Just Finished: Link to the Past

[dpodblood]

Even though I was a big Nintendo fan growing up I somehow never got into the Zelda series. After hearing people rave about Link to the Past for years I decided it was finally time to play through the game myself. Couple of admissions before I get into my impressions of the game. First off I used an emulator to finish the game - and I used save states to help me with some of the boss fights. Second I used a walkthrough.

OK well for a game that's 22 years old it has aged incredibly well. I was really surprised at how modern the systems and mechanics felt given the age of the game, but I suppose many modern games have borrowed their formula from this games success. Graphically it obviously doesn't stand up against modern engines, but the art style is still great, and everything is clear.

The amount of detail they put into the overworld is really amazing. All the different zones, and the amount of secrets is astounding. How we managed to figure out how to complete games like this as kids I cannot understand. Even figuring out "what do I do next" would have been pretty complicated on its own without a walkthrough, let alone finding all the hidden heart containers and other secrets.

Dungeon design is really great. Dungeons are very complex and usually require a fair amount of understanding, and puzzle solving to complete. While the puzzles themselves didn't seem to complex the game is by no means a pushover. Especially later on in the game some rooms are just downright sinister to complete. Bosses especially stand out as each one requires a specific technique and sometimes a specific weapon to defeat. For the most part I found the bosses to be enjoyable with the exception of Mothula which was a complete pain due to the moving floor and spikes.

Controls for the most part are pretty solid. I occasionally had issues orienting myself to attack an enemy properly. I think this was partially due to the overhead style controls, but also because I was playing with a 360 controller with it's squishy D-Pad.

Overall I can say I'm very happy to finally have completed this game, and I'm looking forward to playing more in the future. I will probably move on to OOT 3DS first. It's amazing how well it's stood the test of time, and I can see how many facets of this game have inspired game design over the years. The sense of satisfaction this game gives you when you complete a dungeon/boss is a very welcomed one and something I feel many modern games lack. It achieved a very good balance of being challenging while not being overwhelming.

 

[Sonikku]

Link to the past is my favorite in the series. I actually thought the control was better than it is in link between worlds. There is only up, down, left and right so I don't find myself shooting arrows diagonally when trying to hit enemies on the fly like I do in link between worlds with the analog stick. I also found it jarring in link between worlds when swapping between gadgets meant not simply hitting start and moving the cursor around with the d pad like in LTTP, but taking my fingers off the dpad and face buttons to hold the 3DS while I pull out the stylus and select the button on the touch screen.

Even if you're willing to endure finger prints to save time, it sure does feel clunky and sloppy when you're trying to swap items mid battle. Nintendo has gone backwards in their design in that respect which is a shame. As for the difficulty, I thought it was fair. I didn't need a walkthrough. The game is good at telling you where to bomb (with cracks in walls) and it's pretty good at telling you where to go, marking the spot on your map. The hints and text actually made sense and were helpful as well. You could also get 4 bottles with which to get red health restoring medicine that effectively gave you 4 health bars if you struggled against bosses. You could make a go of it if you were daring enough.

That's in stark contrast to the original Zelda that was just a pain. The hints were worthless, so vague and abstract they gave you the WRONG idea on what to do. There was no visual cue for where to bomb, so you had to bomb and burn bloody well everything EVERYWHERE just to get somewhere in the game. And the dungeon entrances in Link to The Past where big and foreboding, as opposed to being some random space in a random screen you just have to "know" you need to bomb in the NES original.

No matter how you cut it, Link to The Past was simply the best. It was much more evolved and refined than the original, but had the simplicity and intuitive ui lacking in the kind of unnecessary hoops to jump through Nintendo's latest effort with link between worlds has with it's touch screen that was trying too hard to over think the problem. Link to The Past was also very gloomy, very moving and almost tragic in some ways. Playing the flute for the dying flute boy one final time or telling his grandfather of his fate or even such simple things as leaving Links house with the rain pouring in the middle of the night had an emotional impact on me not equaled since Super Metroid.

 

[dpodblood]

Part of my motivation for finally playing through the game is so that I can also play through LBW since it was so highly acclaimed on the 3DS. I don't think I will ever play through the original Legend of Zelda. I may watch a lets play sometime just to see what the game is like, but it seems too clunky to go back to.

Super Metroid is another SNES game which I need to revisit someday. I've played substantially more of it than I have of Zelda, but still never completed it.

 

[Ichinisan]

Did you emulate the Super Nintendo version or the GameBoy Advance version?

 

[Ichinisan]

Part of my motivation for finally playing through the game is so that I can also play through LBW since it was so highly acclaimed on the 3DS. I don't think I will ever play through the original Legend of Zelda. I may watch a lets play sometime just to see what the game is like, but it seems too clunky to go back to.

Super Metroid is another SNES game which I need to revisit someday. I've played substantially more of it than I have of Zelda, but still never completed it.

Oooo! Super Metroid is another one of my faves.

Anyway, I'm disappointed that the walkthrough was used in LTTP. I think it would detract a lot from the sense of accomplishment. Without a walkthrough, you have to explore and re-explore everything until you're intimately familiar with the game's world. It's a lot more immersive that way.

I liked Metroid Prime a lot, but stopped playing because the whole game was basically a walk-through, telling me exactly where to go next. I may try again someday with the hint system disabled.

My favorite Zelda game is still the black-and-white (non-"DX") version of Link's Awakening for Game Boy. Chronologically, it features the same Link from LttP and happens just after the events of that game.

 

[poofyhairguy]

That's in stark contrast to the original Zelda that was just a pain. The hints were worthless, so vague and abstract they gave you the WRONG idea on what to do. There was no visual cue for where to bomb, so you had to bomb and burn bloody well everything EVERYWHERE just to get somewhere in the game. And the dungeon entrances in Link to The Past where big and foreboding, as opposed to being some random space in a random screen you just have to "know" you need to bomb in the NES original.

My recent first-time playthrough of the original has shown me how much I appreciate LTTP for everything you mentioned plus more. I am on the last dungeon of the original and I don't know how anyone beat this without a map.

One thing I really loved about LTTP that other Zeldas didn't really copy was its non-linear nature. The first three dungeons you have to really beat in order to get the Master Sword and get to the Dark World (unless you exploit a glitch) but in the Dark World after the first dungeon its all open with a few exceptions (like you need the 2nd dungeon's hookshot to enter the 6th dungeon but even then there is a trick around it).

First time through I beat it 1,2,4,3,6,5,7,8. Almost every other time I have gone 1,4, etc. Why? Because once you get the gloves you can upgrade your sword AND get the magic cape that makes bosses cake (there was my 1990's LTTP cheat).

Heck, I have NEVER beaten Dark World dungeon 5 before 6. NEVER. Doing so requires you to backtrack to push some block from a level above onto some switch near the end of 5. Or you can just beat 6 first, use the red cane and not deal with that! I don't know why anyone ever beat 5 before 6 considering that. Sure 6 is a grindfest without 5's upgraded armor but that is what four bottles and the cape is for...

This kind of non-linear play really rewards a player for NOT using a walkthrough and I really appreciate that in retrospect. So many games I feel I have to play them twice- once by myself and once with the walkthrough so I can actually see all the cool stuff. I will admit until I used a walkthrough on a replay last year I never got all 20 hearts, and I never would have gotten the blue staff without a Nintendo Power QA, but they aren't needed to beat or fully enjoy the game.

Honestly LTTP's most direct sequel, Link's Awakening, is an incredibly underrated game. The added dimensions of jumping and occasional side scrolling play really worked out, plus that game rewarded exploration even more than LTTP. It wasn't quite as polished as LTTP and the plot wasn't as good, but it is an excellent game also worth playing (probably the color version).

 

[Ichinisan]

My recent first-time playthrough of the original has shown me how much I appreciate LTTP for everything you mentioned plus more. I am on the last dungeon of the original and I don't know how anyone beat this without a map.

One thing I really loved about LTTP that other Zeldas didn't really copy was its non-linear nature. The first three dungeons you have to really beat in order to get the Master Sword and get to the Dark World (unless you exploit a glitch) but in the Dark World after the first dungeon its all open with a few exceptions (like you need the 2nd dungeon's hookshot to enter the 6th dungeon but even then there is a trick around it).

First time through I beat it 1,2,4,3,6,5,7,8. Almost every other time I have gone 1,4, etc. Why? Because once you get the gloves you can upgrade your sword AND get the magic cape that makes bosses cake (there was my 1990's LTTP cheat).

Heck, I have NEVER beaten Dark World dungeon 5 before 6. NEVER. Doing so requires you to backtrack to push some block from a level above onto some switch near the end of 5. Or you can just beat 6 first, use the red cane and not deal with that! I don't know why anyone ever beat 5 before 6 considering that. Sure 6 is a grindfest without 5's upgraded armor but that is what four bottles and the cape is for...

This kind of non-linear play really rewards a player for NOT using a walkthrough and I really appreciate that in retrospect. So many games I feel I have to play them twice- once by myself and once with the walkthrough so I can actually see all the cool stuff. I will admit until I used a walkthrough on a replay last year I never got all 20 hearts, and I never would have gotten the blue staff without a Nintendo Power QA, but they aren't needed to beat or fully enjoy the game.

Honestly LTTP's most direct sequel, Link's Awakening, is an incredibly underrated game. The added dimensions of jumping and occasional side scrolling play really worked out, plus that game rewarded exploration even more than LTTP. It wasn't quite as polished as LTTP and the plot wasn't as good, but it is an excellent game also worth playing (probably the color version).

As an obsessive completionist, I always try to do the dungeons in order, but I do think I got a couple of them out-of-order on my first play-through. I wasn't done with that data file until I had every single item and heart piece.

Anyway, I recommend the black-and-white version of Link's Awakening for the first play-through. Too many annoying quirks with the color version. Example: Multiple-paragraph explanations that pop-up every time you barely touch a bottle or rock and you can't dismiss it. What were they THINKING?! Also, changing the stone slab+piece to a bird statue+beak allowed them to put multiple hints into each dungeon, which made the game too easy.

Still, the hint in the second dungeon is too vague for people who don't know what a "pols voice" or "stalfos" is.

I think the original NES game would have been absolutely impossible without dedicated players making diagrams and maps on graph paper and sharing "playground knowledge" -- probably acquired somewhere along the line by someone's older sibling with a magazine subscription.

 

[railven]

ALttP is by far the best Zelda title in my opinion (with Ocarina just behind it.)

Sadly, beside the world map there is no direct connection between ALttP and ALBW. However, both games are amazing and I'd recommend anyone play them if they are a Zelda fan.

I've been itching to replay ALttP ever since I finished ALBW. I just might.

 

[dpodblood]

Did you emulate the Super Nintendo version or the GameBoy Advance version?

I played the SNES version. I know there are a few differences between the 2 versions, but I still feel like I got the experience.

 

[railven]

I played the SNES version. I know there are a few differences between the 2 versions, but I still feel like I got the experience.

You know, I never played the GBA version. Beside 4-Swords (which I ended up playing on GC anyways) what differences did it have? To Google!

 

[dpodblood]

Anyway, I'm disappointed that the walkthrough was used in LTTP. I think it would detract a lot from the sense of accomplishment. Without a walkthrough, you have to explore and re-explore everything until you're intimately familiar with the game's world. It's a lot more immersive that way.

I don't disagree with this at all, but after so many games I just wanted to get through the game and see what it was all about. If I had to figure out everything for myself I don't think I would have had the patience to complete it. Even with the walkthrough I still feel a sense of accomplishment just for finally checking the game off my list.

 

[Ichinisan]

I played the SNES version. I know there are a few differences between the 2 versions, but I still feel like I got the experience.

That's best. Most notably: The GBA has a different screen size and you have to walk around more to see what you could already see on the SNES version. I think it can actually affect gameplay or create additional difficulty where it should not.

Also, the music on the SNES version was much higher quality.

 

[Ichinisan]

... How we managed to figure out how to complete games like this as kids I cannot understand. Even figuring out "what do I do next" would have been pretty complicated on its own without a walkthrough, let alone finding all the hidden heart containers and other secrets.

There's an in-game fortune teller that tells you how to progress. I don't remember if I used it or not. It costs rupees, so my obsessive gaming habits make it feel like cheating to pay for advice. I usually avoided it.

The phone booth is the equivalent in Link's Awakening. It's free, and I used it constantly on my first play-through. I think I took a couple of months to complete the game (I was a kid and it was my first Zelda game).

 

[railven]

The phone booth is the equivalent in Link's Awakening. It's free, and I used it constantly on my first play-through. I think I took a couple of months to complete the game (I was a kid and it was my first Zelda game).

As a kid, with no means to get help, finding out how to get my sword took me about a week. Rest of the same about 3 days.

The concept of blocking was so alien at the time. Haha. ALttP used blocking the same was Zelda 2 - just stand there and don't move.

 

[dpodblood]

As a kid it would have been no problem to figure out the game on my own. Nothing but time on my hands, and with limited access to games all the patience in the world to figure things out. Now as an adult my time is limited with work, and raising a child of my own. And I have access to a backlog of over 300 games. Lets just say I was happy to have a walkthrough lol.

 

[railven]

As a kid it would have been no problem to figure out the game on my own. Nothing but time on my hands, and with limited access to games all the patience in the world to figure things out. Now as an adult my time is limited with work, and raising a child of my own. And I have access to a backlog of over 300 games. Lets just say I was happy to have a walkthrough lol.

Nothing wrong with walk throughs (then, now, or ever.) As someone in the same boat with limited time, I'm at a point in my life where if the game doesn't grab my interest in a way that encourages me to play legit, I cheat my way through or just set it on easy.

Get the story, the gist, and another one scratched off the list.

 

[Ichinisan]

Thanks, OP. Now I want to play this game today.

What's the easiest way to stream it online?

 

[railven]

Thanks, OP. Now I want to play this game today.

What's the easiest way to stream it online?

Don't have a ROM on hand to test, but:

http://nesbox.com/own

Zelda:
http://www.snesfun.com/game.php?id=9

 

[zerocool84]

Anyone who fancies themselves a gamer needs to at least give this game a try. It's seriously one of the greatest games of all time. Plus because sprites don't go out of style graphically, you don't have to worry about someone saying it hasn't aged well graphically with say Ocarina of Time.

Zelda is my third favorite series of games, hardly any story but they're always so fun to play. Give me Zelda on WiiU already.

 

[Ichinisan]

Don't have a ROM on hand to test, but:

http://nesbox.com/own

Zelda:
http://www.snesfun.com/game.php?id=9

I'd rather stream in a way that lets me use a truly accurate SNES emulator, like. Byuu's emulator. Do those support game controllers?

 

[ImpulsE69]

One of my favorite games of all time. Played both versions. One of the only games I've ever played through multiple times.

Really no other Zelda holds a candle to it as a whole IMO although the first Zelda is still a great game. It does make you wonder how we ever completed these games as kids..but I guess we had more time back then, and less things to occupy our time at a time.

 

[KB]

Came in to recommend Links Awakening, but it looks like some others already have. Although LttP is one of the best game out there, I enjoyed Links awakening more, due to additional elements like jumping over holes/monster attacks, additional secrets like the seashells buried around the island, more character interaction (love interest Marin), super mario-esque sideview areas and the whole game builds on a secret you learn in the end.

My list is:
LA > Oot > Lttp > Zelda 1 ....

 

[poofyhairguy]

Let's see, mine goes:

LTTP>Oot>LA>Ages>Seasons>Wind Waker>Phantom Hourglass>Zelda 1>MM>Zelda 2

 

[mmntech]

Came in to recommend Links Awakening, but it looks like some others already have. Although LttP is one of the best game out there, I enjoyed Links awakening more, due to additional elements like jumping over holes/monster attacks, additional secrets like the seashells buried around the island, more character interaction (love interest Marin), super mario-esque sideview areas and the whole game builds on a secret you learn in the end.

My list is:
LA > Oot > Lttp > Zelda 1 ....

Link's Awakening was my first Zelda game and still my all time favourite. The big improvement it made over previous games was actually being able control your shield to block. Going back and playing LTTP after was a bit strange in that regard. Still a great game though.

I'm split on whether OoT or Majora's Mask is my favourite. I've still got to play Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword. Will have to take a trip to the used game shop and borrow my parents' Wii.

 

[zerocool84]

Link's Awakening was my first Zelda game and still my all time favourite. The big improvement it made over previous games was actually being able to use your shield to control your shield to block. Going back and playing LTTP after was a bit strange in that regard. Still a great game though.

I'm split on whether OoT or Majora's Mask is my favourite. I've still got to play Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword. Will have to take a trip to the used game shop and borrow my parents' Wii.

Other than the boring boating, Wind Waker was a great Zelda game.