My good friend TheScottishAlien is embarking on a similar quest to mine and has just finished the first Zelda game. After discussing it a little bit, I realized we had very different opinions on the game's quality and so I asked him to complete his own review of the game which caused me so much grief and despair. (Also, he's a contrary bastard, and it would be just like him to love a game which I hated!)
He's agreed to let me post it here (with some grammar edits) but if you're interested in following his progress through the Zelda series, visit his blog at blog.thescottishalien.com.
He's agreed to let me post it here (with some grammar edits) but if you're interested in following his progress through the Zelda series, visit his blog at blog.thescottishalien.com.
TheScottishAlien Plays The Legend of Zelda
Now, when you read this review, make sure that you understand that I'm doing this from the perspective of someone wanting to try out this video game classic. While I am going to use modern rating systems (GT's /10), I'm not going to compare this to anything since Nintendo has already done a marvelous job of updating and reinventing the series time and again. This review is to be taken on the idea of replaying a video game classic and my impression of it.
Story
Not much is given to the story of this game other than a short little text after the title screen. It states that Princess Zelda has been captured, and you need to go collect triforce pieces in order to save her from Gannon. It's short, it's simple, and it's all that's needed. Unless you've lived under a rock for the past 24 years, I'd say it's pretty safe to assume that you know what the Zelda franchise is all about, so the idea of needing an elaborate story for the very first game is quite unrealistic.
In game, there isn't anything to hint towards any more of a story. Apart from a few lonely sages, the land is fairly sparse when it comes to chatty NPCs, however this isn't where you got the story in the late 1980s.
For video gamers at this time, if you wanted the whole story you had to go to the source, Nintendo Power (or as it was called at this time, Nintendo Fan Club News). Unfortunately, it's very hard to find these still around - however, I do have a lovely snippet from Vol 2 (Vol 3 was all about LoZ 
). As you can read, more story is given in this page than the entire game has to offer. So, my impression of the story is that it's nice enough to get you into the game with a purpose, but after that expects you to look as hard as you want for more understanding of what you're doing. If you're just there to play video games, then you can just stick to the console; but, if you're more interested in the lore, then you need to get a magazine subscription and do your homework.
For story, I give a 7/10.
Design
The layout of the land seems simple and boring at first but after battling it out and upgrading a few pieces of equipment you can really explore some of the more hidden corners of the overworld and see how big and elaborate this game really is. At first you get 2 or 3 different kinds of enemies, each with about 2 stages of difficulty. This plus one large boss make the first 4 dungeons rather simple and pleasant and make for a nice introduction into the game. After that the game decided to punish you for thinking it was too soft by introducing mini bosses (basically old bosses) as well as rooms swarming with enemies.
There is also a lot of depth to this game that you never notice until you pick up a game guide or a map. Hundreds of secret items and rooms are everywhere for you to discover, most of which are impossible to discover by accident. In fact most of the items that you need to complete the game are so well hidden that I doubt anyone could do it without a little help. That said, once you know what to do it really sticks with you, I think I could now complete this game in half the time without any help since all the secrets have now been discovered. However Nintendo seemed to have anticipated this buy making a second play-through possible that remakes every level and location, making for almost two games in one.For Design I give 9/10
Gameplay
After playing a few of the older titles I'd have to say that LoZ is probably on of the most intuitive and sophisticated control schemes there is. With only two buttons to work with and a sticky D-pad a lot can done in this game. Items like the boomerang allow for diagonal shooting which the return path can be controlled slightly allowing for some skillful maneuvering. Also the general fighting can be taken to a whole new level with the idea of half steps; since NCP's only walk on full squares but link can walk in half steps this allows for some very skillful swords play against some of the tougher enemies like the Darknut (DAM YOU DARKNUT!).After watching some more skilled players on youtube I can see that LoZ is one of those games where you can really good at with practice. At one point in the game you walk into a room with 5 Blue Darknuts and 4 dragons shooting fireballs at you. The fireballs are random and unpredictable and the darknuts can only be attacked form behind. This leads to one of the most finger intensive moments in my video gaming career, not only did i have to be constantly aware of flying fireballs but i was also trying to out maneuver and half step 5 different enemies at once. And while frustrating, after completion and looking back this is one of my favorite moments in the game.
For Gameplay I give 9/10
Presentation
Luckily for LoZ, pixel games have come full circle by moving past looking like crap compared to modern games and ascended into the realm of art. Rather then most of this game coming off as cheap and boring, the nostalgia mixed in with the quaint and lovely scenes make for something very pleasing nowadays. While it's true that most of the rocks and bushes are pretty unimaginative, and most dungeons are simple palette swaps but at the same time you can't help but smile every time you revisit a familiar lake or room. Even mobs get reused a lot but that doesn't stop you from appreciating the simple 16x16 piece of art that is trying to kill you.However, if your the type of person that can't see pixel art for the anything more then a forgotten style of video games then be warned. In reality most of the colours and music are very over used and considering this will take you several days to complete do not be surprised if you feel your eyes begin to bleed pastel coloured blood after a few hardcore hours of play. With only 4 songs which each consist of about 20 sec of notes on repeat, also don't be surprised when you can't hear anything but the music even when the game is off. Thankfully nostalgia helps to numb you to most of this which results in you spending most of the day that your not playing the game humming or whistling the main tune.
For Presentation I give 6/10
Overall
My overall impression of Legend of Zelda is that it's an absolutely amazing game that I really enjoyed playing. Despite hard times and tough difficulty curves all the memories I have of this game are fun ones. The story was non existent, the design was solid, the gameplay was simple and the presentation make my eyes bleed BUT it was still one of the funnest games I've played in a long time. Now most of this could be chalked up to nostalgia pulling the wool over my eye and that may be true however I still do remember enjoying myself and after all is said and done that really is what video gaming is about.
For Overall I give 8/10
It is important to remember two things when playing this game: (1) Most video games at this time were not meant to be played casually, let alone be completed without difficult. If you were stuck or having a really hard time that was what they wanted you to feel. and (2) Nintendo make a ton of money of hiring professional gamers to be advisers that you could phone in and talk to about how to beat certain levels and games. just check out the above ad. If your serious about wanting to play this game then I highly suggest finding a few dungeon maps to keep by your side. Don't think of it as cheating since any kid in the 80's would have bought a game guide in order to complete it, it's just not possible otherwise.References
http://imageevent.com/gamescans/nintendofanclubnews
No comments:
Post a Comment