Game Debate #133: The Legend of Zelda

[doner24 | 1,197]

Never played it. 

[ScaryD | 237]

Definitely a 10/10. After I saw this game for the first time as a kid it was a must own. I grew up with an Atari 2600 and I had not seen anything like this before. It was so immersive. I understand by today’s standard that it is not on the same playing field but my nostalgia is strong for this title.

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

It's a fantastic game, but I had to go 9/10 just due to how opaque some of the secrets are and, similarly, how bad (or badly translated) some of the clues are.  If some of the stuff didn't have to be lucked into or brute forced (finding all of the random spots you can bomb on the whole map, for example), I'd be more comfortable giving it top marks, but I don't think a 1 point deduction will permanently mar the finish on this classic.

[JeremiahJT | 75]

I gave it a 4 like OptOut. I have defeated both quests, but I have absolutely no desire to ever go back to this one. I prefer Zelda II: The Adventure of Link and if I want to play on overhead adventure game from the 8-bit era I would rather play Golden Axe Warrior.

I bought this one new at the very end of being able to find NES games in stores. I knew of it obviously, but never really played it. I played it then, but really did not like it too much. Years later I decided I wanted to beat it since it is so well regarded, but it took me a while since the gameplay did not hook me all that much. After beating the first quest I was done with it and had no desire for the second quest. Fast forward a few years and I decided that I would beat both quests. I powered through both of them and have never thought about playing again.

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

8/10. Absolutely revolutionary, but hamstrung by unnecessary artificial difficulty. Having to burn every bush and bomb every wall just to advance is lazy game design. It's analogous to the original Metroid in that way. If either game had just added some type of subtle visual clue or lore into the game to give the player a reasonable chance at figuring out where to burn/bomb, they'd both be 10/10 games. As it is, I dock a full two points for how much of the fun is sucked away by these mechanics.

Link to the Past though, that's a 10/10 game right there.

 

[MagusSmurf | 577]

IIRC the only bush you actually need to burn was the one leading to Level 8. And while I don't recall any hints towards that, it's so blatantly in the way that I found Level 8 pretty early in the game just trying to make a shortcut through that section.

I thought Golden Axe Warrior was kinda bad when I played it a few years back but the game didn't leave much of an impression. Biggest problem I remember was no or at least insufficient knockback on enemies.

[rdrunner | 422]

On 12/26/2022 at 11:34 AM, MagusSmurf said:

IIRC the only bush you actually need to burn was the one leading to Level 8. And while I don't recall any hints towards that, it's so blatantly in the way that I found Level 8 pretty early in the game just trying to make a shortcut through that section.

...and the game intended for you to find Level 8 with the Red Candle that has infinite flames without having to switch screens.

I also found Level 8 before I actually needed to.  That bush was in such an obvious place that it's probably the first place people would burn on that screen.

Level 7?  Now THAT was cryptic!  I think I ended up finishing Level 8 first because I couldn't find it or maybe figure out the maze.

I actually enjoyed searching the overworld map, even with all the limited ammo.  My only real complaint was that there wasn't anything important in the upper left section north of Level 6 (at least in the first quest).

Edited December 30, 2022 by rdrunner

[Link | 2,730]

I see that I gave it an 8 when I voted, but with more thought I would go with 7. It's good but it's my least favorite of the first three games. It's a bit of a slog, but groundbreaking at the time and I think the "poor design decisions" were experimental as Nintendo pushed the boundaries and made this genre so much more than what it was before. It was no problem exploring for hours back in the day. 

I really want to play the BotW prototype. I wish they would have included that as unlockable content. 

[docile tapeworm | 4,204]

Zelda 2 is a fake zelda game.

[HANSOLOOOOOOOO | 3]

Okay, so I realize that the first Legend of Zelda is not technically the best game of all time (or even the series), but it is one of my favorite games of all time. I love everything about this game and have played it countless times. I've even played the second quest, a randomizer, and attempted speed runs. Nothing has had as much replay value as this personally.

[Link | 2,730]

1 hour ago, HANSOLOOOOOOOO said:

I've even played the second quest, a randomizer, and attempted speed runs.

Check out a hack called Outlands.

[JamesRobot | 5,828]

3 hours ago, docile tapeworm said:

Zelda 2 is a fake zelda game.

I heard it was a reskin of what should have been a Mario game. 

[docile tapeworm | 4,204]

1 hour ago, JamesRobot said:

I heard it was a reskin of what should have been a Mario game. 

While the original prototype was being tested someone said mario therefore it was always intended to be a mario game via reskin of a game developed for a carnival.

[Tanooki | 4,952]

@JamesRobot@docile tapeworm

Look if you two are hell bent on going on that whole doki doki thing, if you're going to try and dig into the background, at least put the effort in.  Here I did the work for ou watching this when the video came out.  This is an American expat living in Japan for a very long time, disgusts me how few subs he has given his content I'd put into the top 1% of gaming and a few other boxes too since it's not just stolen shit re-hash from other coin fluffers. 

Yume Kojo "Dream Machine" 1988  enjoy  The full story.  This is where that licensed game came out of that started as Mario then went off as a gaming advertising prop for this massive event.

 

[Kguillemette | 1,547]

On 12/27/2022 at 5:17 PM, rdrunner said:

...and the game intended for you to find Level 8 with the Red Candle that has infinite flames without having to switch screens.

I also found Level 8 before I actually needed to.  That bush was in such an obvious place that it's probably the first place people would burn on that screen.

Level 7?  Now THAT was cryptic!  I think I ended up finishing Level 8 first because I couldn't find it or maybe figure out the maze.

I actually enjoyed searching the overworked map, even with all the limited ammo.  My only real complaint was that there wasn't anything important in the upper left section north of Level 6 (at least in the first quest).

Your story is very similar to mine. I combed the overworld for months as a child until I found the entrance to Level 7 by almost complete accident. I remember being stunned because i blew the whistle intending to warp at the fake fountain only for it to dry up and the labyrinth entrance revealed itself. Of course my skills were so sharp at that point I just bulldozed the rest of the game already having found the entrance to Level 9. The goriya puzzle didn't stump me too hard I remember. Just a 5 minute exercise in trial and error until poof and he dissappear. 

 

The first Zelda game is one that truly captured my imagination like no others as a child. Some of my fondest memories are discussing findings of that game with my friends at the time and sharing what we learned with each other. There may be more objectively better games to have been released since, but none have captured that level of magic since. Easy 10/10.

[G-type | 2,525]

The amazing music is a 10 out of 10. It's cool to have a big world to explore. I love all the peripheral material like the strategy guide maps, and the cartoon renderings of the monsters in the manual. Gave me the same feeling you get when you read about the monsters in a D&D manual. Really gets you excited to play.

the actual gameplay is just okay.

and the weirdest tv commercial possible. What the hell were they thinking?

 

[ZeldaFreak | 3,618]

4 minutes ago, G-type said:

and the weirdest tv commercial possible.

 

You mean the best tv commercial possible?