The Legend of Zelda (NES, 1987)
The innovative Hyrule adventure that started it all.
Nostalgia Factor: Medium. Zelda games are near and dear to me, but I hadn’t played this until recently. I have much less fondness for the NES than I do for the SNES.
Difficulty: Hard. The combat isn’t too difficult, but finding your next objective without following a guide is the real challenge.
Really, Mo? Only an 8 out of 10? Yes, I apologize to anyone that insists this is the greatest game ever made, a timeless 10 out of 10. I have to confess that I struggle a bit with NES games. I just barely missed the NES era growing up, so I’m notably lacking in nostalgia and fondness for Nintendo’s breakout console. My neighbor had an NES, and I played a few games at his place every once in a while. But the SNES was the first console that I owned and the first console to truly sweep me away into the wonder of video games.
That being said, I still very much enjoyed this game. It’s truly incredible how well this game has withstood the test of time. From someone who struggles to enjoy most NES games (there are a few that I adore, don’t get me wrong), this game is wonderfully playable today for Zelda fans or anyone interested in the best that the NES has to offer.
Don’t assume (like I did) that this game will be too primitive. All of the basic elements of what you love about Zelda games are right here. I’m amazed at how they were able to fit all of this onto a NES cart (only 40KB of space). I was lucky to have the wealth of information from the internet at my disposal, but I love hearing about gaming veterans of olde that drew maps by hand in order to chart out and navigate this game.
The digital age is a blessing, but I do wonder what it would be like to talk about video game secrets with your friends at school in the pre-internet era. Printed game guides weren’t really popularized until the 90s. My buddies and I talked Pokemon constantly in grade school, but I could still go home and thumb through my Brady Games strategy guide of Pokemon Yellow when I couldn’t figure out how to get Snorlax to wake up.
Imagine having no one to turn to for answers except your friends or the expensive Nintendo Power Hotline at $1.50 a minute ($4 a minute, adjusted for inflation). I read that some gamers even wrote letters to Nintendo Power, asking about where to go next in the wild world of Hyrule. Many received detailed responses in the mail several days or even weeks later. Or, as many gamers still do today, you can discover through persistent trial and error.
That’s how I learned that shooting Link’s bow takes away precious rupees, haha. I didn’t see an arrow count anywhere, so I just assumed that the arrows were free? “Wow, this game is so generous compared to other Zelda games!” I didn’t realize that arrows cost one rupee each until half of my rupees were gone 🤡.
Do yourself a favor and take a trip to 1987. Take The Legend of Zelda for a spin. It’s a fantastic adventure and a great experience for Zelda fans who want to see where it all began.