The ultimate adventure game which spawned the greatest games of our lifetime.
A masterpiece of gaming, Zelda offers its players a non-linear game environment where you have to actually search and find hidden items and dungeons in order to progress thoughout the game. Link starts with only 3 hearts as energy but can collect heart containers throughout the game in order in increase his health meter. Also, with the collection of Rubies, you can purchase shields and key items in order to advance and complete your mission. But some shops and items are well hidden and require many hours of gameplay in order to find all you need. You can also increase the amount of rubies carried with money bags found in the game so that your total can max out at 255. There are also side missons where you can deliver a letter to an old woman in order to be able to purchase potions to restore your health.
The action is non-stop as enemies appear on almost every screen as you move throughout the land or in dungeons. Some enemies can only be hit with certain weapons, fly around or hide under the sand. You have to learn each weakness in order to survive. Each dungeon has a boss enemy which in turn gives you a heart container upon defeat and a piece of Triforce which is the main goal of the game. Collecting the Triforce pieces enables you to confront Ganon in the final level and restore peace to the land. Some bosses can only be defeated with certain weapons such as arrows or bombs.
Speaking of items and weapons. There is a vast array of each and none of them are useless. You can collect sevral items such as blue & red candles, bombs, bow & arrows, Boomerrangs & a Large shield. The most important are the Master Sword and Silver arrows which are the only effective weapons against Ganon. Boomerrang can also stun enemies and freeze them for an easy kill.
What makes this such a perfect game is the amount of time needed to completely finish the game. You need to collect so many different items and go through many dungeons and areas on the map that it seems to go on forever. You can bomb areas for hidden rooms and also burn away trees for secrets. Not only that, but there is a complete second quest you can go through which has everything totally in different areas and is alot harder to finish.
A pure classic in every way, shape and form. A template for all future adventure games and still great to play even against todays games.