#wizzrobes should be banned from this earth

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

Legend of Zelda (1986) Review

I decided to play the OG game from 1986 on my Switch in honor of beating TotK and it was certainly something. I really enjoyed it. I definitely prefer the other games because I grew up with them, but I can appreciate where they came from. So much of LoZ as we know it today come from this little game from the 80s. The enemies, for example. This game introduced octoroks, the gleeok, keese, lyke lykes, and wizzrobes. These overworld enemies are well-known in the LoZ community and their humble beginnings came from the og.

The dungeon design was also really cool. Each dungeon had its own unique design with mini bosses, hidden stairwells, items, and various enemies. While the graphics were limited, this game def made up for it with a challenging dungeon design. I really liked the uniqueness of each location and the challenge of finding it. 

This game DOES NOT hold your hand. Unlike other LoZ games, it lets go of your hand from the get go and trusts that you will figure stuff out. Lots of games mark the location for you and that’s not a bad thing. However, I liked that this game gave the player the opportunity to poke around and find things on their own. That being said, some of these dungeons were hard to find and I did need an online guide every now and then. 

The fight with Ganon at the end was also really cool. While not a hard fight, especially when compared to his successors, the developers still found a way to make it unique. Ganon disappears and the player must find him by slashing Link’s sword. That’s a cool way to utilize the most iconic villain of the franchise in his first outing. Ganon is tricky so why not make a master of disappearing? 

This game is also challenging because of the various enemies. I don’t think I’ve ever hated wizzrobes as much as I did in this game. But hey, it is the first game of an iconic franchise so it has to make a good first impression. 

Overall, a neat start to his wonderful franchise. So many elements come from this game and if you guys do manage to find a copy, I highly recommend giving it a play through. Who knows, you might find Link, Zelda, and Ganon’s first trip through Hyrule and exciting and adventurous one.