                       THE LEGEND OF ZELDA:
                           MASTER QUEST

                      A Zelda Classic Quest
                   by Steve Unfred, aka Radien

- Contact info -
AIM nick:  "RadienAIM"
ICQ: 2810798
Hosted Quest Forum:  http://tinyurl.com/2e9pjd


--------------------
 CONTENTS:

1. Play Requirements
2. Introduction
3. Instruction Booklet
4. Thanks
--------------------


----------------------
 1. PLAY REQUIREMENTS
----------------------

I highly recommend that you play this quest using:
Zelda Classic version 1.92 beta 184.

It can be played in beta 183, but there are some slight bugs, and the
infamous "continue bug" is always a risk. It is considerably less of a
risk in beta 184. I have done as much as I can to direct ZC to the
correct screen even when the continue bug occurs, but it's best to be safe!

Beta 184 can now be downloaded directly from the Zelda Classic website,
here:

http://www.zeldaclassic.com/

Any SFX file will do, just so long as it's actually modelled after the
original Zelda's sounds, since I use all the sound effects according to
their original intent.


-----------------
 1. INTRODUCTION
-----------------

It's been several years since I was first introduced to Zelda Classic,
and in that time I've spent a lot of effort creating tilesets and
learning more about ZQuest. My first full quest release was Master
Quest, which was my personal "3rd Quest" to the original Legend of
Zelda, and I was fairly happy with how it turned out.

As is to be expected, however, when I started off I took a lot of
shortcuts, and some things I didn't understand as well as others. I
eventually decided to rebuild Master Quest in the New BS tileset,
cleaning up the quest's execution and making changes wherever I felt it
would improve the quest. One goal I had in particular was to make the
quest truer to the original Legend of Zelda. I also wanted to release it
unpassworded, as an example of what can be done with the New BS tileset.

For those of you who didn't play the original Master Quest, be aware
that Master Quest is fairly difficult. If 2nd Quest was harder than 1st
Quest, think of Master Quest as the next increment of difficulty after
that. This version of Master Quest is slightly easier than the original,
or at the very least it is faster-paced. I hope you are satisfied with
the specific challenge level that I have aimed for.

Since Master Quest is made for players who desire that high difficulty,
I anticipate many of you will become frustrated at one point or another.
Some of you may not be able to pass certain points without help. This is
perfectly alright! It is quite possible to enjoy playing a game *with*
help, that you wouldn't be able to enjoy without help.

This is why I'm including a complete FAQ with the quest file. If you are
ever stuck or need help, feel free to refer to the FAQ for help. The FAQ
uses a "Question -> Hint -> Answer" format, just in case you only need a
small hint, rather than a detailed explanation. Thusly, some questions
have more than one hint, and others even have more than one answer for
the same reason.

If it's been awhile since you've played the original Zelda, and you want
to have a refresher as to how the original 1st and 2nd Quests worked as
compared to new Zeldas, please read the first portion of the
accompanying FAQ in this file, where it gives some general tips and
advice.  It doesn't get into really specific hints right away, so you
don't need to worry about game spoilers early on.


------------------------
 2. INSTRUCTION BOOKLET
------------------------

Perhaps you've heard the original story of The Legend of Zelda. For
those of you who haven't, the following is a quick replay of the
prelude, specifically rewritten for Master Quest.

Even if you've heard the story before, keep reading!! There are some
hints at the end of this section, which everyone should know before they
start.


- THE STORY -

One day, a traveler named Link was returning to the land of Hyrule after
a long journey. He was just an ordinary boy who had never caught much
attention, but when he returned he was greeted with an unpleasant
surprise: the land was overwrought with monsters, all the buildings of
the kingdom had been razed to the ground, and the people had fled to
caves and secret hideaways in order to survive.

Soon, he saw an old woman who was being attacked by monsters. Unarmed,
he slung her arm over his shoulder and helped her to escape.

The old woman revealed that she was Impa, servant and messenger for none
other than Zelda, Princess of Hyrule. She had been fleeing the land in
search of a Hero who could help Zelda in her plight. Princess Zelda had
been captured by Ganon, the evil lord who led this hoarde of monsters!

Ganon was the dark-hearted bearer of the Triforce of Power, an ancient
artifact of immense strength. However, he was after Princess Zelda's
Triforce, as well: the Triforce of Wisdom. Zelda was cornered, and knew
she could not win against his hoardes of monsters. Just before the
Princess was captured, she split the Triforce into 8 pieces. She then
transported them to their hiding places, in 8 lost labyrinths across
Hyrule, protecting them from Ganon.

Zelda was praying for a Hero to overcome the trials of courage and once
again combine the Triforce, then face Ganon and defeat him. Yes, replied
Link to Impa, he would take on the task and save Hyrule. But lacking
even the most basic equipment, how should he begin his journey?... The
rest is up to you.


- THE EIGHT LABYRINTHS -

The Eight Labyrinths are a series of underground dungeons created by the
ancients for an unknown purpose. Now they serve to protect the Triforce.
However, not much else is known about them. The most Impa could give
Link was a brief story about the shapes of the various dungeons.

According to the legend, the labyrinths are of eight different shapes:

a Whistle,
a Key,
a Bomb,
a Savage Wolf,
an Ancient Mask,
a Headstone,
a Ferocious Dragon, and
the Hero's Symbol.

...however, Impa did not know which shape matched which of the eight
dungeons. It seems that Link will have to discover the order for himself.


Impa went on to tell Link of another rumor: whispers had said that Ganon
had found a great labyrinth within the heart of Death Mountain, and made
it his home. Link will have to venture further into the mountains than
anyone has ever been, in order to find the entrance to this huge and
intimidating 9th dungeon, where Ganon holds the Princess Zelda.


- THE ORIGINAL LABYRINTHS -

The image file included in this package shows the shapes of the original
nine labyrinths from the 1st Quest. These are different from the shapes 
of the labyrinths in Master Quest, but perhaps they will come in handy 
eventually.  True heros remember the old legends...


Saving princesses is a Nintendo tradition, and it is once again in your
hands.

Have fun!

~Radien


-----------
 4. THANKS
-----------

I owe great thanks to the following people...

```````````````
MQ Beta Testers
```````````````
CrystalBlade
Linkman90
Hero Link
Ian
Codelinker
and especially plith, who gave a very large amount of feedback.

``````````````````````
MQ Remake Beta Testers
``````````````````````
rocksfan13
Moonwhisper

```````````````````````````
Help, Advice, Encouragement
```````````````````````````
Shadowtiger
Teilyr
Starfox
ms_zelda_lady

`````````````
Zelda Classic
`````````````
Phantom Menace (Original Head Programmer
                  & creator of "BS 1st" quest)
Dark Nation    ("named Heir" to ZC Head Programmer)
VEL            (creator of original expanded BS 1st tileset)
and all ZC beta testers and staff.

````````````
Other Thanks
````````````
...and last, but not least, anyone and EVERYONE who:

- tried out the Master Quest demo
- posted in any MQ feedback thread
- gave feedback, advice, or encouragement at
   any time since I start out on ZC. ^_^


Thanks, everyone! Your support helped me finish this project.

And now, on to the next one....


~Fin