A Precursor to Greatness - The Legend of Zelda: a Link to the Past Review

Not many games can boast a legacy anywhere near as legendary as A Link to the Past can, and for good reason. Without it, the Zelda series, and perhaps the game industry as a whole, would be very different, as it was the first game in the series to establish the "Zelda formula," a term used to refer to the similar gameplay and story structures seen throughout the Zelda series and beyond. In spite of this fact, I wish only to judge this game based on its own merits, just as I do with all games in the Zelda series and beyond. Will it hold up? Or will I piss off a sizable portion of my subscriber base by saying mean things about it? Better grab some popcorn, because it's going to be a long video, baby. Miyamoto Interview Source: https://shmuplations.com/zeldalttp/ Chapters: 00:00 Introduction: A Natural Step Up 02:31 The Tutorial: Assault on Hyrule Castle 09:00 The Overworld, Part 1: a Brave New Hyrule to Explore 15:27 Aside: Introductory Dungeons 16:28 Introductory Dungeon 1: Thesis 18:25 Aside: Dungeon Bosses 20:11 Introductory Dungeon 2: Antithesis 22:02 Introductory Dungeon 3: Synthesis 25:26 Intermission: A Shift in Tone 26:45 Story and Characters: The First, and Probably the Worst 34:55 The Overworld, Part 2: Progression Gates 38:06 Dungeon 1: a Rough Start 41:51 Dungeon 2: Swamped with Poor Design Choices 45:11 Dungeon 3: This Dungeon is Pretty Fire (Get it?) 48:36 Dungeon 4: Robbed Blind of any Good Game Design 53:06 Dungeon 5: a Pretty Ice Dungeon (Sorry) 1:03:40 Aside: Either and Quake Spells 1:05:17 Dungeon 6: Miserable Dungeon Design 1:12:28 Dungeon 7: Rock Solid Game Design 1:20:49 Final Dungeon: A Towering Achievement 1:29:01 Final Boss: The Prince of Darkness 1:32:10 Aside: Zelda Staff Roles 1:33:09 Conclusion: Good, but Not Quite Great