This beloved game series practically set the standard for action-adventure games.
Let's acknowledge one of the titles that set the foundation for the franchise. The game that took
the series from being good, to great. With a host of new elements that we still see used today.
This.
Is the legend of zelda, a link to the past iceberg.
Laying the Groundwork
Many of the staples that we've seen throughout the zelda franchise were introduced or cemented
in this title. Let's start with some of the core features for the foundation solidified
in this game. First and foremost, the legend of the franchise, culminated within this game. Find
3 core items, attain the master sword, experience the major plot twist, gather additional items,
then defeat the final boss. This core formula of the series was repeated many times throughout the
zelda games. We also saw a general shift in this game, with much more puzzle oriented gameplay,
rather than mostly action-adventure and exploration. Beyond the lore and structure
of the game, we see other franchise staples in this game as well: Dungeon-specific keys,
Pieces of hearts to increase your health pool, cooccos, the master sword, the grappling hook,
the pegasus boots, the ping pong boss battle mechanic, and more. We also see the
introduction of the knights of hyrule who would be a recurring group of characters within the series.
Another interesting addition to the game is the animation and victory fanfare that's played when
Link acquires a new item. He holds the item proudly above his head, sharing his finds with
the player. There is even a little moment where a merchant explains that Link should always do this,
as it's good for business. This would definitely become another staple within the series.
This is also the first time within the series that we see the iconic zelda logo,
with a title in front of a sword and shield. The Japanese cover of the game didn't feature this,
instead opting for a triforce behind the title. Nevertheless we saw several
variants and inspirations from this logo throughout future entries of the series.
Musical Legend
Another of this game's greatest introductions was 2 of its most famous songs, the overworld theme,
and zelda's lullaby.
Both of these, and various renditions of them,
would go on to be extensively used within the series.
The First Prequel
This is the third zelda game to be created, but According to the official zelda timeline,
it's actually a prequel to the first two games. Upon first hearing the title of the game,
many people assumed the game would feature time travel. But the clever pun featured
within the title, actually just refers to the past timeline that the game would take place in.
A Second World
Another staple addition first seen in the series, is a second world to explore,
that the player must discover and traverse through in order to complete the game.
This eventually becomes a concept that's revisited several times throughout the franchise, although
it's not necessarily in the same manner as Link to the Past, with its light and dark worlds.
The Death Counter
This was definitely a product of its era, with games being generally more challenging
and difficult. The credits of the game will display all of your deaths in each
dungeon before displaying a grand total. The game obviously counts your deaths against this tally,
but each time you save and quit, it also applies toward this counter. So in order to get a perfect
0 deaths, you need to complete the game without dying, in a single extended play session.
Growing Pains, growing pains, Awkward adolescence
Although many of the game's aspects became future staples of the series,
many things would serve as a lesson to be learned from, promptly being removed after
this game. Some of these aspects include: the seven sages are referred to as the seven wise
men. The hylians were also simply referred to as hylia. Taking a page out of mario's universe,
certain enemies are actually hyruleans, who have been placed under a dark world curse,
due to their evil nature. The master sword is also treated differently in this game. It's
base level is unable to damage the final boss with its default attack. It can also be tempered twice
by dwarven swordsmiths and a great fairy, whereas other games typically require divine intervention.
And up until breath of the wild, its golden form was the most powerful sword in the series.
And speaking of the dwarven race, this is their only appearance within the franchise.
They would eventually be replaced by the gorons. This is one of the only instances
in the series that the essence of the triforce, actually speaks to link in the end of the game.
The Unkilllable Annoyance
There is a thief in the forest that will occasionally attempt to rob you of your
valuables. When your character is attacked, several of your items will drop around you.
The thief will attack you and eventually attempt to grab your dropped valuables. When you try to
punish the little deviant, you'll find that its invulnerable, preventing it from ever receiving
the justice it may have deserved. Another nuisance is the first appearance of the wallmaster,
that will drop from the top of the screen in skull woods. While the monster is killable,
it will quickly get replaced by another. Another addition to the franchise was the
pitfall traps. Falling in to these traps will typically return you to a previous area, losing
half a heart in the process. However, we'll go over a special pit fall trap later in the video.
The Flute is Not a Flute
The graphic for the item more closely resembles an ocarina.
While some people believe this to be a simple translation error,
others believe that this item just served as the inspiration for later appearances.
The Rarest Sword
At one point in the game you can upgrade the tempered sword into the strongest
weapon in the game, the golden sword. It's said to be the only sword that
can damage gannon with its base attack. However, what's most special about this
sword is that it's the only time in the franchise that a golden sword is used.
A Second Villain
This is the first time in the series that we see a red herring for the final boss.
Aganim was set up to be the final boss according the game's story.
It's a point of debate as to the relation between aganim and gannon.
In the english version, it's implied that aganim is another version of gannon, or is simply a
split part of his soul. However, the animation of aganim's defeat, and the japanese version,
suggest that he is a completely separate entity from gannon, that's under some form of possession.
No Pants
If you examine the game's official artwork, you can actually see that young Link is not wearing
any form of pants or tights under his tunic. Although it's been confirmed through the mahnga,
that he is indeed wearing underwear, shorts, or briefs. Also, the artwork shows link as having
a darker blonde hair. However, link's in-game sprite features a more pink hue color to his hair.
One theory for this, is that it's due to color palette limitations within the game.
When link turns into a bunny, the color was essential. Other people insist that
it's simply as an easier way for the color to visually stand out. The color may have
been necessary to change due to the character sprite and the rest of the game's backgrounds.
Size matters
This game in particular is notorious for having a small hitbox range for the starter sword.
Throughout most of the successor games within the series, the swords hitbox tends to stay mostly
consistent with an adequate range. Being in line with the difficulty level of many
games in this time, This short sword range granted one of the more notable challenges
in an early game. As it forced players to get very close to enemies. Luckily
the range was increased to a more managable distance when you acquire the master sword.
Secrets & Such
There are a number of hidden secrets within the game. They range from fairly well known ,like
the coocco attack swarm, to once-in-a-lifetime rewards, immortalizing one lucky magazine reader
in 19 90. There is a portrait of mario found in a home. Pulling on it will cause a number of rupees
to burst out. There's another reference to mario games with the addition of the chain
chomps in turtle rock. You can also find a coocco hidden underneath a pot in a house.
If you sprinkle magic dust on it, the coocco turns into a woman. She explains that the weathervayne
coocco in the middle of town is always watching you. And she also expresses her desire to return
back to being a coocco. When the two blacksmiths are hammering your sword, if you join in with
your own hammer, they will express to you that amateurs shouldn't interfere with their work.
In an early volume of nintendo power, they issued a contest whereby players
could compete. The players were challenged to send in a picture of the elusive war meck from
the original final fantasy game. A random entry was selected to be featured in an upcoming game
at the time. This was that award. The winner was given their very own named room within the game,
complete with a plaque that cemented them in gaming history. The winner was given their very
own named room within the game, complete with a plaque that cemented them in gaming history.
Parallel Worlds
This is a special game mod that more serves as a complete fan overhaul.
Additions include new graphics, music, an entirely new overworld and underworld,
a day and night system, and a new storyline. The mod has recieved mostly positive reception,
with many people remarking on the high level of difficulty and challenge.
Censored Title
Like most other Nintendo games of its time, the game was censored during its localization
to Western audiences. Many of which are related around religious contexts. Some changes include:
the delete save file option originally being called 'kill', instead of delete,
The priests are renamed Sages. The church is renamed to a sanctuary. And Symbols containing
hexagrams were changed to a strange symbol. And perhaps the largest censorship of all,
is the title of the japanese game, Triforce of the gods. This also contributes to the game's sequel,
a link between worlds. Which is more appropriately named Triforce of the Gods 2.
Plot Holes
There exists at least 2 debated plot holes within this game. The first is
the flute. You can't normally use the flute in the dark world, but conveniently enough,
after the second fight with agahnim, link is able to use the flute to call the bird.
The second major plot hole is based around the lore of the game,
that states that the light arrows are required to defeat Gannon. However, players have
found a way to bypass this requirement. By spinning the sword at a specific time after
gannon begins to teleport, you can damage him, regardless of stunning him via a silver arrow.
Link's Family
In most games, we see little to no mention of link's family. However, this is one of
the few games that directly involves one of his kin. Link's uncle makes an appearance as
an early guide and teacher to the protaggonist. Although in the mahnga adaptations of the games,
we see some additional references to his parents. And we find out that they have
somehow found their way into the dark world, forcing link to become under the care of his
uncle. It is interesting to note that the other members of his family are all knights of hyrule.
Paradox Cave
There exists an area in death mountain that contains a special pitfall trap. To reach this
area, you must enter the lower right corner of hyrule's death mountain. When you enter this pit,
you will ironically land in front of a cave that's actually higher up topographically on the map.
This aptly named paradox cave, is a popular location to check for progression during
randomizer play sessions. And for those who don't know, randomizers are mods that shuffle
the location of all the important items of the game, making the game even more challenging.
The Golden Realm
This is said to be the resting place of the triforce. It was renamed to the Golden Land
upon localization. In the instruction manual we can see some art of what it supposedly looks like.
The art displays floating landmasses and a golden sun with a triforce inside of it.
Although The lore within the game actually states that no one actually knows what the
golden world looked like before gannon corrupted it. And even more ironic, is that this was the
only artwork that displayed the golden realm in this manner. Later titles in the series
show it to be a beautiful and lush world, that appears not much different than hyrule itself.
The Manual's Inconsistencies
While we're on the subject of the game's manual,
let's point out the translation additions. When the game was being localized, the translators
took the liberty of adding some additional texts. While these are appreciated at the time,
it would later create several Inconsistencies within the story and lore for later titles.
Many of these were simply verbiage and contextual changes, that set different tones and situations
throughout. I'll put a link down below for those who want to further look into it.
Magical Telepathy
This game, and a few others in the series, show zelda, link, and several other entities
to possess a form of telepathy. The source of this is never fully explained. Some have
theorized characters who have wielded the triforce pieces innately gain this trait.
Others suggest that it's a simple magical ability that can be learned within their universe.
In any case, it doesn't seem to be only protaggonists or hylians, as ganondorf
has been shown to possess the ability as well. Let us know if you have any theories on this.
The Adaptations
There are three different adaptations of this game in print form. The first
was a western comic adaptation that was initially serialized in Nintendo power.
It was eventually published in graphic novel form, and later translated into Japanese.
And although it was created by a mahnga artist, it's technically not considered mahnga. There
were, however, 2 different mahnga adaptations for the game. The first was released in 19 95,
the second was released in 2005. None of these adaptations are said to be officially canon.
Uncle's Last Words
In each of the translations for Link's Uncle's final words, we're left hanging mid sentence.
In the English version it reads, Zelda is your, blank. The Japanese version is equally puzzling,
as it instead reads, You are the princess's, blank. Some translations, such as the spanish
version, simply omit the phrase entirely. In these instances, it's possible that the translators were
unsure of its meaning and felt it best to remove the text. And in future Game boy advance versions,
the text was modified to more properly express the request of saving zelda.
Though some fans have still speculated on some further meanings behind this cliffhanger.
One theory suggests it was meant to read something akin to star wars, help me obi wan kenobi,
you're my only hope. you are zelda's only hope. Others have theorized that there were originally
plans to have them be relatives of some kind. Perhaps siblings, cousins, or another form of
family. Zelda and links relationship is never explicitly stated throughout the franchise.
So the notion of the two being siblings is not out of the realm of possibility.
Some even suggest that the evidence for them being siblings is strengthened in ocarina of time.
In O O T, Link's mother delivered him to the deku tree when he was just a baby,
and she died shortly after. Because we never see zelda's mother either,
some have speculated that this suggests Link and Zelda may have the same mother.
Early dialogue from zelda in the game, speak about how link seems familiar to her, which
only further fuels the notion. Is it possible that Zelda and Link are siblings, separated at birth?
While a link to the past may not be the number 1 zelda game of all time, it helped to solidify
the zelda franchise in nintendo's arsenal. This game walked, so its successors could
run. And there's no end in sight for this gaming giant. Like and subscribe if you want to see more
videos like this. And let me know what subjects you want to see covered in the comments below.