I've attempted to play the original Zelda several times, but always bounce off of it. I would love to finally play this game, and because it is so archaic, I want to use a guide. However, all the guides I have found are very detailed; they show everything that you need to do without leaving any discovery for yourself. What I would really like is just a series of hints at what I should be doing at each point in the game. Does anybody know of a minimalist guide like this?

@eddiephlash: I would recommend simply using an annotated map. That will tell you where the dungeon entrances and key items in the overworld are located without giving you a step by step guide to every little thing you need to do. That will allow you to bypass some of the obtuse design of the game, but still allow you to figure some things out for yourself and let you play the actual dungeons without any hand holding.

This is the type of thing I mean.

The biggest things to know about are when to upgrade swords and when to get the Blue Ring. Everything else is pretty intuitive based on what you get in each dungeon. You should have the White Sword before Level 3 and the Magic Sword before Level 6, but can get them both earlier. Level 5 is a pretty good time to have the Blue Ring by. I usually end up getting stocked up on everything before entering the first dungeon, but that would be tough without knowing where the 100 rupie Mysteries are. Figuring the game out isn't that tough if you have a decent memory or don't mind taking notes. I would maybe suggest using a blank map and making your own notes, instead of the annotated one above. The instruction book also gives some decent, though obscure, hints on how to progress, so you might want to look that up as well.

This all comes from someone who has been playing the game since its release and has lost track of how many times I have completed it, so take that under consideration.

I think using a map is a good idea as people already suggested.

Yep, I remember having problems with picking up the magic sword. It was there but couldn't be picked up, and no prompts or explanations.

You need 5 Hearts for the White Sword and 12 for the Magic Sword. By getting all five Heart Containers in the overworld, you can actually get the Magic Sword after Level 4.

Yes, and that kind of information could be useful (almost needed) to have besides the map. It's kinda Simon's Quest-like.

@eddiephlash: It sounds like UHS-hints.com would be perfect for what you're looking for. Unfortunately, the only Zelda game they have a guide for is Phantom Hourglass.

UHS might be helpful if you're stuck on another game in the future, though.

UHS seems really cool. I think I'll go with an annotated map as that is about the effort I think I'm willing to put into this. Thanks duders!

@redwing42 said:

The one time I played through OG Zelda, I think I just grinded out the money and bought the Blue Ring shortly after the 1st or 2nd dungeon. I just find that game almost unplayable with the default damage values, when you only have 3-5 heart containers, and certain enemies/rooms/dungeons are literally incapable of heart drops. I forget if I found the Blue Ring shop on my own or looked it up, but I honestly don't care whichever way I did it; I don't treasure my experience playing that game at all. It's just tedious compared to all of the later 2D entries in the series.

Note that Link to the Past came out when I was quite young, while OG Zelda came out a couple years or so before I was born, from an era of NES games that I find difficult to appreciate because the SNES does almost everything better, without being completely unfair difficult and hiding key items in arbitrary locations you'll never find (e.g., most of the overworld items/hidden caves in OG Zelda are ridiculous, the Varia Suit in NES Metroid is stupidly difficult to find but incredibly important, etc.).