Good Game: The Legend of Zelda NES

I now was asked to write about what I thought was a "good game". What instantly comes to mind is the original The Legend of Zelda for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). You may be thinking, "Isn't The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time your favourite game?" Yes, that is my most favourite game, but the original Zelda is what started the unique design formula that inspires many (including myself) to this day.

Right off the bat, you start off in the middle of nowhere, you have no arsenal, and you have a choice between three paths and a cave. This is what the Legend of Zelda formula is at its core: you don't know what to do. This allows the world and the quest of Link (the protagonist) to be mysterious to the player. This promotes surprises and moments where the player says "ah-ha!" after completing a puzzle. As the player continues his/her quest, he/she will learn more about the quest, improve his/her arsenal, and finally restore the triforce and save Princess Zelda form the evil clutches of Ganon.

Classic.

The gameplay and controls are very simple compared to today's games. There's just the directional pad for movement, and "a" and "b" buttons to use weapons. Link can carry many weapons and items in his catalog, which is accessed by the start menu. However, he can only have two on hand at a time. Those weapons/items can be assigned to either the "a" or "b" button. The Legend of Zelda was a pioneer of this intuitive catalog system, which expanded the game further without making it more complicated.
The A.I. wasn't very complex, however there were many different AI behaviors that always kept the world of Hyrule fresh. The player would have to learn to adapt, and figure out the best way to defeat all enemies (or even come to the decision that some enemies are unbeatable, and require the player to dodge them).

The sound wasn't spectacular as it was 8-bit, however its music and sound effects were one of the most memorable melodies and jingles in gaming history. Whenever the player unlocks a secret that leads to a new item (an example of an "ah-ha" moment) and picks up the item, a "da-na-na-naaaaaa!!!" jingle plays, which congratulates the player on making an important step in the game. The sounds were very distinguishable, and their melodies were pleasing to the ear - even the songs that loop again and again. Today's game music is a lot more complex and realistic, however thanks to the constraints of the NES, the developers were forced to create beautiful melodies to compensate for the lack of harmony and depth. Unfortunately, given that today's technology has improved, many developers show a lack of care for creating memorable melodies, and just create some music of some sort. This is not to say that all developers disregard melodies today, as you can see in Super Mario Galaxy, many of its tunes are incredible and unforgettable.

The mysterious fairy's fountain.

The levels were ingeniously crafted, as they were full of unique puzzles, challenges, and secrets ready for discovery. The overworld itself was well designed, with each division holding a theme (forest, desert, graveyard, etc.) As the player conquers each dungeon, he/she can use the items gained to access the succeeding levels that were previously inaccessible.

The main theme of the game was: you start helpless, but then you build up your strength, wits, and experience, to ultimately save the world. In order words, it set the story for all future Zelda games; it's the story of the boy who became a man. Sure, in this game you do not see Link physically grow into a man, but he develops mentally and strength-wise into an mature adult, along with the player as he/she leads him to grow. This is why his name is Link, because he is essentially the avatar of the player - the link between the player and the game.

Now the best part of the game's design is that there were absolutely NO cutscenes, yet the story was so deep considering that it was entirely implicit. Sure there was an introductory paragraph on the title screen, and during the game every now and then a non-playable character may give you a hint, but the game never explicitly laid out the true underlying philosophical story of the game. This is what makes the original Legend of Zelda a true piece of art; not just gaming art, but art in general. It is a shame that succeeding Zelda games began to rely on cinematics and descriptions, regardless they have always kept the tried and true fun gameplay mechanic that the original Zelda set out. Hopefully soon the Zelda developers will look back and take a lesson from the ingeniously crafted implicit story of the first Legend of Zelda - as it is what I believe should be the standard of narratives in video games; implicit user-guided stories.