Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES, 1991)
Graphics-9 Sound-9.5 Control-9 Challenge-6.5 Story-7
Level Design-8.5 Frustration-6.5 Fun-9 Originality-7
Overall Score-9
+
Large selection of equipment
Well made adventurous atmosphere
Good length
Great dungeons overall
Good bosses
Great art direction (very consistent)
The game world opens up rather elegantly (begins with a tutorial that doesn’t feel like one, the "gates" don’t feel too forced)
Many memorable locations and characters (man under bridge, flute boy, death mountain, Mr. bunny, the blind girl, Zora waterfalls) Interesting mechanics (bomb jumping, blocks in third dungeon, hook shot, magic effects, create blocks with a magic cane)
Warp out of dungeons (and even boss fights)
Teleport/fast travel around the overworld using whirlpools (and later on the bird) or save & quit (restart at link's house or the sanctuary)
Somewhat comical tone
Improved dialogue and visual clues
Guards that start attacking Link directly when alerted to his presence (game's a bit inconsistent about what they'll react to though)
Various control improvements (diagonal movement, strafing with the sword, three kinds of sword attacks, block projectiles with the sword beam)
Making money is faster than in the first Zelda
More interesting enemies overall
Some context sensitivity (flippers/lantern light/glove (lift heavy rocks)/boots (run) are all equipped automatically)
Some sequence breaking is possible using bombs and ramming knockback around pits
Great map system overall (by default: auto-map that shows your location; the dungeon map shows found chests and the map layout as well as which rooms you've been to, the dungeon compass shows where the boss is)
Forgiving about falling into pits aka pits don't kill (lose a bit of health and respawn where you entered the room)
+/-
Very linear first third of the game (unless you can/want to pull off some fairly difficult glitches)
Easy to acquire more life (heart containers) and to farm for health early on
Holds your hand a lot more than the previous games
Can't turn while running (there's a hack that adds this though)
Getting hit cancels your sword charge
You can only carry 10 bombs and 30 arrows at first (can be upgraded to 99 fairly soon but it's a somewhat tedious process of throwing 50 rupees at a time in a wishing well)
Can't go back into the castle after beating Agahnim
Respawn on the spot if you have a fairy in your inventory
No (traditional) dodge move but you can dodge some things by ramming walls
Need to find the big key in every dungeon to be able to open the chest to the special item (gets a bit tedious in the long run)
Static difficulty (dungeons etc. don't become harder depending on how much progress you've made)
Few uses for some items (net, shovel, quake magic, titan's mitt, hook shot)
Can't choose not to pick up hearts dropped by bosses
Can't attack if standing too far into a doorway (edge of the screen) and can't use secondary weapons while standing in doorways
-
Some reused bosses (three big eye creatures)
No difficulty options and no second quest
Some control/interface issues (small delay when selecting dialogue options, Link is a slow climber (and for some reason you lose control over him when climbing stairs), can't access the overworld map while in-doors, somewhat slow text speed, somewhat sluggish dialogue menus, no journal/log feature (for saving NPC conversation and taking map notes like the stone tablet and heart piece locations))
Can't carry pots etc between screens
Somewhat glitchy AI at times (soldiers stop noticing you, crows)
Feels a bit formulaic (after getting your main quest explained to you there isn't much to do besides going from dungeon to dungeon and collecting hearts - few sidequests (magic powder via the witch, one of the bottles via the middle-aged man, upgraded master sword, bombos medallion and cane of byrna although these don't involve any NPCs), only one major twist)
Backtracking (first dungeon, death mountain, ice dungeon puzzle without the red cane, points of no return in misery mire for example)
Getting new hearts or special weapons is usually a matter of finding them then using a bomb or the hammer (lack of puzzles or enemy challenges to motivate you into collecting stuff)
Odd systems for upgrading items and ammo capacity (throw items in a pond to get upgrades for free from a fairy, pay small amounts at a time to another pond fairy to slowly increase capacity)
Minor scripting problems (Sahasrahla acts like you've been told about him regardless of if you have or not)
Some dead space
Some slowdown
Somewhat boring dialogue and cliché plot
Swamp palace boss is too easy
Too easy to farm for health via anti-fairies in some dungeons (they respawn instantly as you exit the room)
Some annoying sfx (the beeping that doesn't let up while low on health)
Some trial & error (lack of magic potions in some dungeons, eye lasers that shoot through walls while they are off screen, bombs in bushes/enemies under rocks, some boss patterns, dark areas in swamp palace, "I'll give a piece of heart to the person who wears the cape" - and the hook shot apparently, digging up the ocarina, you still pick up bombs/rupees/arrows from chests when you can't carry any more of them, can still get hit by crows when in a tree log tunnel, some bombable walls without clues (generally there's an obvious crack))
Some unnecessary road blocks (the dark large boulder near the lost woods warp, large boulder between the village and the southern field/swamp and the rocks in the river path east of the castle)
Dropped items (or ones found in bushes) don't become immediately interactive - breaks flow a bit
Some gear feels gimmicky/less creative (second armor upgrade, titan's mitt, the blue cane (cane of byrna) - the cane is kind of redundant (almost the same effect as the cape - you'll be detected but it also damages enemies - however the latter costs magic))
Some enemies take too many hits to kill considering their patterns
Can't fill your glass bowls with magic dropped from enemies (for example by grabbing a potion with the net)
The ocarina replaces the shovel (fixed on GBA)
Somewhat muffled sounding instruments at times
Pretty basic animation
Notes:
-GBA ver. comparison video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7_1v2zG6G0&hd=1
-Link can receive a larger reward from stranded fish by carrying them to the Bottle Salesman in Kakariko Village.
Level Design-8.5 Frustration-6.5 Fun-9 Originality-7
Overall Score-9
+
Large selection of equipment
Well made adventurous atmosphere
Good length
Great dungeons overall
Good bosses
Great art direction (very consistent)
The game world opens up rather elegantly (begins with a tutorial that doesn’t feel like one, the "gates" don’t feel too forced)
Many memorable locations and characters (man under bridge, flute boy, death mountain, Mr. bunny, the blind girl, Zora waterfalls) Interesting mechanics (bomb jumping, blocks in third dungeon, hook shot, magic effects, create blocks with a magic cane)
Warp out of dungeons (and even boss fights)
Teleport/fast travel around the overworld using whirlpools (and later on the bird) or save & quit (restart at link's house or the sanctuary)
Somewhat comical tone
Improved dialogue and visual clues
Guards that start attacking Link directly when alerted to his presence (game's a bit inconsistent about what they'll react to though)
Various control improvements (diagonal movement, strafing with the sword, three kinds of sword attacks, block projectiles with the sword beam)
Making money is faster than in the first Zelda
More interesting enemies overall
Some context sensitivity (flippers/lantern light/glove (lift heavy rocks)/boots (run) are all equipped automatically)
Some sequence breaking is possible using bombs and ramming knockback around pits
Great map system overall (by default: auto-map that shows your location; the dungeon map shows found chests and the map layout as well as which rooms you've been to, the dungeon compass shows where the boss is)
Forgiving about falling into pits aka pits don't kill (lose a bit of health and respawn where you entered the room)
+/-
Very linear first third of the game (unless you can/want to pull off some fairly difficult glitches)
Easy to acquire more life (heart containers) and to farm for health early on
Holds your hand a lot more than the previous games
Can't turn while running (there's a hack that adds this though)
Getting hit cancels your sword charge
You can only carry 10 bombs and 30 arrows at first (can be upgraded to 99 fairly soon but it's a somewhat tedious process of throwing 50 rupees at a time in a wishing well)
Can't go back into the castle after beating Agahnim
Respawn on the spot if you have a fairy in your inventory
No (traditional) dodge move but you can dodge some things by ramming walls
Need to find the big key in every dungeon to be able to open the chest to the special item (gets a bit tedious in the long run)
Static difficulty (dungeons etc. don't become harder depending on how much progress you've made)
Few uses for some items (net, shovel, quake magic, titan's mitt, hook shot)
Can't choose not to pick up hearts dropped by bosses
Can't attack if standing too far into a doorway (edge of the screen) and can't use secondary weapons while standing in doorways
-
Some reused bosses (three big eye creatures)
No difficulty options and no second quest
Some control/interface issues (small delay when selecting dialogue options, Link is a slow climber (and for some reason you lose control over him when climbing stairs), can't access the overworld map while in-doors, somewhat slow text speed, somewhat sluggish dialogue menus, no journal/log feature (for saving NPC conversation and taking map notes like the stone tablet and heart piece locations))
Can't carry pots etc between screens
Somewhat glitchy AI at times (soldiers stop noticing you, crows)
Feels a bit formulaic (after getting your main quest explained to you there isn't much to do besides going from dungeon to dungeon and collecting hearts - few sidequests (magic powder via the witch, one of the bottles via the middle-aged man, upgraded master sword, bombos medallion and cane of byrna although these don't involve any NPCs), only one major twist)
Backtracking (first dungeon, death mountain, ice dungeon puzzle without the red cane, points of no return in misery mire for example)
Getting new hearts or special weapons is usually a matter of finding them then using a bomb or the hammer (lack of puzzles or enemy challenges to motivate you into collecting stuff)
Odd systems for upgrading items and ammo capacity (throw items in a pond to get upgrades for free from a fairy, pay small amounts at a time to another pond fairy to slowly increase capacity)
Minor scripting problems (Sahasrahla acts like you've been told about him regardless of if you have or not)
Some dead space
Some slowdown
Somewhat boring dialogue and cliché plot
Swamp palace boss is too easy
Too easy to farm for health via anti-fairies in some dungeons (they respawn instantly as you exit the room)
Some annoying sfx (the beeping that doesn't let up while low on health)
Some trial & error (lack of magic potions in some dungeons, eye lasers that shoot through walls while they are off screen, bombs in bushes/enemies under rocks, some boss patterns, dark areas in swamp palace, "I'll give a piece of heart to the person who wears the cape" - and the hook shot apparently, digging up the ocarina, you still pick up bombs/rupees/arrows from chests when you can't carry any more of them, can still get hit by crows when in a tree log tunnel, some bombable walls without clues (generally there's an obvious crack))
Some unnecessary road blocks (the dark large boulder near the lost woods warp, large boulder between the village and the southern field/swamp and the rocks in the river path east of the castle)
Dropped items (or ones found in bushes) don't become immediately interactive - breaks flow a bit
Some gear feels gimmicky/less creative (second armor upgrade, titan's mitt, the blue cane (cane of byrna) - the cane is kind of redundant (almost the same effect as the cape - you'll be detected but it also damages enemies - however the latter costs magic))
Some enemies take too many hits to kill considering their patterns
Can't fill your glass bowls with magic dropped from enemies (for example by grabbing a potion with the net)
The ocarina replaces the shovel (fixed on GBA)
Somewhat muffled sounding instruments at times
Pretty basic animation
Notes:
-GBA ver. comparison video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7_1v2zG6G0&hd=1
-Link can receive a larger reward from stranded fish by carrying them to the Bottle Salesman in Kakariko Village.