The original Legend of Zelda is one of my favorite games of all time, on what I believe is one of the best consoles of all time. It opened so many doors for so many genres and games it’s unprecedented and Zelda’s impact on the world post-original Zelda was evident almost immediately, whether it be the shortages of Zelda II’s in the US leading to it being sold out, the Nintendo cereal featuring Zelda, or the cartoon that came after the original two games, Zelda had landed, just like Mario before it. While Zelda would go on to change the series as it progressed, it also decided upon a much more drawn out and drafted style, one which I personally believe shined a light on some blemishes the series has in its core-development.
The Legend of Zelda for the NES kind of plays out like the Mormon Word of Wisdom, it seems wacky and absurd from the perspective of a 2010’s human being, but in general… some of that stuff is probably going to help you out. The Legend of Zelda seems to be like a wise Uncle who you don’t pay attention to, he’s seen the development of this world, but no-one takes his advice on board. Which is why I would like to dedicate this article to a couple of things The Legend of Zelda manages to get right, that very few have gotten right after, this is: 4 Things to Learn from The Legend of Zelda (NES).
1: Pretentiousness Will Get You Nowhere
The Legend of Zelda, as time progresses and hardware became more advanced, has been able to slip more story and context into the games. This, for the most part, is a good thing and it keeps me interested in the intricacies of the worlds. Although A Link to the Past isn’t one of my favorite Zelda games (blasphemer), I think the way it handles the mix between gameplay over story and developing the world itself is pretty great. There’s an opening you can watch for more details, they gradually give you a little more as you go, but mostly you are on your own to defeat monsters and save the princess quickly. The Legend of Zelda (NES) lets all pretentiousness slide off itself completely, by hardly giving you story at all. Look at the manual if you please but after this… well, you’re a kid in woods, beating down bad guys and insects with a sword. You wouldn’t even know what your purpose is, much like a kid playing in the woods… you just do it. And with that, you find underground caves and dungeons, it’s almost like you are imagining the action as it goes… just like a kid… and I guess that’s where The Legend of Zelda does everything right for me, Link doesn’t feel like the ‘destined’ hero of Hyrule, everything is a mystery including what you have to do. Speaking of…
2: Mystery is Good
The Legend of Zelda took me a long time to 100% complete, it was a game that held many mysteries with few hints to the gold at the end of the rainbow. Don’t you remember how exciting it was to burn that one bush, leading to a cave with a new heart piece? Those was actual hidden secrets. Remember going through the waterfall? Actual mystery. It wasn’t exactly clear where everything was and there wasn’t always hints, whether they be physical or urban legend passed on by townsfolk (or old men, I guess), The Legend of Zelda had actual mystery to it, things that you couldn’t possibly find by yourself without actually exploring. The Legend of Zelda made finding 100 rupees the most exciting thing ever.
3: Hide the Items Better
Look, a lot of this is subjective, but I am a bigger fan of finding crucial items outside of the dungeons. I just am. It feels oh so satisfying not knowing what’s coming when you open a chest, only to find out it’s something that is going to help you out tremendously throughout your journey and in the original Zelda, this felt like a better mix than any other game. It isn’t perfect, you DO find absolutely crucial items in the dungeon, but in Zelda you find the defence and attack rings, the candle, white sword, magical sword… and these items weren’t just throwaways, if you wanted to see the game to the end, I suggest them highly. There was no tutorial for finding these items, you just found them (to segue…)
4: No Tutorials
I love you Nintendo, but jeez man, that Skyward Sword tutorial was heavy. Like, really heavy. We got a great comeback to being a normal damn game with A Link Between Worlds, but I’m pretty sure I was just getting instructions thrown at me until like, an hour to an hour and a half into Skyward Sword. It was really boring. You know what happens when you turn NES Zelda on? You pick your name (if you pick anything but Link you are nature’s greatest monster) and then you go. That is all. Hell, you can decide not to get the sword if you really want. The Legend of Zelda has no limits to what you can do, it don’t roll like that. Since the dawn of 3D gaming and continuing into the No Physical Manual generation, Zelda has had to continually increase the amount that we learn in-game and this has come at a cost of our patience. Just… treat your audience with some respect, you know? We love these games Nintendo, just don’t make them a chore.
To close, I just find it strange how backwards developers can get it, despite the fact that they have already figured the source of the problem out and a long time ago at that. The Legend of Zelda does have inherent problems, but they were rectified later on, it’s just that things Zelda didn’t have an issue with are suddenly issues and with no defining reason. Nintendo has the answer to these problems in their back-catalogue, just not using them. Miyamoto is on record as saying he cares more about the gameplay than the story, well… really focus on the gameplay this time. If you have to… just the gameplay. The Legend of Zelda on the NES definitely plays out like that for the most part and I would consider it one of the better ones. We know a moderate amount about the new Zelda, including that they’re trying to make it more open-world like the original, which is great, well… here’s to hoping they take some advice on board.
