The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
1991
- puzzle
- adventure
- action
- fantasy
- single player
The story
Venture back to Hyrule and an age of magic and heroes. The predecessors of Link and Zelda face monsters on the march when a menacing magician takes over the kingdom. Only you can prevent his evil plot from shattering the land of Hyrule. In your quest, you'll venture into twisting mazes, dungeons, palaces and shadowy forests. Test your mettle with mighty swords and magical weapons. Or heft a boulder and hurl it at your enemies. If the going gets tough, dive into a river - you can swim to escape! Learn powerful spells, locate magical artifacts and solve the mysteries of the evil magician and the hidden realm of Hyrule.
What it’s like
Bright, crisp pixel art on a top-down map, with sun-warmed grass, blue lakes and sleepy villages that turn murky purple and sickly green once you cross into the parallel Dark World. Dungeons feel close and torchlit, all grey stone and flickering shadow, while the overworld hums with a cheerful, plucked orchestral score by Koji Kondo that loops gently under long walks between landmarks. Combat is brisk and cartoonish: swords flash, skeletons crumble into bone piles, and ghosts and wizards dissolve with soft chimes, so the violence stays light and bloodless, and falling in battle just sends you back to a nearby point. The rhythm is unhurried and methodical, built on exploration, locked doors, item-based puzzles and comfortable backtracking, with a steady sense of discovery as new tools unlock old paths. The mood is wistful and gently adventurous rather than tense, a fairy-tale quest that rewards patience. It suits a quiet evening with the lights low, a rainy afternoon or a comfort replay, for players who enjoy mapping every corner and solving clever puzzles at their own pace.
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