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Classic NES Series: The Legend of Zelda

My, Nintendo sure does know how to exploit their fanbase. Many companies like Midway, Konami, Sega, Intellevision and Konami have all made classic game collections, bundling anywhere from a half a dozen to upwards of thirty classic titles in one package, combining the irresistability of nostalgia with the irresistability of good value to make a tempting new package using already-existing games. Nintendo, on the other hand, is now bringing us their Classic NES Series, which is essentially their way of taking a bunch of games released decades ago, porting them completely unchanged, and selling them for $20 apeice.

It’s ludicrous, it’s highway robbery, and what’s worse: it’ll sell. The saddest thing is, nearly every title in the series is already on the Game Boy, and in many cases in better form. Here’s a quick rundown:

Do not buy Super Mario Bros., as Super Mario Bros. Deluxe for the Game Boy Color gave you twice as much game by including the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2 (generally known as The Lost Levels in the States), as well as a bunch of extra stuff too.

Do not buy Donkey Kong, as the original Game Boy had a version of Donkey Kong with a hundred levels that is still to this day the best version of the game in existence.

Do not buy Bomberman, as the one feature that the series has come to be known for, the multiplayer, wasn’t added until later in the series (and there are multiple decent Bomberman games on the GBA already).

Do not buy Ice Climbers or Excitebike, as both games were already brought to the GBA at $5 apeice along with the E-Reader, which you may as well buy anyways, as it’s worth the price for what it does with Animal Crossing and Super Mario Advance 4. Besides, by now it’s dirt cheap.

In the entire Classic NES Series, every single game released so far, save one, has not only already been brought to the Game Boy, but in most cases been brought to the Game Boy in much better form. This one game, the only title in the Classic NES series worth even looking at, is The Legend of Zelda. It bears mention, that even though this game hasn’t been brought to the Game Boy until now, it is still a title many of you already have on your GameCube, in the form of the free Legend of Zelda: Collector’s Edition bonus disc Nintendo gave away last year. However, if you missed out on that offer or still have a hankerin’ for some classic Zelda in portable form, read on.

For those who haven’t played the original Legend of Zelda, let me give you an idea what to expect. This is one of Nintendo’s legendary titles (no pun intended), one that cemented their reign in the world of videogames. In many ways, it’s nothing like all those new-fangled 3D Zeldas, so it’ll be best if we compare it to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, which was re-released on the GBA fairly recently. Much like that title, Link roams a vast, open countryside, fighting enemies from an 3/4 overhead view with his trusty sword and whatever other weapons he gets his mitts on. Unlike A Link to the Past, The Legend of Zelda is extremely nonlinear, and for those without a familliarity with the title (or a willingness to cheat using hint guides), the very first thing you will do is get lost. Very, very lost.

The game’s instruction book guides you to the first dungeon, but after that you’re on your own, exploring a massive world with little more than your sense of exploration and a few poorly-translated in-game hints propelling you forward. Yes, that’s right, old-timers: everything is as you remember it. It’s still not safe to go alone, and Dodongo still dislikes smoke. Sadly, while this may hold an endearing and powerful level of nostalgia, I cannot stress how those new to the game will get so unbelievably stuck, without a clue what to do next. This is not a user-friendly game by today’s standards, but you kids have had it too easy anyways, right? Just wait ’till you have to start burning every single bush. Just wait until you get to the Lost Woods. Just wait until you get to the second quest. If you even make it that far…

Suffice it to say, for the uninitiated, this game will be very intimidating and frustrating. Still, the game’s level design is impeccable, and the way your heart leaps with joy every time you acquire a new weapon or item simply hasn’t been replicated since (at least, not to the same degree). There’s a reason this game became one of Nintendo’s centerpeice franchises, and even despite the fact that the game now finds itself in a day with some very different technical standards, graphical standards, and challenge level standards, The Legend of Zelda’s gameplay still shines through.

Well, it doesn’t shine through perfectly. There are a few problems here and there. First off, the game’s controls are a tad on the stiff side. Also, while scrolling from one screen to the next, it isn’t always as smooth as it used to be, and the game runs into a lot of slowdown, more than even the original version of the game seemed to have had. While you could argue this slowdown as an integral part of replicating the feel of the original game, it’s essentially replicating one of the original game’s flaws, and one that could have been easily remedied.

Also peculiar is the fact that while the game proudly preserves the original’s save feature (a feature that The Legend of Zelda was the first videogame to have ever used), Nintendo has changed the way the save menu is brought up, and neglected to put this information in the instruction book. For those who wish to save without committing suicide (and adding one more number to Link’s death count), you must open the menu screen, hold up and press Select. This is a tiny nitpick but still worth mention. Oh, also, the cartridge, like the others in the Classic NES Series, is gray. Dammit, the Zelda cartridge should have been gold.

Other than this, the game is pretty faithfully ported, for better or worse. This means that the game has zero enhancements to take advantage of the Game Boy Advance. None. We’re not talking a Super Mario Advance remake here, we’re talking an “exactly the same” port, which is odd because Nintendo did at one time release a graphically-enhanced version of the game in Japan. However, releasing one of these Classic NES Series titles with improvements and the rest without would have defeated the primary purpose: To make Nintendo money. Remember, Nintendo wants you to give them money, not to make you happy.

Let’s face it, if you’ve played this game back on the NES, and hold it in the high regard it demanded from the world when it was originally released, odds are you still have a copy, which makes a straight port to superior hardware a tad underwhelming. If you haven’t played it, either then or in the Zelda Collector’s Edition on the Cube, you really should, although odds are good you may end up disliking it for being created with the standards of a different era. Either way, despite being the only worthwhile title in the Classic NES Series, The Legend of Zelda will still undoubtedly leave a sour taste in the mouths of almost everyone who plays it, which is sad because this is one of the best games ever created.

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Posted by Jake McNeill on Jun 7th, 2004 and is filed under GBA Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.

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