Hello and welcome to Under the super scope where we take a look at some of the famous
games of all time and try to work out exactly what makes them so good and whether they still
hold up today.
It doesn’t matter if they’re 5 or 35, all we want to know is why they’re fun.
There are tons of great games out there in the wild but only a few are truly masterful.
A Link to the Past is one with such a pristine reputation but in a world where the franchise
has over a dozen more entries and this particular one has a sequel.
Is a Link to the Past still one of the best games ever made?
Well, let’s find out But first let’s examine exactly what Zelda
was before A Link to the Past.
The Legend of Zelda was THE adventure game.
You’re plopped into an open world with no direction and the puzzle is to navigate, to
stumble across dungeons and find secret paths and basically become a master of this world
and I think it still mostly holds up.
Every screen has a purpose and it wasn’t afraid to let the player work things out on
their own.
In a sense open world games regressed after The Legend of Zelda and focused more on building
sandboxes to hold linear missions than allowing the world to be the mission.
When it comes to dungeons though Zelda 1 is all combat.
Sure, you’ll push a block or bomb a wall but in most cases all you’ll be doing is
clearing a room of enemies – and with the vile, over the top evilness that are the wizzrobes
and darknuts, it’s not always easy.
Link can only move in a 4 directional grid too so you’ll have to be really precise
with both your attacks and your movement.
While flawed in areas, Zelda 1’s foundation can be seen in every other game in the franchise
and to an extent the majority of games in the industry.
Some secrets were perhaps a tad too cryptic as their primary purpose was to sell a few
more copies of Nintendo power but it also creates this social dynamic.
“Did you know about that bush you can burn?”
“ Did you know about that wall?”.
There’s a certain satisfaction to learning every single corner of this Hyrule.
The gameplay may be stiff in areas but the world is just as tremendous.
Next we have Zelda 2, something with a slightly lesser reputation.
Much like Super Mario Bros.2 and Castlevania 2, Zelda 2 didn’t play it safe and goes
against many of the key fundamentals of its predecessor.
For one, it was a sidescroller.
While Zelda 1 was hard, Zelda 2 is freaking something else.
It may be the black sheep of the franchise for its differences and unruly difficulty
but it was a necessary footstep to A Link to the Past.
Zelda 1 represented a boy wondering around a Forest.
Zelda 2 is far larger in scope and has you visiting towns and talking to NPC’s.
Many of the franchise’s RPG routes originate from this game but of course the future was
selective.
The magic meter returned but the levelling up system was essentially ditched.
Deeper combat returned but with the routes of Zelda 1’s simplicity.
This short retrospective was to show you how the team learned from the highly acclaimed
Zelda 1 and the lesser Zelda 2 and used the best of both to form something even better.
So now let’s examine what makes A Link to the Past so good.
Immeidetely A Link to the Past shows us something neither Zelda 1 nor 2 gave us directly through
text, story.
Sure all games have that scrolling back story but as soon as we start A Link to the Past
we’re contacted telepathically by Zelda, telling us something’s gone horribly wrong
and she’s trapped inside Hyrule Castle.
Now telling a direct story alone isn’t effective.
I mean Zelda 2 told us everything we need to know just by spawning us by a sleeping
princess.
What A Link to the Past does constantly and effectively is use the narrative as a form
of progression and direction.
Now that isn’t to say character spout things like “Hey Link, try placing a bomb by this
wall, I hear explosives are effective against both living things and structures”..no narrative
is a gentle sway in the right direction here.
As we exist Link’s house we’re introduced to a world vastly different to that of the
original Zelda.
The tone is dark and foreboding with eerie music and thunderous weather and we can’t
really explore anywhere yet as guards are blocking every exit.
For trying to explore, we aren’t punished but we’re provided with context.
When what are seemingly castle guards holding down the surrounding areas of the castle,
something certainly isn’t right.
Make no mistake.
These guys are roadblocks intended to stop us from exploring the world early but they
double as story pillars.
As we move on we’re quickly introduced to a brand new element: puzzles.
Now Zelda 1 had its fair share of walls to blow up but A Link to the Past sets the tone
early on.
If you wonder around for a while Zelda will contact you telepathically again and give
you a hint that there’s a secret passage.
She doesn’t tell you exactly where but as a first time player, if you were stumped,
well now you have a goal.
Breath of the Wild actually does the exact same thing under the exact same conditions.
Naturally you’ll eventually find this this footpath leading towards and oddly suspicious
patch of grass.
We don’t have our sword yet but we’re able to lift it up and then make our way to
the secret underground passage to Hyrule Castle.
Immediately though we’ve learned a critically skill: iteration.
The A button in A Link to the Past is used to move text along, pick up objects and pull
objects.
It’s a critical function that we’re now subconsciously using on anything we don’t
intend to kill.
Then as we travel down the passage we find our uncle has been attacked.
He informs us that “Zelda is your…” and then dies and hands us the family sword.
Anyway now we have one of the most precious tools in the game, our sword.
The sword functions extend far beyond that of Zelda 1 and with it we’ll not only attack
enemies but also use it solve puzzles.
Importantly though combat is so much better than the first game.
Link no longer moves in a four directional grid and used his time away from the NES to
work out a little.
He’s a lot more flexible with essentially freeform movement and a much deeper combat
system.
Kinda like Zelda 2, enemies now have shields that can block Link’s attacks.
It’s not so much of a guessing game to where they’ll block though as their hitbox essentially
as a small part of their hitbox that you can’t attack.
Kinda like the Darknuts of Zelda 1, but manageable.
All of this is fine, this is not.
The game gradually eases us into this with a green soldier appearing alone on the screen
at first and then another showing up just moments after.
Iteration is very important when teaching mechanics as we need the space to learn what
we can and can’t do as if we were thrown into a room with five of these guys it would
be somewhat overwhelming.
Even games famous for their difficulty like Dark Souls ease you in with low level enemies
on one on one encounters.
What this encounter also tells us is if we had any doubt, the castle guards are certainly
up to something.
Now here’s something I really like, we picked up the lantern back at our uncle’s house
and we’re granted the opportunity is experiment with it here.
If we try to use it we get a message saying our magic meter is empty so if we use the
grab function we learned earlier we can pick up the pots and find ourselves some magic
jars.
And then use the lantern on this candle to illuminate the room.
We’re not rewarded for this but it gets us comfortable and every single time we find
magic jars under these pots, it’s a very deliberate setup.
Finally we exit the passage and here’s something very important.
The path we took lines up pretty much perfectly in context with the world.
A Link to the Past is very particular about this.
Every screen makes sense and links together in an organic way and this context is later
used to provide hints in dungeons.
Like you can just see another room out of reach which gives you an idea of where they
are in context of the dungeon.
As we enter Hyrule Castle the entire foyer is full of guards.
Remember how I said earlier that dropping us into a room full of them would be poor
design?
Well we’ve encountered a few of them now and the game trusts we know how to flail our
sword around.
Now it’s time to continue to iterate.
Hyrule castle is essentially the first dungeon in the game – be it a mini one.
There’s tons of room to explore and different areas to visit and though there’s one particular
way we’ll find it through trial and error.
Zelda 1 did this too but in this case it’s all about blocking your path with locked doors.
In A Link to the Past, Hyrule Castle is an actual place that you believe exists.
These are just rooms of tiles, this is a castle full of floors and rooms.
If we go up the stairs through this door on the left we’re introduced to one of A Link
to the Pasts’ most utilised visual gimmicks: layers.
There are tons of Super Nintendo specific features the game utilises like mode 7 and
sprite scaling but one of the most clever visual enhancements is no doubt this.
Almost every other dungeon in the game has a room that overlaps with another.
Sometimes the rooms will interact and other times it’s just context showing you how
every room flows together.
But why is context so important?
Well with dungeons you’ll spend a lot of time navigating and trying to push onwards
and when we can picture how every room connects we don’t need to check our map because we
know exactly what’s beyond this door and what this leads to.
The map in Zelda 1 is near essential as practically every room in every dungeon is essentially
just a square full of sprites.
In fact floors are a major part of A Link to the Past too and certain dungeons make
extremely clever use of them.
Now we’re introduced to the concept of locked doors and to ensure we don’t get confused
both the enemy with the key and the door are right next to each other so you can’t miss
them.
From here on the game’s able to get a lot more flexible with this concept as just like
with combat it needs to be sure you know what you’re doing first.
Interestingly this enemy is actual blue as well which signifies that he’s a higher
class than the normal green ones.
Again we’re facing this guy one on one before being exposed to far more of them.
As we make our way through we’re completely sealed in with an enemy with no option but
to take them out, when we do we get the iconic puzzle chime and the door to our right and
the door we came through unlock.
That’s something we haven’t experienced yet.
We know that keys can open doors and in fact there’s a locked door right here but we
now know that some rooms have a criteria to meet to reveal their secrets.
So now we have two paths; the locked door and the one on the right.
We of course go the only way we can being the one on the right.
Earlier the game kept the key and the door in the exact same room and now they’re starting
to get a bit further apart.
We also find the boomerang in the very same room and the game’s giving us more and more
options and more and more paths to take.
Suddenly deviating from that path is starting to become encouraged.
Now here’s where the game gets on the floor and rolls around in context.
We have two rooms with the soul purpose of having us travel down stairs.
Did we need these?
Not really but it’s again evolving the narrative.
Zelda is being kept in the dungeons and we’re witnessing it first hand without a whisper
of dialogue since we entered the castle.
Now just before we go and help out Zelda, we’re met with an entirely new enemy and
as his weapon is long ranged you may want to try out that long ranged item you just
picked up.
You don’t need to though, you can lob pots or time your sword swings and that’s kind
of an interesting thing about items in A Link to the Past.
Many of the game’s bosses in particular don’t revolve around an item like they do
in later games but the items can make them a hell of a lot easier.
So depending on your playstyle, you may never really use much of your inventory or you may
rely on it the majority of the way.
Once we save Zelda she tells us there’s a passage on the ground floor and as we make
our way back we find a little shortcut which again uses the game’s layers.
Zelda is essentially a key for this segment.
Later dungeons need a big key to open major doors but with Zelda we can work together
to push this monument and slide through.
This may be why the puzzle chime doesn’t play but either way it adds so much to the
atmosphere.
Now we get another instance of hardware enhancements, lighting.
The original Zelda had dark rooms like this too but it was either pitch black or fully
lit.
Now in A Link to the Past, Link can cast his own light source or illuminate the room using
his lantern on the surrounding torches.
This is actually the first instance where we’re given a contextual use for the lantern.
The boomerang is for long ranged combat and the lantern is for granting light.
It makes sense that we don’t find guards down here and instead battle rats and bats.
This is a hidden passage that guards don’t know about and enemies work around this context.
We’re also facing them in different ways as they move around at a very different speed
to the castle guards.
In this short opening dungeon we’ve learned exactly what A Link to the Past expects of
us from navigation, combat and puzzle solving.
We know every key action and mostly from our very own perspective we know the story.
Hyrule is being taken over and even the Princess is now in hiding.
Now here’s where the training wheels come off and we’re introduced to something very
similar to the original Zelda.
A fully open world with even the same music.
So how do we know where to go?
Well the Priest marked our map with the location of the village elder and so we head west and
we find Kakoriko Village although when we get there we learn the Elder isn’t actually
around.
What we had was a big X telling us where to go and now that X is useless to us.
We have to explore ourselves and ask the villagers for help.
Stardew Valley does a very similar technique when you first move into your farm and have
to talk with the local residents.
And here in A Link to the Past we’re made to learn about NPC’s and how not all of
them are friendly.
In fact one calls the guards on us and claims that we’re a wanted man.
The priest said earlier that they may be looking for us but here we learn that Link has been
blamed for the Princess’s disappearance.
All with only a few lines of dialogue that leads into gameplay.
What Kakoriko Village immediately showcases is how alive this rendition of Hyrule is and
everyone seems to have a believable life and it’s so compact.
Throughout the entire game there’s no wasted space.
Every NPC placement has a purpose, every building has a purpose.
This is how the basis of navigation works in A Link to the Past, dungeon locations are
always placed on the map but it’s not always as simple as just walking over to them.
You’ll often have to find an obscure way through via maze, bird or sometimes even through
worlds.
Every basic mechanic we learned in what’s perhaps 20 minutes of gameplay is iterated
and expanded upon throughout the entire adventure.
Eastern Palace uses layers to make a larger dungeon seem smaller as not to intimidate
the player.
On your way to Desert Palace you’ll find your path blocked by text you can’t read.
When stuck in A Link to the Past what you can do is speak with the fortune teller who
will point you in the right direction but rarely will the game just do it for you.
There are moments where you’re expected to explore and work it out on your own.
Now that you have the Pegasus boots you can chase down that guy in Kakorikio Village and
he advises you that bashing into trees can grant items.
That bash has another use though and that’s where this mysterious book comes into play.
Many skills are transferable.
Desert Palace is interesting as it combines two smaller dungeons together and the power
glove item we find here opens up the way to the next dungeon.
Tower of Hera uses switches to manipulate the dungeon and layers are now used to physically
fall from floor to floor.
I hate this boss.
He’s evil and I hate him.
Every single dungeon has a unique twist whether it’s how you navigate, how you move or some
rely around specific items.
Of course once you’ve finished the first three dungeons you’re introduced to Link’s
Excalibur, the Master Sword.
A Link to the Past changed the Zelda lore into what it is today, fully explaining what
the triforce is and creating a wider continuity that even then was still up for interpretation.
Even melodies such as Zelda’s lullaby and the theme of the master sword originated from
A Link to the Past.
The game uses a common trope of Zelda in the way of mini finale’s.
Notice the pattern of how both A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time have you completely
three dungeons and then introduce a handful more while drastically changing up the world?
It’s no coincidence.
A Link to the Past is pretty much perfectly paced from beginning to end and this split
in acts grants a sense of accomplishment that motivates you to carry on.
Defeating Aghihim is like the mini final boss that comes a third of the way into the game
and acts as both a breather and to signify that the player is ready for something more.
Enter the Dark World.
A Link to the Past is twice as large as initially thought and from here on in you’ll have
to manipulate your way through the slightly differing structures of light and dark.
Much of the Dark World is barriered off by items found in later dungeons like the hammer
or hookshot and so what you may have to do is find other ways around it by utilising
the light world.
It creates this invigorating balance which is double downed on in A Link Between Worlds
where essentially every dungeon requires you to switch between both realms.
Sometimes you can just stay put in the Dark World in A Link to the Past.
What’s interesting is you can enter most of these dungeons in any order, your only
barrier is the items in your inventory.
It’s not recommended as sometimes you’ll run into road blocks where you need an item
that you just don’t have yet but it’s great to have the option and can drastically
shake up repeat playthroughs.
There’s this really clever puzzle in the ice palace where you have to drop a block
down from the ceiling, navigate all the way around and then push it onto a switch, it
makes amazing use of the game’s layers but if you did Misery Mire first you can just
do this.
There’s another clever puzzle in Gargoyle’s Domain where you need to put down a bomb and
then throw it over this fence and onto this destructible floor.
But how do you know about throwing bombs?
Well whenever you get bombs out of a chest it actually tells you and just so happens
there’s a chest with bombs here.
Whenever a room gives you an item that’s a sure indicator that you’ll be needing
that item and putting them in a chest here seems like a very deliberate way of suggesting
that the player needs to throw the bomb.
Gargoyle’s Domain also finishes off with this brilliant fake out with a Maiden who
refuses to go outside and so you use that puzzle to expose her to rays of light again
using layers to shine light onto the room below.
A Link to the Past loves layers.
Sometimes A Link to the Past thinks it’s a bullet hell game.
A Link Between Worlds also took this idea further by bypassing dungeon items in favour
of an overworld rental shop but I feel dungeons housing items was a concept that didn’t
need to be fixed.
There’s a certain excitement of awaiting the next dungeon and seeing what item you
get and the dynamic changes half way through.
For instance Swamp palace begins as a dungeon where you navigate by changing water levels
in its first half and then in the latter you’ll be using your hookshot to get around which
then culminates is a boss that mixes together everything you’ve learned.
The item rental system isn’t worse but it also isn’t better.
It fits the more open style of A Link Between Worlds but the pacing of A link to the past
wouldn’t really accommodate for it.
This game purposely segments parts of its world behind items as there is a difficulty
progression between each dungeon.
Just their lengths are examples of this though all in all there’s dauntingly large dungeon
in A Link to the Past.
The game moves on from each location so rapidly and there’s any padding or down time inbetween.
You’re always going on to the next big thing and just like the original Zelda every screen
has a purpose.
Some of those cryptic secrets did carry over to A Link to the Past but none are mandatory.
Anything that requires your attention to defeat Ganon is told clear as day through visual
and contextual hints, other things like running into this wall you don’t need to do but
it serves that satisfaction of knowing the world and all of its secrets.
A Link to the Past is an unforgettable journey full of so many iconic pillars of what makes
Zelda – Zelda.
The team perhaps made the greatest game of all time with masterous mechanics there are
intelligently taught and iterated upon.
Whether it’s one of its many tightly crafted boss battles or miraculous level design.
A Link to the Past does more than hold up, it’s still a shining standard of what video
games can be.
Ever wondered why Link’s hair is pink in game while blond in the artwork?
It’s a metaphor for A Link to the Past setting its own rules.
Ocarina of Time may have jumped into a new dimension with a further emphasis on puzzles,
Wind Waker may have taken us on an adventure across the ocean but through all the years
of this franchise I don’t think anything has quite touched The Legend of Zelda: A Link
to the Past in pure consistency.
Also to steal from Andre, the map adjusts with the game’s time of day even though
it’s only dark right at the beginning of the day and that’s something you just can’t
beat.
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The superscope and other things gaming too.
Catch you next time, bye!