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Late last year, we here at IGN compiled our list of the top 100 SNES games - a retrospective of sorts on the system's best software. In the midst of some fierce competition, against a selection of titles that represent some of the best gaming has to offer (Super Metroid, Chrono Trigger and Super Mario World, to name just a handful), The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past managed to take our pick for the number one game of what many consider to be the number one system of all time.
Needless to say, we were absolutely thrilled to find out recently that Miyamoto wants to make a new game in the style of A Link to the Past. Whether it would be a port or a true sequel is still up in the air … but if it is, in fact, a brand new, 16-bit Hylian adventure, it's got some work to do if it hopes to reach the heights of Link's SNES masterpiece. To have any chance of living up to its highly acclaimed source material, here are a handful of things this new link to Zelda's past would have to nail. Take a look, then leave us your own thoughts in the comments section afterward.
The Gameplay
Gameplay is easily the most important aspect of any game, so it's absolutely key for this hypothetical A Link to the Past sequel to pulls its weight in that department. We'd expect nothing less than the perfectly balanced brilliance offered up by its predecessor. A Link to the Past built upon the groundwork laid by the original Legend of Zelda for NES (Zelda II, while awesome, was something of an odd duck out). It took the same basic formula of item acquisition, dungeon exploration and epic boss battles and expanded on them just enough to allow for a rich, satisfying gameplay experience from the opening rainstorm to the last showdown with Ganon.
ALttP made the most out of this here map.
A Link to the Past also introduced the Light and Dark World system, transforming the overworld and essentially doubling the map. This mechanic was used in a number of creative ways, not only setting the scene but also allowing for plenty of hidden secrets and heart pieces for players to discover. This mechanic would be difficult to reproduce in a direct sequel, unless you thought of a really good reason why it was returning, but the new game would need to sport something equally enchanting.
The pacing in the original was also pitch perfect, the enemies were balanced just right, and throwing players right into the action (without even a sword at first) made for a thrilling, engaging, and ultimately unforgettable experience. Give us more of that in a sequel, and just try to stop us from pre-ordering.
The Items
Items are an important part of any Zelda game - and in A Link to the Past, they were done perfectly. Every item felt so real, largely because they could interact with any object in the environment, even if all it did was make a little noise. For instance, if you shot your hookshot at any surface, it would make contact and produce an appropriate sound effect, going a long way in connecting players to the world. For a proper sequel to live up to ALttP, it would have to take the items a step further, making us feel more connected to our surrounding than in any 2D Zelda game before it.
Die, keese! DIE!
As for the boomerang, it was a freaking revelation in A Link to the Past. The magical 'rang you eventually upgrade to can travel the length of the entire screen and beyond, cutting grass and picking up rupees and bombs along the way. It was terribly useful, and although it wasn't the one barrier between you and instant death like in the first game, it was essentially your left hand once you picked it up in the first dungeon (or right hand, if your sprite is facing right). It's hard to make a boomerang terribly useful in 3D combat (I'm looking at you, Ocarina of Time), but this wasn't a problem for this 2D installment, where your boomerang is as useful as you choose for it to be. Making the boomerang relevant again in the sequel is key.
A Link to the Past was also responsible for introducing items like the ocarina (called a flute in the American release for some reason) and hookshot. It was also the first game where you had an animal friend to bum a ride from (something that later returned in the Oracle games, and more recently in Skyward Sword). Yay for animal buddies!
The Immersion
It may sound crazy to gamers raised on the more advanced graphics of the current generation of consoles, but you don't need a high polygon count to have an incredibly immersive game (check out any of the games at the top of our best of SNES list for proof of that). In fact, in many ways A Link to the Past is more immersive than a lot of modern games, with no invisible walls to walk into or areas that look like you should be able to access, but you can't for some reason.
Admit it - the music's playing through your head just looking at this screen.
In addition to feeling like you can touch and interact with everything on screen (especially if you have the correct items), the game's transcendent soundtrack, care of the great Koji Kondo, also helped engulf players in the world of 16-bit Hyrule. Its epic opening didn't hurt either. All of these elements are absolutely crucial for a new game to have any hope of capturing the same sense of awe we felt when we first tromped across Hyrule field all those years ago.
The Story
In a world full of lengthy cutscenes and games that resemble movies more than… well, games, it might seem strange to point to A Link to the Past as an example of great storytelling. But it was - and it is. In fact, respected game designer Warren Spector has singled it out as the finest example of a narrative game in existence. Though somewhat barebones by today's standards, the story in A Link to the Past was absolutely captivating, unfolding in just the right way so that the gameplay was never interrupted, but you always felt like your journey was pushing toward an epic conclusion.
Link and the princess go way back.
As a follow-up story-wise to Ocarina of Time (before the N64 classic even began development), A Link to the Past covers a lot of territory absolutely critical to Zelda lore - such as the Master Sword, the sages, the Princess' powerful life force, the magical ocarina and Ganon's revival, to mention just a handful. To feel as weighty and important as A Link to the Past, the sequel would also have to cover territory dear to the hearts of Zelda fans worldwide. If it featured as memorable of characters (Sahasrahla, Blind, Flute Boy and so on), all the better.
Those are just a handful of reasons why A Link to the Past rocked our socks off when it debuted more than 20 years ago - and those very elements we hope to see return if this sequel ever ends up happening. So what do you think of our guidelines? Did we miss anything big? Let us know in the comments below!
[MENTION=580]mat_turbo [MENTION=458]Big Exodus [MENTION=856]LarsVerb
Needless to say, we were absolutely thrilled to find out recently that Miyamoto wants to make a new game in the style of A Link to the Past. Whether it would be a port or a true sequel is still up in the air … but if it is, in fact, a brand new, 16-bit Hylian adventure, it's got some work to do if it hopes to reach the heights of Link's SNES masterpiece. To have any chance of living up to its highly acclaimed source material, here are a handful of things this new link to Zelda's past would have to nail. Take a look, then leave us your own thoughts in the comments section afterward.
The Gameplay
Gameplay is easily the most important aspect of any game, so it's absolutely key for this hypothetical A Link to the Past sequel to pulls its weight in that department. We'd expect nothing less than the perfectly balanced brilliance offered up by its predecessor. A Link to the Past built upon the groundwork laid by the original Legend of Zelda for NES (Zelda II, while awesome, was something of an odd duck out). It took the same basic formula of item acquisition, dungeon exploration and epic boss battles and expanded on them just enough to allow for a rich, satisfying gameplay experience from the opening rainstorm to the last showdown with Ganon.
ALttP made the most out of this here map.
A Link to the Past also introduced the Light and Dark World system, transforming the overworld and essentially doubling the map. This mechanic was used in a number of creative ways, not only setting the scene but also allowing for plenty of hidden secrets and heart pieces for players to discover. This mechanic would be difficult to reproduce in a direct sequel, unless you thought of a really good reason why it was returning, but the new game would need to sport something equally enchanting.
The pacing in the original was also pitch perfect, the enemies were balanced just right, and throwing players right into the action (without even a sword at first) made for a thrilling, engaging, and ultimately unforgettable experience. Give us more of that in a sequel, and just try to stop us from pre-ordering.
The Items
Items are an important part of any Zelda game - and in A Link to the Past, they were done perfectly. Every item felt so real, largely because they could interact with any object in the environment, even if all it did was make a little noise. For instance, if you shot your hookshot at any surface, it would make contact and produce an appropriate sound effect, going a long way in connecting players to the world. For a proper sequel to live up to ALttP, it would have to take the items a step further, making us feel more connected to our surrounding than in any 2D Zelda game before it.
Die, keese! DIE!
As for the boomerang, it was a freaking revelation in A Link to the Past. The magical 'rang you eventually upgrade to can travel the length of the entire screen and beyond, cutting grass and picking up rupees and bombs along the way. It was terribly useful, and although it wasn't the one barrier between you and instant death like in the first game, it was essentially your left hand once you picked it up in the first dungeon (or right hand, if your sprite is facing right). It's hard to make a boomerang terribly useful in 3D combat (I'm looking at you, Ocarina of Time), but this wasn't a problem for this 2D installment, where your boomerang is as useful as you choose for it to be. Making the boomerang relevant again in the sequel is key.
A Link to the Past was also responsible for introducing items like the ocarina (called a flute in the American release for some reason) and hookshot. It was also the first game where you had an animal friend to bum a ride from (something that later returned in the Oracle games, and more recently in Skyward Sword). Yay for animal buddies!
The Immersion
It may sound crazy to gamers raised on the more advanced graphics of the current generation of consoles, but you don't need a high polygon count to have an incredibly immersive game (check out any of the games at the top of our best of SNES list for proof of that). In fact, in many ways A Link to the Past is more immersive than a lot of modern games, with no invisible walls to walk into or areas that look like you should be able to access, but you can't for some reason.
Admit it - the music's playing through your head just looking at this screen.
In addition to feeling like you can touch and interact with everything on screen (especially if you have the correct items), the game's transcendent soundtrack, care of the great Koji Kondo, also helped engulf players in the world of 16-bit Hyrule. Its epic opening didn't hurt either. All of these elements are absolutely crucial for a new game to have any hope of capturing the same sense of awe we felt when we first tromped across Hyrule field all those years ago.
The Story
In a world full of lengthy cutscenes and games that resemble movies more than… well, games, it might seem strange to point to A Link to the Past as an example of great storytelling. But it was - and it is. In fact, respected game designer Warren Spector has singled it out as the finest example of a narrative game in existence. Though somewhat barebones by today's standards, the story in A Link to the Past was absolutely captivating, unfolding in just the right way so that the gameplay was never interrupted, but you always felt like your journey was pushing toward an epic conclusion.
Link and the princess go way back.
As a follow-up story-wise to Ocarina of Time (before the N64 classic even began development), A Link to the Past covers a lot of territory absolutely critical to Zelda lore - such as the Master Sword, the sages, the Princess' powerful life force, the magical ocarina and Ganon's revival, to mention just a handful. To feel as weighty and important as A Link to the Past, the sequel would also have to cover territory dear to the hearts of Zelda fans worldwide. If it featured as memorable of characters (Sahasrahla, Blind, Flute Boy and so on), all the better.
Those are just a handful of reasons why A Link to the Past rocked our socks off when it debuted more than 20 years ago - and those very elements we hope to see return if this sequel ever ends up happening. So what do you think of our guidelines? Did we miss anything big? Let us know in the comments below!
[MENTION=580]mat_turbo [MENTION=458]Big Exodus [MENTION=856]LarsVerb