Review: The Legend of Zelda (1986)
I’m on a quest to broaden my gaming experience into some new genres and to play some more retro games. With a deep love of The Legend of Zelda, Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, I’m going back to the beginning and playing the first 4 games in the franchise. All are included with Nintendo Switch Online, and with the new release of Echoes of Wisdom, there’s no better time to go back to the roots of the series and experience how it all started by playing The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II Link’s Adventure, A Link to The Past, and Link’s Awakening.
Starting with the first in the franchise is The Legend of Zelda. I have to admit I was a little wary starting this game. I’m the type of gamer that is like a magpie, I love a shiny modern design and I find it quite difficult to play earlier games with simpler graphics when I know I can play something new and flashy. So this was a difficult start for me. Being familiar with the Zelda lore was helpful for this, I kind of knew what to expect in terms of a heroes adventure, save Princess Zelda, complete 8 dungeons and collect the triforce pieces etc.
What I didn’t expect however, was the lack of map, which I wasn’t expecting. Plodding around the game was fine in the beginning, I found my first dungeon quite easily and to my surprise, got through the battles and bosses without too much trouble. The game is non linear so in theory you can take on any dungeon in any order, but you might need certain weapons for certain bosses. I did find my bearings without the map quite well after a while, but eventually I did hit a point where I found it easier to use a walkthrough (thank you Zelda dungeon.com!) just so the frustration of finding a dungeon didn’t get in the way of my enjoyment.
Visually, while of course simplistic compared to today’s standards, I actually found the 8 bit graphics quite charming. Being familiar already with common enemies like the Zoras or Lynels it was really fun to spot the early designs and to see where it all began. You’ll recognise the music, the little jingles when you find an item, and it was genuinely very fun.
From a difficulty stand point, I was worried it was going to be really difficult in terms of puzzle complexity and boss difficulty. But I found the heart containers quite simply which helped, and the hardest part was up until the 5th dungeon, when I was able to get the magic sword, and then after that the bosses were a breeze.
The game establishes the game format, story and characters well and is a really strong introduction to the franchise.
