The Zelda series is one of the most enduring series in gaming and home to some true classics. Thirty years ago, gamers in North America were introduced to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, and we reached what was regarded as a major turning point for the series. To be more specific, this is the moment the Zelda franchise took a massive leap forward in storytelling and presentation.
My own experiences were not the same as most people’s when it came to ALttP, as I had played the game after Ocarina of Time, and not when it first came out. That being said, it was still an amazing experience for me. Let me set the scene for you. I was 11 years old and my brother’s friend David had just loaned him some SNES games and among them was The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. While my siblings enjoyed the fighting games and beat ’em ups, this one occupied my time the most.
I was an awkward youth and this became an escape from the bullying I was experiencing, and a place I could step into and just have a great adventure. After David took the games back, my mother saw how much of an impact the game had on me, and found a copy of the game at a video game store we often visited ( she would later get me a copy of Zelda II one year later from a pawn shop). Thus I now had a game to help me deal with problems I had at the time and opened my mind to storytelling possibilities.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is indeed a great experience and deserves all the praise it gets. It was here that the series formula would be established for years to come, as would be seen in later games such as Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker. Just like the original Legend of Zelda and Zelda II introduced epic adventures to a new video game audience, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past was an introduction to epic fantasy for a new audience.
The game was on a scale like little else before it, taking things much further than previous games in the series. In this game, after recovering the pendants and getting the master sword finally, you would fight the evil wizard and think the game was nearly done. But no, that was just the beginning, and you had a much bigger experience waiting for you to explore.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past also was important for another reason. Not only did it add some amazing music such as Zelda’s Lullaby that would become iconic parts of the series, but it also greatly advanced the series in terms of narrative. This game introduced really characters with personalities to the Zelda series and was the first game to have a major storyline as part of the game, and is something that all later games built on. The game also spawned a truly amazing comic book adaptation that was re-released recently, and I recommend checking that one out as well.
While I still prefer Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, as my favourite game in The Legend of Zelda series, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is a game I acknowledge the importance of, and will always hold a special place in my heart. This is a game that is not played, it is experienced, and this is an experience everyone should have. This game helped change my life, and over the course of thirty years, it no doubt helped many in similar ways, leaving an everlasting impact on gaming still seen today in spiritual successors like Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King.
Whatever the future holds for gaming, we should always look to the past and remember where it all came from, and what lessons we can learn from it.