Nintendo Shares Details About Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda’s “Cheat Codes”

Six days ago, Nintendo released to a commemorative memorabilia item known as Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda to mark the series’ thirty-fifth year. The small console contains the original Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, the Game Boy version of Link’s Awakening, and a Zelda version of the Game & Watch title Vermin. To round off the package, the system includes a clock mode which displays the time alongside scenes from the first Zelda game.

Nintendo has released some information regarding the various unlockables included in Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda, including its so-called “cheat codes.” These additional features are documented below.

The Legend of Zelda

When beginning a new game, holding down the A button for five seconds will give Link the maximum number of hearts. Starting out The Legend of Zelda with sixteen hearts would certainly make the opening easier. This feature can also be activated by holding down A for five seconds on the Game Over screen before restarting.

Pols Voice are those annoying mouse-shaped critters that show up to bother Link during a few of the 2D Zelda games. In The Legend of Zelda, they are particularly hard to beat without what Nintendo refers to as “a certain long-range item;” however, there is a swift way to kill them in the Japanese version of the game. Holding down a button for a few moments will kill every Pols Voice on the screen. Nintendo wants players to try this out for themselves, so they have not announced which button triggers this effect.

The Legend of Zelda has an additional campaign known as the Second Quest. Like the Master Quest mode in Ocarina of Time, Second Quest shuffles the locations of the game’s dungeons, increases enemy difficulty, and rearranges the layouts of the dungeons. Usually one has to beat the whole game to unlock Second Quest, but this mode can be activated immediately by creating a save file with the name ZELDA.

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

There is only a single “cheat” for The Adventure of Link, but it is a big one. If you hold down the A button when selecting a save file, Link will appear with the following buffs:

• Maxmium Life Gauge.
• Maximum Attack Power
• All Magic Spells Unlocked
• Magic Gauge is At Its Maximum Value
• All Abilities And Sword Thrusts Are Unlocked

It is fairly certain that this feature will be of use to those struggling under the game’s rather severe difficulty curve. To any who already have a save file, holding down A on a Game Over screen will apply the buffs as Link respawns.

Link’s Awakening

Holding down the A button for five seconds when starting a new game will cause a small sound effect to play. In addition, Link will begin the game with the maximum number of hearts and a Level 2 sword. If Link dies, you can hold down A for five seconds on the Game Over screen to continue receiving the reward. Unlike Adventure of Link, the maximum heart bonus cannot be applied midway through an existing save file, rather it only works on new games.

Link’s Awakening can be played in either its original aspect ratio that appeared on the Game Boy, or a full-screen version that stretches the sprites across the horizontal axis. Players can choose whichever version suits them the most.

Vermin

The Game & Watch-inspired Vermin game sees Link smacking rodents as they come out of the ground. The hero wields two massive hammers at the ends of his comically large arms. By default, Vermin has two game modes, A and B. The much faster hard mode C can be unlocked by holding down the A button for five seconds on the title screen.

Saving

There are a couple of other inclusions to this list. First, the three Zelda games on the system will automatically save your current progress whenever you turn off the console or switch games. To perform a manual save and go to the title screen, this can be achieved by holding down A, B, Select, and Start at the same time. In The Legend of Zelda, this command can only be formed on the sub screen. For Zelda II, players can save during the sub screen or on the game’s overworld. Link’s Awakening is the most accommodating, as players can use the button input to save and quit at any time.

Those with My Nintendo accounts who purchase the Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda can claim 300 Platinum Points. These points go towards small rewards from Nintendo after enough are gained.

What do you think of these unlockable extras? Would you find them useful? Let us know in the comments.

Source: Nintendo