I feel like I should provide some context behind that statement. As old’ school as I am, even I need to admit when a game has become terribly dated. Most of my favorite games from the past fifteen years or older haven’t really held up all that well; Devil May Cry is one (at least the first and second games), the original Sonic the Hedgehog is one (although I still enjoy it regardless), Final Fantasy VII is one (I know my generation is supposed to put it in the automatic second to VI, but VIII and IX have actually held up far better in hindsight.) But, A Link to the Past can be released today and still hold its own against its contemporaries, with its 3DS successor acting as somewhat of a confirmation. That isn’t to say that all old games become garbage fires after a long while, but a lot of them are stuck-in-time relics that can only exist in the time of their releases. But, the third title in the Zelda series remains the ultimate template of which many action adventures have liberally borrowed from since 1991.
It takes place not only before the last two games but in a generation long before those games. Long ago in the land of Hyrule, legends told of an omnipotent Golden Power residing in parts unknown. Legions of men sought to enter these parts, known simple as the Golden Land, and all have failed. Until one day, an evil power began to expel out of the Golden Land. So, not taking any chances, the King of Hyrule commanded seven sages to seal its gates for eternity. Eons later, a mysterious wizard named Agahnim would come to Hyrule in an attempt to break the seal of the seven sages. He would kill the king (by a rather crispy incineration), cast a spell on the castle guards to do his bidding, and capture the sages’ descendants, sending them directly to the Golden Land, now known as the Dark World. Six has already vanished to the Dark World, and all that remain is the seventh; the king’s daughter, Zelda. In a last ditch effort to stop Agahnim from breaking the seal, Zelda telepathically implores a young woodsman named Link to save her and derail the evil wizard.
Off the bat, it’s rather remarkable that a video game would maintain that must expedition, even before the game starts. It’s not a necessary component; in fact, it’s actually possible to enjoy the game without even indulging in the games plot. But, the only games at its time to engage in this kind of storytelling were Role-Playing Games, like the Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy series. Even Final Fantasy was beginning to just explore world-building and character studies in its fourth installment’s released in the same year. We were cleared beginning to see the potential of video games as a medium to tell compelling stories right here and right at this time in general.
The game itself exceeds its builds upon its predecessors by leaps and bound; foregoing Hyrule’s more barren wasteland look of the first game, in A Link to the Past, Hyrule is vibrant, colorful, and lively, even for a 16-bit video game. Most enemies react to you when they see you, the world actually has towns and deserts and forests to explore aside from the game’s 13 dungeons, and each individual dungeon has its own identity as opposed to the homogenized feel of the dungeon of the first two games. The presentation is top-notch, down to the smallest detailed of the game; the use of rain to set the mood of the game’s opening segments (perhaps the first time rain was used in video games at all), and interaction with inanimate objects (throwing jars, cutting tall grass, and chopping and throwing bushes). It built upon the mechanics of the first game; Link must explore the land of Hyrule, and excavate its many dungeons while combating monster with his sword and many tools that discover along the way. It’s refinement at its best.
While Ocarina of Time has burdened a lot of blame for the Zelda series become formulaic (which it a rather weak criticism; even films like Star Wars and the Marvel films rely on an established formula), A Link to the Past ultimately set up that template of find the dungeon, explore the dungeon, find the specific item to complete set dungeon, beat the dungeon’s master, rinse and repeat. It even establishes the “find the three specific McGuffins to claim the Master Sword” formula that’s dominated the structure the Zelda from then on. So, if you're wondering how we initially got here, well, now you know. But it works: that formula gave something to the Zelda series in general, and A Link to the Past in particular, what the original didn’t have and what Zelda II struggled with; a clearly defined structure to beat the game. Preferences be damned, I’d gladly take necessitated marks on my map (and that map in general) over naked exploration.
Throughout the game, you’ll be traversing through a dark palace, a traitorous swamp, and a rather nasty marsh just to name a few locals. As puzzles, some of these dungeons are straight up Rubik’s Cubes. The Ice Palace, or level 5, is particularly tricky due to its slippery terrane and the contents back-and-forth between a few of its floor. Ganon’s Tower is perhaps one of the toughest dungeons, not only in the game but in the entire series, acting as a daunting final exam that’s followed by a final showdown that’ll test your endurance as well as your patience.
It’s true that most of the games in our childhood don’t hold up as well as we think they do in hindsight, but A Link to the Past still stands as one of the most well-crafted games yet made, and perhaps the most influence game ever made. I literally can’t praise this game enough, especially since YouTube have done enough of the praising for me. Just as a piece of video game’s history, it’s would a study. As a fan of the series, I would greatly recommend this being a starting, especially for the uninitiated who has any interest in the series now rich, if not convoluted, lure. As it ranks in the series, I won’t argue with anyone who considers this the apex of the Legend of Zelda, but for me, it does stand as the proprietor of the now all-to-familiar template. That’s not a bad deal, through; the formula works so well, Nintendo decided not to mess with it until recently, with A Link Between Worlds in 2013 and the upcoming Breath of the Wind, and as far as the 2D model is concern, there isn’t single game in the franchise that’s done it better. Believe the hype; this Legend kicks ass!