game allows you to choose where you want to go while the consequences are usually dangerous enemies or dead ends.
I'm a 1990 baby playing all the way through for the first time. My best friend had this as a kid, loved the game but I never had the chance to beat it. I'm absolutely loving it, but am using tips online to do so, I don't care if it's "cheating". I love all the top-down Zelda games, this may not be a top 3 but I still love it. Could never get into 3-D Zelda, I don't think they're bad games, but for me the magic just isn't there.
Appreciate the honestly of your review and the fact you still beat the game. Cheers 🖖
Haha yeah you young whipper snappers!
Good old NES games; you usually only had the manual if you bought the games new and with no internet you really had to make a time and effort investment to figure it out.
Probably my favorite Zelda game, not that I've played a lot, great stuff!
And this is one of the more fair, well designed, progressive games for the time in terms of difficulty, is what's amazing. It's the reason pretty much all older gamers like the Souls series, because it recreates what games felt like back then as a kid, while actually being a masterful modern sequence of games.
This game is a legend
- a legend of Zelda!
Nice review! I enjoyed hearing your thoughts on the game. I imagine it must be a totally different experience playing it while streaming and getting tips from the chat. I started with Skyward Sword but the first Legend of Zelda game is actually one of my favorites in the series, I love coming back to it ^^
Thank you for watching! It was soooo wonderful to have people talking to me and helping me out during stream.
Whoa! You started with Skyward? I played that when it came out! I admit it's one of my least favs but I'm still happy it got you into one of my favorite franchises!
I just figured I'd put myself out there as someone who holds Zelda in high regard and wasn't twelve in the 80s (I first played this game in 2011). I didn't have the manual, so I somehow wandered my way over to the sixth dungeon first (bumbling my way around a horde of deadly lynels in the process), and that sensation of discovery had me instantly hooked. The level of openness and responsibility that the game provides the player is just completely unlike any other game in the series (barring maybe Breath of the Wild), so it felt like a genuine accomplishment when I stumbled upon some crazy new treasure, discovered the entrance to one of the dungeons, or conquered a room filled with blue darknuts using nothing but my own reflexes and perseverance.
Each screen has a subtly distinct visual style and/or shape, so it doesn't take long to form a somewhat accurate mental map of Hyrule. It's also one of the most modular Zeldas, with a whole lot of optional items that, once you're aware of them, serve as a sort of built-in difficulty setting on a second or third go-around (heck, the only segment of the game that requires any of the swords is the boss battle with Ganon himself). Since keys can be taken across dungeons, I often try to stockpile as many as I can and use them only when absolutely necessary, relying on bombs whenever possible. Since so many items, locations, and pieces of information about the world and mechanics are secret, piecing it all together made me feel as though I was developing as an adventurer. Link may not speak, but, at the risk of sounding cliche, it really did feel like my own hero's journey.
I first played Zelda on and off over the course of about a year, diving in and exploring each region bit by bit, and maybe that's a more enjoyable approach than just trying to blaze through it all in a handful of sittings (though I find it can be a lot of fun on repeat playthroughs). It's that feeling of "real exploration" you referred to that keeps me coming back to replay it even now (I almost always start a new adventure at the third dungeon). I think it moves at a decent pace (there's very little downtime since each screen contains its own micro-navigational and combat challenges), the "battle system," while simple, plays off of the core mechanics in a really elegant way, and the sense of freedom and mystery is great. It's certainly not for everyone, but I'd love for the Zelda series to take a few more cues from this game (not a complete jump back to this style, but I think Zelda could learn more from the simple mechanical premise, if not necessarily the narrative premise, of this first entry). If A Link Between Worlds and Breath of the Wild are any indication, they're definitely getting there.
Man I wish I had your positive experience. I do agree about the real exploration but maybe I've been spoiled to much. Anywho, thank you for watching.
@@PelvicGaming Well hey, everybody's different. Just thought I'd offer my point of view since it seems I might be the only human under 40 who enjoys this game nowadays. At least I'm right there with you when it comes to Earthbound and Mother 3! Thanks for slogging through this massive gush-fest, and keep up the good work :)
Solid review! Seems professional enough to me. Even as an old head who grew up with this game I agree with a lot of your points.
Hehe thank you. ^.^
Wow! The views for this video went up pretty quickly since Friday. Great review.
Thank you!