That's a bigger compliment than you realise, thank you. I kind of hate nostalgia, especially in the video game space, so I do my best to point out my own where it is present and to review retro games on their own merits, not on how beloved they are.
I've played the majority of the Zelda franchise but unfortunately, the GBA games are a huge gap for me; I've played Link's Awakening and I've played the 2 DS entries but none of the ones on GBA, I really need to change that this year.
I really liked reading your opinions on this game, I thought you were praising but fair.
I've only attempted to play Link to the Past when I got a SNES mini but got stuck on a worm boss that kept pushing me off a platform to the lower floor, forcing me to start over again each time. I am prepared to give it a proper sbot though one day.
I also like how you reference the Zelda timeline. I myself am not too bothered by it - it exists and some people like connecting the games together, but I'm also not offended at it's presence. I quite like Nintendo's attitude of just making a game first that is good, then deal with the story later. It at least means, like you've just done, that we can praise the fact these games are still fun to play decades later.
Cheers! I'll always call it a masterpiece but perfection doesn't exist, it has some grating parts too.
Oh that bloody thing, I forget the name but it's a notoriously irritating boss and it got me annoyed a few times on my first playthrough; definitely return, it's about 12 hours at most and truly one of the greats.
I'm not too militant about it all either, I'd prefer some good lore linking back but that's about it. The newest games have almost no trace though which is a bit disappointing, eapecially as TotK seemed so easy to connect to others
I missed out on the 16 bit era for the most part and wound up playing most of the highlights years later on emulators, so I had a kind of stilted and weird experience of all of them. But the one that really stood out as holding up no matter the format was ALttP - Super Metroid felt too sluggish and hard to control, Super Mario World was an endless parade of forgettable levels, but every moment of ALttP still shone, and I think it's the high water mark of that kind of top-down adventure game. My first game purchase for my GBA [my first non-PC console after we lost our house] was the ALttP port - there were so many great games for GBA already, but I couldn't think of anything more fun than being able to play ALttP wherever I went.
It was mostly before my time, though I did get to enjoy DKC on my grandma's SNES growing up and played a whole bunch of Mega Drive compilations on the PS2 and Gamecube.
It pains me to say it because I adore that game but Super Metroid definitely is less easy to play today than A Link To The Past is. Truly a timeless video game and like you say: the standard to which 2D adventure game should be measured up to.
I'll have to grab the GBA port myself, from what I've heard it's a really solid version.
Great review! I personally loved how you synthesizes its best quality in a single sentence: a perfect middle ground in regards to its open-endedness and player guidance. ALttP is not my favorite Zelda (that honor goes to Link's Awakening), but this mixture of exploration and guidance in the right amounts is something I never saw after it. Also, it makes it consistent from start too finish. Every Zelda after this one have moments that pends hard to one side of the balance: too opaque, or too obvious.
Link's Awakening huh? I've not played that one in probably about 17 years: grew up with the Gameboy DX version, need to revisit it and update my opinion.
You're spot on about the later Zelda games, Nintendo went through a period where they just loved to talk at the player.
Link's Awakening is special imo because it was the perfect distillation of what made ALttP so good into a platform that was lightyears behind the SNES, yet was every bit as playable, memorable, and engaging. It's a real testament to the powers of competent development - ALttP is a triumph of all the technology and design that the SNES was capable of, but almost a decade before you could actually play that in a portable, they managed to make a parallel game that matched their limitations with creativity. The only more impressive achievement imo is Metroid II, which advanced a much rougher starting series massively and came long before Super Metroid.
It's really been too long for me to remember much so I can't agree or disagree but I do remember thoroughly enjoying Link's Awakening and I have vague memories of my mum finding it ludicrous that I was printing off walkthroughs and putting time into a game on my Gameboy instead of the PS2 or something.
I have strong opinions in defence of the original Metroid/in evaluation of Metroid II but I'll save those for 2026, I've had the idea to post about it for a long time.
It's refreshing to hear good things about this game that AREN'T nostalgia... Thanks for the rightful praise!
(now I'm jut curious about your takes on Minish Cap...)
That's a bigger compliment than you realise, thank you. I kind of hate nostalgia, especially in the video game space, so I do my best to point out my own where it is present and to review retro games on their own merits, not on how beloved they are.
I've played the majority of the Zelda franchise but unfortunately, the GBA games are a huge gap for me; I've played Link's Awakening and I've played the 2 DS entries but none of the ones on GBA, I really need to change that this year.
Awesome, looking forward to such updates. Keep it up!
I really liked reading your opinions on this game, I thought you were praising but fair.
I've only attempted to play Link to the Past when I got a SNES mini but got stuck on a worm boss that kept pushing me off a platform to the lower floor, forcing me to start over again each time. I am prepared to give it a proper sbot though one day.
I also like how you reference the Zelda timeline. I myself am not too bothered by it - it exists and some people like connecting the games together, but I'm also not offended at it's presence. I quite like Nintendo's attitude of just making a game first that is good, then deal with the story later. It at least means, like you've just done, that we can praise the fact these games are still fun to play decades later.
Cheers! I'll always call it a masterpiece but perfection doesn't exist, it has some grating parts too.
Oh that bloody thing, I forget the name but it's a notoriously irritating boss and it got me annoyed a few times on my first playthrough; definitely return, it's about 12 hours at most and truly one of the greats.
I'm not too militant about it all either, I'd prefer some good lore linking back but that's about it. The newest games have almost no trace though which is a bit disappointing, eapecially as TotK seemed so easy to connect to others
I missed out on the 16 bit era for the most part and wound up playing most of the highlights years later on emulators, so I had a kind of stilted and weird experience of all of them. But the one that really stood out as holding up no matter the format was ALttP - Super Metroid felt too sluggish and hard to control, Super Mario World was an endless parade of forgettable levels, but every moment of ALttP still shone, and I think it's the high water mark of that kind of top-down adventure game. My first game purchase for my GBA [my first non-PC console after we lost our house] was the ALttP port - there were so many great games for GBA already, but I couldn't think of anything more fun than being able to play ALttP wherever I went.
It was mostly before my time, though I did get to enjoy DKC on my grandma's SNES growing up and played a whole bunch of Mega Drive compilations on the PS2 and Gamecube.
It pains me to say it because I adore that game but Super Metroid definitely is less easy to play today than A Link To The Past is. Truly a timeless video game and like you say: the standard to which 2D adventure game should be measured up to.
I'll have to grab the GBA port myself, from what I've heard it's a really solid version.
Well said. Link to the Past is amazing. I have nothing to add!
Great review! I personally loved how you synthesizes its best quality in a single sentence: a perfect middle ground in regards to its open-endedness and player guidance. ALttP is not my favorite Zelda (that honor goes to Link's Awakening), but this mixture of exploration and guidance in the right amounts is something I never saw after it. Also, it makes it consistent from start too finish. Every Zelda after this one have moments that pends hard to one side of the balance: too opaque, or too obvious.
Thanks! I enjoyed writing it too.
Link's Awakening huh? I've not played that one in probably about 17 years: grew up with the Gameboy DX version, need to revisit it and update my opinion.
You're spot on about the later Zelda games, Nintendo went through a period where they just loved to talk at the player.
Link's Awakening is special imo because it was the perfect distillation of what made ALttP so good into a platform that was lightyears behind the SNES, yet was every bit as playable, memorable, and engaging. It's a real testament to the powers of competent development - ALttP is a triumph of all the technology and design that the SNES was capable of, but almost a decade before you could actually play that in a portable, they managed to make a parallel game that matched their limitations with creativity. The only more impressive achievement imo is Metroid II, which advanced a much rougher starting series massively and came long before Super Metroid.
It's really been too long for me to remember much so I can't agree or disagree but I do remember thoroughly enjoying Link's Awakening and I have vague memories of my mum finding it ludicrous that I was printing off walkthroughs and putting time into a game on my Gameboy instead of the PS2 or something.
I have strong opinions in defence of the original Metroid/in evaluation of Metroid II but I'll save those for 2026, I've had the idea to post about it for a long time.