Comments on: Anatomy of a Game: The Legend of Zelda I

By: MetManMas

MetManMas — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 06:53:57 +0000

The Legend of Zelda’s starting area is really brilliant. You’re at the center of the southern side of the world, with three directions you can go and a cave. Putting a cave with your first sword on that first screen is clever as well; most players would likely be curious what’s in the cave right in front of them when they start, and are rewarded for their curiosity.

What’s not as obvious is that all the screens adjacent to the first screen have a secret. The northwest one has a plainly visible shop, with the candle, a key, and a better shield for sale. The north and west screen have bombable walls, with a Rupee-giving Moblin and money-making game old man. And the east and northeast screens have burnable bushes, with an old lady who will eventually sell potions after getting the letter and a more jerkass old man who takes Rupees for door damages.

That starting screen’s also six to seven screens away from both of the game’s fairy fountains.

By: LBD "Nytetrayn"

LBD "Nytetrayn" — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 06:10:50 +0000

This remains one of my favorites of the series, just for the sheer amount of freedom it grants the player. Oh, if only they’d make another like this…

The last time they tried to give you a sense of freedom to proceed as you wish, even for just a small, small part of the game, it wound up breaking the blasted thing. =P

Thad: I so, so, so wish they would patch those games up and sell them on WiiWare or the eShop– or both. Or something. Put them all on a disc, maybe with a version of the original game using the same graphics. I don’t care, I just know that I want to play more original-styled Zelda using a boy in a baseball cap or a girl with a red ponytail… or a graphically-enhanced Link.

Choices! I want them!

By: cartman414

cartman414 — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 03:53:42 +0000

There is a bit of monster gating also found in its early console RPG contemporaries on the overworld, indeed. You’ll encounter easy mooks on the way to the first dungeon, making it the least daunting. On the way to the second, the game begins throwing Moblins at you.

Now doing the latter first isn’t as lethal compared to going off the beaten path in, say, Dragon Quest I (and definitely not Final Fantasy II), there’s still that same invisible guiding hand.

I’ve given thought to writing my own article about 1987, and how it, to me, was right about the time gaming started to rapidly evolve in all sorts of directions.

By: jparish

jparish — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 03:44:10 +0000

Ah, my mistake.

By: Warlock

Warlock — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 03:21:44 +0000

Not *entirely* possible. You can get to Ganon without a sword, but you can’t hit him with anything but the sword.

By: Michael

Michael — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 01:36:26 +0000

I thought you needed the sword to kill Ganon. You can totally get through most of the game and to his room without the sword, but to actually wear him down to use the silver arrow requires the sword…

By: jaysonyoung

jaysonyoung — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 23:41:51 +0000

In this first entry along, you’ve already given me at least three brand-new perspectives on a game I thought I knew inside and out. This promises to be an exciting and rewarding series. Looking forward to the rest.

By: Mudron

Mudron — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 22:32:38 +0000

(“eventually because” = eventually became”?)

I never consciously thought about how “north” equals “forward” in LoZ . “North” also feels “up”, which makes sense, seeing as the whole northern third of the overworld map is comprised of a rocky shelf overlooking the rest of Hyrule. FUUUU-

By: Sarge

Sarge — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 18:07:20 +0000

Ye find yeself in yon dungeon. Ye see a SCROLL. Behind ye scroll is a FLASK. Obvious exits are NORTH, SOUTH and DENNIS.

Sorry, couldn’t help myself.

By: Thad

Thad — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 17:59:56 +0000

I’ve just been poking through the BS-Zelda “fourth quest”. (Or I was, until it crashed the damn emulator and I lost about an hour.) For all the vexations, it’s amazing how much still holds up.

And, indeed, even how much of the seemingly-arbitrary “bomb every wall, burn every bush” “puzzles” follow rules that you learn and remember. I can tell a rock face that looks like I should try bombing it from one that’s just a rock face with a pretty high degree of certainty, even when the map’s changed around.