Title: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Platform: SNES

Year: 1992

Final Vote Percentage: 50%

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo’s follow-up to the wildly popular Nintendo Entertainment System, launched in August of 1991 in North America (and the previous November in Japan). The system’s big launch title was, of course, Super Mario World. That title, however, was not the dramatic upgrade that some gamers craved. But that game would soon be upon us: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past came out in November of 1991 and the rest, as they say, is history.

Like Super Metroid, A Link to the Past functions as both a sequel and a remake to the NES original. Link explores a Hyrule that is similar in general layout but very different in the specifics. Not content with simply overlying a modern look, Nintendo went the extra mile and created two different Hyrule maps that Link warps between, solving puzzles in one to influence the landscape of the other. Each features a unique aesthetic, different characters and enemies, and some radically different ways to get around (behold the difference between the Lost Woods and Skull Woods, for example). While a few of Link’s weapons are carried over from the NES, most are brand new and, like many aspects of Link to the Past, would live on in future Zelda titles.

Here Link must prove his heroic worth by traversing three dungeons to collect the Sacred Stones before he is deemed worthy enough to pull the Master Sword from its Lost Words stone. He then travels to the corrupted Dark Hyrule where he visits seven more dungeons to rescue seven maidens whose power can keep the evil Ganon in check. After rescuing the maidens Link can access Ganon’s tower in an effort to slay the pig-beast.

If this all sounds familiar it’s because you probably played Ocarina of Time recently. Many of the tropes, enemy designs, and items that would stick around in future Zelda games got their start not in The Legend of Zelda, but in A Link to the Past. Like its NES ancestor, A Link to the Past encourages aimless exploration to find chests full of rupees, Heart Pieces, and even key items like the Ice Wand, Red Tunic, and Zora Flippers. Dialogue from NPC characters (of which there’s plenty) will often point you in the right direction, but it’s up to the player to find the way. The Medals, in particular, often require a good amount of wandering the first time you play.

But when you get right down to it, A Link to the Past is simply a fun experience and perhaps the most fun console Zelda game. It’s a title that everyone can play and appreciate, so it’s no surprise that it made NWR’s first Hall of Fame.