Aha.

All of the Zeldas (minus cdi and 4 swords) challenge #3: A Link to the Past (SNES)

At the outset of this challenge, I saw the first two games as obstacles to endure to get to an incredible run of games beginning with this masterpiece. This game isn’t without its flaws, but the positives so outweigh those, they’re negligible.

Here are the few flaws as I see them:
1) There is this tremendous inventory, but just one fucking inventory button. The shoulder buttons aren’t even used. In the battle with Ganon you need the fire rod, silver arrows, and possibly a jar of potion. How great would it be to be able to access each without going to the start menu? No reason this shouldn’t have happened..
2) The pacing is a bit off once the dark world is opened. Prior to that, there was plenty of wandering between dungeons, but once the dark world is in play, it’s basically dungeon to dungeon unless you deliberately pull back to explore, and I find that hard to do when the path in front of me is clear and obvious.
3) I had to look up the super bomb and silver arrows. I was brought to Ganon without them, and that just shouldn’t happen. It’s not hard to make a boss inaccessible without a necessary ingredient. It was the only point in the game I felt was left to utter chance, which was a regular occurrence in the first two games, but it shouldn’t have happened.
4) The falling rocks on Death Mountain hit you even if the bounce is clearly over you. Really minor nitpick, but still annoying.
5) This was the beginning of the goddam quarter heart pieces. I missed 7 of them somewhere. A fucking bottle, as well, but who needs 4 bottles?

On the positive side, enough can’t be said, though it’s all already been said. It’s beautiful to look at. SNES games, in general, are so bright and colorful, and this game feels warm and cold when it should. The music is atmospheric, and if you have a favorite Zelda song, there is a good chance it was heard here first. The auxiliary weapons are fun. My all time favorite - the hookshot - makes its first appearance. The warp flute! It’s so nice to be able to hit a button and be transported to any corner of Hyrule or the beginning of a dungeon. The townsfolk and scattered people are endearing and worth saving. The dungeons are a good balance of puzzles and combat (but fuck the hand that drops down and brings you back to the start) and the bosses are interesting and appropriately challenging, except for Ganon, who is actually unimaginative and easy.

It’s almost as good as I remember, and I think it holds up incredibly well. Players who cut their teeth on Breath of the Wild or probably any console Zelda from the past 20 years will find the world here a bit cramped, but this is the first Zelda game I think every Zelda player should play at least once. It’s like watching To Kill a Mockingbird. No, it’s not HD, but it’s still better than 95% of the shit they’re turning out today.

Can’t remember when I started this exactly, but I finished it on 2/17.

Up next: Link’s Awakening. Maybe I’ll finish it before the Switch version comes out.

Link to the Past is still my favorite of the series.

Ice temple remains my least favorite part every time I come to it.

Doesn't the bomb shop guy in the dark world mention that he's working on something bigger? I guess that and the crack in the pyramid would be my clue to keep checking in on him.

I guess people are hating the new art style.

I kinda like it.

I like it too.

People complained about the cell shading look of WW too. I thought it was gorgeous. People complaining about the claymation look, comes as no surprise.

Do fans what just a port of the Game Boy Color version? I think it has an HD, Rudolph the Reindeer claymation look.

Yeah, the Wind Waker criticism was dumb.

That art style was fucking awesome.

It holds up so well.

When you think about it, 2D development on LA is exciting since...

Maybe the (online) sequel to Four Swords is currently in development, as rumored.

And maybe they are moving forward with the 2D "New" Legend of Zelda that was rumored a decade ago that was to be released in 2012 to coincide with the 25th anniversary.

They are the only 2D console rumors that I can remember.

Surprisingly found every dungeon in quest 2 without any outside help

Looks good to me.

All of the Zeldas (minus cdi and 4 swords) challenge #4: Link’s Awakening DX (Game Boy Color)

In 1999, I lived in Australia for 4 months while I was student teaching. I bought a Game Boy Color (the bluish purple one) and two games: Tetris (came with it?) and Link’s Awakening. I played Tetris so much I’d close my eyes to sleep and see those fucking blocks falling. I played Link’s Awakening all the way through and all I can remember is a flying whale. With Nintendo recently announcing the Switch remake, it felt timely to suddenly be playing this game.

I started on President’s Day (Monday the 18th) and finished this morning (Saturday the 23rd), not because it was so easy, but because I was having so much fun.

The game isn’t without its problems. 2 of them are awful, and I’m sure both will be remedied on the Switch. The worst issue is that there are rocks and blocks that trigger a pop up dialogue screen every goddam time you touch them. The other is there is a great inventory of weapons, and because the dungeon levels are designed so well, you often need multiple items and have to constantly go to the select screen to switch items. Once you have the bracelet and the boots, their powers should be automatic, and I’m sure multiple buttons will be assigned in the update.

The other issues could easily be fixed as well. For example, the bosses are too easy. I imagine that’s because of the small screen limitations of the Game Boy. That shit was hard to see. I played this on my Hakchi NES mini and could have used a bit more challenge. There are some warp points, but they’re few and far between and are basically worthless. One of the ocarina songs will bring you to a lady’s house, but it would be fantastic if that was changed to the bird mechanic from Link to the Past. The overworld map is a nice size, but because there are so many impassable river banks or tree walls, it doesn’t feel very open, and getting from one part to another can take a long time.

Flaws aside, this is going to be blasphemous, I suppose, but I liked it better than A Link to the Past. It lacks the rich colors and musical capabilities of the SNES, of course, and it didn’t break new ground in the way of game play, but it’s more fun. Part of that is because it’s basically impossible not to have a general idea of where to go next. After each dungeon, you’re basically told what area of the map you should visit. And if you’re still stuck, you can make a phone call for more specific info. It’s like having the Nintendo 900 number in the game. The dungeons are a blast. I got stuck a couple of times looking for a key or a switch, but that’s how it should be. They’re great puzzles. The best part, though, is the sense of humor and irreverence. You can steal from the item shop. The characters that inhabit the world are funny. The lead female, Marin, has a personality and doesn’t need to be rescued; she actually comes to your aid. The little Mario side scrolling sections of the dungeons are the best, though. I remember getting excited to see Mario’s face in a painting on the wall of a house in a Link to the Past. In this game you see Piranha Petes, Goombas, and Wart from Mario 2. The Mario sound effects are used, too. There’s even a screen that has a Castlevania background and an enemy that looks a lot like Kirby. Not least important, the story is engaging with a bittersweet ending.

If you’re a fan of Link to the Past but never played this, I think it’s a must. I don’t own a Switch right now, but I could see getting one in the future just to play the update. It will very likely fix the few flaws in the game.

I suppose I should start ranking these so I can have my own definitive list when I’m done:
Current rankings: 4) The Legend of Zelda 3) Zelda II: The Adventure of Link 2) A Link to the Past 1) Link’s Awakening

Next up: Ocarina of Time. This one blew my mind when I first played it in 2000. I’m nervous and excited.

Such an odd ranking of the four games that you’ve played. But almost all Zelda games are truly top-notch games that rank among the best games on the system they were released, so I get it.

I know. Prior to starting this, I would have said 4) Zelda II 3) Link’s Awakening 2) The original 1) Link to the Past. Once I got past the initial nostalgia of the original, I was shocked by how little I was enjoying the experience. And after playing and loving Link to the Past again, I was equally as shocked that I was not only not burnt out with the gameplay style, but I was actually having more fun.

Anyone played the 3ds versions of Ocarina or Majora?

I think I might treat myself. A friend has my old n64. I have Ocarina for GameCube, and I have both on my hacked Wii U. I played Ocarina for 10 minutes on it last night and wasn’t enjoying the controls. I’m not worried about being a purist. I will definitely be playing the HD updates of Wind Waker and Twilight Princess when they’re up.

There's also a GameCube version of OoT. Probably identical controls to the N64 version. But, OoT Master Quest is included. I still haven't played that one through - I was trying to play and write a FAQ and I got burnt out.

I don't want to step on your toes, but it deserves to be mentioned that Link's Awakening is the only game Zelda game where a game-breaking dungeon flaw exists. You were able to jump over / sprint over an area of deep water before getting the flippers, use a key, and then become unable to proceed (the items may be backwards, it's been 20+ years). Hopefully, this gets corrected in the remake.

I'd recommend the 3DS version. Seems to be the best version.