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Why was the first-Zelda so perfect?


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#31 sutibu

sutibu

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Posted 31 October 2021 - 12:20 AM

I'm not sure if the author of this topic is praising Zelda 1 or taking jabs at it but I think I'll start my thoughts out like this. One thing that has bothered me about recent discussions on quests is this idea of what quests should or shouldn't be and the fact that people generally ignore tastes. We can look at this through the lens of music for example. A fan of rock music can analyze a rock album and break it down based on its lyrics, arrangement of the music, guitar solos, and overall production. This person can have a good constructive argument with another fan of rock about the album and its pros and cons and whether they ultimately like the album or not. But now let's say this rock fan says something about another genre of music that they don't like, say jazz. This person could just say something like jazz is terrible music because it's boring and the songs are too long. There is nothing constructive in that argument. It's only destructive.

 

The same goes for video games and quests. Type A, Type B, Kaizo, Dungeon Romper...whatever you want to call them. We all have our tastes. For me, Zelda is and always will be about exploration and craftiness with the tools that you have been given. That to me will always come before any element of action. Those are my tastes. I've been around ZC for about twenty years now and some of my favorite quests are some of the oldest ones. Radien's Master Quest is towards the top of my list. Same set of items as Zelda 1. Not much in the way of challenging action, but the dungeon locations and layouts made this a superb challenge for me. I spent hours trying to find dungeons, and thoroughly enjoyed the type of challenge it brought me.

I recently have been watching some runs for Kaizo Mario Brothers hacks on YouTube, and I gotta say, people playing them in real time is really cool and impressive. That got me thinking about Armageddon Quest and some of the playthroughs I watched of it. For me, I would never play those hacks or those type of quests because it would be too frustrating and tedious for me. Dying over and over, learning the proper patterns and techniques. For a Kaizo fan however this is where the challenge lies, and this is what is fun and entertaining. I appreciate the genre, and I enjoy watching people who have mastered those techniques play these games.

It's so important that we respect one another's opinion. That's what makes this community great and what motivates people to create. We should encourage, not bash, and look for the good and art in each other's work. Of course, being able to say something constructive and being able to take that advice is important, but we don't have to be destructive about it. If you don't like something, you don't have to respond. It's important to be supportive of one another.

 

Getting back to the topic at hand. The original Zelda was incredible. My oldest brother owned an NES and had the gold cart. I saw him play a few times, but when he was off at college or out with his friends in high school, my other brother and I would sneak into his cabinet and play. I'll never forget those experiences. The world seemed so vast and huge. Wander too far, and you'd get destroyed by more powerful monsters. The Lost Woods Maze, hidden caves (money or door repair lol), and finding dungeons out of order. I can't count how many times I died, but it may have gone to triple digits. I'll never forget that sheer joy of getting a new item that allowed you to progress. Getting the raft only to get wasted by wizzrobes. It just felt like an epic adventure and my imagination would run wild with this game. My oldest brother would eventually teach me the secrets such as walking through walls, or using the name "ZELDA" (how knowledge was passed from person to person back then lol). I just kept falling more and more in love with the game.

In retrospect, there were definitely flaws. Keys were kind of recklessly placed and used, the overworld map was not fully utilized (as mentioned earlier in this thread), and bosses...well the bosses weren't great. I can't remember off the top of my head, but wasn't an Aquamentus used as the Level 8 boss?

What made this game great, at least for me, was the world that it gave. The vastness of it, the freedom of exploration, the tools. It was this experience. I can easily 0 death it now and clear it one sitting, but it's still one that I find myself going back to from time to time. Perfect? For the experience it gave, I say yes.

 

What brings me to that conclusion? We're celebrating Zelda's 35th anniversary this year and this Zelda Classic community is as strong as ever. People are still here. People are still making quests. People are continuing to innovate and shape the game to suit themselves. Quests that utilize scripts, Quests with epic stories and tales to tell, Quests that are epic in proportion (dwarfing the original ZC), Kaizo Quests, Z1 Remakes and Remasters, Mini Quests and Minimalist Quests, Completely New Tilesets and Gameplay elements, Brand new items that could easily fit into an official title. The list goes on, but it was that original Z1 experience that sparked that magic; a magic that continues to inspire us and that continues to evolve the original experience. I'm always so impressed with everything that everyone does with this program. Ten years ago I was still enchanted, and today I'm as enchanted as ever. So long as this community stays strong, and creativity is supported, so long with this community last as will the legacy that Zelda 1 inspired.

 

Take care everyone and keep spreading the love. All my best,

 

スティーブ


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