A Link to the Past: The Quintessential Zelda Game
To me, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is the quintessential Zelda. I regard it as such because it laid the foundation for the franchise as we see it today. Being the third game in the series, ALTTP was a reinvention. Playing this after Ocarina of Time made me familiar with many mechanics, weapons, and gameplay. However, experiencing them in the game where they were first introduced was an entirely different feeling.
A Legend of its Own
A Link Between Worlds is the sequel to A Link to the Past. Although I am yet to play that one, I believe that title would have also worked for this game. A Link to the Past was named as such because it was a prequel to the original Zelda game. However, it is not necessary to play any of the older titles to play ALTTP or ALTTP to play titles set after it chronologically. By now I have come to the realization that each entry in the Zelda franchise is a legend of its own.
The Princess is in Danger!!!
Like the earlier Zelda and Mario games, the endgame involves rescuing the princess from villains, and this holds true for A Link to the Past. However, ALTTP has a richer story that I won’t spoil if you intend to play it. After completing what I refer to as the first act, the game reaches a new level with its theme, puzzles, and overall experience. This was the best story-driven adventure game of its time, where Link’s actions mattered more than scores.
A Link Between Worlds
Now I would like to point out and appreciate the gameplay mechanic that prompted me to tell you that this game would have been fine being called A Link Between Worlds. In this version of the Hyrule, we get to explore not only one but two dimensions of Hyrule with similar but different terrains, color palettes, and a different set of NPC enemies. The world that is often referred to as the Dark World or Dark Hyrule by the fans is a terrifying terrain that is introduced halfway through the game.
Armed to the Teeth
ALTTP has borrowed from the best of both its predecessors, The Legend of Zelda and Adventure of Link. Most of the combat upgrades and arsenal introduced in AOL were carried over to ALTTP, while the birds-eye view of the original was kept as it is. The mechanic that was most improved in ALTTP was that of the magic attacks. Many additional magical attacks and weapons were introduced in ALTTP (I can’t list them here as my editor may get furious).
We got medallions, which could clear an entire screen full of enemies, Magical Canes, Elemental Rods and the list goes on. Link’s staple weapons, like Bow, Boomerang, swords, and shields, also return. It would suffice to say that our Green Clad hero would be armed and protected (thanks magic cape) to the teeth when he faces the final boss.
Exploration
With a game that has two overworld maps that are fully explorable to the player’s liking, there comes the challenge of pulling an effective way of navigating through the map. Although it is fun to go through each screen with slashing your mighty sword and whatnot at enemy NPCs it may get boring after a while. I am happy to say that those devs knew what they were doing and have cleverly incorporated an excellent fast travel mechanism in the game. At least in the light world or the og Hyrule, you could use it to save some time or gems in the game.
Dungeons
ALTTP has a total of a whopping twelve dungeons that are challenging, innovative, and sometimes difficult. Similar to the earlier Zelda games, Nintendo made this game as a community experience and shipped a guide with a map along with the cartridge. So it would be prudent to use a guide to get a grip around the world and dungeons. Among the twelve dungeons, my favorite was the turtle rock. It was difficult yet fun to tackle the dungeon. The final dungeon’s boss, a familiar face, is my favorite boss.
An Interactive Animation Film
ALTTP can be defined as an interactive animation film. The living, breathing world of Hyrule, with aesthetics reminiscent of classic animation movies, makes this game timeless. The way Link interacts with water while swimming or walking, the way rain and soundtrack uplift the part of storytelling, and the quirkiness that is present through all the adventure in the colorfully vibrant map all point towards the timelessness of this game. This is why playing A Link to the Past is much more relevant even today; to the untrained, it may not seem like a game made three decades ago.
The Quintessential Zelda
If you’re interested in playing one Zelda game, or specifically one 2D Zelda game, A Link to the Past is the one to choose. It offers everything a good Zelda game should: music, a vibrant map, exciting puzzles, innovative enemies, varied combat, and an adventure in Hyrule as our green-clad hero. It amazes me how this 35+ year old franchise comes up with new tricks up its tunic with each new entry.
Check out our Retro Reviews of The Legend of Zelda and Ocarina of Time!