The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - Review

A Link from the Past

Console: Nintendo Switch 2

At the time of writing, my most popular post is The Legend of Zelda Ranking - ANeverEnding Legend. I talk about and rank all the Zelda games that I have ever played with some personal anecdotes thrown in. The game that gets brought up a lot in response, which people say is their favourite, is A Link to the Past. 

I can see why, or at least I think I can. Released for the SNES at the tail end of 1991 in Japan, it’s the third game in the series and arguably its most important one. While the 2D platformer The Adventures of Link sold well, Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto didn’t quite like the way this approach turned out. So, for the sequel, he went back to the core of the original. With the success of the games before it, Nintendo gave the team a much larger budget, and it shows. With its 16-bit, fully coloured graphics, large worlds with plenty of dungeons and a detailed story, it made the original look almost like a prototype. To kids back in the day that must’ve been one exciting leap.

With that Ocarina of Time remake announced and out soon, and with all those recommendations from you lovely readers in mind, I think the time has come to finally experience this classic for myself.

So, without further ado, let's talk about A Link to the Past and see what, exactly, I've been missing out on for so many years. 

One rainy morning Link wakes up from a mysterious dream. Only, it wasn't a dream. It was a telepathic message from Princess Zelda telling him she has been imprisoned by the mysterious wizard Agahnim. Centuries ago, the thief Ganon managed to get his hands on the Triforce but his evil was stopped when the Seven Wise Men sealed him and the Triforce in the alternate dimension now known as the Dark World. Agahnim seeks to use the latent power within the descendants of the Seven Wise Men to get to the Dark World and claim the Triforce. After his uncle fails to save the princess, Link takes up his sword and shield and sets out to free Zelda, stop Agahnim and save Hyrule. 

I find the story of A Link to the Past to be decent. After a Star Wars-esque opening crawl that tells you the backstory regarding the Triforce and Ganon I wrote about above, and setting up the stakes, the game more or less sends you on your way without much further narrative focus. From this point on, the story is mostly told when you free one of the Seven Maidens and at a handful of other 'big' moments. 

You don't get much and what you get are either just the basics to understand what you're fighting for, some admittedly pretty entertaining flavour text by NPCs or hints for items and secrets. Characters fill their role in the world, like being an elderly sage, and not much else. The emphasis here is clearly on discovery and exploration which I can't fault the game for because, well, that’s what the entire series is all about.

Still, I wouldn’t have minded it if we had gotten a bit more. As weird and out of left field Link turning into a rabbit was, it did make for a memorable moment. More stuff like that would’ve made the story stand out more, I think.

A lot of my early time with the game was me coasting on my knowledge of the game's sequel that came decades later, A Link Between Worlds. I recognized Link's house and Hyrule's world layout, knew of helpful characters and how to defeat mini-bosses like Moldorn and Arrghus, while marveling at how things used to be. That was for both good and ill. 

Gathering 3 things to prove yourself worthy for the Master Sword? So this is where that started! I think...

Let's start with some good. Even after 35 years, the visuals and sound of A Link to the Past hold up well. A lot of games these days go all in on the pixel art graphics that harken back to games like this one. Compared to those, I noticed the age of the game because of the lack of modern tricks such as particle effects but not in a problematic way or anything. Just in a ‘oh, this is clearly retro’ kind of way. The visual design here looks good because it goes for a stylized, somewhat chibi-esque look and the developers doing the most they can with the colour palette and the maximum level of detail they had to work with. 

The only issue I encountered is that the game's framerate takes a noticeable dip when there's a lot of things happening on screen. Think 4-5 enemies who all spit out a fireball at the same time. I guess that's a kink they didn't bother ironing out for this NSO re-release. Then again, even a modern game like the Link's Awakening remake also suffered from slowdown in busy areas so... yeah. 

Anyway, the music pretty much has the same story going for it as the graphics. While it sounds rather electronic to my ears, tracks such as the overworld theme are pleasant to listen to and very much help set the tone and atmosphere of this world. Fun fact: the tracks "Princess Zelda, Rescued" and "Agahnim's Theme" would be later rebranded as "Zelda's Theme" and "Ganondorf's Theme" and have been each character’s signature music pieces ever since. 

The game looks familiar but I can't say it controls like I'm used to. Sure, Link can swing his sword, pick up pots, use items and all that stuff but there are some noticeable and annoying hiccups here. Link can move in 8 directions which, considering this was long before any joysticks, was something that surprised me. That extra freedom in direction comes with a price though: precision and responsiveness. 

I can't count the number of times that I, instead of going diagonally, I went straight left or right. Link also doesn't turn automatically when you change direction. He can move to the right or left without facing that direction meaning that, when your enemy moves and you try to move with it, you can suddenly open yourself up to their attack because Link is facing the wrong way. Very, very annoying let me tell you! 

In the Light World that's damage that you can more or less just walk off. Not so in the Dark World where everything hits you for double. You can find mail and upgrade your shield to improve your defences and block more kinds of attacks but initially, even the lowest of foes hit you like a truck and the game is stingy with hearts on top of that. It's best to avoid overworld enemies altogether or attack them from a safe distance, like with arrows or the Master Sword's beam attack which Link can do when he’s at full health.

The latter has my personal preference. Sure, the arrows and bombs hit a lot harder than the Master Sword beam but the latter is instantaneous. Something like the bow and arrows has a bit of a delay, a wind up so to speak, when you click the button which is messing with my timing. Granted, this delay is clearly intentional as it’s a part of more than a few puzzles but I had to choose between the two approaches, I would've gone with snappier item usage. 

That isn't to say I don't use the items at all. Beyond their use during puzzles and finding secrets, the bombs and the hookshot, which was introduced here, are very useful to lure enemies in quickly stun them. The magical rods, while powerful, I barely used. Their range is too short and they eat up too much of the magic meter at first. Until you find the upgrade that cuts magic usage in half, I wouldn't recommend using them at all even except for the puzzle that they are required for.

Speaking of which, let's talk a bit more about the exploration and secrets in this game. While generally good in pointing the player in the general direction they need to go, either through some very clear hints by NPCs or the game literally marking the dungeons and their order on the map, there's still plenty of ‘figure it out yourself’ going on here. An NPC makes an off-handed remark about a location or missing character? Well, there's definitely something there for you to find and get as a reward. Can't read this ancient text? Well, I hope you remember that one book you may have come across and guess the method by which you can knock it down!

That is all typical Zelda, but I feel A Link to the Past leaves too much to chance, is too obtuse. Take the medallions for instance. To open up two dungeons you need to use a magical medallion. If you've already found them, then it’s pretty easy because the symbol in front of the dungeon and on the medallions match. Had you not come across them before then I honestly have to scratch my head at how you were supposed to have figured that out.

Neither the hints and NPC dialogue surrounding the dungeon themselves, or the things that earn you the medallions, hit at one another. It doesn't feel like you followed the bread crumbs and figured out a connection but very much like you just happened to stumble across the answer. Not the way I like my games to be designed. 

And before you ask, I don't think that you can point towards that 'modern games are dumbed down' argument. Yes, this game proves once again that I tend to overthink things. You'd be surprised how often the solution I was looking for was the straightforward, simple solution I had written off because I found it too simple.

And I thought Link's Awakening was the only Zelda game to have Chain Chomps in them!

However: when I went online, a throughline in so many answers from folks who played the game back in the day was that they learned the solution through the official guide or the Nintendo Power hotline/magazine. Even then people had a hard time figuring some of this stuff out. So yeah, I don't feel bad for grabbing an online guide for some of the overworld stuff.

I did set myself the boundary that I wouldn't use any help for the dungeons themselves and that was a good call. Regardless of any issue I have with how the exploration is handled in the overworld, the design of the dungeons are top notch. A great blend of theming, maze-like layouts and puzzles that make you think but are solvable on your own and with fun boss fights. That most of them aren't actually all that long helped too because none of them overstayed their welcome. 

The Skull Woods Dungeon is probably my favourite. Instead of one 'big' dungeon you enter once you constantly go in and out of it through multiple entrances and exits in the woods itself to get to the boss. A neat bit of variety and a good use of the Light World/Dark World shifting mechanic. That final dungeon is also what a final dungeon ought to be. It throws tricks at you from all throughout the game, is the longest yet with over 8 layers and is filled with rooms that I look at and go 'how am I supposed to do that'? A challenge but a welcoming one. They also throw some older bosses your way as mini-bosses and have a secret room with a couple of fairies near them too. That's a bit of 'meeting the player' that I can appreciate. 

Lastly, I do have to mention that I'm glad I played this through NSO and not through the 3DS virtual console copy I have for one very specific reason: save states. The way this title handles saving is very antiquated and, honestly, feels like a way to purposefully pad out game time. That when you save you don't start at the exact same spot is fine but why can you only start the game in 4 pre-set spots? Why do you always start with just 4 hearts? And why do you automatically quit the game when you save? Using the NSO save state feature circumvents all of that and is thus so much more convenient. 

Conclusion

I can see why people who played A Link to the Past remember it so fondly but I mostly see a good but aged adventure in Hyrule. From a lot of things being too obtuse and difficult to figure out, to its shortcomings with the controls and its annoying save system, it feels antiquated and frustrating. The game is at its strongest while in the dungeons themselves where the series's classic puzzle design is on display in full force, the graphics and sound still hold up all these years later and there are some memorable moments sprinkled throughout.

You can certainly give it a try on Nintendo Switch Online if you have the service but I really wouldn't get that subscription just for this game or feel obligated to see it all the way through. If it cliks, it clicks and if not: there are a lot more Zelda games in the sea that, for my money, are the better overall package.