What can I say about the Legend of Zelda that hasn’t already been said? The game is a classic. A masterpiece. The story and plot is perfect. The simple controls are spot on. The music is legendary. I can’t even say enough good things about the game. It changed a lot of Americans’ mindset on what a video game is, and should be.
Before the Legend of Zelda, most video games were like this. You control a character. Your goal was to get from point A to point B without dying. Repeat again and again until you beat the game. Of course this concept worked well. Super Mario Brothers’ games and Donkey Kong are prime examples of this. But this method got old to a lot of gamers.
The Legend of Zelda changed that. Besides simply beating levels, the game was an open world to explore. Secrets to be found. You even came across bad guys that would tell you secrets once you bribed them. The diversity of enemies was awesome. Certain areas contained different enemies. Deserts had enemies that would differ from enemies in the woods or dungeons. Certain weapons only worked on certain enemies. Very few games did that before the Legend of Zelda.
Now, I never rate games a perfect 10. You can always find things wrong or not perfect with anything. While the Legend of Zelda changed gaming in America, there are some weaknesses. The graphics are inferior when compared to games like the Super Mario Brothers, Mega Man and even Contra games. Before the internet and Nintendo Power, this game would have been difficult for younger gamers. I first beat this game around age 10 in 1991 with the use of a Nintendo Power that included maps of the entire game. Not sure how far I would have got without it back then.
It’s crazy to think this game originally got reviews in the high 70’s out of a 100. Now this game is universally praised as a classic. Link and Zelda are as well-known as Mario and Donkey Kong. Later Zelda games are also considered classics. That little gold cartridge changed the video game world forever. I give the Legend of Zelda a 9.7 out of 10. To me, no 8-bit game is better.
Father O'Malley's Gaming 