The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

I want my Dream to Drop now, but the Distance is still too great.

...sorry.

The birth of the Zelda franchise font!

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is known to have a few classics back in the 16-bit era. Not only did we enter a time where games could actually look like the box art (when they were done correctly), we entered a large enough tech jump that many new possibilities opened up. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is one game that both set a series standard and blueprints that modern games are still riffing off of and is one of the most highly-regarded games of the second dimension.

The adventure truly begins
from this colorful church.

A Link to the Past is in actuality the third game in the series, yet is a prequel to both previous games in the timeline (ah, back when this didn't mean anything and was simple!), a device used many more times in future Zelda games. It deals with a new Link (with in-game pink hair, no less) that wakes up one stormy night after getting a telepathic plea from Princess Zelda. Following his uncle despite his warning, Link sneaks past palace guards and into the sewers of Hyrule Castle to find his Uncle mortally wounded. With his dying breaths, he gives Link his sword and shield, wishing him the best of luck to continue their heroic bloodline from the Knights of Hyrule. Finding the King of Hyrule murdered and betrayed by the sorcerer Agahnim, who is kidnapping maidens for his own ends, Link escorts Zelda into a safe haven, and with some guidance, embarks on his journey to save Hyrule from Agahnim and his dark forces.

This is the game where Zelda lore started taking off, with mention of Ganon's backstory as a thief, known then as Ganondorf, that the Triforce lay in the Sacred Realm and would reflect the intents of the one who touches it (as it was Ganondorf who had changed the landscape into a dark mirror of Hyrule), and various recurring themes of Power, Wisdom and Courage. The game design and general flow -easy beginning dungeons, typically three, a plot-centric upgrade, then around six more intricate dungeons leading up to the final climactic battle- is in full-force here. ALttP's template has followed the series to almost every other game since; an excellent example of how solid the gameplay was back in '91 to hold up through last year's Skyward Sword in basic flow.

Look at that view! Ganondorf at least has taste in sunsets.

For it's own merits, this began the trend for large-scale multi-floored dungeons, and this is put to use for dropping down to previous floors to reach areas not accessible otherwise. In fact, the game loves playing with elevation enough that there are a few towers excellently utilized for this purpose. It really opened up how to mess with level design to expand dungeons into sprawling above and below ground. The added boost in power finally enables all characters 8-direction movement, making combat more engaging, putting more emphasis on spatial awareness. ALttP also introduces the now-trademark Spin Attack, and this now clearly emphasizes Link's southpaw tendencies for various battle tactics, such as warding off right-handed soldiers while you decide to move to the right to attack them or to whip out a different tool.

These dungeons truly stand the test of time, as well as the rest of the game, including the overworlds. This was my earliest example of multiple overworld maps, and my first Light/Dark World theme, something that I assume would help influence the trend, especially for Nintendo's other notable use of the design in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. ALttP boasts a colorful duality, with Hyrule being lush and green alongside arid and dry deserts with bright blue waters, counteracting with the Dark World's usage of more earthly tones of grey, red and white to help paint a desolate world lacking in hope full of undead and monstrous creatures. Each dungeon's theme is more evident now compared to Zelda and Zelda II's palette-swapped interiors. 16-bit color capabilities really help showcase Hyrule during a more thriving time.

And that music! Lots of memorable tunes, as would be a series trait: the debut of Zelda's Lullaby, the Overworld Theme's new arrangement, the Dark World theme, the opening overture... Zelda music is always hummable and in full-force here. From the moment you start the game and you see the early polygonal Triforce pieces come together with that digital harp that leads into a fanfare of trumpets, you know why gaming had to enter the fourth generation.

Gotta love nice artwork. Peaceful scenes are always welcome in games.

When all's said and done, A Link to the Past is one of the Zelda series' best games, especially in the 2D side of things, and one of the best games of the 16-bit era. The gameplay and puzzles still hold up, the world is fun to explore, the atmosphere is evident and the appeal of slashing chickens until they attempt to brutally murder you has never lost its allure. Definitely recommended to all fans of adventure/puzzle gamers.

Main Series
1. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
2. The Legend of Zelda
3. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

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It's always hard doing a classic like this, since there's not much to say that people don't already know. If you're a gamer, you prolly have an opinion about ALttP and are only here for my opinion on how good it is. If not, then you're a trooper for putting up with my technical revision of this one. It's a lotta praise, but I honestly think it deserves it. A great game.
Man, I suck at these, haha.

Ciao!