Zelda Fest 2012: The Legend of Zelda GBA port

So recently I was able to convince my parents to give me the old Gamecube once and for all.  I brought it over to my place, found a television, and broke out all my old games.  Since all my schemes to play the latest and greatest Zelda game, Skyward Sword, have failed, I've been replaying all the ones I have at my disposal.  While doing so, to whatever end, I've made extensive notes on the mythology of the Zelda universe.

First game I want to talk about is the original Legend of Zelda.  I borrowed this title off a friend back in 2010 in exchange for a fighting game I had.  We never traded back.  This is the Gameboy Advance port, an ordinary gray cartridge with a label.   It always disappointed me a bit that they never made the Gameboy games with gold cartridges.

As far as the game itself is concerned, nothing has changed from the original Nintendo Entertainment System version.  Graphics, sound, controls are all the same as they were on the NES.  The only difference is the addition of the ability to put the game into sleep mode by pressing L and R at the same time.  I've played both, to be clear.

The original Zelda game is basically a dungeon crawler.  There are very few stated objectives; one can only save after dying.  There's a number next to the file indicating the number of continues used (saves don't count).  The gameplay switches between wandering the vast (by 8 bit standards) realm of Hyrule and clearing dungeons to recover the lost pieces of the Triforce.  Most dungeons can be cleared out of order, and it is possible to discover dungeons prematurely.  This game already has the basic Zelda formula of enter dungeon, find map and compass, collect new tool, use new tool to kill boss.  After fumbling through all the other dungeons, head on up to Death Mountain and defeat Ganon to rescue the princess.  Roll credits.  Unlock hard mode, in which the enemies are tougher and the dungeons rearranged, both internally and in the overworld.

The game is still fun.  Old, frustratingly open-ended, and even not all that satisfying in the end if you know what you're doing.  But there is something first about retro gaming, that makes the player go back beyond the advances of the years to challenge the simple charms of simple games as they stand, on their own merit.  There's not much framework for the game, but it doesn't need it.  The appeal of solving the puzzles and navigating the labyrinths is enough.

If you've never played the original game, but consider yourself a fan of the Legend of Zelda series, go check this out.   There's just a certain pleasure in exploring the beginning.