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A Link to the Past without nostalgia goggles

Joined
Aug 12, 2015
As some might know I'm a very recent entry in the Zelda fandom, my first game being A Link Between Worlds. Hooked ever since, I've played most of the canon by now and, while waiting for Spirit Tracks and Phantom Hourglass to arrive, decided to give one of the older games a try on the Wii U virtual console.

Now I've heard a lot of people saying A Link to the Past is their favourite Zelda ever and it still holds up well some 23 years later. But I honestly just can't get into it. It's not the graphics or the sound that turn me off (I expected those), rather it's the quite cumbersome control scheme. The hit detection of the sword is really shoddy and moving around itself I find pretty unrensponsive. I also couldn't find anything else of interest (I've played up to the conclusion of the eastern palace) that other, more recent games didn't just do better.

Now I'm not here to bash the game, and seeing as how old it is, the controls not being as fluid as newer entries in the series is kind of expected. What I'm wondering is, am I missing out because I ditched the game now that Spirit Tracks has arrived? Is there more to it than nostalgia?

Again, not trying to be an asshole here - basically I want people to sell the game to me.
 
Joined
Mar 22, 2015
A significant part of it is that it set the foundation for everything you noticed in the more recent games. Lots of items and mechanics were introduced that are still used in modern games, as well as those that came since.

I will acknowledge the sword swinging thing, you can be right next to an enemy but if you're not facing the exact right direction, you will miss your slice although in the act of slicing, you may take damage from the enemy. That kind of thing was one of the hallmarks of the first games, but has been addressed and/or redone in the subsequent games.

Kakariko Village, the Hookshot, having a binary-type story roughly divided into two familiar but distinctly different halves, a huge overworld open to exploration including tons of interesting caves and nooks, being turned into a rabbit, final boss tennis, the Hyrule Castle theme, the openness to do some dungeons out of order, the introduction of Pieces of Heart, and attempting to pronounce the name Sahasrhalhahlalashrasla (Sasarashalash? Sahasralash?) were all introduced in this game.
 
Joined
Mar 22, 2015
yeah, probably, my friends and I would always just pseudo-intentionally butcher it a la my post above
 
Joined
May 4, 2014
Location
California
I don't see a problem with ALttPs hit box. The graphics are fine, the music is dull or annoying and I just feel its a bit boring. It's a very good game, but I don't really like it very much.
 

mαrkαsscoρ

Mr. SidleInYourDMs
Joined
May 5, 2012
Location
American Wasteland
i played a lot of zelda games before i came to link to the past,and yeah i can agree as someone who has no nostalgic value over it,it's a bit of a dull experience initially
personally however after a 2nd or 3rd playthrough,i eventually found myself to like the game a lot; but i'd still pick link's awakening or minish cap over it any day
 
Joined
Aug 12, 2015
Phantom Hourglass hasn't arrived yet so I can't comment on that, but I actually like Spirit Tracks a lot. I'd appreciate if people gave more reasoning than "this game sucks, ALTTP is better".

I suppose I'll pick it back up some day, but as of yet nothing I've read really piques my interest. I get that it introduced a lot of stuff, but that's not really an incentive to play it for me other than seeing how things started out I guess.
 

Djinn

and Tonic
Joined
Nov 29, 2010
Location
The Flying Mobile Opression fortress
If you think the controls of ALTTP are terrible, you should attempt the NES LoZ. The controls, hitboxes, unresponsive buttons, and poor weapon mechanics of that game make ALTTP come off as an amazing godsend to the series. Quite a bit was polished from the original that to gamers of the era ALTTP was just a marvel of control and game mechanic perfection. Of course games could only become more polished after that point since it is a natural progression.

I think it works pretty well for a 16 bit era game, most of the time games from that period are not as sophisticated as that. The sword hitbox is not exactly as wonky or at least I have never seen it as bad. The only thing development-wise I see might be the ledges and areas which you fall off. Those on the left and right axis are not as lined up correctly/visually.

But I also do not like to pick apart a game for it's fault of not being developed in an era when some technical aspect were possible. Either due to limited technology of the era, constraints of the cartridge limiting the amount of info that can go into the game, or the concept was simply not invented yet. Some things are inexcusable like a character in a game that slides way too much, or a totally off model hitbox that is impossible to overcome. That just shows the lack of care on the developer's part. But you have a game like Final Fantasy 6 which is considered to be the largest and most advanced game on the console that had years of development, but it had an attack that was just totally unusable until the PSX remake.
 
Joined
Aug 12, 2015
Yes of course, I want to make clear that I'm not faulting the game at all because I acknowledge it as a product of its era.
 
Joined
Mar 22, 2015
If playing it for the historical significance of the series isn't enough to get you interested, I'd suggest just playing newer games. Obviously, as a 20+ year old game, it's not going to introduce much that you don't already have in surplus in newer games. If you aren't interested in seeing the significance, and potentially origins, of newer Zelda game elements, then I don't think you need to spend your time on it.

Of course the ALTTP enthusiasts (including me) will plead with you to indulge yourself, but it will inevitably be less significant of an experience for you than it has been and continues to be for us. So objectively, don't bother. In some cases, completing all games in a series is an important step, but in the absence of that urge, you probably won't enjoy it as much.
 
Joined
Sep 21, 2014
Location
Michigan
My favorite thing about Link to the Past is the same thing I love about Link's Awakening: enemies hurt. Especially Dark World enemies. They hurt a lot. You can show up in the dark world with about 8 hearts, and take between 2-4 from a single hit from an enemy. That game lets you know with its mechanics how different and dangerous the Dark World is, instead of spending loads of time beating you to death with long-winded diatribes about it.

Also? Attack Bee.
 
Joined
Sep 21, 2014
Location
Michigan
Phantom Hourglass hasn't arrived yet so I can't comment on that, but I actually like Spirit Tracks a lot. I'd appreciate if people gave more reasoning than "this game sucks, ALTTP is better".

I suppose I'll pick it back up some day, but as of yet nothing I've read really piques my interest. I get that it introduced a lot of stuff, but that's not really an incentive to play it for me other than seeing how things started out I guess.
Well, you may not get the same experience with Spirit Tracks that a lot of other fans got. As you mentioned, you're a recent entrant to the fandom. As such, you may or may not necessarily have the thorough "What A Zelda Game Means To Me" mentality that many of us might. The reason ST gets almost universally reviled can mainly be chalked up to the Train mechanic itself. Where we once were utterly free to wander, we found ourselves constrained to a poorly implemented mechanic that was about as aggravating to use as the Spinner (to quote the esteemed Mr. Hanson, "it's like a teleporter, but instead of getting there instantly, you just get there at regular speed). And then also there were irritating monster trains that got in the way. And I'll admit, there were some pretty tense moments with those things, but it was a poor supplement to true exploration.

Also I'd just like to say welcome to the Zelda franchise, you're in for a lot of fun.
 
Joined
Aug 12, 2015
My favorite thing about Link to the Past is the same thing I love about Link's Awakening: enemies hurt. Especially Dark World enemies. They hurt a lot. You can show up in the dark world with about 8 hearts, and take between 2-4 from a single hit from an enemy. That game lets you know with its mechanics how different and dangerous the Dark World is, instead of spending loads of time beating you to death with long-winded diatribes about it.

Now THAT sounds interesting, since the low amount of damage enemies do in many games (Twilight Princess says hi, and Majora's Mask really suffers low replayability because of it) is a pet peeve of mine.

Well, you may not get the same experience with Spirit Tracks that a lot of other fans got. As you mentioned, you're a recent entrant to the fandom. As such, you may or may not necessarily have the thorough "What A Zelda Game Means To Me" mentality that many of us might. The reason ST gets almost universally reviled can mainly be chalked up to the Train mechanic itself. Where we once were utterly free to wander, we found ourselves constrained to a poorly implemented mechanic that was about as aggravating to use as the Spinner (to quote the esteemed Mr. Hanson, "it's like a teleporter, but instead of getting there instantly, you just get there at regular speed). And then also there were irritating monster trains that got in the way. And I'll admit, there were some pretty tense moments with those things, but it was a poor supplement to true exploration.

Haha, I thought many people would be pissed off about that. Maybe I'm weird, but I'm actually hugely enjoying the train mechanic. I like to explore, but at the same time huge open worlds can be incredibly overwhelming for a player like me, who can't accept the thought of missing something and will get frustrated without a clear path to take sometimes. The train mechanic cuts the game areas into smaller sections, which are way easier to explore thoroughly without totally killing the gameflow.

Also I'd just like to say welcome to the Zelda franchise, you're in for a lot of fun.

Thank you. :)
 

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