Classic NES Series: The Legend of Zelda

THE GOOD:
Excellent value, challenging game, very original idea, it has not been changed at all

THE BAD:
The hordes of enemies can be infuriating at times, dungeon music very repetitive, bosses are a little bit too simple

SUMMARY:
Well, being a big Zelda fan, I had to get this; I had to see the origins of it all. I am more than impressed. I was surprised to see that it was only £15. I would have more than willingly paid the standard £30 that most GBA games are. It's still as much a challenging game as the Zelda games are now, if not more. The graphics are still ok now, but they aren't super-pretty. I'm glad Nintendo didn't alter the game at all, because if you're going to soup up a game, you could use those efforts to make a new game instead. Keep the classics classic! The only thing I disliked slightly is that there is no civilisation except pensioners living in caves - Hyrule is quite a lonely and desolate place. But overall, it's a...

THE GOOD:
Non-Linear
Challenging
Puzzles
Accessible

THE BAD:
Outdated graphics and sound
Poor plot delivery and development
Hyrule itself is uninteresting
Often obscure
Poor save system

SUMMARY:
Okay, let's get something clear. The whole concept of the NES Classics series just seems like a rip off idea. NES games are old and simple. If you're going to be packing them up for newer audiences without touching them why do one game per cart? Nevertheless, Legend of Zelda set the foundation for all future Legend of Zelda games, so I wanted to have a go at this classic for myself.

Visuals

The NES was never amazingly capable of stunning visuals. However, I doubt you would call the Legend of Zelda's graphics to be good even by those standards. Add in the competition from virtually every other GBA title around and you have a pretty poor display. This is no treat for the eyes.