role-playing

The original Legend Of Zelda has long been revered as a video gaming masterpiece, even by the gamers of this modern age. Accordingly, it really comes as no surprise that Nintendo wants to keep the classic's popularity level fairly high. In the late spring of 2004, Nintendo rereleased a series of classic Nintendo games as a part of its NES Classics collection. How does the original Legend Of Zelda hold up? Read on for my review.

PROS:
-THIS GAME IS A DEAD-ON ACCURATE PORT OF THE NES CLASSIC. Nintendo has been promising for years that they would rerelease the game on a modern console, and at long last, they have delivered on that promise.
-EVEN BY TODAY'S STANDARDS, THIS IS A FUN AND CHALLENGING GAME. This is a game that will really make you think on more than a few moments. The puzzles aren't as compelling as anything later in the series, but they add to the fun nonetheless.
-IT'S SO SIMPLE, YET SO COMPLEX AT THE SAME TIME. I loathe games of the modern age due to their high complexity level. The games of today force gamers to spend as much time reading instruction manuals as they do playing the games! This game is simple to learn, but it so compelling that it will keep your attention for an indefinite period of time.

CONS:
-TWENTY DOLLARS (the launch price) FOR THIS GAME IS HIGHWAY ROBBERY! If you were paying twenty dollars for a Game Boy Advance ANTHOLOGY of classic NES or Zelda titles, that would be a good price, but to charge that much for a game that was out before many modern video gamers were even born is just insulting! Why not just whip out your old NES cart instead?
-THE GAME IS HARD, AND NOT ALWAYS IN A GOOD WAY. There is almost no social element in this game whatsoever, so you're more likely than not going to have to use an FAQ or walkthrough to beat the game. You can't tell were dungeons are hidden, nor can you tell where walls can be destroyed with a bomb. Also, many of the dungeon maps are inaccurate - your character can enter rooms of the dungeon that "don't exist", according to the maps. Likewise, the game gives no clues whatsoever as to how some puzzles are solved.
-IT'S THE ORIGINAL - NO NEW FEATURES OR ANYTHING. This is a real shame, because Nintendo could have created a stunningly beautiful remake of this game (kind of like what they did with the Metroid series with Metroid Zero Mission.) This release is a wasted opportunity.

OVERALL:
I know, I complained a lot about this reissue. But that doesn't really change the way I feel about the game itself. This game is a classic, and truly one of Nintendo's greatest triumphs ever. If you've got a Game Boy Advance, give this one a whirl - you'll be glad you did.

Ah! The original LEGEND OF ZELDA for your GBA or SP! Now that's my idea of a great retro package! Here is the original game in all of it's 1987 glory - the simple graphics, the simple music, and the not so simple to beat original RPG. The only downside here is a couple of backgrounds had to be squished a little, and it seems like some of the sound effects are not on here (very minimal!). But most people won't notice at all! They will just be glad to see LINK in his 16 color 2 dimensional original glory! This cart along with SUPER MARIO BROS are the two games to own in the RETRO series from Nintendo. The rest seem to be NES versions of arcade classics - which begs to ask WHY!?!?!? Link is still going strong in 4 SWORDS, and he deserves the look back almost 20 years ago when he first took over our televisions! Welcome back old friend!

I love nintendo, but haven't played the original in about ten years. When the retro gameboy advance with the classic nes series came out it blew my mind. I feel like Link even handels better than the original. The game took me way back to when these games were cutting age and controllers only had four directions and two buttons, cause that was all you needed. It made me remember waking up on my eighth birthday to a brand new NES plugged into a little yellow (it was the 80's) tv and flipping my brain. This game is a must for all you estranged NES fans. It's what video games are all about.