Retro Review : The Legend Of Zelda

Yes it was bound to come along eventually and this one really is a Retro Review since the game is 23 years old this year and this game is as old as Final Fantasy. Well lets get on with this weeks Retro Review, The Legend Of Zelda.

The Legend Of Zelda is one of the original Action/Adventure genre games and feature a top down view as you roamed the Hylian overworld and the 8 dungeons. The plot of the game is Zelda is kidnapped by Gannon and you have to find the 8 pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom and defeat Gannon to save Zelda. Like the Gameboy version it used the basic 2 button system for sword and items but the shield was always held up so as long as you didn't attack or use an item. If you were in line with the projectile and facing it, you were able to block it, unlike in the other versions other the 'A Link to the Past' you can't block every attack with it. In terms of difficulty this is somewhere between challenging and murderous but that's when you get to about the 5th dungeon and it all leads up to a final fight with Gannon that seems easy in comparison to some of the dungeons and bosses. As you progress through the game you get the famous weapons that appear in every other game like the boomerang and the bow and each dungeon requires the item you find in it to solve the puzzles and defeat the boss of the dungeon. The game does have a save feature which is great because a lot of NES games used passwords and if my history is correct this was the first game to use a save system and I think it was through the use of a battery.

The Legend of Zelda is a true classic that as it ages it just seems to get better and better, but that's mainly because new games are way to easy and don't stay in our hearts as easily as the games before the PS2. As far as classic games go, this is on the top of my list of games that everyone must play. If your young and like the newer Zelda games then you are most likely going to hate this game but give it a go and find out what a real game is like.