15-Aug-2001 Best game ever? We'd like to think so. The kingdom of Hyrule seems ever to be in the grip of some supernatural hero. As before, it turns to a young boy named Link from Kokiri village to save the land. Evil spirits are troubling the great Deku tree, and it sends a fairy to find Link and bring him inside its sacred bark. Link is told of the danger to the Princess Zelda. Not only is her personal safety at risk from the wicked sorcerer-warrior Ganondorf, but he could manipulate her power to destroy the whole kingdom.
The colourful backdrop is set to the most lavish video game production ever created. Zelda is a landmark game, an interactive fairytale in a complete and free world. While previous titles like Final Fantasy VII had the same epic qualities of scale, they were linear and shallow. Zelda is the first truly explorable 3-D world on either PC or console.
We believe Zelda to be the best game ever. Technical reasons play an important part but are not supreme. The 3-D world is awesome - expansive, smooth and frequently dazzling. The use of camera excels anything in gaming before. The sweeping panoramas as you approach Hyrule castle or the intimate close-ups in the Deku tree generate an unprecedented atmosphere. There is night and day, fear and laughter, magic and mystery interwoven with brilliant larger-than-life characters and a story with universal appeal.
The most exciting aspect of Zelda is how it balances the story element with the action element. Even the Tomb Raider series has never quite managed this, keeping the combat aspects of the game remote and approximate. In Zelda, combat is up close and completely precise. Link is capable of an astonishingly wide range of actions. His range of weapons is pretty impressive, from slingshots to boomerangs, bombchus and increasingly powerful swords. Later in the game, really powerful weapons like the Megaton Hammer up the ante with his terrifying enemies. A whole range of magical spells can be found and cast, via his fairy companion Navi.
The most magical item in all Hyrule is the Ocarina, the funny little flute that has become a trademark of the games. The Ocarina is the key to jumping through time, to explore Hyrule as an adolescent Link, where places look familiar yet different. The Ocarina has other powerful properties - if you can learn the tunes that activate them.
Although the game is divided into themed areas and dungeons, the open areas of Hyrule seamlessly link them all. Real distances are used, and as they can be massive, Link must learn to ride a horse. Epona is a real beauty and the exhilaration racing across the plains on her is a unique experience. Dare to travel at night and the countryside outside the towns becomes the domain of roaming monsters. With a Rumble Pak, more secrets can be discovered, as its vibrations warn you of hidden areas.
To break up the quest, there are lots of little diversions in the adventure. Collecting money to buy items is a secondary occupation, and Link will stumble across games that offer cash rewards. These are excellent, ranging from chicken catching to fishing and shooting galleries. There are hundreds of characters to stop and talk to, who spout the traditionally gentle humour of the Zelda games.
The serious action of the game is in the lairs of the bosses who guard the bits of the Tri-Force. Many are areas found in previous Zelda games but magically transformed into 3D. Desert Colossus, with its shifting sands and whirlwinds; Dondango's Cavern fiery depths; The Lost Woods bewildering mazes. These are the heart of the game and ensure there is 60 hours plus of gameplay for the average user.
Zelda is what everyone dared to hope it would be, the best game ever. Visually it matches anything yet produced for the PC or Playstation and in terms of gameplay design and playability it blows everything away. Zelda puts all other 'essential' purchases into perspective. Even if the fairytale milieu fails to attract, the control, weapons and complexity of its world will grip you almost instantly.
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