Playing the SNES Zelda game

After listening to this weeks bombcast I realized I have never played a Zelda game (I was strictly PC pretty much right up to the PS3). I was thinking about giving the snes version a go and was wondering what would be the best way of playing it? Also is it the kind of game you can just work your way through, or is it like some of the JRPG's where you can kneecap yourself by missing an item early on that you can't go back for, making the end game extremely hard?

@fallen_rock2: Well do you only want to play A Link to the Past or any Zelda game?

I think likening it to a JRPG is a bit of a stretch. You might go around in circles a few times but you don't really lock yourself out of anything and with some perseverance you'll get to the end eventually.

I've been trying to play Link To The Past recently having never played a Zelda game. It's a pretty great game, but I would recommend to just use a guide if you get stuck. Often the answers to things are quite vague and you can spend ages clicking on everything to figure out what to do, which becomes frustrating when coupled with the old fashioned design choices.

I was thinking Link to the Past would be a good starting point, I have only heard positive things about that one. Also I'm assuming the nes ones would be too dated now (I have fond memories of ultima, but trying to go back and re-play the original wasn't fun).

@fallen_rock2: Get yourself a snes, a cart of the game, and a CRT, and you should be set to enjoy this great game in it's truest form.

@fallen_rock2 said:

Also is it the kind of game you can just work your way through, or is it like some of the JRPG's where you can kneecap yourself by missing an item early on that you can't go back for, making the end game extremely hard?

Yeah you can, it's not really like JRPGs much. There is as far as I know no true missables.

the way the game is designed you pretty much have to find all the items in rough order to advance past puzzles. You usually cannot clear a dungeon without finding the weapon/tool hidden within. You might have not enough health if you don't look for heart containers at the end of the game but that's about it.

I personally think Link to Past is far easier than the original LoZ, but it is a fantastic game.

The easiest way to play it would be to use emulation. That is technically stealing, but if you are ok with that then emulation is the way to go. The best legal way would probably be VC if you have a Wii. Otherwise I suppose you could buy the game on eBay if you have a SNES.

As for how the game plays, it doesn't play like a JRPG. The game does a pretty good job of pointing you towards the next dungeon you need to go to, so you are never too lost, and you can work your way through the game to some extent. There isn't really a way to kneecap yourself since you can't get into most dungeons without the item you need to complete that dungeon. I suppose you could make the game harder by not upgrading the master sword, but that won't screw you too much.

As someone who played and finished Link to the Past for the first time a week ago I can tell you that it's an incredible game and holds up to this day. One of the few ageless games. I'm thinking of replaying it too. It's that good.

@Metzo_Paino said:

It's a pretty great game, but I would recommend to just use a guide if you get stuck. Often the answers to things are quite vague and you can spend ages clicking on everything to figure out what to do, which becomes frustrating when coupled with the old fashioned design choices.

I disagree. If you put some thought into it you can figure out almost everything.

Having rethought this a little better, surely the best way to pick your first Zelda game is to go with the strength of its advertising.

You can go with this:

Or this:

Personally my money is on the latter. But they're both fine choices, whatever floats your boat.

@Sbaitso said:

@fallen_rock2: Get yourself a snes, a cart of the game, and a CRT, and you should be set to enjoy this great game in it's truest form.

Unfortunately this will probably not be the way it happens.

The original NES Zelda is still pretty good, but I think you'll definitely be better off with A Link to the Past. And it's not really an RPG, it's just an action/adventure game. I don't believe there's any way to permanently miss out on anything, though some of the puzzles may not be terribly obvious so you could potentially be stuck for a little while. The game's main fault, for me, is that it's too easy so I wouldn't really worry about hitting a brick wall due to difficulty.

A Link to The Past is a great and timeless game.

The only thing I would reccomend to a new player is to make sure you're playing the game on unit that has a comfortable controller. There are a few enemies and bosses in the game that require good control to defeat and playing it on something like a keyboard or an ill fitting gameboy controller will make them more frustrating than they need to be. Also, the game has fantastic music for a 16 bit game, so playing on something that has good sound capabilities is a good choice.

Personally I think ALTTP is the best Zelda game to demonstrate what Zelda can be. the second game, on NES, has fantastically fun combat system, but other problems. The first game is a great concept and is essentially Skyrim on the NES. The problem is, it comes with all the inherent problems one would imagine having Skyrim on the NES.

THe 3d games are mostly misses for me just because of how far they stray from what the whole poitn of Zelda was supposed to be. They're very linear and Zelda 64 almost does away with the series action roots in favor of forcing the player to wait for enemies to attack first and then respond. Some people thoroughly enjoy them though.

I bet you can buy the GBA port of Link to the Past for fairly cheap. And if you don't have a DS you can probably get a cheap GBA too.

@EvilNiGHTS said:

Having rethought this a little better, surely the best way to pick your first Zelda game is to go with the strength of its advertising.

You can go with this:

Or this:

Personally my money is on the latter. But they're both fine choices, whatever floats your boat.

I love you Japan. Never change.

@PulledaBrad said:

I love you Japan. Never change.

Oh it's not just Japan...

@Imsorrymsjackson: well, you should at least play it on an actual snes and with an actual cartridge.

@Slag said:

@fallen_rock2 said:

Also is it the kind of game you can just work your way through, or is it like some of the JRPG's where you can kneecap yourself by missing an item early on that you can't go back for, making the end game extremely hard?

Yeah you can, it's not really like JRPGs much. There is as far as I know no true missables.

You can actually complete the game without the cape, ice rod or magic bag I'm pretty sure. They're only really used for side-things that aren't important to the main game.

@Herocide said:

@Slag said:

@fallen_rock2 said:

Also is it the kind of game you can just work your way through, or is it like some of the JRPG's where you can kneecap yourself by missing an item early on that you can't go back for, making the end game extremely hard?

Yeah you can, it's not really like JRPGs much. There is as far as I know no true missables.

You can actually complete the game without the cape, ice rod or magic bag I'm pretty sure. They're only really used for side-things that aren't important to the main game.

hunh well then I stand corrected. I think I got all three in my old playthrough.

Although they aren't really missable in the sense that you never reach a point where you can't go back and get them right?

either way as you pointed out those items aren't essential and it doesn't affect OP's ability to beat the game. Which is what I think he really wanted to know.

@Slag said:

@Herocide said:

@Slag said:

@fallen_rock2 said:

Also is it the kind of game you can just work your way through, or is it like some of the JRPG's where you can kneecap yourself by missing an item early on that you can't go back for, making the end game extremely hard?

Yeah you can, it's not really like JRPGs much. There is as far as I know no true missables.

You can actually complete the game without the cape, ice rod or magic bag I'm pretty sure. They're only really used for side-things that aren't important to the main game.

hunh well then I stand corrected. I think I got all three in my old playthrough.

Although they aren't really missable in the sense that you never reach a point where you can't go back and get them right?

either way as you pointed out those items aren't essential and it doesn't affect OP's ability to beat the game. Which is what I think he really wanted to know.

Yeah you can always go back and get them, but you can complete the game without them. You're also right; it doesn't really apply to the OP's point, the game does not have any difficult hurdles that would need to be jumped if you didn't get these items (though I think there's a place or two where you'd really benefit from the cape due to spiked floors or something).

@EvilNiGHTS said:

Having rethought this a little better, surely the best way to pick your first Zelda game is to go with the strength of its advertising.

You can go with this:

Or this:

Personally my money is on the latter. But they're both fine choices, whatever floats your boat.

Damn it Ganon, we were this close to watching Lady Link make out with Zelda.

SECRET SHAMES!

Come on sing it with me, people.

SECRET SHAAAAAAAAAAAAMEEEEEEEEESSSS!

You can never reach a point where you're unable to progress because of something you've missed.

There are no bad ways of playing Link to the Past. No bad legal ones, at least.

I've been looking and it seems that a retron ( http://www.amazon.com/Hyperkin-Retron-System-GENESIS-Nintendo-Entertainment/dp/B003O3EFY2 ) seems like the best way to play this close to how it was originally meant to be played, without having to worry about all the problems that come with old tech. Does anyone have any experience with one of these? Also, when I get a copy of the cartridge would it be a good idea to replace the battery right off the bat?

After you play that make sure to play Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask!

@fallen_rock2:

Dude, don't be cray cray, get an emulator and download a rom. It's not theft, in order for something ot be theft you have to deprive somebody of something. In waht way are you depriving the creators of zelda on the snes by getting a rom? Also. it's not a jrpg in any way. Also, it's fucking awesome.