The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

I continue on the Super Nintendo today with a game that came out near it's release: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.  Developed and published by Nintendo, Link to the Past was released in November 1991, just a few months after the Super Nintendo release.  It takes the next step with one of Nintendo's franchises and introduces many of the items that have become staples to the series. 

So the game and story begin with Link asleep in his uncle's cabin.  The mysterious voice of Zelda makes you aware that she is captured in the castle dungeon and needs rescuing.  So your uncle wakes you to let you know that he's going out and will be back in the morning, leaving with sword and shield in hand.  Of course, being the hero, you chase after him, but not before opening the chest and grabbing a lamp that you can't use at the moment (you need magic power, and you don't get any for a bit). 

And out into the pouring rain you go, heading north towards the castle, but there is a guard protecting the front gate, and with no weapon, you are a bit out of luck against him.  Continuing on along the wall, you move up a path until you find some bushes that you can pick up and throw, and beneath one is the secret entrance to the castle. 

So of course, I drop in. 


Once entering the castle you find your uncle, he lies against the wall, having been defeated by someone in a sword fight.  With his last breath, he mumbles something about how you must save Zelda and gives you his sword and shield before explaining how to do the spin attack (useful).  So you quickly leave the basement and are within the walls of the castle and must enter the castle to reach Zelda.  Entering the castle itself is just a matter of getting by the three guards and walking in the front door (death by plants is the easiest way to do it).  So once inside the castle, you must run to the back and go down the stairs to get into the basement where the princess is being held. 

In the dungeon, first you must defeat a guard to grab the key he was holding and then can grab the map out of the chest he was guarding.  You continue through, dodging or defeating guards as you go (you can actually knock the guards off the platforms and see them panic before falling to their doom).  You finally get to another room where you are forced to face a guard to receive his key and you can open the chest for his boomerang. 

As you continue on, you finally reach the prison where Zelda is being held and face the first "boss" of the game.  He's not a true boss, but the closest thing to one this early in the game: an armored guard who has a flail.  There are two tactics that work well against him: the first is to enter the first cell and grab the pots to throw at him, the second is to toss your boomerang at him to stun him before beating on him with your sword.  Either way he goes down relatively quickly and without a problem.  So once you defeat him, he drops the big key and you open the next cell to rescue Princess Zelda!  Yes, you in fact rescue the princess almost immediately in the game. 

But from there I will continue playing but not writing, and another game is played and another day is done.  I'll continue with more games tomorrow and on from there.  Adios for today though.