Where it began

In an age ruled by a tyrant, in a dimension that runs parallel to two others, lies a dying kingdom, doing all it can to survive while planning to defeat the tyrant. One day, the tyrant invaded that kingdom, kidnapping the princess. Before she was taken away, the princess broke up and hid a power that could defeat the tyrant. Her friend sets off to get her back, restore the power she hid, and defeat the evil. Despite being his adventure, this story was named after the princess. Historians would call it The Legend of Zelda. 

After playing a bunch of mediocre RPGs, I need a break. And what better way to do something different than to play something from 1986? It's a different genre, even more historical, and the beginning of one of the greatest franchises in the industry. I've played five other Zelda games, beating three of them, but I've yet to try to tackle the original. LoZ is as iconic as it gets, but does it deserve it? 

Yes, obviously. 

The plot is straight out of 1986. Zelda was released on the NES Disk System, but America got it on the regular NES. I don't know if there's a difference, but the story is a short few paragraphs at the start, and a few even shorter words at the end. It's par the course for the time, assuming there even was a plot to begin with. It's that old. This is also before anything iconic could be garnished onto Link or Ganon just by existing. It's sad. Legend of Zelda is just one of those games that tests the limits of my review rubric. 5/10

The gameplay, though, has to be pushing the limits of the system. What would become staples are all here. Bow and arrows, magic rods, multiple armors, and even multiple swords. Although no Master Sword yet... Hidden secrets, optional upgrades, and getting lost in difficult dungeons are plentiful. There are no themed dungeons, mind you, just pallets swapped tile sets in the shape of an animal. 9/10

I'm sorta disappointed with the OST. Mostly because there are only five songs, and you'll only hear three of them during actual gameplay. But, hey, guess what's here. The overworld theme! 8/10

The biggest thing I'll say about the artwork is that it doesn't get lost in itself. I never lost track of what was shooting me, outside of when the devs wanted that. There were a few rooms where there was so much nonsense that it all became vague blobs, but that was the goal. And it happens in games to this day. The rest of the graphics are from 1986, so you're gonna get what you're gonna get. 8/10

Even at the start of the franchise, Takashi Tezuka and Shigeru Miyamoto had something cooking. The world is rad, exploration is the goal, and there's a ton of cute stuff hidden with them. I might want to replay this one day for the fun of it, and it's the perfect length. The only negative thing is that it was 1986, and prominent NPCs were optional. 9/10

I started getting frustrated at the very end of the game, but I won't hold that against the game. So The Legend of Zelda for the original Famicom receives 39 out of 50 points. Many of the negative points are just based on how things age. Story wasn't the draw during the time of the dinosaurs, and there's only so much that can be done with the technology back then. If you want to remove the story section, then LoZ is an 85%. And even most of those missing points are subjective. I am glad I circled back to this for the sake of history, for the sake of the experience, and because it's a good game. 

Fun fact, this is now the oldest game I've played the "original" way.