This is the seventh in a series of dueling community blog editorials I’m doing with Aerox, you can see his part of today’s topic here.





While critics generally profess that Ocarina of Time is the greatest game ever made, in debating games within the Zelda series, neither of us picked Ocarina. I would place a game that I’ve replayed too many times to count as the best Zelda, a game that laid the formulaic groundwork for almost every title after it, A Link To the Past.

It had a timeless sound track, made huge leaps forward in game play, and above all was absolutely a blast to play from beginning to end. It’s one of the few games that doesn’t seem to lose its charm or become a chore to reply, a true classic worthy of the title of best game in one of the greatest franchises of all time.





Gameplay – Fixing What was Broken

After the release of Zelda II, there was a lot of speculation as to what the Zelda title on the SNES would be like. Many were worried that it could be worse than Zelda II, but the truth couldn’t have been further. Despite that Zelda II is the black sheep of the franchise, it did introduce two things that Link to the Past was able to improve upon, the magic meter and NPC characters.

A Link To The Past returned to the top down view from the original and quelled any fears about the game being like Zelda II . The NPCs brought life to the otherwise desolate world and the magic meter allowed for expanded game play and a new element of using certain items that consumed magic sparingly.





I have the Lost Woods Theme Stuck in My Head (Music)

Simply put, A Link to the Past has the best music of any Zelda game. Its tracks form the foundation for the music in ever Zelda title, both literally and figuratively. Several tracks were literally just recycled and remixed when future titles used them. Tracks like the hyrule castle theme for example were reused in multiple games.

When compared to the previous games which were more limited in their ability to have multiple music tracks. A Link to the Past sports a much wider array of tracks than the first two Zelda titles. All fifteen of the tracks are excellent and do a great job of setting the tone for the scenes in the game. From a sense of urgency, to a dark foreboding, and the feel of an epic adventure, the music never disappoints.

While I’m sure Aerox will mention this as well, there are some great remixed tracks up on the Zelda Re-Orchestrated project. If you are into classical music it’s a must visit for any Zelda fan. There are currently nine tracks up for download at the ZREO site with hopefully more to come in the future. On OCRemix there are twenty-seven tracks for download and these two are probably the best of the bunch.





Setting Up the Format

Since the release of A Link to the Past, nearly every Zelda title has followed the format that it laid down. Many Zelda games after have featured two mirrored overworlds that the player must traverse. In addition, many have featured a ‘collect three items’ followed by a second quests of several more items after the player is given some revelation about the story.

Minigames as tests of skill and item rewards, pieces of heart, and an extensive amount of hidden content, they all started with A Link to the Past. While the previous games included hidden content as well, it was never to the degree that A Link to the Past did, and never before in the past had a Zelda game included optional equipment outside of potions or a sword upgrade. There were also some real oddities and humor that made it into the game such as the Chris Hoolihan room and subsequent games in the Zelda series all had their own little quirks to them.





Player Challenges and Going Forward

How could I possibly talk about the future of a game released in the early 90’s? Well easily, if there’s a rumor going around about a 3-D remake. In an interview, Eiji Aonuma (director/assistant director on every Zelda title since Ocarina), stated that he would be interested in doing a 3-D remake of A Link to the Past as the next Zelda title on the Wii. And despite my earlier stance on remakes vs originals, I’d very much like to see this happen. If a 3-D remake doesn’t happen there’s a possibility it will continue to be released on new platforms in collections. A Link to the Past has thus far been released on the Wii VC and GBA. The GBA version featuring an additional dungeon that can be accessed if one completes Four Swords, or accesses it via a bug. Completing the extra dungeon earns the player a second ending.

To tide you over until such a thing happens, there is [url=http://zeldaparallelworlds.googlepages.com/home ]Zelda: Parallel Worlds[/url], a total conversion ROM hack of A Link to the Past. The game features updated sprites and 3-D effects that would have still been possible on the SNES. In order to play the game you simply need a copy of the ROM and a patching utility, there are details on the site on how to do this. To be quite frank, the game is brutally difficult, however if you were someone who thought Twilight Princess and Phantom Hourglass were too easy, this game is right up your alley.


This is one of the greatest commercials ever in the history of gaming



Not to mention the awesome Nintendo Power comic



I understand your choice Aerox, but I don’t think it’s right



A Link to the Past is the best Zelda game ever released. After its release it held the number one spot in Nintendo Power’s ‘gamer’s favorites’ spot for nearly the entirety of the SNES’s life span. While Ocarina may have won the hearts of critics, and Link’s Awakening was nothing to scoff at either, it is A Link to the Past that won the hearts of gamers. I’ve never done a full replay of Ocarina, but I have done several replays of Link’s Awakening, it’s A Link to the Past that I’ve played through too many times to count. If you haven’t played this one, bad gamer, shame on you!

Art Links
http://mrgoggles.deviantart.com/art/Link-vs-Arrghus-48904533