The Legend of Zelda (NES)

The Legend of Zelda (NES)

• Gameplay 10/10:

Comparing the Legend of Zelda to other games is wrong because the Legend of Zelda was the first of its kind and almost every game after was just copying what Zelda started. First of all they invented the battery in a game cartridge which allowed players to save their data and continue playing from where they left off. That revolutionized the gaming industry on its own, but then they added the feature of free roaming the game world without a time limit and the ability to pick any dungeon you wanted to explore. They expanded on this new freedom by allowing players to money grind the Rupees and heart containers. So basically, the Legend of Zelda is responsible for everything we hold so dear in modern gaming. If somebody wanted to complain about some glitches or perceived repetitiveness they would have to realize that Zelda was a first of its kind and there was nothing else to compare it to at the time. Complaining about the first Legend of Zelda would be the same as complaining about the first Wright Brother's plane, sure it was crap by today's standards, but it was the first and nobody else had one. 

• Graphics 9.5/10:

It's difficult to discuss the graphics of this game because they were limited by the small technology of the time, but yet they managed to accomplish quite a bit that still holds up today. If you compare the Legend of Zelda to modern mobile games than the game is a 10/10 in some cases. Obviously, things were blocky with only 8 bits to work with, but they are still better than many smartphone games such as Angry Birds or Hill Climber. The fire effects in the game and monsters were clearly detailed and it didn't require much imagination to figure out what kind of monster they were trying to convey. 

• Sound and Music 10/10:

The sound effects and music are brilliant. The sound of a magical flying sword or boomerang are iconic and still remind any gamer of what game they are listening to. The background music of each dungeon also creates a perfect atmosphere of exploration and danger. 

• Story 7/10:

Sorry, but this story has been done before. Nintendo already had a princess who needed saving with Super Mario Bros. and the damsel in distress was a cliche even in the 80's. It may seem unique to have so many dungeons to explore just to collect a bunch of magical triangles, but that concept was already done in Japanese anime. However, it is an enjoyable story and eventually the Zelda series built upon the magical Triforce by giving it more depth and a true backstory. This backstory would not be realized until later games, so it only gets a 7/10 for its story. 

• Replay Value 10/10:

Way more fun to replay than any of the crap on my smartphone or tablet. Anybody would rather play the Legend of Zelda instead of Angry Birds. The game even has essentially a new game+ if somebody enters the not-so-secret password "Zelda" as their character name. It's definitely worth replaying because the game can be beaten without unlocking all of the items and there's so many secrets they even have a sound effect to let players know when they've found a sound effect. 

• Originality 11/10?

This was the game that started the whole concept of saving your progress and free world roaming. The originality gets an impossible number because it started more than 1 concept that every (good) modern game uses. The progress saving was even borderline "auto-save", a feature that wouldn't come out until the hard-drive was introduced into game consoles. Now I'm sure PC gamers will say that this concept was done before, but PC gaming sucks so they can just shove it. That's my official response to anybody who wants to complain that PC already had saving functionality or auto-saving. 

• Multiplayer 10/10:

It's dangerous to go alone? Yeah, but it's fun to play alone. Adding friends would have ruined the Zelda experience and thankfully nobody tried to force a two-player mode on this game like they did with other Nintendo titles.