Like I said before, I would consider this game very nearly unplayable without save states - not because it takes time to learn the weaknesses of each enemy or the puzzles are too complex to solve in one go, but because a lot of the time your survival comes down to luck rather than skill. The sheer number of ene
mies in each room made the game mostly about staying alive long enough to get through each level, which was frustrating and made the game feel more like a chore than entertainment.I give The Legend of Zelda a 5 instead of a 0 mainly because while the gameplay was repetitive, boring and stupid-hard, the controls were very intuitive and could be easily learned in a matter of minutes.
Music/Sound: 7/20
The Legend of Zelda has a total of 4 pieces of music - the overworld theme, the title theme, the dungeon theme, and the theme of Ganon's Tower. Every single one of these (except maybe the title theme) becomes annoying enough that you mute your game every time you turn it on.
However, I gave this game a 7 instead of a 0 because the score (if you can call it that) is iconic and recognizable to even the staunchest non-gamer. The tracks themselves are well composed even if they do make you want to shoot your speakers. Basically, the music suffers more from repetitiveness than lack of quality.
The sound is fairly unremarkable and is basic NES quality. Not much to say here. Notable is the "Zelda secret music" - the little jingle that plays every time you figure out a secret or solve a puzzle. It can be found in almost every other Zelda game since and is incredibly recognizable.
Design/Graphics: 5/20
Yes, I realize that for 1986 it was a graphical gem. I know. I get that. That's why it gets some marks. I'm sorry, this game is ugly. It really is. Not simply for the graphics themselves, but the color palette - the lime green dungeons, the orange snail-boulders, etc, etc. Everything you see is a palette-swap of something else, every dungeon room you've seen has been seen elsewhere. The game isn't just boring and frustrating to play - it's boring and frustrating to look at.
Charm/Nostalgia Factor: 15/20
This is where The Legend of Zelda really shines. It's iconic. It was revolutionary. It
was the first game to use battery-powered saves instead of a password system, allowing for your saved game to be totally unique from anyone else's. It spawned its own television show, Spaghetti-O's ripoff, and merchandise. Link is instantly recognizable to anyone who hasn't been living under a rock for the last twenty years. Every convention on the entire planet features at least one terrible Zelda cosplay. It is, in my opinion, the most important video game ever released, next maybe only to Super Mario Bros.Unfortunately, this game sucks, so I can't really give it full marks.
Story/Concept: 10/20
The story is completely generic - get the shiny triangle bits, beat the giant blue pig, save the sadistic
Princess, yadda yadda. It only gets half marks because it had a great amount of potential which was only later realized in A Link to the Past, the Triforce is a cool magical item, and because I said so.Total: 42/100
It's a terrible game with an immense legacy. Fortunately for us, Nintendo didn't stop there!
On to Zelda II: The Adventure of Link!
Had I seen the marks alone I would probably have been shocked by the severity ... but you're actually right. Not diminishing the greatness of the game at that time, it is indeed crippled by things that aren't deemed acceptable anymore
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me that I played a bit of Megaman I a few days ago ... Just wow. I honestly wonder how the NES games could have NOT disgusted us of video games for ever. Sure they were inventive (or even revolutionary) for the time but they had everything to do it! From face-slapping difficulty (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6v1vypgRnM) to do-it-again-from-the-begining-loser rebuking ...
Compared to nowadays games which (imo) tend to do just the opposite by groveling in eaysiness.
I'm currently playing Masse Effect 2: are you taking damage? low on life? Don't worry, just hide behind whatever you want without doing anything and watch you life resplenish all by itself in matter of seconds :) And if you were to actually manage to get killed (congrats) the game probably did an auto save fifteen seconds earlier.
I find it funny to see how the trend seems to have evolved so far. But back to the subject and to conclude: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXzTmCW024I
Playing through these games that's something that's become really apparent to me - the further along you go, the easier they get. It's a relief for sure after playing all the evil NES games, but at some point (I'm not sure where) a lot of games have suddenly become almost ridiculously easy.
ReplyDeleteThe first time I played Twilight Princess, for example, I didn't die a single time, compared to now playing through Zelda II - I'm dying ALL THE TIME. Nintendo expected the player to die so many times that they actually implemented an "extra lives" system for this one.
I loved your videos, thanks for sharing! The NES Megaman games are famous for being ridiculously punishing. I don't think I was ever able to beat a single level!