I grew up with all 3. Zelda 1, to 9 year old me, was a MASSIVE adventure. It was quite the trip. These days, I like to do a playthrough once a year. The "Zelda 2 is bad" talk was there in 1989, but it wasn't widespread. We were still two years away from SNES. And there were A LOT of bad games back then. Zelda 2 was not even close to the worst. Link to the Past still holds up today, and is my favorite next to Wind Waker and Majora's Mask.
I do have to preface that I grew up with these games and knew them as Zelda was as a series before OoT existed. But I think all three, while not the pinnacle of Zelda, they do represent the core of what Zelda is all about: adventure, fighting monsters, and Link getting stronger throughout. The games are harder than anything that has come out since, and I guess that's a product of the time and not necessarily of what Zelda is about. Most games are made to be easy because most people don't have time to sit around all day getting good at video games. And I can relate. But I did enjoy the challenge of the earliest Zelda games, made completing them more gratifying; even if it took me years to beat each one because I was a little kid who also played outside more than I played video games.
Zelda 1 is do able without a guide. You need to play it like you would back in the day. You did mention the manual, however the game also came with a map which showed you were the first few dungeons were. This is the way to actual play it in my opinion.
You say you can't get through the first Zelda game without a guide? Yeah. That's intended. The game shipped with a manual that had tons of information in it. Back then, it was assumed you would read the manual. I beat that game as a child, as did others my age. They all hold up, although Link to the Past is the easiest one to play today, especially if you're not going to read the manual.
Yes they still hold up and will always any time I replay them I do duegons out of order yes its possible to do , especially in link to the past after you get to the second half of that game. But none the less the classics never get boring to play
Spoiler alert: In Zelda II the reflect spell is often overlooked. It not only strengthen a shield, but it also shrink Links hitbox. Perfect spell to use against thunderbird. Yeah and you beat him first try! 👍💯
1:25 God damn emulator people... The manual is supposed to be part of the game, they give information the developers wants you to know before going into the game.
A piece of paper printed in 80s lmao. It never for re-released for the GameCube, Wii or GBA versions. Idk if switch online has the manual just 3DS and Wii U which are shut down. I dont blame them, Nintendo admitted to doing stupid stuff to sell Magazine subscription. Like the Candle Tree, etc
I'm replaying Link to the Past right now, and there are some major quality of life issues, particularly relating to the game giving no indication on when to make a leap of faith and when not to, how some of the boss fights play out, switching between items, and especially the mechanics of traveling between Light World and Dark World. It's still a fun game, but it has some problems that it wouldn't have if it was made today. That said, there might be a whole different set of problems introduced.
Zelda and Zelda 2 are hard, but that's the point. They did not hold your hand the way modern Zelda games do. Trial and error, and exploring, was the point of those games. Most old school NES games threw you into the action and expected you to figure it out either with the manual or by talking to your friends who beat those games. Zelda 2 absolutely holds up. It's so much fun. The second quest is great since you're able to plow through everything quickly. The first round is punishing though. You have to level up early and quickly to make it past the later levels. I love playing it and discovering strategies I never thought of. Link to the Past is the best gets back to what the first one did...but better. It's really fun to beat the levels out of order. Best Zelda game.
Glad you spoke about the use of guides in these games. A guide was NECESSARY and honestly was a form of DLC. Games used to have their play time artificially extended by unreasonable puzzles or cryptic difficulty. Zelda II temple theme is banging too. Good vid!
As an old fart I'll say this, these games (especially Zelda 1) were played on the console but the culture of them was in the school. Kids would share tricks, secrets and locations. Us kids would go over to each other's homes and work on the games together. That said, even for me, Zelda 1 and 2 aren't very fun for me anymore but LTTP is excellent. LTTP is the template for all later top down titles in the Zelda series and for good reason.
This is what many don't know or understand. 1 was great, 2 I know many thought was bad (few friends liked it growing up), but I went the Sega route for the 16 bit years and not many friends I knew had lttp
That was a joke, like a computer error. The river man note giver, Bagu translation is bug, like a computer bug. The NES translations were iffy back in the day on many games.
I chuckle a bit at your complaints about the original Zelda being tedious. To the modern gamer it probably is, but that tediousness was actually a lot of the fun as a gamer playing during that time. The lack of memory was a problem with NES games. Games are usually high in difficulty. They had to be. Once you master games like contra or Castlevania they don't take very long to beat. If you can quickly master them you'll feel ripped off when you spend $50 (80's money) on a game you master and beat in an hour or 2. I can remember having a helluva time finding the 3rd sword. Back then part of the fun was the tediousness. Methodically bombing every rock and burning every bush on every screen looking for secrets. The manual told us about all the items that existed. It was a treasure hunt to find them. It was fun. That part of the game was really exciting, and you were the man at school if you were the first to find the power bracelet, the 3rd sword, the very well hidden levels 5 and 7 etc.
Link to the Past is still fantastic. Only real gripe if I had to pick one is constantly going to the menu to change items. Original LOZ is still good. 2 is just really hard so its always going to be difficult to go back to
I can't help but completely disagree with your assessment of Zelda 1. Others have mentioned the manual, but you also seem to be too focused on a progression mindset. Zelda 1 is best enjoyed as originally intended, a little garden to visit. Its fun to wander around, see what you can find. Yes sometimes youll come to a dungeon too early, in that case... Mark it on your notebook and go somewhere else. The combat as well, while difficult, isn't quite as bad as you make it out. In this game combat is all about positioning, and often you'll want to use your boomerang to stun enemies. Finally, I really cant fathom saying that DK on NES or Mario 1 are better than Zelda 1, given how clunky those are, especially DK.
Well about zelda one. You need the Booklet to enjoy the game. The booklet is like a roadmap. It gives you the Basic directions, but not a step to step Guide. It was the 1980s technology was yet there for stories, and good gameplay. Unlike the snes. Where the link in the past was the game they wanted you to play. The first one was a stepping stone, and the booklet was the Developers helping you explore your thier game.
Zelda 2 is a weird game, when I played it when I was younger (like preteen) I absolutely hated it. Wrote it off and went back to LttP, OoT and WW (what was out then). As an adult I've gone back to it and now I appreciate what it tries to do. Nowhere near my favorite, but it deserves a look. LttP is still good! So good they made a second game like it (LBW) lol
Zelda 1: Old and crusty, but a great adventure where you're free to just run around, find and do things in almost any order you discover them. Saying 'use a guide' is the worst advice you can give someone for this title, as it removes that great feeling of discovery whenever you get something cool. The first adventure is very beatable just wandering around and finding stuff over a series of sittings. Second quest though? Yeah, use a guide for that one. Zelda 2: This is the only game in the franchise that feels outright painful to play. Your attack range is pitiful (getting down stab helps a lot later at least), and you get no items to help the matter. It's way harder than the first, but also way more punishing. I'd honestly say skip this one aside from the novelty. ALttP: People are saying this one's outdated? It's basically Zelda's Super Metroid. It's a great game.
Zelda 1 amazing, 2, difficult but grew on me as an adult, a link to the past is my favorite of all time… really enjoyed OOT, this is a hot take but I did not like majora’s mask
Zelda 2 is still my favorite. I really love the combat system. I actually wish that the first 6 palace bosses were a little tougher. Anyone who likes Zelda 2 should check out the remake by Hover Bat. Its how remakes should be done. Zelda 2 gets too much unfair hate. If it would have been named anything else, it would be considered a hidden gem on the NES.
Zelda 2 Randomizer has a harder version of Carrock, the boss of Palace 4. This version's magic attacks follow a wave pattern, so you have to be very active to reflect the attacks, and I think he also will not randomly teleport on top of you unfairly. Hopefully, they will make harder versions of the other bosses, as well as entirely new bosses eventually.
a link to the past is the only one out of all three that comes close I wouldn't blame people if they say a link to the past is better than botw and totk
Haven't played Zelda 2. Zelda 1 is fun for about 3 hours then it's not and the final boss is bull***t. It's probably the worst Zelda I've played. It aged poorly for the most part. ALTTP is great on so many levels BUT has 2 major flaws (which are basically 1 flaw) that kind of ruin the game for me. The game just sends way too much stuff at you for no reason and it makes most sections of the game tedious. Endless enemies in and outside dungeons and lots of traps/turrets that shoot at you in dungeons. The worst thing about that is that it's not fun navigating the map because of these unnecessary obstacles. It's really really annoying. The combat system is good, but it's not good enough to make me want to constantly be fighting these enemies. If I want endless enemies, I'll play Diablo 2 or something.
I grew up with all 3.
Zelda 1, to 9 year old me, was a MASSIVE adventure. It was quite the trip. These days, I like to do a playthrough once a year.
The "Zelda 2 is bad" talk was there in 1989, but it wasn't widespread. We were still two years away from SNES. And there were A LOT of bad games back then. Zelda 2 was not even close to the worst.
Link to the Past still holds up today, and is my favorite next to Wind Waker and Majora's Mask.
Alttp is timeless
I do have to preface that I grew up with these games and knew them as Zelda was as a series before OoT existed. But I think all three, while not the pinnacle of Zelda, they do represent the core of what Zelda is all about: adventure, fighting monsters, and Link getting stronger throughout.
The games are harder than anything that has come out since, and I guess that's a product of the time and not necessarily of what Zelda is about. Most games are made to be easy because most people don't have time to sit around all day getting good at video games. And I can relate. But I did enjoy the challenge of the earliest Zelda games, made completing them more gratifying; even if it took me years to beat each one because I was a little kid who also played outside more than I played video games.
Zelda 1 is do able without a guide. You need to play it like you would back in the day. You did mention the manual, however the game also came with a map which showed you were the first few dungeons were. This is the way to actual play it in my opinion.
You say you can't get through the first Zelda game without a guide? Yeah. That's intended. The game shipped with a manual that had tons of information in it. Back then, it was assumed you would read the manual. I beat that game as a child, as did others my age. They all hold up, although Link to the Past is the easiest one to play today, especially if you're not going to read the manual.
Wait...getting rupies in zelda 1 is impossible?!? I must be a wizard
the combat in zelda 1 felt dificult but fair you need to get good
Running around the Japanese countryside and exploring caves never gets old.
Yes they still hold up and will always any time I replay them I do duegons out of order yes its possible to do , especially in link to the past after you get to the second half of that game. But none the less the classics never get boring to play
Super good vid, I haven't played any of the old games but if I do I'll start with a link to the past
That’s unfortunate
I played a little of a link to the past on the Snes classic, and i really enjoyed what i played
I downloaded A LINK TO THE PAST and loved it so much I wanted to download the other two but I took too long and eshop shut down. 😞
You get it for free with Nintendo online. You even get the better version on Gameboy advance.
Emulator = free
@@youareacoward8459free is you pay subscription fees isnt free
Spoiler alert: In Zelda II the reflect spell is often overlooked. It not only strengthen a shield, but it also shrink Links hitbox. Perfect spell to use against thunderbird. Yeah and you beat him first try! 👍💯
Those ARE Zelda; everything else is a Derivative.
there were the best, the rest kindda sucks...
A Link to the Past is where the series really became something. And A Link Between Worlds was a fantastic love letter to that game.
1:25 God damn emulator people... The manual is supposed to be part of the game, they give information the developers wants you to know before going into the game.
A piece of paper printed in 80s lmao. It never for re-released for the GameCube, Wii or GBA versions. Idk if switch online has the manual just 3DS and Wii U which are shut down.
I dont blame them, Nintendo admitted to doing stupid stuff to sell Magazine subscription. Like the Candle Tree, etc
Zelda 1 title theme > Zelda 3 title theme
I'm replaying Link to the Past right now, and there are some major quality of life issues, particularly relating to the game giving no indication on when to make a leap of faith and when not to, how some of the boss fights play out, switching between items, and especially the mechanics of traveling between Light World and Dark World. It's still a fun game, but it has some problems that it wouldn't have if it was made today. That said, there might be a whole different set of problems introduced.
The only issue I'd agree on is constantly pausing to change items. The L and R buttons are unused which would've been an easy fix
Zelda and Zelda 2 are hard, but that's the point. They did not hold your hand the way modern Zelda games do. Trial and error, and exploring, was the point of those games. Most old school NES games threw you into the action and expected you to figure it out either with the manual or by talking to your friends who beat those games.
Zelda 2 absolutely holds up. It's so much fun. The second quest is great since you're able to plow through everything quickly. The first round is punishing though. You have to level up early and quickly to make it past the later levels. I love playing it and discovering strategies I never thought of.
Link to the Past is the best gets back to what the first one did...but better. It's really fun to beat the levels out of order. Best Zelda game.
Yes. Especially Zelda 1. Next question
Glad you spoke about the use of guides in these games. A guide was NECESSARY and honestly was a form of DLC. Games used to have their play time artificially extended by unreasonable puzzles or cryptic difficulty. Zelda II temple theme is banging too. Good vid!
As an old fart I'll say this, these games (especially Zelda 1) were played on the console but the culture of them was in the school. Kids would share tricks, secrets and locations. Us kids would go over to each other's homes and work on the games together. That said, even for me, Zelda 1 and 2 aren't very fun for me anymore but LTTP is excellent. LTTP is the template for all later top down titles in the Zelda series and for good reason.
This is what many don't know or understand. 1 was great, 2 I know many thought was bad (few friends liked it growing up), but I went the Sega route for the 16 bit years and not many friends I knew had lttp
I AM ERROR.
That was a joke, like a computer error. The river man note giver, Bagu translation is bug, like a computer bug. The NES translations were iffy back in the day on many games.
They are holding up AND are better than the modern ones.
a link to the past maybe, probably not zelda 1 & 2 though
Amen.
Post botw is just zelda 1 with bad dungeons, less enemy variety and annoying durability mechanics and no overworld music.
@@ortherner Zelda 1 and 2 are the better ones if you learn how to play them and are a gamer.
Preach
@@firenze6478u seriously think the first Zelda has better dungeons?…
I chuckle a bit at your complaints about the original Zelda being tedious. To the modern gamer it probably is, but that tediousness was actually a lot of the fun as a gamer playing during that time.
The lack of memory was a problem with NES games. Games are usually high in difficulty. They had to be. Once you master games like contra or Castlevania they don't take very long to beat. If you can quickly master them you'll feel ripped off when you spend $50 (80's money) on a game you master and beat in an hour or 2. I can remember having a helluva time finding the 3rd sword. Back then part of the fun was the tediousness. Methodically bombing every rock and burning every bush on every screen looking for secrets. The manual told us about all the items that existed. It was a treasure hunt to find them. It was fun. That part of the game was really exciting, and you were the man at school if you were the first to find the power bracelet, the 3rd sword, the very well hidden levels 5 and 7 etc.
Zelda 1 isn’t THAT difficult without a guide…….coming from someone who grew up with an NES 😂😂😂
YOU KIDS ARE A BUNCH OF THWIMPS!
That's only cuz we were crazy enough to try burning down every tree and push every rock for weeks straight. 😂
Link to the Past is still fantastic. Only real gripe if I had to pick one is constantly going to the menu to change items.
Original LOZ is still good.
2 is just really hard so its always going to be difficult to go back to
I can't help but completely disagree with your assessment of Zelda 1. Others have mentioned the manual, but you also seem to be too focused on a progression mindset. Zelda 1 is best enjoyed as originally intended, a little garden to visit. Its fun to wander around, see what you can find. Yes sometimes youll come to a dungeon too early, in that case... Mark it on your notebook and go somewhere else.
The combat as well, while difficult, isn't quite as bad as you make it out. In this game combat is all about positioning, and often you'll want to use your boomerang to stun enemies.
Finally, I really cant fathom saying that DK on NES or Mario 1 are better than Zelda 1, given how clunky those are, especially DK.
Zelda 1 is goated, pioneer of the open world genre
Well about zelda one. You need the Booklet to enjoy the game. The booklet is like a roadmap. It gives you the Basic directions, but not a step to step Guide. It was the 1980s technology was yet there for stories, and good gameplay. Unlike the snes. Where the link in the past was the game they wanted you to play. The first one was a stepping stone, and the booklet was the Developers helping you explore your thier game.
Zelda 2 is a weird game, when I played it when I was younger (like preteen) I absolutely hated it. Wrote it off and went back to LttP, OoT and WW (what was out then).
As an adult I've gone back to it and now I appreciate what it tries to do. Nowhere near my favorite, but it deserves a look.
LttP is still good! So good they made a second game like it (LBW) lol
Excellent Video, @Hud!!! I Especially Enjoyed What You Said About A Link To The Past!!! It's The Very First Zelda Game That I Ever Owned!!! 💪😎✌️
Zelda 1: Old and crusty, but a great adventure where you're free to just run around, find and do things in almost any order you discover them. Saying 'use a guide' is the worst advice you can give someone for this title, as it removes that great feeling of discovery whenever you get something cool. The first adventure is very beatable just wandering around and finding stuff over a series of sittings. Second quest though? Yeah, use a guide for that one.
Zelda 2: This is the only game in the franchise that feels outright painful to play. Your attack range is pitiful (getting down stab helps a lot later at least), and you get no items to help the matter. It's way harder than the first, but also way more punishing. I'd honestly say skip this one aside from the novelty.
ALttP: People are saying this one's outdated? It's basically Zelda's Super Metroid. It's a great game.
Link to the Past is one of the best Zelda games, period.
Zelda 1 amazing, 2, difficult but grew on me as an adult, a link to the past is my favorite of all time… really enjoyed OOT, this is a hot take but I did not like majora’s mask
The 3rd game is just like the 1st game? What world are you living in
Tell me you’re Gen Z without telling me you’re Gen Z - “It’s all confusing, you can’t do it without a guide.” 😂 Okay Zoomer!
Unc alert
first two are aged, and alttp is goated. also zelda 2 is better than the original, because it isnt as cryptic
Yep
Zelda 2 is still my favorite. I really love the combat system. I actually wish that the first 6 palace bosses were a little tougher. Anyone who likes Zelda 2 should check out the remake by Hover Bat. Its how remakes should be done.
Zelda 2 gets too much unfair hate. If it would have been named anything else, it would be considered a hidden gem on the NES.
Zelda 2 Randomizer has a harder version of Carrock, the boss of Palace 4. This version's magic attacks follow a wave pattern, so you have to be very active to reflect the attacks, and I think he also will not randomly teleport on top of you unfairly. Hopefully, they will make harder versions of the other bosses, as well as entirely new bosses eventually.
The answer is YES.
Worst game in the franchise? Did you not play Tri Force Heroes? That game is a chore
bro its only a chore if u dont have friends😭😭😭
Or the modern games.
Sticker star durability mechanics
And
Metroid progression replaced with repetitive ubisoft objectives
A Link to the Past will always hold up, in my opinion.
Holdup??? They are better than these new crap that they have now🥴🥴🥴🥴
a link to the past is the only one out of all three that comes close I wouldn't blame people if they say a link to the past is better than botw and totk
Got Good.
😀 - Nicely done!
Zelda 1, yes.
Zelda 2, no.
Zelda 3, yes.
Zelda 4, no.
exactly
Haven't played Zelda 2. Zelda 1 is fun for about 3 hours then it's not and the final boss is bull***t. It's probably the worst Zelda I've played. It aged poorly for the most part.
ALTTP is great on so many levels BUT has 2 major flaws (which are basically 1 flaw) that kind of ruin the game for me. The game just sends way too much stuff at you for no reason and it makes most sections of the game tedious. Endless enemies in and outside dungeons and lots of traps/turrets that shoot at you in dungeons. The worst thing about that is that it's not fun navigating the map because of these unnecessary obstacles. It's really really annoying. The combat system is good, but it's not good enough to make me want to constantly be fighting these enemies. If I want endless enemies, I'll play Diablo 2 or something.
ALTTP does have some annoying enemy spam especially in some of the dungeons. I guess that's one area where the game shows its age