I thought that I would start the month off with a review of a fantastic game, a classic and crowd favorite that started a huge franchise The Legend of Zelda for the Nintendo. Now this title may not be the great Ocarina of Time or the wonderful Majora's Mask but rather this is the game that started it all. I personally loved the game, and well think it is kind of really hard. Not because of the puzzles or anything like that, but at times you might get over crowded with enemies or things that will hurt you and whenever you die you come back with only three hearts no matter how many heart containers you have collected. Needless to say I got kind of frustrated a few times.

A note I wanted to bring up, now I know this is not exactly a whole review thing but why is the game series called The Legend of Zelda? Hardly any of the games really have a focus around Princess Zelda, there are even a few titles (mostly for gameboy) that don't even have her in it or mention her. She is not needed for anything in any of the games either, so why not The Legend of Link or something like that? That was just a personal ramble, I really kind of wanted to know what you the vizzed community thought about that.

Now on to the actual review, I rated this game a 9.5 and I think it deserves it only a few things really hold it back from being a perfect 10 in my book (which were mentioned above). This game is fantastic, tons of puzzle solving and enemies to figure out how to defeat and bosses too. The game runs nicely, even though it is considered ancient to today's standards. And overall I think a lot of people should play this game, especially if they are a fan of the Zelda series already. It is always nice to see where everything got it's start.

Graphics, I rated them a 6 nice for the NES but still I have seen a few games that look better on the same system so I think a few things could have been better. I understand that being an old system and that this is a cartridge things are very limited, but maybe some work on the textures and things like that couldn't have hurt. All in all I am still happy with what came out however, I just think that it could have been improved on a little bit. But I also think sometimes that if that had happened would the game still run as good as it does? Anyway, sound is a different story I rated the sound a solid 10 and well can you blame me? Who hasn't heard the main Zelda theme and not gotten it stuck in their head? And any 8-bit sound is awesome to me, so I love the sound of Link's sword shooting thing when you have full hearts.

Addictiveness I rated a 9, I really get into this game once I really get started. However, there have been times when I have gotten stuck and then frustrated so I put it down for a while. The game is fun, and certainly an amazing game but when you go to the same room seventeen kagillion times and STILL die every single time, then I think there is a problem. However, when you get to a dungeon and start clearing out the rooms you will never want to put the game down until you are done with every dungeon the game has to offer.

Story I gave a 7, now with this I got a little confused. At the beginning of the game you plunged into an unknown world, however there is nothing telling you what to do or where to even go. You just kind of assume you go in the first opening you see, and of course you are right for that is where you get your wooden sword. However, from there finding where to go is a pain in the butt and once you find items you are not told how to use them you just sort of have to figure it out which is kind of simple but tedious. Also you don't even know why you are going out to defeat these dungeons in the first place, but from what I gather the story goes something like this: Ganon has kidnapped Princess Zelda and you have to go through a set number of dungeons to save her. Wait is that all? Hmm, it seems so much better when you are playing it, once you ultimately find out why you are solving these puzzles and dungeons the game has a whole new light. However, for a while you are just kind of running around doing things because, well you want too.

The depth I rated a 6, it is not very long and you don't have to go through to many dungeons. There are however, hidden rooms and things like that throughout the game. They are kind of limited of course, but there are quite a few. I think I have found them all but I am still uncertain, if you are really interested in going through and finding all of these hidden things then I would suggest going on the Internet to look it up. Personally I had to search up a few things, mainly heart containers. Watch out though, there are a few hidden places with a man inside who will take away twenty rupees because of a "door fee".

Difficulty I rated an 8, although it may not seem so this game is actually pretty tough. I know it is old and should be easy but my god did I have a tough time with this game when I first played. If you are looking for a few challenging places then this is your game. Some of the enemies are impervious to your sword(s), so you have to figure out other ways to kill them. But it is mainly some of the bosses that pose the real challenge. Except Dodongo, and I'm not really sure why it took me only two bombs to kill it. Convenient but I was kind of looking for a challenge on that one I guess.

All in all The Legend of Zelda is a tough and fun puzzle solving game, and I think it is a great title. And I can see why it sparked a huge franchise like it did, I am looking forward to the day when Nintendo decides to get up and remake this game with updated graphics and an easier to follow story. Hint, hint Nintendo. I think all people who like the Zelda series will appreciate this game, and maybe love it as much as Ocarina of Time or Majora's Mask. Or maybe not, I'm not you so I wouldn't know. Anyway, I would say at least try it for those newer players this may not be your cup of tea but I would say try it anyway just to see what we veterans had at the start and maybe you will enjoy it.

XxEzraxX : That is a nice long review for such a simple game, perfect. By the way have you tried the second quest yet?